DEER SEEN ON THE MOVE. 167 



see us pit it in the same gait, and not gie it to a dead 

 beastie, who will no ken whether it be Lowland stuff, or 

 richt Loch Rannoch." ( Then laying his arm upon Tor- 

 toise), " Hist, hist, sir ; some fashous body has disturbit 

 the moor. Look to yon deer ; they are coming owr from 

 the east by the green knows, and ganging on slowly to 

 Crag Urrard. What shall we do ? we maun lie doon on 

 the heather, for we are lockit in, and canna win forrat a 

 fut the noo. The banks of the Banavie are steep, and the 

 pass to Crag Urrard is narrow ; but we are owr far awa 

 to rin intill them at ony gait ; but your Honor gangs wi' 

 lang strides doon the brae, and ye may mak a push for it 

 when they are owr the hill; but ye maun gang your best." 



" They are going slowly, Peter, and I do not altogether 

 despair : it is a long run, but we have no other chance at 

 any rate. The worst of it is, that this long heather, which 

 appears so even, is full of large grey stones, that lie hid in 

 it on purpose to break honest hill-men's legs, and yours are 

 all arred with the fire-flaught, you know, Peter. But we 

 will not heed a sprained ancle or broken leg or two in 

 such a cause, though the chance be a wild one." 



Tortoise now began to measure with his eye the long 

 distance to the pass, which seemed to be about a mile and 

 a half, and then to consider how long the deer would pro- 

 bably be in crossing, after they had sunk down the hill 

 out of sight of the stalkers; it would be a race against 

 time, and his calculation was an unfavourable one. 



In the midst of this anxiety they had not observed that 

 the weather was again brewing up in the south ; and the 

 rain began to fall thick and heavy ; they now judged that 

 the deer had not been disturbed by any traveller, but were 



M 4 



