154 ; THe Aroostook Woops. 

track is here as fresh as if I saw him take his foot from it. 
But it’s no use to hurry too fast; a buck tramping off alone is 
wary, and, hark! I stop quickly and lean beside a tree, seeing 
nothing, and am losing time, but would bet something I heard 
a dull, breaking sound. As I step on, now quite carefully, 
I am looking with my eyes if I ever did, but can see no 
stylish buck ahead, to right or left. So I creep on still more 
cautious, if that could be possible, and soon come to a slight 
change in his movements. I am now surely quite close to 
him, every moment expecting to hear his jumps and steady 
trot away ; for he has just doubled upon his tracks, has taken 
a few steps back toward me, stopped and listened, as if mis- 
trusting he was being followed, turns again thinking all is 
right behind and is walking ahead again to his first turning 
(leaves quite a path over the short distance) and then turns 
off to the north as if to visit the west end of the barren, but 
instead keeps winding until he faces east now, as the sun is 
partly on my back. The wind, slight and transient, I occa- 
sionally feel upon my rather warm face, for all of which we 
kindly thank him from the first, and if he will only keep to 
this course shall be in love with him. All is in my favor 
now, the wind is right, sun behind, tracking elegant, down 
hill grade, he is not in sight, can see his line of tracks far 
beyond in the open growth leading over another ridge more 
southerly, and take advantage of this for an Indian trot down 
the grade and up the rise. Now looking sharp again over the 
open growth, and seeing only his long line of tracks in view, 
can yet hurry forward and gain upon him somewhat, we 
hope. South east, then nearly south, and we are wondering 
what unaccountable whim is taking him back and forth, and 
if he keeps straight on away beyond his line of tramping. 
