res now. There is a rush, a fierce, hungry
yelp, a great leap. There is a crash of twigs and limbs. The flitting
figures assume another character; the beautiful deer, wild with fright,
bounding away with gigantic springs. The steady stroke of their hoofs
echoes away through the forest. In the tree-tops there is a great
struggle, and then the sound comes of another series of great leaps
dying off in the distance. The prey has escaped. But not altogether! The
grisly figure is following. The pace had changed to one of fierce
pursuit. It is steady and relentless.

* * * * *

The man in the bunk in the lumbermen's camp half leaps to his feet. His
eyes are staring more wildly, his breathing is more rapid. He appears a
man in a spasm. His comrades force him to his bed again, but find it
necessary to restrain him by sheer strength. They think he has gone mad.
But only his body is with them. He is in the forest. His prey has
escaped him. He is pursuing it.

* * * * *

"It has escaped me! I almost had it by its slender throat when it shook
me off and leaped away. But I will have it yet! I will follow swiftly
till it tires and falters, and then I will tear and feed upon it. The
old wolf never tires! Leap away, you fool, if you will. I am coming,
hungry, never resting. You are mine!"

With the speed of light the deer bounds away in the direction its
fellows have taken. Its undulating leaps are like the flight of a bird.
The snow crackles as its feet strike the frozen earth and flies off in a
white shower. The fallen tree-tops are left behind. Miles are covered.
But ever, in the rear, with almost the speed of the flying deer, sweeps
along the trailing shadow. It is long past midnight. The moon has risen
high, and the bright spots in the forest are more frequent. The deer
crosses these with a rush. A few moments later there is in the same
place the passage of shadow. Still they are far apart. Will they remain
so?

Swiftly between the dark pines again, across frozen streams again,
through valleys and over hills, the relentless chase continues. The
leaps of the fleeing deer become less vaulting, a look of terror in its
liquid eyes has deepened; its tongue projects from its mouth, its wet
flanks heave distressfully, but it flies on in desperation. The distance
between it and the dark shadow behind has lessened plainly. There is no
abatement to the speed of this silent