Elk had been along the brook that morning.

There were many tracks, like cow tracks, only smaller, deeper, and more oval; and there were beds where elk had lain, and torn-up places where bulls had plowed and stamped with heavy hoofs.
Fox trailed the herd to higher ground, where evidently they had entered the woods.

Here Wade tied his horses, and, whispering to Fox, he proceeded stealthily through this strip of spruce.

He came out to an open point, taking care, however, to keep well screened, from which he had a glimpse of a parklike hollow, grassy and watered.

Working round to better vantage, he soon espied what had made Fox stand so stiff and bristling.