o get as far as possible from so
dangerous a neighbourhood. At first his fear grew with his flight, so
that his great, soft eyes stared wildly and his nostrils dilated as he
went bounding over all obstacles. Then little by little the triumphant
exercise of his powers, and a realization of how far his speed
surpassed that of his pursuer, reassured him somewhat. He decided to
rest, and find out what his foe was doing. He doubled back parallel
with his own trail for about fifty yards, then lay down in a thicket
to watch the enemy go by.

In an incredibly short time he did go by, at that long, steady swing
which ate up the distance so amazingly. As soon as he was well past,
the buck sprang up and was off again at full speed, his heart once
more thumping with terror.

This time, however, instead of running straight ahead, he made a wide,
sweeping curve, tending back toward the river and the lakes. As
before, only somewhat sooner, his alarm subsided and his confidence,
along with his curiosity, returned. He repeated his former manoeuvre
of doubling back a little way upon his trail, then again lay down to
wait for the passing of his foe.

When the hunter came to that first abrupt turn of the trail he
realized that it was a cunning and experienced buck with which he had
to deal. He smiled confidently, however, feeling sure of his own
skill, and ran at full speed to the point where the animal had lain
down to watch him pass. From this point he followed the trail just far
enough to catch its curve. Then he left it and ran in a straight line
shrewdly calculated to form the chord to his quarry's section of a
circle. His plan was to intercept and pick up the trail again about
three quarters of a mile further on. In nine cases out of ten his
calculation would have worked out as he wished; but in this case he
had not made allowance for this particular buck's individuality. While
he imagined his quarry to be yet far ahead, he ran past a leafy clump
of mingled Indian pear and thick spruce seedlings. Half a minute later
he heard a crash of underbrush behind him. As he turned he caught a
tantalizing glimpse of tawny haunches vanishing through the green, and
he knew that once again he had been outplayed.

This time the wise buck was distinctly more terrified than before. The
appearance of his enemy at this unexpected point, so speedily, and not
upon the trail, struck a panic to his heart. Plainly, this was no
common foe, to be evaded