178 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



low him. The first thought that flashed across the 

 mind of the naturalist was that it answered the de- 

 scription of a polar bear, and then he realised that he 

 had seen a goat. The animal was skulking along on 

 the lower bench at a fair gait, and Dyche turned and 

 ran back along the upper ledge as fast and silently as 

 possible. He reached the head of the first gulch 

 just in time to see the goat go behind the next crag, 

 and then made another run of about forty yards to 

 the next opening, where he got another sight of it. 

 Dyche was running up and down the mountain, 

 while the animal was going along on a level. Al- 

 most exhausted, and breathless from running so vio- 

 lently in the high altitude, his hmgs working to their 

 full capacity, perspiration pouring down his face, and 

 his heart throbbing as if it would burst, the hunter 

 pressed on. 



Another run and a rest and he could hear the 

 stones rolling ahead of him. Again he ran fifty 

 yards, calling into play all his surplus energy, and 

 waited on the point of a crag, but again he was just 

 too late. He could hear the animal still ahead of 

 him. A run of a hundred yards at full speed placed 

 the hunter on a crag just in time to see the goat dis- 

 appear about seventy yards away. This sight was 

 sufficient to nerve the naturalist for one more effort. 

 A grand spurt was made for about twenty-five yards 

 up hill, and the head of the cove was reached. Dyche 

 stopped, gasping for breath and almost exhausted, 

 but stood stock-still and listened. Suddenly a big 

 white object sprang upon a crag in front of and be- 

 low him, not over seventy-five yards away. It 



