ot a fright!"

"Ay, that's true. Shames would be troubled in his mind, I think."

There was indeed some reason to suppose so. The worthy seaman, having
got tired of waiting, had, against Ivor's advice, wandered a few yards
along the pass, where, seeing something farther on that aroused his
curiosity, he laid down the single-barrelled fowling-piece with which he
had been provided, and began to clamber. Just as the repeater opened
fire, two hinds, which had got ahead of the others, ran through the pass
by different tracks. One of these McGregor saw before it came up, and
he rushed wildly back for his gun. It was this act that his comrades
rightly attributed to mental perturbation.

"Look out!" whispered the keeper.

As he spoke the other hind, doubling round a mass of fallen rock, almost
leaped into McGregor's arms. It darted aside, and the seaman, uttering
a wild shout, half raised his gun and fired. The butt hit him on the
chest and knocked him down, while the shot went whizzing in all
directions round his comrades, cutting their garments, but fortunately
doing them no serious injury.

"Oh, Shames! ye was always in too great a hurry," remonstrated the
skipper, oblivious of the fact that he himself had been too slow.

"Quick, man, fire!" cried Ivor, testily.

The captain tried to energise. In doing so he let off one barrel at the
celestial orbs unintentionally. The other might as well have gone the
same way, for all the execution it did.

When he looked at the keeper, half apologetically, he saw that he was
quietly examining his leg, which had been penetrated by a pellet.

"Eh! man, are 'ee shot?" cried the captain, anxiously.

"Oo, ay, but I'm none the worse o' it! I had a presentiment o'
somethin' o' this sort, an' loaded his gun wi' small shot," replied the
keeper.

Profound were the expressions of apology from McGregor, on learning what
he had done, and patronisingly cool were the assurances of Ivor that the
injury was a mere flea-bite. And intense was the astonishment when it
was discovered that a stag and a hind had fallen to old MacRummle with
that "treemendious" repeater! And great was the laughter afterwards, at
lunch time on the field of battle, when Junkie gravely related that
Barret was upon a precipice, trying to reach a rare plant, when the deer
passed, so that he did not get a shot at all! And confused was the
expression of Barret's face when he admitted the fact, though he
carefu