204 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. [CHAP. xxvi. 



went with us to show us where he had last seen the track. As 

 we crossed a long reach of black and broken ground, the first 

 ascent from the valley, two golden eagles rose out of a hollow at 

 some distance. Their flight was lazy and heavy, as if gorged 

 with food, and on examining the place we found the carcass of 

 a sheep half eaten, one of Malcolm's flock. He vowed ven- 

 geance ; and, merely pointing out to us our route, returned for 

 a spade to dig a place of hiding near enough the carcass to 

 enable him to have a shot at the eagles if they should return. 

 We held on our way, and the greater part of the day without 

 any luck to cheer us, my resolution " not to be beat " being, 

 however, a good deal strengthened by the occasional grumbling 

 of Donald. Towards the afternoon, when we had tired ourselves 

 with looking with our glasses at every corrie in that side of the 

 hill, at length, in crossing a bare and boggy piece of ground, 

 Donald suddenly stopped, with a Gaelic exclamation, and pointed 

 and there, to be sure, was a full fresh foot-print, the largest 

 mark of a deer either of us had ever seen. There was no more 

 grumbling. Both of us were instantly as much on the alert as 

 when we started on our adventure. We traced the track as long 

 as the ground would allow. Where we lost it, it seemed to point 

 down the little burn, which soon lost itself to our view in a gorge 

 of bare rocks. We proceeded now very cautiously, and taking 

 up our station on a concealed ledge of one of the rocks, began 

 to search the valley below with our telescopes. It was a large 

 flat, strewed with huge slabs of stone, and surrounded on all 

 sides but one with dark rocks. At the farther end were two 

 black lochs, connected by a sluggish stream ; beside the larger 

 loch a bit of coarse grass and rushes, where we could distinguish 

 a brood of wild ducks swimming in and out. It was difficult 

 ground to see a deer in, if lying ; and I had almost given up 

 seeking, when Donald's glass became motionless, and he gave a 

 sort of grunt as he changed his posture, but without taking the 

 glass from his eye. " Ugh ! I 'm thinking yon 's him, sir : I 'm 

 seeing his horns." I was at first incredulous. What he showed 



O 



me close to the long grass I have mentioned looked for all the 

 world like some withered sticks ; but the doubt was short. 

 While we gazed the stag rose and commenced feeding ; and at 

 last I saw the great hart of Benmore ! He was a long way off, 



