THE SURPRISES OF THE HILL 27 



sessed himself of the rifle and " boollets," old 

 Campbell of the luncheon bag and strap- 

 slung cape, the lady of her stick, and off they 

 went. 



It was an easy ascent, up an old bridle- 

 path, the lower part of which is one of those 

 historic roads made by General Wade, which 

 are to be found in so many parts of the High- 

 lands. Various spy ings on the way up, but 

 there was nothing to matter, and in about 

 forty minutes they reached the top of a table- 

 land, forming a large basin of ground, the 

 heights above battlemented with black rocks, 

 while straight ahead was one of the wildest, 

 fiercest corries in the forest. No use now to 

 ask Dewar if he had seen any deer. Eye and 

 glass found them in every direction. The 

 ground was thick with them ; hinds on a 

 stony rise to the right, but otherwise stags, all 

 along below the ridge of the basin, under the 

 black face of the hill. There were seven or 

 eight on the skyline a bit more to the left, and 

 the trio crept in and out of peat hags, up and 

 down the knollies to get a nearer view. 



