A CRAWL OVER THE SNOW. 193 



objected to the rough treatment adopted in my case, there 

 was nothing for it but to sling up his arm with a turban 

 and return to camp. The poor fellow bore the pain he 

 must have suffered during our long and rough trudge most 

 pluckily. On reaching the tents, my cook, in whose 

 surgical skill he placed more confidence than in mine, at 

 once took him in hand, and, aided by the patient's own 

 directions, soon replaced the dislocated joint. 



As the day was still young, I proposed to Gamoo that 

 we should take a turn in an adjacent birch wood, on the 

 chance of finding a musk-deer or a bear. Hatha, who 

 seemed quite hurt at the idea of being left behind on ac- 

 count of his mishap, insisted on accompanying us. Think- 

 ing there would be little or no chance of seeing markhor in 

 the direction we were going, I took with me only the short 

 double rifle, as being more handy than the long Henry in 

 the event of getting a snap-shot at anything in the wood. 



After beating through the wood, we emerged on to a 

 gently sloping bed of hard snow, about a hundred yards 

 broad, that extended far up between steep, rugged, and 

 partially pine-clad acclivities, until it terminated among a 

 wilderness of bald grey rocks and huge snow-capped crags 

 that towered aloft at its head. Although the sun had 

 sunk behind the high sky-line of the mountains, it was 

 still early to turn our steps campwards ; so I suggested a 

 stroll up this long stretch of snow, in the hope of meeting 

 with some old bruin out for his evening promenade. 



We sauntered carelessly along for some time, taking an 

 occasional glance up towards the wooded slopes and crags 

 on either side, when, with a suppressed exclamation, down 

 crouches Gamoo on the snow, and in a second Hatha, 

 Sultana, and myself are prostrate beside him. Not a 

 syllable is spoken as we crawl on all-fours over the snow- 

 bed, until we get close under the steep hillside rising from 

 its margin, when Gamoo points in the direction of the grey 

 rocks ahead, and whispers " Markhor ! " 



N 



