WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



light and keen frost — a change that rejoiced me in spite of 

 the cold. 



Saturday. — Need I say my first object was to go down 

 and examine the track anew. There was nomistake. It was 

 impossible to doubt that "the mucklehartof Benmore"had 

 actually walked through that burn a few hours before me, 

 and in the same direction. I followed the track, and breast- 

 ed the opposite hill. Looking round from its summit, it ap- 

 peared tome afamiliar scene, and on consideringamoment, 

 I found I overlooked from a different quarter the very same 

 rocky plain and the two black lochs where I had seen my 

 chace three days before. I had not gazed many minutes when 

 I saw a deer lying on a black hillock which was quite open. 

 I laydown immediately.and withmyglass made out at once 

 the object of all my wanderings. My joy was somewhat a- 

 bated by his position, which was not easily approachable. 

 My first object, however, was to withdraw myself out of his 

 sight, which I did by crawling backwards down a little bank 

 till only the tops of his horns were visible, and they served 

 to show me that he continued still. As he lay looking to- 

 wards me, he commanded with his eye three-fourths of the 

 circle, and the other quarter, where one might have got in 

 upon him under cover of the little hillock, was unsafe from 

 the wind blowingin that direction. A burn ran between him 

 and me, one turn of which seemed to come within two hun- 

 dred yards of him. It was my only chance; so, retreating a- 

 bout half a mile, I got into the burn in hidden ground, and 

 then crept up its channel with such caution that I never al- 

 lowed myselfa sight of more than the tips ofhis horns, till I 

 had reached the nearest bend to him. There, looking through 



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