OH. XXVI. FIND DEER, 101 



Alpine torrent, though now it danced merrily along, 

 rippling through the stones and forming tiny pools 

 here and there, where it had not strength enough to 

 break through the accumulated sand and gravel 

 which dammed up its feeble stream. Dressed in 

 grey, and surrounded with grey stone on every side, 

 I was as little conspicuous as it was possible to be, 

 and there was just enough ripple in the stream and 

 its thousand miniature cascades to drown the sound 

 of my footsteps, whenever I inadvertently put my 

 foot on any stone that grated or slipped below me. 

 The only thing that annoyed me was an occasional 

 sheep that would see me from the bank above, and 

 by running off in a startled manner was likely to 

 warn the deer, if there were any ahead of me, of the 

 vicinity of an enemy. I had continued this course 

 for some distance, when just as I began to propose 

 to myself turning off in order to cross the valley 

 to look over the next height, and had made up 

 my mind that the deer whose recent traces I had 

 seen must have slipped away unobserved, — just 

 then, on turning a corner, I caught a momentary 

 glimpse of the hind-quarters of one of the wished 

 for animals walking slowly round a turn in the 

 burn. I stopped, fearing they had seen or heard me, 

 and I expected to see them leap out of the hollow 

 and make away across the valley ; but not seeing 



