THE PULNEY STAG. 259 



only killed one whose head I thought worthy of bringing to 

 England. I saw him feeding on a hill side a long way off; 

 when I got about the third of the way down, keeping well 

 out of sight under the spurs of the mountain ; to my intense 

 disgust I heard a sambur belling to my right and saw a hind 

 bolting away over the hill, where she stood and belled several 

 times. I shook my fist at her and abused her, not loudly but 

 deeply, making certain she would alarm the stag as he was 

 quite within earshot. However, she moved away and I stole 

 down the hill. It was very noisy work, getting through the 

 dry fern and leafy scrub, but fortunately on the hill side, 

 where I had seen the stag: there was but little of it ; I dared 

 not show myself and fully expected when I crossed over the 

 ridge, to find that he had made himself scarce ; my delight 

 was consequently great, when I beheld him feeding quite 

 unconcernedly about ninety yards off. He was stern towards 

 me, so I tried a raking shot ; perhaps I ought to have waited 

 for him to turn, but he might have fled out of my sight and 

 that tiresome old hind might have begun belling again, so it 

 was well to make sure of him while I had the chance. A 

 loud thud told that I had struck him, and another shot from 

 the left barrel as he dashed across sent him staggering along. 

 I ran forward and saw him standing on the edge of a 

 precipice, and the next moment he fell over with a crash. 

 Alas, for his antlers ! There was another stag far down 

 below that looked in astonishment at his rolling brother. 

 I ought to have left him alone, but I could not resist 

 having a crack at him. The second shot was a running 

 one, and my man afterwards said I had broken the deer's 

 hind leg as he went lame, but he did not appear to me 

 to be so, and as he went away far down the mountain I 



