In shape they justified Dol's criticism; for they certainly were not
unlike cows of the Alderney breed, save for the widely branching horns.
Of the strength of these antlers the hidden spectators got sudden,
startling proof, as the two largest caribou drew off from the rest, and
charged each other in a real or sham fight, the battle-clang of their
meeting horns sounding far away to the hill-top.
"Them two bulls are having a big time of it. Look at 'em now, with the
small one. That's a stranger in the herd," hummed Herb into the ear of
the boy next to him, his voice so light and even that it might have been
but the murmur of a falling leaf. "It's an all-fired pity that we're
jest too far off for a shot."
The "stranger," which the woodsman's long-range eye had singled out, was
of a smaller size and paler color than the other caribou; and Herb--who
could interpret the forest pantomime far better than he would have
explained the acting of human beings on a stage--told his companions in
whispers and signs that it was in distressed dread of its company.
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