198 DAYS OF DEER-STALKING. 



time was lost in cording it on the horse, and off he went 

 homewards as fast as he could ; but the horse, although a 

 good Highland garron, had such difficulty in carrying his 

 heavy burthen, that they were obliged to rest at Glenbruar, 

 and it was dusk before they reached the castle of Blair. 



Breck's arrival made no small sensation; the Duke 

 hastened out to see what he had brought home ; and being 

 surprised at the great size of the animal, which was brought 

 to the portal of the castle, asked where he had the good 

 fortune to kill it. " Not on your Grace's grounds," was the 

 reply, "Where then-?" inquired the Duke. "On the 

 Inverness-shire hills," replied Breck : " I have had this 

 hart in my eye for years, and have seen him frequently, 

 but never in the company of any other deer." On being 

 weighed, he was found to be nineteen stone, Dutch weight, 

 without the gralloch. 



Breck got the reward, somewhat to the mortification of 

 Moon and of Crerer, who were better men. The truth, 

 however, soon broke out, and his competitors lost no time 

 in reporting to the Duke that Breck had stolen the Gaig 

 pet. His Grace sent for him, and demanded if it were true 

 that he had stolen it. Breck denied the theft lustily ; he 

 'couldna say ' but that it was the Gaig pet, but declared that 

 he had got it from the shepherds for a Scotch pint of 

 whiskey, which is about two quarts. The Duke expressing 

 his surprise that they should part with it for such a trifle, 

 Breck explained to his Grace, that the shepherds were aware 

 that he (Breck) knew that they had got the stag, when a 

 fawn in the Atholl forest ; as well as that they frequently 

 poached both deer and moor-fowl there ; so that, under 

 these considerations, they gave up the pet for the Scotch 

 pint. Peter, however, had still to reckon with the 

 shepherds ; but he held their attack lightly, and told them, 

 that they were repaid tenfold by their depredations on the 

 Atholl forest, thanked them for the care they had taken of 

 his fawn, and advised them never to steal an honest man's 

 whiskey again, taking advantage of his being asleep. 



In the year 1773, two poachers set forth from the 

 Braemar country in quest of deer ; the weather had been 

 lowering for some time, and when they arrived at Tarff 



