14 THE. FIRST STAG SIGHTED. 



nights, we retained Donald to carry our arms, con- 

 sisting of my rifle and gun and Walter's " dooble- 

 barrel," which carried ball very well, and set our faces 

 to mount Ben Fuoghlin. An hour's good climbing 

 brought us in sight of the hollow frequented by the 

 stag. We had before made several pauses to recon- 

 noitre with our glasses, as we mounted from one steppe 

 to another, during one of which Walter brought down 

 a very fine hawk, which Donald pronounced to be a 

 young gled, its wings measuring at least five feet from 

 tip to tip. Now, however, we made a more lengthened 

 pause, and scanned every foot of ground before us, but 

 all to no purpose. " 'Twill no be here the day," was 

 Donald's remark as he stowed his glass away, and 

 strode silently off; and we entered the hollow. Nothing 

 occurred to stop us ; so, moistening our lips at a most 

 delicious little fount, which bubbled up in the centre of 

 the dell and then stole quietly away among moss and 

 juniper, we once more faced the brae, Donald informing 

 us that, after a little climbing, we should have a kind 

 of plateau to traverse rather more than a mile in 

 length, and could then descend direct into the woods 

 where the roe were to be found. 



Just as we reached the brow of this hill, and were 

 rather distressed for want of that all-requisite article, 

 breath, our attention was suddenly attracted by Donald, 

 who muttered something between his teeth which 

 sounded very much like a Gaelic imprecation, and then 

 dropped on his knees. The cause of this sudden 

 movement was immediately visible to us, for over 

 Donald's shoulder we descried a fine stag trotting away 

 from us at a brisk pace, and distant about a quarter of 

 a mile. We watched the noble animal receding, in 

 the hope that it might take to some secluded spot near 



