192 The Mountain Sheep 



growth ; so did we come with splendid caution 

 upon where the sheep had been, and, lifting our 

 heads, beheld the vacuum that they had left, and 

 themselves contemplating us from the extreme 

 top of the mountain. I am sure that you know 

 how it feels to have your foot step into space at 

 what you thought was the bottom of the staircase. 

 There is a gasp of very particular sensation con- 

 nected with this, and that is what I had now, 

 followed at once by the no less distasteful retro- 

 spect of myself with my half-cocked rifle, crawl- 

 ing carefully for yards upon my belly, while the 

 sheep watched me doing it. There they were on 

 the top of this new mountain, away far above us, 

 and we four hunters proceeded to go on wrong, 

 as we had begun. I have forgotten to mention 

 that, among our other follies, we had brought 

 horses. Never do such a thing ! If you are not 

 in training good enough to hunt mountain sheep 

 on your own legs, wait and climb about for a few 

 days until you have got your breath. What my 

 horse did for me on this precious day was this : 

 our hills were too steep for him to carry me up, 

 so I led him ; they were too steep for him to carry 

 me down, so I led him ; and betweenwhiles, when 

 I was stalking sheep, I naturally had to leave him 



