respond, the bull that had been bugling from the hemlocks emerges on the flat in the opposite direction. The hunters see the walking bull as its massive rack glides to a stop in a clearing under evergreen boughs, 20 yards away. But the bull sees the hunters, too, and before John can snap off the crossbow's safety, it lunges away and pounds down over the rise. A missed opportunity, but there's no time to dwell on it. Donnie sends out another cow call. The bull in the field bugles again, echoed by the bull that spooked, which still sounds to be within 100 yards. MARCH 2020 43