106 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



The line of the pack, however, was more easily traced and 

 followed ; for although the mountain was as thickly studded 

 with stones as a well-macadamised highway, there were no 

 precipices and even few hill-scaurs to contend with. Hunt- 

 ing my dogs in little circles now on one side, then on the 

 other I yet trusted my own eyes quite as much as their 

 noses, and took good care never to lose my bearings of the 

 exact line of my game. 



Calculating the ordinary flight of the white grouse, I had 

 now reached the limit where it was probable the pack might 

 plump down, when, raising my head from the scrutiny of a 

 tempting cairn, I saw the farther peaks enveloped in dense 

 mist, and at the rate it was driving onwards the whole range 

 would also in no time be engulfed, making the solitary being 

 on the blank mountain nearly as helpless as the sons of Egypt 

 amid the thick darkness that " could be felt." 



Facing about, I sped before the grim pursuer with the 

 desperate haste of an Indian from a jungle-fire, and had just 

 reached the trusty guidance of a well-known water-course, 

 when suddenly a slight breeze on my face gave token that 

 the wind had changed. Instead of rushing through the hill- 

 trough, the fog, arrested in mid- course, was rolled into blacker 

 masses, and slowly retreating, while blinks of sunlight re- 

 gained possession of the murky crags. 



Very soon the whole line of hills looked low and blue as 

 before, and the mist disappeared as mysteriously as it came. 

 The lost ground was quickly retraced ; but I had scarcely 

 reached the point where I was headed by the fog, when, 

 casting my eyes over the heights above, there was the pack, 

 some perched on the granite boulders and the rest on the 

 ground, only a few gunshots off. The dogs were instantly 

 " heeled in," and, slipping softly up, I was almost within 

 reach when my game looked scared and flew. Only six, 

 however, rose, and the seventh was no doubt in hiding among 

 the stones. When laid on the scent, the dogs instantly stood 



