8 AMID THE HIGH HILLS 
told me that X. wished to stalk the last hundred 
yards alone and had asked him to stay behind, 
that X. had the shot and came back saying that 
he had missed the stag. Neither the stalker nor 
X. had thought it worth while to look for the 
stag. In the case of X., who was a novice at 
stalking, I was not surprised, but I was amazed 
that the stalker had not done so, although he was 
young and not very experienced. So X. secured 
a good head after all, and no doubt both he and 
the stalker learnt a lesson which neither is likely 
to forget, but at the cost to X. of much unneces- 
sary misery and humiliation and incidentally to 
his host of much good venison. 
It is sometimes difficult to be sure what is the 
result of one's shot, and it is a great assistance 
to have the opinion of an experienced stalker 
whether he has his glass on the beast at the 
moment the shot is fired or not. 
I was coming back one evening after a de- 
lightful day's stalking in Glen Carron when the 
stalker Macdonell said, " One moment, sir, there 
is a stag down there just gone out of sight. If 
you can shoot off your knee downhill you will 
have a chance directly." I sat down and waited, 
and in a few minutes the stag appeared, I 
