THREE HEARTBREAKING MISSES 59 



highly delighted, and Billy having been successful, 

 too, in Glengowrie, it was a very merry Saturday 

 evening in the Balblair banqueting-hall 



The 1st of October was the black day of my 

 stalking career, for I missed three stags, and so 

 drained the cup of misery to the ultima gutta. 

 Billy Smith, however, redeemed the situation by 

 getting another fine stag in Glengowrie, a 10- 

 pointer weighing 16 stone 4 pounds; and as he got 

 a beauty, a 10-pointer weighing 16 stone 6 pounds 

 on Farley the day before, he has the proud record 

 of four stags in five shots, averaging 16 stone each 

 good work. My three misses are a sorrowful 

 tale; the first occurred before lunch about half a 

 mile east of the spying rock on the broken ground 

 near the west end of Loch Fada. The shot ought 

 to have been an easy one, as we got up to about 

 100 yards from our stag; but just as I was getting 

 into position one of the hinds got us and gave 

 the alarm, and the shot was very hurried at the 

 stag facing me. Anyway, a handsome miss was 

 recorded, and Fraser said nothing, but looked 

 volumes. We then made for some deer we had 

 spied near the top of the Hare Hill, but they were 

 in an impossible position, so we lunched and hoped 

 the position would improve. However, it did not, 

 and though we managed to creep and crawl for 

 about 200 yards from our stag, he never stood for a 

 shot, as he was very busy with his hinds, and a 

 nobber which was inclined to feed towards us, 



