30 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. [emap. 111. 
f 
Shot, who was licensed to take such liberties, splashed in witha 
great glee, and after being lost to sight for some minutes amongst 
the high rushes, came back with the mallard in his mouth. “A 
bad lesson for Carlo that, Master Shot,’’ but he knows better than 
to follow your example. We now went up the opposite slope 
leaving Loch A-na-caillach behind us, and killing some grouse, 
and a mountain hare, with no white about her as yet. We next 
came to a long stony ridge, with small patches of high heather. 
A pair of ravens rising from the rocks, soared croaking over us 
for some time. A pair or two of old grouse were all we killed 
here. But the view from the summit was splendidly wild as we 
looked over a long range of grey rocks, beyond which lay a wide 
and extensive lake, with several small islands in it. The oppo- 
site shore of the lake was fringed with birch-trees, and in the 
distance were a line of lofty mountains whose sharp peaks were 
covered with snow. Human habitation or evidence of the 
presence of man was there not, and no sound broke the silence 
of the solitude excepting the croak of the ravens and the 
occasional whistle of a plover. ‘Yon isa fine corrie for 
deer,” said Donald, making me start, as he broke my reverie, 
and pointing out a fine amphitheatre of rocks just below us. 
Not being on the look-out for deer, however, I did not pay 
much attention to what he said, but allowed the dogs to range 
on where they liked. Left to themselves, and not finding 
much game, they hunted wide, and we had been walking in 
silence for some time, when on coming round a small rise 
between us and the dogs, I saw two fine stags standing, who, 
intent on watching the dogs, did not see us. After standing 
motionless for a minute, the deer vralked deliberately towards us, 
not observing us until they were within forty yards; they then 
suddenly halted, stared at us, snorted, and then went off at a 
trot, but soon breaking into a gallop, fled rapidly away, but were 
in sight for a long distance. Shot stood watching the deer for 
some time, but at last seeing that we took no steps against them, 
looked at me, and then went on hunting. We killed several 
more grouse and a brace of teal. ‘Towards the afternoon we 
struck off to the shepherd’s house. In the fringe of a birch that 
sheltered it, we killed a blackcock and hen, and at last got to the 
end of our walk with fifteen brace of grouse, five black game, 
