SECOND DEER WOUNDED. 215 



possible get beyond our game. Intent upon this, we 

 were hurrying along and had almost reached the 

 ground where we expected to find him, when on turn- 

 ing the angle of a rock, we suddenly came upon a fine 

 stag and two younger ones. They were within a long 

 shot, and as they dashed away to our right, Alister 

 fired. The stag dropped to his knees wounded, but 

 immediately recovering himself, tore away at great 

 speed across the moor, followed by his younger com- 

 panions, who were shortly afterwards also joined by 

 my wounded stag. And now we had each a wounded 

 quarry to secure, and the sport increased proportion- 

 ately in interest. 



For several minutes we sat watching the animals as 

 they rapidly increased the distance between us, until 

 at length when almost out of sight they entered the 

 grassy hollow, down which the sparkling course of a 

 small burn was visible ; here their pace sensibly 

 diminished, and presently they had pulled up and were 

 looking back in our direction, occasionally advancing a 

 few steps up the banks of the stream, or standing to 

 refresh themselves in its channel. We watched them 

 thus, till they slowly disappeared behind a grassy 

 knoll, and then once more resumed the chase. 



Following the lead given us by the shepherd, in a 

 quarter of an hour we found ourselves past the most 

 open part of the ground, and standing on the banks of 

 the very burn above mentioned, though at a distance of 

 perhaps half a mile below where we had last seen them. 

 We now therefore began to follow its course upwards ; 

 but a pelting rain coming on, forced us to seek shelter 

 under some of the broken banks whose ruptured and 

 riven sides told of the extent and strength of the 

 waters when in speyet. In this way we were detained 

 for a considerable time ; and at length when the storm 



