250 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



in the opposite direction, and from this the lad made 

 a still better spy — so good indeed that it was some 

 time before I managed to get a glass on two or three 

 does in the middle distance. The boy, however, 

 eagerly combated my suggestion that this again 

 was a lot not worth consideration. 



" To jxeyaXov ! ra Kepara \ " he kept on repeating, 

 making signs that the horns were a yard long at least. 

 At last I made out a buck, and the backs of some other 

 ibex, and, though I had not seen the big one, I had 

 no reason to doubt Star. Presently the herd dis- 

 appeared. The only thing to be done seemed to be 

 to try a direct approach, as the wind was fair, in 

 the hope of picking them up again, so we proceeded 

 to descend the cliff on which we had been lying. At 

 the bottom of it was a moraine extendingf to more 

 cliff and big rocks beyond. Just as Star had about 

 crossed this, and I was in full view in the middle 

 of it, I became aware of part, at least, of the herd, 

 not five hundred yards away, looking hard at us. 



For a while I lay motionless, and then crawled 

 back to the rocks I had just left, and got out my 

 telescope. Under the ridge of rock which now 

 formed my sky-line were a fairish buck and three 

 does feeding. Close beside, and in a line with them, 

 lay the skeleton of an ibex. The animals in view 

 did not seem alarmed, so as Star was now under 

 cover I crawled down the moraine on my back in full 

 view. Just as I had finished the descent and got 

 out of sight, down came the rain. I sheltered under 

 a rock as best I could, not daring to call to Star, 

 who was somewhere above, and who, of course, had 

 not the sense to bring me the mackintosh cape out 

 of my rucksack. After the shower was over he 



