220 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away these 

 more active Httle depredators, which seemed determined to profit 

 by their labours. Our next step was to drive the swans away 

 from the loch they were on ; it seemed a curious way of getting 

 a shot, but as the old man seemed confident of the success of 

 his plan, I very submissively acted according to his orders. As 

 soon as we moved them, they all made straight for the sea. 

 " This won't do," was my remark. " Yes, it will, though ; they'll 

 no' stop there long to-day with this great wind, but will all be 

 back before the clock chaps two." " Faith, I should like to see 

 any building that could contain a clock, and where we might 

 take shelter," was my inward cogitation. The old man, how- 

 ever, having delivered this prophecy, set to work making a 

 small ambuscade by the edge of the loch which the birds had 

 just left, and pointed it out to me as my place of refuge from 

 one o'clock to the hour when the birds would arrive. 



In the meantime we moved about in order to keep our- 

 selves warm, as a more wintry day never disgraced the month 

 of October. In less than half an hour we heard the signal 

 cries of the swans, and soon saw them in a long undulating 

 line fly over the low sand-hills which divided the sea from the 

 largest loch, where they all alighted. My commander for the 

 time being then explained to me that the water in this loch 

 was everywhere too deep for the swans to reach the bottom 

 even with their long necks, in order to pull up the weeds on 

 which they fed, and that at their feeding- time, that is about 

 ■ two o'clock, they would, without doubt, fly over to the smaller 

 lochs, and probably to the same one from which we had origin- 

 ally disturbed them. I was accordingly placed in my ambus- 

 cade, leaving the keeper at some distance, to help me as 

 opportunity offered — a cold, comfortless time of it we {i.e. my 

 retriever and myself) had. About two o'clock, however, I 

 heard the swans rise from the upper loch, and in a few moments 

 they all passed high over my head, and after taking a short 

 survey of our loch (luckily without seeing me), they alighted 

 at the end of it farthest from the place where I was ensconced, 

 and quite out of shot, and they seemed more inclined to move 

 away from me than come towards me. It was very curious to 

 watch these wild birds as they swam about, quite unconscious 

 of danger and looking like so many domestic fowls. Now 



