SPYING THE CORRIE. 73 



a very ocean of them meet the eye ; and of course to 

 me the beauty of it all was more than doubled, for each 

 hill was the haunt of the wild red deer. Was I not in 

 the land of the stags ? And did not Archie show me 

 where to turn to look into the forests of Blackmount, 

 Kinloch, Ben Alder, Dalness, Athol, and Glen Artney ? 

 After spying this corrie we descended into it, and 

 crossed to the top on the other side, seeing on our way 

 very fresh tracks of deer, which rejoiced us much. On 

 the summit of this fresh ridge of hills we had another 

 spy, and again could find nothing ; striking along the 

 very top of this ridge to get to the next corrie, which 

 Archie told me was the most likely one of all, we 

 had a splendid walk on soft, mossy ground, as dry as a 

 carpet ; now and then starting a ptarmigan or a blue 

 hare, and once stopping and getting out the glasses to 

 watch the gyrations of two eagles circling about in the 

 distance altogether an enchanting and exhilarating 

 tramp. At length we reached the end of the range, 

 and stooping low as we crossed the sky-line, were soon 

 comfortably seated, and spying the vast corrie that laid 

 stretched at our feet. For fully half an hour we searched 

 it up and down, and " dour " grew Archie's face when at 

 last he shut up the glass with a snap of annoyance. 

 Fully sharing his feelings, and finding it was one 

 o'clock, I said we would eat our sandwich as soon as 

 we could find spring water. Saying he thought we 

 should get a spring a little way off, Archie volunteered 

 to step down and see, if I would wait and come if 

 he beckoned. Off he started, and to while away the 

 time I again pulled out the glasses, and despairingly 



