The Wrong Man 151 



' Ah, yes,' he continued aloud, * The hearer of this is 

 Mr. We7ihasto7i. I hope you ivill he ahle to show him some 

 good sport. We tvant some venison just noiv for the house, 

 and I shall he glad of some to send aiuay, so do the hestyou 

 can' 



Hugh looked up and found Alister scrutinising him. 



' I think I was see you when my lord was here, sir ? 

 You shot with him ? ' he said. 



* Yes, Alister. I remember your face, I think, 

 though I don't remember a Donald in the place.' And 

 Alister, as he pointed the way, explained that he was a 

 native, and Donald an importation ; he had been very 

 much attached to his former master, was pleased to meet 

 a friend, and the pair set off in high spirits. Yv^as Hugh 

 justified ? I think he was. If you ask anyone to 

 shoot, you practically pledge yourself to give him some 

 sport if you can, and for such a mean trick as that which 

 Higgs had designed a man ought to be paid out. 



On the pair strode over the heather till a good three 

 miles had been covered, and then Alister, with a gesture 

 inviting caution, sank down and worked himself along 

 on hands and knees, actions which Hugh adroitly imi- 

 tated. When they reached the brow the expert stalker, 

 who had made for an upstanding bit of rock, raised 

 himself with exceeding gentleness, and Hugh no less 

 carefully followed his glance, pressing his cheek against 

 the stone which was their hiding-place. Yes ! There 

 are three stags some 150 yards away. Hugh can 

 see their ears, and so judges his distance ; and there is 

 no doubt which is the best — not that reddish one 

 standing broadside on, and offering so splendid a shot, 

 but that big one whose hindquarters are towards the 

 stone behind which Hugh and Alister are lying. A 



