312 EIGHT YEARS AETER ONE STAG 



fine grilse and several sea-trout, just as I got in sight 

 of Torrecleian, the first hill seen fi-om the road opposite 

 Morniach Castle, I saw three stags on the sky-line. On 

 taking out my glass, I saw a big stag, with the widest 

 head I had ever seen in Scotland, lying on the very 

 top and in the most prominent place. There were five 

 stags in sight, but no hinds, and the big one was the 

 only one of them which was lying down. It was only 

 three minutes' drive to the gun-room, so leaving the 

 horse and trap, I started with my rifle and tracking- 

 dog, leaving my son where I had first spied them. 

 The wind could not have been worse, being east, and 

 blowing straight from me to the deer, and so I was 

 forced to make a long tramp round the hill, so as to 

 get the wind in front of me. I gave my son instruc- 

 tions to give me the usual deer-stalkers' language 

 whenever he saw me if the beast moved after I got 

 up and spied him with the glass. It took me nearly an 

 hour to get to the corrie I wanted to reach behind the 

 deer, and when I reached it I saw, to my disgust, three 

 small stags, and, as bad luck would have it, feeding 

 down wind, so I was forced to wait. They very nearly 

 fed on to my tracks coming up, and, to make matters 

 worse, I had sat down in a foul current of wind which 

 curled round the top of this hill. All this time there 

 lay the big stag out of shot ; but if it had not been for 

 the three stags I could have got an easy stalk at him 

 to within about eighty yards. Still the stags came on 

 feeding, until I feared they must have winded me. In 

 desperation I flew some bog-cotton in the foul wind, 

 and it went within five yards of their noses, and I 

 thought my chance was gone. However, just then 

 they turned back to the big stag, and, to my relief, fed 



