THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
After proceeding for another three hours, during which the most likely - 
looking parts of the valley were carefully surveyed without success, we 
reached the end of the main valley and left the two Eliases to build a camp 
on the Grondals’ side of the watershed fifteen miles from the farm. My 
hunter and I then crossed the range, and passing through the desolate 
valley covered with short scrub that surrounds Lake Nesau, ascended a 
small elevation that formed a perfect spying -ground in the centre of the 
great punch -bowl. One of the pits which the bull elk makes at this season 
now caught my eye. It was quite fresh, having doubtless been made the 
day previous; but no trace of the beast himself could we see. I was so 
crippled, too, with a bruised heel that I had intended leaving the inspec- 
tion of the far end of the lake until the following day, but the temptation 
to go on was now too strong for me. I must at least do as much as possible 
in the hour and a half of daylight that remained; and since elk, when 
numerous, commonly make a pathway alongside of the nearest water in 
their journeyings to and fro, I sent Kristian down to the lake to see if 
any had been there. 
Presently he returned with the joyful news that there was a track like 
that in a cattle pen, and much fresh sign of at least one or two big bulls; 
so up I got and hobbled after him as well as I could for another half-mile, 
when, fortunately, a suitable spot to spy from presented itself. We could 
now see the main features of the ground right down to the end of the lake, 
a series of broken ridges with broad gullies (the result of some glacial 
moraine) cutting in, and here and there cross buttresses sparsely clothed 
with stunted birch, where nothing so big as an elk could escape our 
vision, unless hidden behind one or other of these ridges. 
Since the finding of this elk-pit Bismark’s interest in the proceedings 
had constantly increased, and now he was much excited and so keen 
to draw on that we must needs yield to his wish. And lucky for us that we 
did. Presently he plunged his nose into a perfectly fresh track, along which, 
as we could plainly see, an elk had passed only a few minutes before. I 
now climbed a mound, and, taking a good spy in front, found (as so often 
happens when one is looking for game at long distances) that the quarry 
was quite near at hand. While shutting up my glasses and preparing to 
descend, I saw a cow elk walk quietly out upon one of the buttresses not 
400 yards away. 
All was now animation. Not a moment to be lost in preparing for action, 
for the bull was certain to be close by and must be attacked at once, or 
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