20 ERCHLESS AND FARLEY, 1916 



some time, and which I promptly missed, whereupon 

 Matheson flung his cap on the ground and ex- 

 claimed to the ghillie, Sandy Forbes, " I don't 

 know whether it is your luck or mine, Sandy, but 



I'm d d if I can understand it !" and my 



feelings can be better imagined than described. 

 Well, after several of these crises in one's career I 

 was again on Erchless with Fraser (it was the 

 28th of September), and after a blank morning we 

 spied two stags on the flats between Erchless Wood 

 and Loch Fada. Both were good beasts one a 

 good 10-pointer and the other only had one horn; 

 and though the former was in the more difficult 

 position, Fraser naturally decided to go for him, 

 and after a long and difficult stalk and some 

 masterly manoeuvring he got me to within 

 100 yards from the stag, and I missed a ridiculously 

 easy shot broadside on. The beast was off like 

 lightning, and luckily gave me no further chance, 

 as Fraser whispered to me not to move and to 

 remember our one-horned friend, who was feeding 

 about a quarter of a mile off, and did not seem 

 much disturbed by the shot. In due course we 

 crept and crawled to about 200 yards from our 

 friend, when he got us, and Fraser, seeing that 

 it was hopeless, allowed me to fire at him as he 

 was moving off, and to his surprise and my joy, 

 I got him in the back and so disabled him that 

 we were able to get up to him and finish him off. 

 He was a fine fat stag weighing 16 stone, and his 



