WHO BROUGHT THE LUCK ? 95 



feeding amongst the debris of the fallen trees 

 about 100 yards to our left. He got us almost 

 directly, but I had just time to snatch the rifle 

 from John and fire from the shoulder standing, 

 and brought him to his knees, from which he could 

 never rise again as I had broken both his forelegs. 

 A lucky shot and a bad one, but still it was a very 

 hurried affair and the light was very bad, and he 

 made a very bad target all amongst the brush- 

 wood and the tree-stumps. He was quite a 

 shootable beast, 13 stone 8 pounds, and almost 

 clean of the velvet a 7-pointer with beautiful 

 rough horns, but no great spread and not very 

 long; still, he was quite a prize and our delight 

 was immense, and John and I at once agreed that 

 it was the luck of the lairdess that had done it. 

 My " ould " friend Gould May had arrived that 

 afternoon from Ireland (where he had had wonder- 

 ful fishing on the Erne, 20 salmon in the fort- 

 night), and of course he said that it was he that 

 had brought the luck. Anyway they did it be- 

 tween them, and we did a bottle and a bit between 

 ourselves that evening. Shure it was a good 

 start for the old trio that have cracked so many 

 bottles and so many jokes together ! 



A. M. Walters arrived a day or two afterwards, 

 and nothing happened to disturb the harmony of 

 the quartette for the next fortnight. The buck 

 continued to be evasive, and my guests continued 

 to be abusive about the fishing, which was quite 



14 



