FIND DEER. 221 



of the burn, I saw such traces as convinced me they had been 

 feeding there within a few hours ; so arranging my plaid and 

 rifle I walked stealthily and slowly onwards, expecting to see 

 them every moment. The nature of the ground was such 

 that I might come on them quite unperceived ; the dog, too, 

 showed symptoms of scenting something, putting his nose to 

 the tracks and then looking wistfully in my face, watching 

 every movement of my rifle. The inquiring expression of his 

 face was perfect : whenever I stopped to look over or around 

 some projecting angle of rock, he kept his eyes fixed on my 

 face, as if to read in it whether my search was successful or 

 not. A deer-stalker in the situation I was in would make a 

 good subject for a painter. I wound my way silently and 

 slowly through the broken rock and stone which formed the 

 bed of the burn, showing in their piled up confusion that the 

 water must at some times rage and rush with the fury and 

 power of an Alpine torrent, though now it danced merrily 

 along, rippling through the stones and forming tiny pools 

 here and there, where it had not strength enough to break 

 through the accumulated sand and gravel which dammed up 

 its feeble stream. Dressed in grey, and surrounded with 

 grey stone on every side, I was as little conspicuous as it was 

 possible to be, and there was just enough ripple in the 

 stream and its thousand miniature cascades to drown the 

 sound of my footsteps, whenever I inadvertently put my foot 

 on any stone that grated or slipped below me. The only 

 thing that annoyed me was an occasional sheep that would 

 see me from the bank above, and by running off in a startled 

 manner was likely to warn the deer, if there were any ahead 

 of me, of the vicinity of an enemy. I had continued this 

 course for some distance, when just as I began to propose to 

 myself turning off in order to cross the valley to look over 

 the next height, and had made up my mind that the deer 

 whose recent traces I had seen must have slipped away un- 

 observed, just then, on turning a corner, I caught a momen- 

 tary glimpse of the hind- quarters of one of the wished-for 

 animals walking slowly round a turn in the burn. I stopped, 

 fearing they had seen or heard me, and I expected to see 

 them leap out of the hollow and make away across the 

 valley ; but not seeing this happen, I walked carefully on, 

 and came in view of nine deer, hinds and calves, who were 

 feeding quietly on a little piece of table-land close to the 

 burn. I also saw the long ears of another appearing beyond 

 15 



