THE STAG SLACKENS HIS PACE 201

never paused when he came to the gulch, but went sailing down it and over a fallen tree which lay right in this way, In making the jump he must have come down hard on the injured leg and the bone gave way completely. Knowing that my stag had a broken leg and that he would be bound to lie down at the first good hiding-place he came to after he recovered from his first panic, I pro- ceeded to track him with much greater confidence of eventual success. I had, however, to use more caution, as a wounded beast is far more wary than one un- wounded, and this necessitated my slackening my pace. Up to this time the line the deer was taking was such that another mile or two would lead me past my camp, but two or three miles to one side of it; then, if the same direction was adhered to, I should travel down over foot- hills of the range into the river bottom, which was over a mile in width and heavily timbered with all sorts of trees and brush. It was, however, by no means likely that the stag would continue so far without a rest, but that he would keep going for quite a long way was equally likely, as the country for some distance ahead was all open and park-like, with but few suitable places for him to stop. Taking my time I kept poking along the trail, watching well ahead and pausing for a minute or two at the top of every rise to scan the opposite slope. Two or three times the stag slowed down to a trot and once to a walk, but a good mile was passed before he really eased up and began to do much walking. After that his tracks showed that he had made several stops and had turned around to watch and listen for the enemy he guessed might be somewhere behind him. It was not long after he had slackened his speed that he began to ascend a steepish hill, at the top of which I knew there was a rough rocky ridge with a lot of uprooted trees on it and a very suitable place for him to hide. It therefore behoved me to use the greatest caution. So about half-way up the hill, before I was in sight of the top, I left the trail and branched off at right angles for a couple of hundred yards. Then I turned back, climbed over the top until I was just on