WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



The hillock was not two feet high, and all depended on the 

 animals keeping together and not outflanking me. 



On I went, not on my hands and knees, but crawling 

 like a snake, and never rising even to my knee. I could see 

 their hind-quarters as they walked away, feeding, however, 

 most eagerly, and when they looked up I lay still flatter 

 on the ground with my face buried in the heather. They 

 appeared, however, not to suspect danger in theopen plain, 

 but often looked anxiously towards the burn or the rocky 

 side of the mountain. One old long-legged hind kept me in 

 a constant state of alarm, as she frequently looked in my 

 direction, turning her ears as if to catch some suspicious 

 sound. As for the stag, he never looked about him once, 

 leaving that to the hinds. I at last got within about a hun- 

 dred yards of the whole of them: as they fed in a group 

 turned away from me, I could not get a shot at anything 

 but their hind-quarters, and I did not wish to shoot unless 

 I could set a fair broadside towards me. While waitins: for 

 an opportunity,still flat on the ground, a grousecock walked 

 out of the heather close to me, and strutted on with head 

 erect and his bright eye fixed on me till he came to a little 

 hillock,wherehe stopped andbegan toutter a noteofalarm. 

 Instantly every deer left off eating. I saw that no time was 

 to be lost and raised myself on my elbow, and with cocked 

 rifle waited for the hinds to move, that I might get at the 

 stag, who was in the midst of them. The hinds soon saw 

 me and began to trot away, but their leader seemed deter- 

 mined to see what the danger was, and before he started 

 turned round to look towards the spotwherethegrousewas, 

 giving me a good slanting shot at his shoulder. I immed- 



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