These at first dispersed in every direction, extending at
intervals from end to end of a line some three miles in length, and
moving slowly forwards, followed by the hunters. A sharp call from one
bird on the left gathered the rest around him, and in a few moments
the rustling and rushing of an invisible flock through the glades of
the forest apprised us that we had started, though we could not see,
the prey. Ergimo, who kept close beside me, and who had often
witnessed the sport before, kept me informed of what was proceeding
underneath us, of which I could see but little. Glimpses here and
there showed that we were pursuing a numerous flock of large
white-plumed or white-haired creatures, standing at most some four
feet in height; but what they were, even whether birds or quadrupeds,
their movements left me in absolute uncertainty. Worried and
frightened by the falcons, which, however, never ventured to close
upon them, they were gradually driven in the direction intended by the
huntsman towards the open plain, which bordered the forest at a
distance of about six miles to the northward.
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