Wild Sheep in Seistan 135 



evidently moved up a branch ravine, and now all 

 stood 150 yards away, staring at the strange, 

 long-legged biped that was hurrying over the 

 level. Of the few seconds during which a 

 startled beast is sometimes stricken with tempor- 

 ary paralysis and rooted to the ground, I knew 

 that a second or two had already elapsed. I sat 

 down to miss that ram as he stood, to miss him 

 again as he fled. Then he got mixed up with 

 the racing herd, they all vanished into the ravine, 

 and I only caught a glimpse of them again far, 

 far away. A day's toil, all hopelessly wasted in 

 a denoument that lasted a brief half-minute. 



A wedge-shaped series of low round hills at 

 this point runs out into the flatness of the desert, 

 like ripples on a lake when struck by a sudden 

 gust. We followed the herd's tracks for miles 

 into these hills a long walk made doubly tiring 

 by disappointment but never saw them again ; 

 and so that ram was added to the list of " might- 

 have-beens." 



No doubt there were palliating circumstances : 

 must there not be a reason for everything ? I 

 was hurried, blown, the ram was half covered by 

 a female, the ground too hard to dig my heels 

 into. But I knew in my heart, and as likely as 

 not the shikari knew also, that I had missed a 

 shot that ought not to have been missed. 



