STORM AND WIND. 109 



we seated ourselves under shelter of a rock, and 

 scanned every foot of ground before us, we could 

 make out nothing. However, the lowest depths of 

 the place had not yet been penetrated by the sun's 

 rays, and it was possible that something might still be 

 lying in the shade ; we therefore descended, and 

 traversed the shores of the loch lying below, keeping 

 a careful look-out as we advanced ; but again we were 

 doomed to disappointment, the deer having evidently 

 sought shelter elsewhere. 



We now wound our way up a rocky ravine, at one 

 time the wind blowing from behind, and almost 

 carrying us up the steep without any exertion of our 

 own; at another time meeting us with such force, 

 that we could make no head against it ; and when it 

 suddenly lulled, we almost fell on our faces, as though 

 some great support had just been withdrawn. Scarcely 3 

 perhaps, had we recovered ourselves, when a blast 

 would tear down the pass with such fearful violence, 

 as required all our strength to prevent our being 

 carried bodily down the hill, for a moment actually 

 depriving us of the power of breathing, and producing 

 a choking sensation, akin to that which the swimmer 

 experiences when, as he is tossing among the breakers, 

 he suddenly gets a mouthful of brine, or takes too long 

 a dive in the depths below. 



In the face of such difficulties the ascent was a 

 matter of time and patience, and it was with no 

 feeling of reluctance that, on reaching the top of the 

 ravine, I threw myself on the heather to recover breath, 

 while the fox-hunter, without any signs of distress, 

 quietly seated himself beside me, and began to take 

 his observations. I watched his countenance, as his 

 glass was turned from brae to brae, from gully to gully; 



