NICELY CAUGHT. 195 



deer-stalker must be prepared for every emergency, 

 and we at once dropped to the earth, contriving with 

 difficulty to keep our powder and rifles dry. The hind 

 continued feeding, presently another became visible, 

 and another ; until at length we had seen in all more 

 than a score of deer, two of them being young stags. 

 Wet and cold, we remained motionless for the space of 

 nearly an hour, when one by one they all lay down, 

 some having their backs towards us, and most of them 

 only visible to the neck ; but one wary hind, evidently a 

 " saga anus," and the grandmother of the herd, lay 

 most provokingly with her face turned straight towards 

 us, as though determined to keep us as long in our 

 uncomfortable position as possible. We now held a 

 consultation in low whispers, the result of which was 

 that as there seemed to be no good heads in the herd, 

 our best plan would be to endeavour to secure, each of 

 us, a good hind for the larder. 



In their present position, however, a satisfactory 

 shot, was not possible, and any attempt at motion on 

 our part would be almost sure to attract their attention 

 and drive them off before we had succeeded in our 

 object. We agreed, therefore, at the suggestion of our 

 great authority, Gillespie, to remain as we were a few 

 moments longer, and then to creep in, inch by inch, 

 in the hope that we might lessen the distance by a few 

 yards, and then run in upon them and take a chance 

 shot as they went off. 



Silently we watched the foremost hind through our 

 glasses, as she chewed her cud, or occasionally closed 

 her eyes in a sleepy fashion ; and at length our guide's 

 hand was cautiously put forward, and following his 

 example we began to crawl in on all fours, moving 

 with the stealthiness and silence of so many cats 



02 



