Lionel had just time to get a glimpse of the wounded stag, which was stumbling pitifully along—­far behind its now disappearing companion—­when he had to descend from the rock in order to follow Roderick.  All three ran quickly down the hill and rounded into the hollow where they had last seen the stag, following up his track, and looking out everywhere for his prostrate body.  But the farther they went, the more amazed became Roderick and the gillie; there was no sign of the beast that both of them declared could not have run a couple of hundred yards.  The track of him disappeared in the bed of a burn and could not be recovered, search as they would; so they proceeded to explore every adjacent hollow and peat-bag, in the certainty that within a very few minutes they must find the lost quarry.  The few minutes lengthened out and out; half-hours went by; and yet there was no sign.  They went away down the burn; they went away up the burn; they made wider casts, and narrowed in, like so many retrievers; and all to no purpose.  And meanwhile darkness and the night were coming on.

“He’s lying dead somewhere, as sure as anything can be,” Roderick said, looking entirely puzzled and crestfallen; “and we’ll hef to bring up a terrier in the morning and search for him.  I never sah the like o’ that in my life.  When he fell where he stood I made sure he was feenished; then he was up again and ran a little weh, and again he went down on his knees—­”

“It was then I saw him,” Lionel exclaimed, “and I expected him to drop the next moment.  Why, he must be about here, Roderick, he couldn’t vanish into the air—­he wasn’t a ghost—­for I heard the thud of the bullet when it struck him—­”

“Ay, and me too,” Roderick said, “but we will do no good now, for it is getting so dark; and you hef to cross the two fords, sir—­”

“The fords!” said Lionel.  “By Jove!  I forgot them.  I say, we must hurry on.  I suppose you are sure to find him in the morning?”

“We will bring up a terrier whatever,” Roderick said, doubtfully; for he seemed to have been entirely disconcerted by the disappearance of the phantom stag.  “Ay, I hef known them rin a long weh after being wounded—­miles and miles they will go—­but this wan wass so hard hit, I thought he would drop directly.  The teffle tek him—­I could hef given him the other barrel myself!”

And still they seemed loath to leave the ground, notwithstanding the gathering darkness.  They kept wandering about, examining and searching; until it was quite obvious that even if the stag were lying within easy distance of them they could hardly distinguish it; so finally they withdrew, beaten and baffled, and made away down to the lower country, where the old pony Maggie was probably wondering at their unusual length of absence.