To me, accustomed to the little deer of the Tidewater, this great creature seemed a portent, and I guessed that he was that elk which I had heard of from the Border hunters.

Anyhow he gave me wealth of food.

I hid some in a cool place, and took the rest with me, packed in bark, in a great bundle on my shoulders.
The road back was easier than I had feared, for I had the slope of the hill to guide me; but I was mortally weary of my load before I plumped it down inside the stockade.

Presently Bertrand and Donaldson returned.
They brought only a few rabbits, but they had set many traps, and in a hill burn they had caught some fine golden-bellied trout.

Soon venison steaks and fish were grilling in the embers, and Elspeth set to baking cakes on a griddle.