At the foot it branched; and the question arose whether to follow the fork that zig-zagged up among the thickets or that which seemed to plunge into the recesses beneath.

I had never been in this wood before--the time was selected because it was probable that the keeper would be extremely occupied with his pheasant chicks.

Though the earth was so hard in the exposed rick-yard, here the clayey ground was still moist under the shadow of the leaves.

Examining the path more closely, I easily distinguished the impression of the keeper's boot: the iron toe-plate has left an almost perfect impression, and there were the deep grooves formed by the claws of his dog as it had scrambled up the declivity and the pad slipped on the clay.
As he had taken the upward path, no doubt it led direct to the pheasants, which was sure to be on the hill itself, or a dry and healthy slope.

I therefore took the other trail, since I must otherwise have overtaken him; for he would stay long among his chicks: just as an old-fashioned farmer lingers at a gate, gazing on his sheep.