110 DEER-STALKING. CH. XXVI. 



sure not to be far off. When he came near the 

 "Devil's Stone" he checked the dog, and came to 

 a determined halt, hesitating whether to continue 

 tracking the stag, or to wait for my appearance and 

 assistance ; he took a long look too at the country 

 far beyond where the animal really was. It was 

 amusing to see the old fellow, as he sat within eighty 

 yards of me, perfectly unconscious that the stag was 

 so near him, and that I was still nearer. The whole 

 thing, too, showed the great necessity of always 

 having a good tracking dog out when deer-stalking; 

 for here was a mortally-struck stag lying concealed, 

 where a dozen men might have passed within a few 

 yards without seeing him. I thought it time to 

 finish the business, and gave a low whistle to warn 

 Donald of my neighbourhood before I stirred, as I 

 thought it not at all unlikely that he would fire 

 blindly at the first moving thing he saw amongst 

 the rocks in his present excited state. He started 

 and stared round him. I saw that the deer only 

 crouched the lower, and would not move; so, whist- 

 ling again, I stood up. " The Lord keep us, sir, but 

 you flegged me just awful ! " said Donald. " But did 

 your Honour see a stag come this way ? " I told him 

 that I had, and that he had passed on ; but I did 

 not say how far he had gone. The old man was 

 annoyed in no slight degree at the information ; and 



