KEMINISCENCES OF A ROSS-SHIRE FOREST. 139 



stead of making into the heart of the forest, he must 

 have run down parallel with the road. 



" He's determined to be killed, sir," said Duncan. 



" Well, we won't disappoint him," I replied ; and 

 killed he was before he was half an hour older. Here 

 we were ten miles from home, with three dead stags 

 disseminated over the forest, and " Billy " yet a mile 

 in front of us, and only two ponies to take home the 

 lot. 



"We must leave Jiim, sir," said Duncan, indicating 

 with a jerk of his head our odoriferous friend a 

 proposal to which I readily assented. 



We then sat down and matured our plans, and 

 eventually, by aid of the dog-cart and the two ponies, 

 reached home about nine P.M., Duncan deserting the 

 family circle to spend Sunday at the lodge. 



" What will the wife say 1" I asked. 



" Oh, she won't mind, sir," he replied. " And the 

 head, sir " here he dropped his voice as if talking of 

 a departed relative "the head, sir, will be off to 

 Inverness early on Monday morning." 



He spent most of the Sunday in the larder. 



That was a long, hard day's work, and both of us 

 were thoroughly tired ; but when we saw our three 

 stags laid out on the grass in front of the larder door 

 in their death they were not divided ; when we 

 saw every one flocking up to the inspection by the 

 light of the midnight oil or tallow, by the way, I 

 think it was ; when we saw the big head turned over 



