THE DEER^ 
served for having delivered the deer 
"from the power of the dog/' only 
to take advantage of their long run 
to secure a head that my skill had 
failed to win. I wondered, with an 
extra twinge in my limp, whether 
I had saved Old Wally by taking the 
chase out of his hands unceremo- 
niously. Above all 1 wondered — 
and here I would gladly follow an- 
other trail over the same ground 
— whether the noble beast, grown 
weary with running, his splendid 
strength failing for the first time, 
and his little, long-tended flock ready 
to give in and have the tragedy over, 
knew just what he was doing in 
mincing along the cliff's edge with 
153 
WINTER TRAILS 
