174 THE IMAGE OF WAK 



go round another way and meet me. Altogether 

 things looked better, but when we had got to the top 

 of the hill I was surprised to see the boat at sea. I 

 understood Star to explain that this would drive the 

 game up from the cliffs, which seemed a good idea. 

 We went round the southern end of the island, but 

 saw nothing till nine o'clock, when we made out a 

 single doe far below us. Then we made for our look- 

 out place of the previous day. Here we spied three 

 does on the big moraine hurrying upwards from the 

 sound of voices in the boat. Half an hour later 

 another herd of seven appeared, up wind this time. 

 The sense of smell, however, seemed less acute in these 

 ibex than in any other animal of the genus I know ; 

 or was it that the wind hereabouts blew upwards ? 



The lad said one of this last lot was " /xeyaXo?," but 

 the glass showed him to be very brown, though his 

 head was certainly better than my first one. I did 

 not trouble about the beast, but when they fed to 

 within two hundred yards (although we were lying 

 quite without cover), with no more precaution than 

 suspicious stares on the part of an old doe, 1 did 

 wriggle into some sort of shooting position and loaded. 

 I say " some sort of position," because I was in any- 

 thing but a Bisley attitude, both elbows in the air, 

 and only a small prickly bush between me and the 

 sheer drop into the sea. Still I did fire the shot, not 

 taking much pains about it. The bullet went pretty 

 close, for he jumped clean round. At first the ibex 

 failed to locate their foe, but at last they saw the 

 .smoke and disappeared. If I had only known that 

 this was to be my last chance at Antimilo, I could 

 easily have waited till they had fed over the ridge and 

 made sure of this fellow. 



