SPORT IN THE TEKKES : IBEX 105 



was hit. Down we went to the place, but we could 

 make nothing of it. No blood, and where the 

 tracks were visible among the rocks they were too 

 confused to follow ; female ibex kept bobbing in 

 and out among the cliffs above, but they were of 

 no interest to us, and of the big fellow there was 

 not a sign. We went down to the bottom, thinking 

 that he might have fallen over ; but if so we couldn't 

 find him, so decided to give it up and go down, as it 

 was now rather late and camp an unknown distance 

 away. Being at the bottom of the side-valley, we 

 kept on down it, not wanting to toil up on to the 

 ridge again, and this let us in for more than we had 

 bargained for, as when we were within a thousand 

 feet of the main valley we were stopped by a cliff. 

 It was only a hundred feet or so, but more than 

 enough. 



Vainly we tried to find a way down or along the 

 obstacle. At the risk of my neck I went some 

 distance along a ledge which overhung the small 

 abyss a path used by ibex, but not nice for a man, 

 as it was only just wide enough to stand on, and 

 the cliff at the back was also sheer and smooth. 

 Presently I came upon a break in the ledge four or 

 five feet wide, and this defeated me altogether ; 

 nothing but an ibex could go that way with reason- 

 able safety ; and even if I could manage it, I doubted 

 if the Kalmak would be able to follow, as he was a 

 good deal shorter than I am, so had not so long a 



