190 THE ROE-DEEK 



there was a roe, for this also is the tale of a 

 failure. 



I saw him first as I panted and stumbled up a 

 hill-side. He was feeding with a doe at the bottom 

 of a corrie where the berberis bushes and thickets 

 of willow and tamarisk softened the hard line 

 which divided the forest on the northern slope 

 from the dull ochre of the ridge beyond the little 

 stream. His horns were not enormous, but they 

 were finer than any I had seen, long, rough and 

 widely spread with dull white points which 

 gleamed against the dark background. I gloated 

 over him, as he fed all unconcerned in the sunlight, 

 for, though long, the stalk seemed easy. Alas ! it 

 was the first time that I pursued him on that 

 treacherous ground, and experience left me a tired 

 and wiser man ! 



In Scotland roe-stalking is despised by the many 

 and appreciated by the few who really know what 

 fine sport it affords. There, it is no easy matter. 

 In the huge corries of Kansu its difficulties are 

 enormously increased. In the present instance, 

 apparently all that we had to do was to finish our 

 climb — a matter of an hour or so — skirt the top of 

 the ridge, gently descend under cover of the strip 

 of wood which crowned it, and obtain an easy shot. 

 All this we faithfully carried out — and found the 

 corrie absolutely vacant. Then I remembered an 

 eagle which had given me a momentary qualm as 

 we ascended ; for our quarry was hidden once our 

 climb began. Whether the bird had put them off, 

 or the dry, crackling grasses had betrayed our 

 presence, it was impossible to tell. The one thing 

 certain was that they were gone, and that finished 



