WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



cause of his alarm ; it was not myself; the light wind blew 

 fair down from him upon me; and I knew Donald would 

 give him no inklingof hiswhereabouts. He presently began 

 to move, and came at a slow trot directly towards me. My 

 pulse beat high. Another hundred yards forward and he 

 is mine! But it was not so to be. He took the top of a steep 

 bank which commanded my position, saw me in an instant, 

 and was off, at the speed of twenty miles an hour, to a pass 

 wide from that where Donald was hid. While clattering up 

 the hill, scattering the loose stones behind him, two other 

 stags joined him, who had evidently been put up by Don- 

 ald, and had given the alarm to my quarry. It was then 

 that his great size was conspicuous. I could see with my 

 glass they were full-grown stags, and with good heads, but 

 they looked like fallow-deer as they followed him up the 

 crag. I sat down, disappointed for the moment, and Don- 

 ald soon joined me, much crestfallen, and cursing the stag 

 in a curious variety of Gaelic oaths. Still it was something 

 to have seen "the muckle stag," and nil desperandum was 

 my motto. We had a long and weary walk to Malcolm's 

 shealing; and I was glad to get to my heather bed, after 

 arranging that I should occupy the hiding-place Malcolm 

 had prepared near the dead sheep next morning. 



Wednesday. — We were up an hour before daylight; and 

 in a very dark morning I sallied out with Malcolm to take 

 my station for a shot at the eagles. Many a stumble and 

 slip I made during our walk, but at last I was left alone 

 fairly ensconced in the hiding-place, which gave me hardly 

 room to stand, sit, or lie. My position was not very com- 

 fortable, and the air was nipping cold just before the break 



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