To go this way and that in search for game, a lost scent, etc., originally a hunting locution. Cf. 60.

Hunting. intransitive. Of dogs (or huntsmen): To spread out and search in different directions for a lost scent. Cf. to cast about at phrasal verbs.

intransitive and transitive. To search a place in order to find something, esp. game, or its scent. colloquial.