174 AMID THE HIGH HILLS 
the face of the hill with stags in both lots, and 
between them five stags. The largest of these 
stags had a very fine head, and, as often happens 
in the case of a big stag, had in attendance on him 
a smaller or sentinel stag. The stalker said he 
thought the big stag was a Royal, but was not 
quite sure. This stag and the others which were 
with him had evidently been driven away from 
the hinds by a heavy 10-pointer, who was the 
master stag, and who was making a gi'eat disturb- 
ance, chasing the smaller stags away, and round- 
ing up the larger lot of hinds. 
After a very laborious crawl, sometimes on 
all-fours, sometimes flat, sometimes in the burn, 
sometimes out of it, for about three-quarters of 
a mile further, we reached a point in the burn 
about 600 or 700 yards below the five stags which 
I have before referred to. In the meantime the 
wind had risen, and the weather was now very 
rough and stormy. Macdougall whispered to me 
that we should have to crawl up the hill in full 
sight of the deer, and this we proceeded to do 
for some 500 yards, watching the deer with the 
greatest care, and whenever one of their heads 
went up instantly becoming as motionless as 
statues, and so gradually getting up the hill 
