FOLLOWING 
THE DEER^ 
crust made silent traveling impos- 
sible, and over the rocks and bare 
places was a sheet of ice covered 
thinly with snow. 
I was out all day, less in hope of 
finding deer than of watching the 
wild things; but at noon, as I sat a 
eating my lunch, I heard a rapid 
running, crunch, crunch, crunch, on 
the ridge above me. I stole up, /iM 
quietly as 1 could, to find the fresh ,^|| 
trails of my three deer. They were 
running from fright, evidently, and 
were getting tired, as the short ir- 
regular jumps showed. Once, 
where the two leaders had -^'^V"!^; 
cleared a fallen log, the third deer ^ 
had fallen heavily ; and all three trails 
145 
WINTER TRAILS 
