270 DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR. 



the back. All this, we afterwards learnt, was inveighing 

 against the Hanle men for taking us up to the pass, and 

 threatening to bind the Major's guide, whom they considered 

 the arch-offender, hand and foot, and drown him, as they 

 put it, for doing so. Their having suggested this mode of 

 disposing of him struck me as being scarcely compatible 

 with the means, considering that, as far as we could see, 

 there was not water enough to drown a flea in nearer than 

 the river far down below. When we arose. to depart they 

 all collected around their portly leader, and, as we retired, 

 followed us for a short distance, still vociferating loudly, 

 and finally they saluted us with a parting derisive jeer, 

 evidently under the impression that they had frustrated an 

 attempt on our part to enter their country. At hearing this, 

 such was the Major's ire, that he was for turning back to 

 forcibly resent what he considered an insult, and I had some 

 difficulty in persuading him that, under the circumstances, 

 discretion was the better part of valour. 



On our way back to camp, I thought I would again look 

 up the place where I had in the morning seen the solitary 

 doe, as she did not then seem to be at all scared. This time 

 I was determined not to lose another chance if she gave me 

 one, as our supply of animal food was done, and bucks were 

 scarce. I had not much difficulty in finding her again ; but 

 now she seemed to have some suspicion of my deadly intent, 

 for on each occasion that I tried to steal a march on her 

 among the broken ground, she would move off just out of 

 range. This sort of thing had happened for the third or 

 fourth time, and I had just topped a rise over which she had 

 gone, when, instead of seeing the doe, up sprang two fine 

 bucks from a hollow in front. As I felt pretty sure that 

 before going far they would stop to look back, I instantly 

 lay down, got my elbows well planted on the ground, and 

 the rifle levelled for a steady shot. Sure enough, they pulled 

 up at about a hundred yards. There was little to choose 

 between them, so I took the one that offered the better mark, 



