"Do goats ever make mistakes ?" 

 I asked. 



" I suppose so. He thrives among 

 cliffs that to us are impassable and 

 his strength is wonderful, but I 

 fancy now and then one gets in 

 a tight place from which there is 

 no retreat, and there must be 

 accidents. They have a habit of 

 grazing on the mountain sides where 

 the grass first appears, the only 

 grazing they do, beyond nibbling 

 on small plants, and this habit 

 perhaps is the cause of more mortal- 

 ity than any other, as many are 

 killed each spring by snowslides/' 



" I once saw a goat that had made 

 a mistake," said Sommers in his 

 slow drawl, following up Nimrod's 

 bait. He threw a stick of wood on 

 the fire while we waited. 



"They are so plumb sure of them- 

 selves, they go anywhere. This one 

 had walked out on a pine tree stuck 

 out from a cliff like that" (holding 

 a forefinger out level from his 

 hand). "The trunk was covered 

 with snow and patches of ice and 

 at the far end hung some moss. 

 He went out all right to get it, but 



