350 RESULT OF FORGETTING TO LOAD. 



been mistaken in his suspicions, for he quietly turned round 

 and began feeding. In a short time, however, he became 

 restless, and after wistfully looking about him, as if he had 

 suddenly missed his companion, trotted off in the direction 

 he had gone, hardly stopping until his form appeared on the 

 sky-line at the top of the slope, and after a good look around 

 him, he too moved out of sight. 



Up we jumped and followed at our best pace, which, in the 

 thin air of an altitude of well over 16,000 feet, could not be 

 very fast, although the ascent was quite gentle. On nearing 

 the brow I made for some large stones, from behind the cover 

 of which to view the ground beyond, and at the first glance 

 had the satisfaction of seeing both the bucks feeding within 

 130 yards of where I lay. Singling out what I thought the 

 better of the two, I luckily dropped him in his tracks. The 

 other sped off for a short distance and then pulled up. If I 

 hit him with the second barrel, as, from the sound, I thought 

 I had, it must have been too far back in the body, for he 

 galloped off and was lost to view in a dip of the ground. 

 Exchanging the empty Whitworth rifle for another, a breech- 

 loader, I followed after the buck, and found him standing at 

 the bottom of the hollow ; but before I could get my aim he 

 bounded off, though only to a short distance, when he again 

 stood and offered a fair broadside chance. I pressed the 

 trigger click ! a bad cartridge, thought I, and cocked the 

 other hammer ; click ! again, and away trotted the goa. I 

 opened the breech and found nothing but daylight in the 

 barrels : dolt that I was, I had forgotten to put in the car- 

 tridges. 



As the buck had taken a direction exactly opposite to the 

 one I wished to go, and my Tartar guide said it was a long 

 way to our next camping-place, I abandoned further pursuit, 

 as, even if wounded, the animal might have led me a long 

 and a hungry chase, for I had stupidly neglected to take any 

 provender with me that morning. We therefore returned 



