222 DAYS OF DEER-STALKING. 



war thinkin to pit yer ball intill him ; perhaps Mr. Lightfoot 

 would like to hear something anent it ?" 



" No, no, Maclaren, I know he would not ; letby-ganes be 

 by-ganes. So now tell me, what is your advice ?" 



" Why, I wud ha' ye advised to gang round to the east, 

 and to leave me at the f ut o' the hill ; ye can win to the tap 

 in ten minutes, and when ye are there, I can pit ower the 

 deer. But ye mun be canny, and ye mun aye throw out 

 wee bits of tow, for the wind is unco kittle among the 

 rocks ; ye'll bear in mind the muckle hart him that ran 

 awa sae brawly frae ye, without skaith, when yer honour 

 thoucht to hae takkin his gralloch, and said something 

 anent his tallow, and white puddins, and the fat on his 

 haunches." 



" You advise well, Maclaren, and your discourse is voluble ;. 

 sweet T may not say, since the latter part of it falls some- 

 what unseemly on my ear. Now look at your watch, give 

 us a quarter of an hour ; start the .deer to the moment, as 

 quietly as possible, they will be ready enough to come, 

 without compulsion." 



" So here is another of your boggy steeps, antiseptic no 

 doubt ; but I will not be buried in them to try their pro- 

 perties : I shall get up capitally." 



" Not if you proceed in that manner, I assure you. This 

 hill is too steep to walk heel and toe ; your style is not 

 mechanical: see what a lever you are making use of; just 

 stick the side of one foot horizontally against the hill, and 

 bring up your other underneath it, keeping the same foot 

 always uppermost as I do : see now how compact you go 

 without labour, almost without exertion, and certainly 

 without the aid of your hands, which you were using 

 before." 



" Capital ! so I do. Can you also give me any receipt for 

 running ?" 



" Only, as I said before, to go as compact as possible ; all 

 swinging of the arms, and kicking of the legs behind, is so 

 much unnecessary motion, which impedes your progress,, 

 worries the whole body, and distresses your wind. But a 

 truce to conversation, however agreeable to me : we must 

 now proceed in silence." 



