THE MUCKLE HART OF BENMORE. 249 



assurance that the hart was still in the district, and describ- 

 ing his track, which he said was like that of a good sized 

 heifer. Our spirits were quite restored by a meal of fresh 

 caught trout, oat-cake, and milk, with a modicum of whiskey, 

 which certainly was of unusual flavor and potency. 



" Tuesday. We were off again by daybreak. I will pass 

 by several minor adventures, but one cannot be omitted. 

 Malcolm went with us to show us where he had last seen the 

 track. As we crossed a long reach of black and broken 

 ground, the first ascent from the valley, two eagles rose out 

 of a hollow at some ^distance. Their flight was lazy and 

 heavy, as if gorged with food ; and on examining the place, we 

 found the carcass of a sheep half eaten, one of Malcolm's 

 flock. He vowed vengeance ; and merely pointed out to us 

 our route, returned for a spade to dig a place of hiding near 

 enough to the carcass to enable him to have a shot at the 

 eagles if they should return. We held on our way, and the 

 greater part of the day, without any luck to cheer us, my 

 resolution 'not to be beat,' being, however, a good deal 

 strengthened by the occasional grumbling of Donald. To- 

 wards the afternoon, when we had tired ourselves with look- 

 ing with our glasses at every corrie in that side of the hill, 

 at length, in crossing a bare and boggy piece of ground, Do- 

 nald suddenly stopped, with a Gaelic exclamation, and pointed 

 and there, to be sure, was a full fresh foot-print, the largest 

 mark of a deer either of us had ever seen. There was no 

 more grumbling. Both of us were instantly as much on the 

 alert as when we started on the adventure. We traced the 

 track as long as the ground would allow. Where we lost it, 

 seemed to point down the little burn, which soon lost itself 

 to our view in a gorge of bare rocks. We proceeded now 

 very cautiously, and taking up our station on a concealed 

 ledge of rocks, began to search the valley below with our 

 telescopes. It was difficult ground to see a deer in, if lying ; 

 and I had almost given up seeking, when Donald's glass be- 



