A STALKER'S PERIL 83 
that he was awfully careless, and ought never to 
have taken hold of the stag in the way he did. 
" He appeared to be rapidly getting weaker, 
and said quite quietly that he thought he was 
dying, and asked me to take some messages for 
him to his wife and children, and then seemed 
to be losing consciousness. It was getting dusk, 
and the gillie urged me not to wait any longer, as 
I could do no good, and unless I started for the 
lodge at once I should not be able to find my way. 
So with a heavy heart I said good-bye to poor 
Duncan and started homewards. From time to 
time I turned to look back at the two men, and 
at last, when I reached the top of the last hill I 
had to cross before losing sight of them, I turned 
to take one final glance. When I looked round, 
however, I was startled to see, close to the place 
where Duncan had been lying, the figures of 
two men walking slowly. There was no mistake 
about it — they were Duncan and the gillie. I 
ran back again, and found that soon after I left 
them the bleeding had stopped quite unaccount- 
ably, and Duncan, though still very weak, had 
gradually revived and finally insisted on trying 
to walk. We persuaded him to rest, and, leaving 
the gillie beside him, I went back to the lodge as 
