NATURE AND SPORT IN BRITAIN 



one more grouse to take wing. It flushed almost from 

 under my feet, and fell an easy victim at twenty 

 yards. 



Meanwhile several gun-shots from far down in the 

 valley had informed me that my friends below were also 

 engaged. We followed the pack first flushed back over 

 a rise of the hill, but, finding they had gone on far over 

 the mountain, I reluctantly gave them up. The after- 

 noon was waning, and there was a longish ride home, 

 and we therefore turned our faces for the grassy alluvial 

 spot in the valley where our nags were feeding by the 

 stream-side. Having made a much wider sweep over 

 the mountain, I found that my friends, having finished 

 their shooting, had ridden on. MacManaman and I 

 were not long in mounting our garrons and following 

 them. It was a glorious ride that to the lodge in the 

 soft, mellow, early evening. The westerly hills were 

 throwing long shadows across the valleys as we rode 

 along, and, after twelve miles of climbing and rough 

 walking, the journey homewards, soothed by the re- 

 freshing pipe, was a real pleasure, ill-mounted as we 

 were. Pushing the old horses along, and cantering 

 here and there, where a bit of flat gave us opportunity, 

 we presently neared the lodge as the light waned. 

 The two O'D.'s were just in front. D., my host, 

 had cantered on ahead of them, and had just been 

 in time to hand over some grouse and say good- 

 bye to the ladies of the party, who had driven out to 

 bring further supplies to the lodge and catch some 

 trout. Two of them, who had fished, had been pretty 

 successful, having killed between three and four dozen 

 burn trout in a ramble of a mile or two up the stream. 

 These trout ^were all taken with worm and Stewart 

 tackle. 



After comparing notes we found that the total bag for 



192 



