A DISAPPOINTMENT. 341 



for as long as he remained there we dared not budge an inch. 

 How bitterly I now repented not having taken my old com- 

 panion's advice, for had I done so we should most probably 

 have been above our friend, and perhaps have got a chance at 

 him or his companion. At length, to my great relief, he 

 again rose, looked uneasily about him, and moved out of 

 sight. 



We now lost no time in pursuing our tactics with regard to 

 the flock, which had not altered its position. Keeping an eye 

 in the direction where the single ram had disappeared, we 

 crept slowly along venire a terre amongst the shingle and 

 boulders until we reached the ravine, apparently unobserved 

 by the animals, which continued to lie as still and almost as 

 indistinct as the stones beside them. After ascending the 

 ravine until we imagined we were about level with the ani- 

 mals, we turned to the left up its sloping side, near the top 

 of which I sat down to recover breath before taking the shot 

 I now felt pretty sure I was about to get. To my dismay, on 

 peering over, nothing was to be seen but the grey stones on 

 the spot where the flock had been lying, nor was there an 

 animal anywhere near it ; but away in the distance an Ovis 

 was just disappearing over the crest of a distant spur. He 

 was immediately followed by six others, their horns looking 

 larger than ever, as through the spy -glass I could see each 

 ram in succession top the ridge and for a moment stand out 

 in relief on the sky-line. There was no accounting for their 

 quick and sudden retreat, as the wind had seemed favourable 

 during the latter part of our stalk unless they had taken 

 alarm at the suspicious movements of the ram we had seen 

 below, or perhaps at the rather unusual sound in these 

 regions of one or two loud claps of thunder that had pealed 

 among the crags above them. It was just possible, too, they 

 might have been watching us when crawling among the 

 boulders ; for wild animals, if you are at a considerable dis- 

 tance from them, and not to windward, will sometimes stand 



