70 STALKS ABROAD 



To us the summit gave a huge semicircular corrie 

 (it would have been an ideal place for stags on a 

 fine day with a north-west wind), on whose extreme 

 outer lip we stood. A couple of miles away, two- 

 thirds of the way down on the opposite side, were 

 eight little black specks. They were scattered about 

 perfectly bare open ground, a narrow gully scarring 

 the hillside to their left. Out came our glasses, but 



O ' 



even before I had mine to my eye I felt certain 

 that the largest of those black specks was the big 

 ram, for there was only one ; so was Henry, for the 

 next second, " heedless of grammar, we both cried 

 * That's him ! ' ' The next thing to do was to get 

 at him, but the sheep were in rather a nasty place 

 for a stalk. The ewes were spread about the hill- 

 side, unconcernedly feeding ; two of them some 

 distance from the rest. The ram began walking 

 slowly over to them, and as he approached, one 

 bolted past him. The second was more coquettish 

 and stood her ground. The ram went up to her, 

 and raising his foreleg tapped her gently several 

 times. She did not move even then, and the ram 

 stayed by her. 



" No good waiting here," said Henry, " if they'll 

 stay there, we can do it." 



So off we went again, all the better for our little 

 rest, round behind the highest peak of Yarlakan, 

 with the great, white, silent hills sleeping their 

 eternal sleep around us. The famous Fraser River 

 showed faint and blue in the distance, dark woods 



