340 A RESTLESS FLOCK. 



at our leisure, watch the animals as they fed downwards. 

 There were eleven, and most of them carried very fine horns. 

 I almost thought I could recognise in the largest the wide- 

 awake leader of yesterday's flock. Presently they all lay 

 down, and as most game-animals are more vigilant when at 

 rest than when feeding, we could do nothing with them in 

 their present commanding position. Ten minutes had scarce- 

 ly elapsed when they were again on their feet, with all their 

 heads turned towards us. Although still at such a distance, 

 they had evidently got some inkling of our presence, probably 

 by means of the shifty wind. Led by the big and proportion- 

 ately knowing one, they betook themselves to a higher but 

 more approachable position on the slope, and after fidgeting 

 about for a long time, again settled themselves to rest. 



Now, I thought, was the time to try and circumvent them 

 by means of a long ravine that ran up within what I judged 

 to be shooting distance of where they lay. If we could only 

 manage to reach the foot of this unobserved, by worming 

 ourselves along for a considerable distance among the big 

 boulders in the bed of the stream, which was up here nearly 

 dry, our greatest difficulty would be overcome. But just as 

 I was about to move forward, Changter called my attention 

 to another ram that had suddenly shown himself on an ad- 

 jacent eminence, well out of shooting range, to our left, and 

 at once pronounced him to be one of our two big friends of 

 yesterday. At that moment we wished them somewhere 

 else, as the one in sight completely commanded the place 

 where we were lying, not daring to move a muscle, lest he 

 should detect us, and by his startled movements scare away 

 the flock that lay above in full view of him. What was still 

 more provoking, after a careful survey of the country in 

 every direction, the beast lay down, leaving only his head 

 and massive horns visible on the sky-line, in the most tan- 

 talising manner. This aspect of affairs was very exciting, no 

 doubt, but under existing circumstances rather embarrassing, 



