head from behind, as if some one had struck 



. . 217 



me with a thorny stick. I turned quickly, sur- 

 prised and a good bit startled ; for I thought "Kqokooskoos 



myself utterly alone in the woods — and I 

 was. There was nobody there. Not a sound, 

 not a motion broke the twilight stillness. 

 Something trickled on my neck; I put up 

 my hand, to find my hair already wet with 

 blood. More startled than ever, I sprang 

 through the thicket, looking, listening every- 

 where for sight or sound of my enemy. Still 

 no creature bigger than a wood mouse ; no 

 movement save that of nodding fir tips; no 

 sound but the thumping of my own heart 

 and, far behind me, a sudden rush and a 

 bump or two as the frightened deer broke 

 away ; then perfect stillness again, as if noth- 

 ing had ever lived in the thickets. 



I was little more than a boy; and I went 

 home more puzzled and more frightened 

 than I have ever been, before or since, in the 

 woods. I ran into the doctor's office on my 

 way. He looked at me queerly when I told 

 my story. Of course he did not believe me, 

 and I made no effort to persuade him. 



