DISAPPOINTMENT. 



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, hut 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 hy the two young prochahs 

 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 

 top of the bank, and, taking a steady aim at the neck 

 of my game, pulled the trigger ; but (Di immortales /) 

 the rain had damped the powder, and the gun missed 

 fire. The noise of the cap, however, was enough to 

 send the whole herd helter skelter up the brae ; and 

 Alister's shot, necessarily a hasty one, failed to take 

 effect, whistling over the head of the deer, and so 

 alarming them that they divided and went off in two 

 parties, each division followed by a wounded stag. 

 While Alister reloaded, I shook down some fresh 

 powder into the nipple of my rifle, replaced the cap by 

 a new one, and again we started, Hector and myself to 

 the left in pursuit of my stag, and Alister to the right 

 after his. 



The day was now fast wearing away, and there was 

 no time to be lost. Hector therefore advised that I 

 should follow the stag while I could keep him in view, 

 he meanwhile running off by a short cut to a pass for 



