IN TEE PAUGUS WOODS. 
255 
hesitation he took the back track and was soon 
almost out of earshot on a hot scent. Not long 
after, my friend left the house and, crossing 
Swift Kiver by the railway bridge, followed the 
rails northward through the forest. Soon he 
heard the hound baying to the eastward, down 
river. Then a snapping of branches and crunch¬ 
ing of crust came to his ears, and a moment 
later a deer broke through the bushes, dashed 
up the embankment, and, turning at right an¬ 
gles, came in weary leaps towards him. My 
friend stood perfectly still, too much astonished 
to move. The deer came to within twelve paces 
of him, then saw him, and with a bound left 
the track and plunged into the woods on the 
western side. A few moments later the hunters 
came up and my friend demanded what they 
were doing, and whether the hound was their 
dog, in so severe a tone that the poachers de¬ 
nied their interest in the dog and made off into 
the woods. Meanwhile, I wandered southward 
through the spruces, now hearing the hound, 
now losing his melancholy baying. No small 
birds were to be seen or heard. They had van¬ 
ished to their night abiding-places. Two grouse 
rose noisily and went into the tops of the trees. 
Red squirrels continued to bustle about until 
after dusk. As light faded in the sky, the for¬ 
est grew very dark, and fallen trees, stumps, 
