THE RED DEER 
Whilst on the subject of the dry remarks of stalkers, the following, 
which was told me by the lady herself, is not only charming in its naivete, 
but also shows the wretched class of beast which constitutes a “ shootable 
stag ” in certain forests. Having beaten about in the forest for several 
days without seeing anything, her ladyship went with the stalker into 
some woods near the house, where there was known to be a beast or two. 
After creeping about for some time Duncan whispered to her that he saw 
a stag which he thought would do. The lady in question, on seeing the 
animal, raised her rifle and was about to Are, when she put it down 
again. 
“Duncan,” she said, “I think you are making a mistake; I cannot 
see any horns.” 
“ Hoots! Wait till he flaps his ears,” was the consoling reply. The muckle 
hart did not die that day. 
It is not an easy thing to quiet an excitable horse and get a stag up on 
its back by oneself, which reminds me of a story of two friends of mine, 
for the truth of which I can vouch. 
A. and D. both belonged to the same Highland Militia regiment in 
1893. One night after mess A., who was rather a talker, was discussing 
the subject of poaching deer, and concluded with the remark; 
“ At any rate, no man living could poach a stag in my forest of I., as 
it is too well watched.” 
“ Do you think so,” quietly said D. “ I will bet you £10 I can do 
so.” 
In the presence of the company A. at once accepted the challenge, and 
it was agreed that D. should make his raid that autumn. 
D., who is a “ hard ” man and a big-game hunter, laid his plans care- 
fully. He slept under a rock in the forest of H. one October night, and 
entered the forest of I. early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking. 
It was not long before he found and killed a good stag high up near the 
march. It was no part of his, D.’s, bet to do more than kill the stag and 
inform A. where it lay, but as there was neither sign of stalker or 
watcher, D. conceived the daring notion of fetching a pony from the 
park in the glen and transporting the carcass of the deer to the castle 
itself. All this was safely accomplished without a soul being the wiser, 
and D. arrived at the door, rang the bell, and called to A. to come 
and welcome his visitors. D. now has the cheque he received from A. 
framed in his sitting-room. He told me that the only difficulty he 
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