216 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 



had passed off, we rose from our crouching position, 

 stiff, chill, and far from comfortable. Indeed we 

 were ourselves, in spite of the shelter we had sought, 

 well nigh wetted to the skin, and our rifles looked any- 

 thing but dry. However a nip of whiskey imparted a 

 degree of warmth to our shivering bodies, and the caps 

 of the rifles being changed, in case they might have 

 become damp, we started up the burn. 



Each turn in the bank was now rounded most 

 cautiously, and every inch of ground carefully ex- 

 amined ; but nothing was visible, even though we had 

 passed some distance beyond the spot where the deer 

 were last seen. At length however, Hector pointed to 

 an object just visible above the bank, a little to our 

 left front. It was the rump of a feeding deer ; and not 

 more than 150 yards away. 



Instantly we were creeping forward to shorten the dis- 

 tance and obtain a view. The shepherd advanced first, 

 and slowly raising his head, remained in that position 

 fully ten minutes, keeping our nerves during that 

 period in an unpleasant state of tension ; then, lowering 

 his head as slowly as he had raised it, he informed us 

 that there were fourteen deer feeding and two lying 

 down, one within a beautiful shot, but the other almost 

 out of reach, and the rest feeding further away every 

 instant, his head having caught the attention of a young 

 stag and made them restless. These then were the 

 twelve deer composing the herd, out of which Alister 

 had already shot one, joined by the two young procahs 

 and the two wounded stags ; the latter lying down, and 

 the one within shot being that which I had wounded. 

 It was at once therefore agreed that I should first 

 secure mine, and Alister then take a long shot at his 

 as he rose from the heather and exposed a broadside. 

 Slowly and cautiously I raised my rifle, laid it on the 



