Militant Scrope 427 



Tulichcan never bore upon his green swells a prouder 

 burthen. The antlers rise and sink over its heights ; 

 the hinds and calves pass belling along, whilst we 

 (practising, at least for once in our lives, the virtue 

 of forbearance) feel all the torments that the fabled and 

 thirsty sinner felt as he caught at the flying waters. 



And now the great bulk of the herd had passed over 

 the knows, and were out of sight ; still they came on in 

 numbers ; but ever as they passed the antlers grew 

 scarcer and scarcer. Tortoise pressed the arm of 

 his companion in silence ; at length he removed his 

 hand. 



1 Now then, all is safe ; follow me.' 



He sank out of sight over the hill to the west with 

 rapid foot and bent body, and then came in more 

 southwards, within shot of the tail deer, when both 

 sportsmen knelt down on the heather. As the hinds 

 came on, an anxious look was sent to the rear, in hopes 

 to descry the points of an approaching antler. At length 

 the horns actually did appear, and Lightfoot, all 

 trembling with eagerness, was clapping his rifle to his 

 shoulder, when Tortoise stayed him, gently whispering 

 in his ear, ' A worthless beastie, my good fellow ; let 

 him pass ; remember the four-year-old, the enormous 

 monster the haud credo : this is a twin to him.' But 

 nothing better came on nought but rubbish. So not 

 a shot was fired. 



They now gave the deer a little time to get on, and 

 then peeped through the heather tops at the slope of 

 the green knows. There they saw the vast herd below 

 them, which had kept increasing their forces as they 



