at was said.

As the game-keeper was leading him through the thickets, Karr knew only
too well what was in store for him. But this no one could have guessed
by his behaviour, for he neither hung his head nor dragged his tail, but
seemed as unconcerned as ever.

It was because they were in the forest that the dog was so careful not
to appear the least bit anxious.

There were great stretches of woodland on every side of the factory, and
this forest was famed both among animals and human beings because for
many, many years the owners had been so careful of it that they had
begrudged themselves even the trees needed for firewood. Nor had they
had the heart to thin or train them. The trees had been allowed to grow
as they pleased. Naturally a forest thus protected was a beloved refuge
for wild animals, which were to be found there in great numbers. Among
themselves they called it Liberty Forest, and regarded it as the best
retreat in the whole country.

As the dog was being led through the woods he thought of what a bugaboo
he had been to all the small animals and birds that lived there.

"Now, Karr, wouldn't they be happy in their lairs if they only knew what
was awaiting you?" he thought, but at the same time he wagged his tail
and barked cheerfully, so that no one should think that he was worried
or depressed.

"What fun would there have been in living had I not hunted
occasionally?" he reasoned. "Let him who will, regret; it's not going to
be Karr!"

But the instant the dog said this, a singular change came over him. He
stretched his neck as though he had a mind to howl. He no longer trotted
alongside the game-keeper, but walked behind him. It was plain that he
had begun to think of something unpleasant.

It was early summer; the elk cows had just given birth to their young,
and, the night before, the dog had succeeded in parting from its mother
an elk calf not more than five days old, and had driven it down into the
marsh. There he had chased it back and forth over the knolls--not with
the idea of capturing it, but merely for the sport of seeing how he
could scare it. The elk cow knew that the marsh was bottomless so soon
after the thaw, and that it could not as yet hold up so large an animal
as herself, so she stood on the solid earth for the longest time,
watching! But when Karr kept chasing the calf farther and farther away,
she rushed out on the marsh, drove the dog off, took the calf with her,
and turned