EIGHT YEARS AETER ONE STAG 313 



up to him, walked on past him, and fed quietly over 

 the sky-line into the next corrie. The moment they 

 were out of sight the big stag rose and stretched him- 

 self, and showed me the finest body I had ever seen — 

 at least twenty-four stone. The current of wind had 

 saved me so far, but as yet I dared not move, as I 

 thought the wind had changed, as it often did in that 

 corrie at that time of day, generally following the sun ; 

 but on trying the cotton again, I found there was just 

 a chance of getting between the two currents, the one 

 blowing from the right-rear, a little to the right of the 

 line towards which the deer were feeding, the other 

 coming from them to me. There was no time to be 

 lost, and there was time to run the big stag down 

 before any mischief could be done. He was most pro- 

 vokingly slow in feeding after the others over the sky- 

 line. At last he gained the top, and before his hind- 

 quarters were out of sight I got up to run, but had to 

 drop again like a shot, for, to my dismay, on standing 

 up I espied another pair of horns appearing, and then 

 the body of a small stag, which I had not seen before, 

 and which had been feeding below where the big stag 

 had been lying ; and so I had again to wait, as the 

 latter was well guarded both in front and behind, 

 besides having the advantage of two winds to warn 

 some of them. The young stag, not seeing the others, 

 trotted off after them, and was soon also over the sky- 

 line. I don't think anyone could have run the two 

 hundred yards in much less time than I did, for I knew 

 that the two currents of wind must now have almost 

 reached some of the leaders. I had on silent shoes, 

 and was a bit blown when I got up and crawled as 

 best I could to where they had fed over and down 



