Comment: The deer had heard him for some time and mayhave, also, gathered his scent; the deer was alerted and on thewatch and saw John the instant his red cap showed aroundthe bend.
The hunter's actions, in this instance, cannot be criticized.His purpose was to reach the orchard in a favorable positionwhich job he was correctly doing. Under the conditions, therewas nothing else he could have done. That a deer saw him firstand ran was merely incidental.
He eased up to where he had seen the deer and saw wherethe leaves were disturbed. He followed the direction the deerhad taken and saw tracks fifteen feet away which were bunchedtogether. Twenty feet beyond these tracks was another dis-turbance in the leaves; he examined the place and found thetracks bunched again. He knew the deer was frightened andon the run; there was no use to follow these tracks now. Hedidn't know whether it was a buck or a doe anyway.
