GETTING NEAR 215 



get to the edge of the wood, for it would other- 

 wise have been impossible to see, and at times I 

 despaired of doing it without raising the alarm. 

 The stag roared again ; but a stick, despite all my 

 care, cracked beneath my foot, and a hind swung 

 suspiciously in our direction. Her lord and master 

 roared again, as though suspecting a rival ; but 

 she seemed to impart some of her fears to him, 

 for after a while he gave vent to his feelings, only 

 in suspicious and spasmodic grunts. By dint of 

 great care we at length managed to reach the 

 edge of the trees, and, hidden by some stunted 

 rhododendrons, waited in the snow for the deer to 

 emerge. The ground sloped from us to a little 

 dip, then rose abruptly to a steep knoll, after which 

 it fell steeply to Mirgo. 



At length a hind came quickly forward into the 

 open beyond the dip, and began to nibble a bush. 

 Almost at once she whisked round and dashed back 

 into the wood. She had neither seen nor heard 

 us. It was only an instance of those involuntary 

 and unaccountable actions to which deer are sub- 

 ject; and which all stalkers have had experience at 

 times. I lay low behind our rhododendron, though 

 I could see nothing, as I had made up my mind 

 to give Lao- Wei a free hand. Though very slow, 

 and rather hesitating, I am bound to say he made 

 a most excellent stalk. His splendid eyesight 

 served him well. We crept back into the wood, 

 and crossed the intervening patch which separated 

 us from the dip by making sudden darts across 

 exposed openings. Through a gap in the first I 

 saw the stag, standing with his back to us on the 

 skyline two hundred and fifty yards off. He 



