THE DEER^ 
to the woods of happy memories to 
see how my deer were faring. 
The wonder of the snow was gone ; 
there was left only its cold bitterness 
and a vague sense that it ought no 
longer to cumber the ground, but 
would better go away as soon as 
possible and spare the Wood Folk any 
more suffering. The litter of a score 
of storms covered its soiled rough 
surface ; every shred of bark had left 
its dark stain where the decaying sap 
had melted and spread in the midday 
sun. The hard crust, which made 
such excellent running for my snow- 
shoes, seemed bitterly cruel when I 
thought of the starving wild things 
and of the abundance of food on the 
165 
Snow 
Bound 
