A HART DISCOVERED. 55 



have met on this side of the Tay seems to be perfectly 

 wild about. Why, what a primitive country is this ; are 

 there any buffaloes here ? " 



" Not exactly." 



" Nor wolves ? " 



f( Not at present ; but sit you down quietly where you 

 are, whilst we look for the deer: you may amuse your- 

 self by eating the provender you put in your pocket at 

 starting." 



" No bad hint that ; will you have a little ? You 

 won r t ; oh, very well." 



Tortoise and Peter Fraser now laid down their rifles on 

 the heather, put their caps in their pockets, and crept 

 forward on their hands and knees to a large granite block; 

 then, cautiously peering over its summit, they began to 

 examine the ground with their telescopes steadily poised 

 upon it. " Well, Peter, I can see nothing but those 

 eternal hinds on the Mealowr, and not a good hart amongst 

 them : the ground is quite bare ; so jump up, and let us get 

 round the east of the Elrich, and see if there is any thing 

 in the corrie. Maclaren, what are you glowring at?" 



" Why, as sure as deid, I had a blink of a hart lying in 

 the bog by the burn under the Mealowr. But my 

 prospect* is foul; he is lying beyond that great black 

 place in the bog, joost in a line wi' thae hinds wha are on 

 the scalp of the hill aboon." 



" And a noble fellow he is, Maclaren ; I can just see 

 his horns and the point of his shoulders. It is a glorious 

 chance ; for once in the burn, we can get within a hundred 

 yards of him, and that is near enough in all conscience. 



* So the hill men call a telescope. 



K 4 



