348 MY FIRST STALK 



very much enlightening me regarding the difficulties 

 often experienced in stalking a good beast. ' The 

 wind is very kittle just there, and see, yon hinds 

 are feeding just in the road we ought to go. How- 

 ever, we have a long way to get round them, and 

 we must be going, or else we'll never get deer talking 

 here,' he said, and as I was quite of the same way of 

 thinking, I was only too glad to make a start. Again 

 another awful climb made me as hot as ever, and I 

 thought that if I could but get a chance of using my 

 rifle on the stag while my hands were warm, his 

 days would be numbered. However, I found stalking 

 by no means as easy as I thought, and I never before 

 realized how closely allied to a serpent man is, until I 

 saw Donald's movements. He several times when we 

 were on the open flats made me crawl behind him, the 

 whole of the front part of my body, from my chin to my 

 toes, touching the ground. Neither did the operation 

 serve to chill my ardour, though the water out of the 

 moss chilled me to the inside ; but my blood was up, 

 and if it cost me ever so many waistcoats and watches 

 I was determined to slay that stag, and so I obeyed 

 Donald's instructions to the letter, and as if my very 

 life depended on my twisting myself into the similitude 

 of a snake. At last our crawling came to an end, and 

 we were able to rise, and I rose up dirtier than ever I 

 was in my life, even after being pulled out from under 

 my horse in Kilkenny. 'New clothes be hanged!' 

 ' Where is the stag now, Donald ?' 1 asked. ' Still 

 lying, and maybe she will lie in the sun there for 

 hours. She is about a hundred and forty yards from 

 yon rock, and there is several hinds between it and the 

 stag, so we must keep canny here until the witches leed 



