THE LIGHT 87 



their own eyes, they are quick to perceive 

 danger through the conduct of other 

 animals. If sheep in their neighbourhood 

 are disturbed, the deer know that man is 

 near, and are alert, probably bolting, in a 

 moment. They are quick of hearing, too. 

 If one may judge from the silence which 

 the stalker imposes even when far off, a 

 man's footfall a mile away may be as 

 audible to them as it would be to an 

 Australasian Black listening with his ear 

 to the ground. Above all, they have a 

 sense of smell extraordinarily acute. If 

 you are to stalk a stag successfully, you 

 must from the very start, which may be 

 three miles out of range, keep to lee of 

 him, which, as the air takes strange 

 turns among the mountains, is no easy 

 matter. A blunder on the part of the 

 sportsman will enable the stag to scent 

 danger at an incredible distance ; and 

 then, in a double sense, the game is up. 



Similarly, grouse not only see quickly : 

 evidently they have sharp ears as well. 

 Excepting on the few moorlands that are 



