CH. XXVI. WOUNDED STAG. 107 



back, or to smell at the blood that was trickling 

 down his sides. I could plainly see that he was 

 also struck somewhere about the middle of his body, 

 as well as on the horn and leg, and was now bleeding 

 fast. It then occurred to me that Donald had fallen 

 in with a lame stag, and had thought it best to do 

 what he could towards killing him with my gun. 

 Bullets he always took with him by my orders. 

 The stag continued his painful march, and I would 

 have given much to have been within reach to put 

 an end to the poor brute's misery. He twice lay 

 down on a grassy spot amongst the rocks, having 

 first looked anxiously and fearfully round him ; but 

 seemingly the attitude of lying was more painful to 

 him than moving slowly on. I remembered then a 

 theory of Donald's, that a deer never lies down 

 when shot through the liver, but continues moving, 

 or at any rate standing, till he dies. How far this 

 opinion was correct I never had a good opportunity 

 of proving. The deer before me, having found that 

 lying down gave him no relief, continued moving, 

 but still slowly and with evident difficulty. Once 

 he stopped and stood in a pitiful attitude, trembling 

 all over, and moving his head up and down as if 

 oppressed with deadly sickness. After this he 

 seemed to recover slightly, and, standing erect, 

 with care and anxiety in every direction ; 



