160 DEER-STALKING 



them. The glen from that point to the loch is about 

 five miles, and the gillie was stationed two miles from 

 where we started. When we arrived at the boulder 

 and asked eagerly whether the chase had swept by, 

 we were informed that the deer and dog had passed 

 about twenty minutes before our arrival, the stag going 

 as hard and fresh as ever, and the dog still twenty 

 yard behind. Onwards we went too, though certainly 

 neither as fast nor as fresh as before. We easily 

 followed the tracks till within half a mile of the loch 

 where the wood begins. Here the deer must have 

 plunged into the thicket, like his kinsman in the 

 ' Lady of the Lake,' and was lost in its deep recesses. 

 The dog was heard to bay him somewhere near the 

 shore ; but it was pitch dark when we arrived at the 

 pier, and we only learnt this from the lad who met us 

 there. The dog went straight home during the night. 

 As one of the most remarkable illustrations of 

 the proverb that ' misfortunes never come alone ' 

 that I ever experienced, I may be permitted to give 

 the conclusion of this adventure. The point at 

 which we touched the loch is about ten miles from 

 the Castle, and we always use a steam launch to 

 take us home from that beat. On the occasion 

 referred to no launch was there, but only the small 

 boat belonging to her, and we were informed by the 



