WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



and, going up to the deer, examine him all over, as if to 

 satisfy himself that there was no life remaining. We exam- 

 ined the dogs' limbs to see that there was no serious strain 

 or cut, and then, after rubbing the dirt and blood off their 

 skins.set to work to open the deer,and dispose of the body, 

 ready to be carried off the next day.This done, we sat down, 

 talked over the run, and consulted as to our proceedings 

 for the rest of the day; and as it was still early, we agreed 

 to try some more ground, in the contrary direction to that 

 in which the hinds had gone, and, if kept out late, to sleep 

 at a shepherd's house some distance up in the hills. 



We searched many a corrie and glen in vain, till towards 

 evening, Donald, who had been examining the rushy 

 ground that fringed the sides of a considerable mountain 

 stream, in hopes of seeing some deer at feed, suddenly shut 

 up the telescope, and as he deliberately wiped the glasses, 

 and placed it in its case, said, without looking up, " I'm see- 

 incr a fine stag down yonder,Sir. " Then having taken a long 

 pinch ofsnuff,added,"He is just the beast that the shepherd 

 up there was telling me of lastSabbath" — Sunday being the 

 day on which Donald invariably heard all the hill news. 



The evening was coming on, so having no time to lose, 

 and a considerable retrograde movement to make before 

 we could approach the stag with any hope of success, off 

 we set at once, and we had a quick and difficult march of it 

 for nearly half an hour before we got into the burn, up the 

 course of which we proposed to keep, as it led straight to 

 the deer. The banks, however, were not so high as those 

 of the former stream, and the water ran over loose round 

 stones, which made our task much more difficult. 



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