302 SHORT STALKS 



some way his opinion was confirmed by the faint sound of 

 a stag's challenge far up the glen, I believe him to have 

 been the Don Juan I have already mentioned. He had 

 found his wives but was roaring lustily for more. I judged 

 from the intermittent and gasping sound, that he had 

 rivals and was busy defending his rights. I afterwards 

 found, near his track, part of a Ijrow antler broken off — 

 a significant trophy of battle, — but I had not the luck to 

 see an encounter. On subsequent days we came across 

 the tracks of many solitary stags — large animals too. 

 They were not roaring, and I infer from this that they had 

 been defeated and w^ere not in the humour to assert them- 

 selves. 



AVe now got to a higher level to approach more rapidly. 

 Each time we surmounted a ridoe and looked into the 

 corrie below it, we had to wait for another signal to assure 

 ourselves that the stag was beyond the next shoulder, for 

 this sound is not one which is easy to locate. After pass- 

 ing successively five or six ridges and corries, we made 

 sure that the sound proceeded from just beyond a steep 

 rise which faced us. AVhat with the labour of climbina; 

 it and the excitement of the moment, by the time we had 

 reached the top my heart felt like l^ursting its bounds. We 

 knew that we must be close to our Cjuarry, and " Smoke" 

 amply confirmed this, for the previous misteaching now 

 showed itself. He was pulling furiously on his cord, so 

 that Celestin had all he could do to hold him, and I 

 was trembling lest he sliould make some more audible 

 demonstration. No doubt I ouoht to have retired for 

 some distance, and waited for the next challenge. It is 

 so easy to be wise after the event. What I did was to 



