A HEAVY STAG 35 



reached. We rushed up to where he lay and a 

 splendid animal he was a long-horned 11-pointer 

 with very stout, rough, black horns, evidently an 

 old fighter, as one of his brow antlers was broken 

 half off and his second antler on the other side was 

 in a similar condition. Eraser said he was one of 

 the biggest stags he had ever seen how big we 

 were never to know exactly, for, of course, it was 

 too late to get our last two stags in that night, 

 and a snow-storm came on that night which lasted 

 for forty-eight hours and made it impossible for us 

 to get them in for four days ! He then weighed 

 18 stone 5 pounds, and Eraser was of opinion that 

 he would have been well over 19 stone if we could 

 have got him in that night; but, as I said before, 

 that was impossible, as we were three miles from 

 the pony and it was 5 o'clock when we got him, 

 and the coming snow-storm made it nearly dark. 

 So we had to leave them, and, saying good-night 

 to Donald Ross, whose house was about two miles 

 away, lower down in Glengowrie, we started on 

 our long trudge, mightily pleased with ourselves 

 and unmindful of the cold and the distance and 

 the dark. When we reached the summit it was 

 almost dark, but I just managed to descry Sandy 

 and the pony also, just starting for home and 

 nearly frozen. When he heard of our success he 

 was overjoyed, and remembered no more the 

 freezing and his long, dreary wait of nearly four 

 hours. Needless to say, it was pitch black when 



