HARD WORK AGAIN 6i 



nightmare-ridden, and was awake, and longing to be up, 

 a couple of hours before dawn illumined the sky. 



As soon as we could see to pick our steps, we made a 

 start after the nuirkhor. Eeaching the top of the ridge, 

 we followed it till we found their tracks, and carried these 

 down steadily for four hours. Going down this ridge was 

 terrible work — I am sure we did not cover over a mile in 

 that time. The whole distance was one mass of crumpled 

 rocks with great gaps between — the rocks were knife-edged, 

 the slope below was frightful, and ended in sheer precipices. 

 Mirza Khan led us over this dangerous "round at a good 

 pace, always some distance ahead, carefully peeping over 

 the precipices on either side, and searching the hillsides 

 below with the binoculars. Sharafa looked serious, not 

 relishing the work at all, for Mirza Khan was a perfect 

 cragsman, and beat him at it out and out ; so my head 

 shikari had to play second fiddle throughout. 



I gave in after 9 a.m. and sat down, blessing the markhor 

 with all my heart, and keeping an eye all the time on 

 Mirza Khan a good distance below, quartering the ground 

 like the best of trained dogs. At last came his faint 

 whistle — it galvanized us like the shock from a battery, 

 and the excitement began. I reached Mirza Khiin in less 

 than no time, and learned that he had sighted the flock 

 far down below the precipices. He led on for half a mile, 

 and then w^e had the markhor below us : they were feeding 

 at the foot of the cliff on a patch of young grass. 



It was impossible to get a shot from this point, so we 

 went farther along the ridge to take them in flank, though 

 the range was greater. We came at length to a projecting 

 rock with a stunted fir-tree by it, which served for cover, 

 though cover was not necessary, as we were above the 

 animals this time, and they were so intent on the tender 

 herbage that there was no danger of detection. I o-ot into 



