LISTENING FOR DEER. 207 



royal head, and roaring like a bull as he quickly ascended a 

 steep open hill-face before disappearing over the ridge above 

 it. After a hastily despatched meal we started to look up 

 his domain, our blankets and supper being taken with us, as 

 we purposed spending the night on the hill. 



A stag, which we thought might perhaps be our friend of 

 the morning, again " tuned his pipes " in the evening, as he 

 moved up through the forest towards the open ridge above 

 it. At length he made his appearance, but only when it 

 had grown so dark that we were unable to recognise the 

 shape of his horns as he stood bellowing there within what, 

 in daylight, would have been easy range. As we saw noth- 

 ing more of the beast after my random shot at him in the 

 dim uncertain light, I scored what I might only have ex- 

 pected a miss ! Several distant stags began roaring in 

 different directions as we sadly took our way to where we 

 intended passing the night under shelter of a pine-tree ; so 

 I consoled myself with the knowledge that, like the fishes 

 in the sea, there were still as good deer in the forest as 

 ever came out of it. 



Feeling pretty certain that in the morning we should find 

 one of these noisy fellows out on some open hill-top in our 

 neighbourhood, we were afoot very early. Fresh tracks were 

 numerous, but not a stag did we see, nor did a bellow break 

 the silence of the forest. After our morning meal we went 

 out again and followed up, for some distance, the track of 

 the stag I had shot at on the previous evening, but finding 

 no blood on it confirmed my idea that I had correctly scored 

 a miss. The prospect of sport on this ground seemed so 

 good that we determined to remain where we were for a 

 day or two longer. 



That afternoon we tried the hill-tops that overlook the 

 Cashmere valley. Towards evening we took up a position 

 behind a green knowe, whence we could watch a tolerable 

 extent of open ground, and listen for deer in the forest 

 which bordered it. It had also the advantage of com- 





