A DANGEROUS BIT. 237 



advances to the brink of the ledge, where he gazes proudly 

 about him for a short time, and then lies down with a listless 

 confident air, as if quite satisfied with the security of his 

 exalted position. How noble he looks, as he reclines there 

 with his grand head towards us, his massive horns standing 

 out in relief against the dark background of overhanging rock ! 

 I can almost count the hairs of his flowing beard as I watch 

 him through the glass. The remainder of the herd have all 

 trooped down behind him, and form an almost supernatural- 

 looking group of wild beings, which seems to dissolve gradu- 

 ally away as the veil of mist again steals up and conceals 

 them from our entranced gaze. 



How to stalk them is now the question. The only place 

 from which there is a chance of getting a fair shot is the 

 ridge above, where the big pine-trees are, as the nature of 

 the ground is such that the animals will be pretty certain to 

 move down on the other side of it, and so out of our sight. 

 There is only a short distance across to it, but should the 

 mist clear off before we can reach it, we shall be in full view 

 of the herd ; and the slope is so frightfully precipitous, that it 

 makes one almost shudder to contemplate what the conse- 

 quences of a false step on the wet slippery ground might be. 

 However, there is no time to think much about it, for the 

 mist may lift again at any moment, when our chance of 

 reaching the ridge unobserved will be gone ; so, screwing up 

 my nerves, I determine to risk anything rather than lose 

 such an opportunity. 



Slowly and carefully we plant the sides of our feet in the 

 small nicks scraped out of the face of the hard, almost per- 

 pendicular slope, with the iron spuds on our long sticks, and 

 luckily reach the ridge just in time, for we can hear the 

 animals on the move again though we cannot see them. 

 Sticking the points of my toes into the ground, I cautiously 

 slip the long barrel of my single Henry rifle over the ridge, 

 whilst Hatha lays hold of the loose part of my nether gar- 



