From the very edge of camp, until he returned, he was on the alert for
game, and the one obvious element of his mental attitude was that he
suspected game everywhere. He saw a hundred objects that looked like
deer, to every live animal in reality. He took it for granted that ten
deer see you where you see one--so see it first! On the trail, it was a
crime to speak. His warning note was a soft, low whistle or a hiss. As
he walked, he placed every footfall with precise care; the most
stealthy step I ever saw; he was used to it; lived by it. For every
step he looked twice. When going over a rise of ground he either
stooped, crawled or let just his eyes go over the top, then stopped and
gazed a long time for the slightest moving twig or spot of color. Of
course, he always hunted up wind, unless he were cutting across country
or intended to flush game.
game, and the one obvious element of his mental attitude was that he
suspected game everywhere. He saw a hundred objects that looked like
deer, to every live animal in reality. He took it for granted that ten
deer see you where you see one--so see it first! On the trail, it was a
crime to speak. His warning note was a soft, low whistle or a hiss. As
he walked, he placed every footfall with precise care; the most
stealthy step I ever saw; he was used to it; lived by it. For every
step he looked twice. When going over a rise of ground he either
stooped, crawled or let just his eyes go over the top, then stopped and
gazed a long time for the slightest moving twig or spot of color. Of
course, he always hunted up wind, unless he were cutting across country
or intended to flush game.
