A WET DAY ON THE HILL 91 



now be explained. Suffice it to say, that on 

 looking in the direction of his particular rock, we 

 saw, to our chagrin, that the antlers had dis- 

 appeared. We had hardly realised the fact that he 

 was gone before we viewed him striding down hill 

 to the left, and at a good pace considering the 

 badness of the ground. It was not an easy shot 



A DOWNHILL SHOT. 

 i^From an Original Sketch by Captain H. Hart Davis.) 



and — it was missed. Sufficient allowance had not 

 been made for the animal's continuous descent, and 

 the bullet had sped over him. It was mortifying 

 enough at the time, but proved a wholesome lesson. 

 The rifle was returned to its cover, and as we 

 tramped homeward in the dusk we found consola- 

 tion in the fact that, if we had not killed a deer, we 

 had seen much to compensate us for the disappoint- 

 ment. 



