204 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS.  [cwar. xxvyr, 
went with us to show us where he had last seen the track. As 
we crossed a long reach of black and broken ground, the first 
ascent from the valley, two golden eagles rose out of a hollow at 
some distance. Their flight was lazy and heavy, as if gorged 
with food, and on examining the place we found the carcass of 
asheep half eaten, one of Malcolm’s flock. He vowed ven. 
geance; and, merely pointing out to us our route, returned for 
a spade to dig a place of hiding near enough the carcass to 
enable him to have a shot at the eagles if they should return. 
We held on our way, and the greater part of the day without 
any luck to cheer us, my resolution ‘not to be beat” being, 
however, a good deal strengthened by the occasional grumbling 
of Donald. Towards the afternoon, when we had tired ourselves 
with looking with our glasses at every corrie in that side of the 
hill, at length, in crossing a bare and boggy piece of ground, 
Donald suddenly stopped, with a Gaelic exclamation, and pointed 
—and there, to be sure, was a full fresh foot-print, the largest 
mark of a deer either of us had ever seen. There was no more 
grumbling. Both of us were instantly as much on the alert as 
when we started on our adventure. We traced the track as long 
as the ground would allow. Where we losi it, it seemed to point 
down the little burn, which soon lost itself to our view in a gorge 
of bare rocks. We proceeded now very cautiously, and taking 
up our station on a concealed ledge of one of the rocks, began 
to search the valley below with our telescopes. It was a large 
flat, strewed with huge slabs of stone, and surrounded on all 
sides but one with dark rocks. At the farther end were two - 
black lochs, connected by a sluggish stream; beside tHe larger 
loch a bit of coarse grass and rushes, where we could distinguish 
a brood of wild ducks swimming in and out. It was difficult 
ground io see a deer in, if lying; and I had almost given up 
seeking, when Donald’s glass became motionless, and he gave a 
sort of grunt as he changed his posture, but without taking the 
glass from hiseye. “Ugh! I’m thinking yon’s him, sir: I’m 
seeing his horns.” TI was at first incredulous. "What he showed 
me close to the long grass I have mentioned looked for all the 
world like some withered sticks; but the doubt was short. 
While we gazed the stag rose and commenced feeding; and at 
last I saw the great hart of Benmore! He was a long way off, 
