442 INTRUDERS ON THE SCENE. 



had almost reached a spot which we had judged to be within 

 200 yards of him, when, suddenly taking alarm, he sprang to 

 his feet. From the alacrity with which he at once sped 

 upward and disappeared over the top of the range, it was 

 evident that, although his haunch was badly wounded, no 

 bone was broken ; and having detected us on his track, he 

 would most likely go a very long distance without stopping, 

 as a wounded beast on being alarmed often will do. At any 

 rate, this was the last we ever saw of him, though possibly he 

 fell to the rifle of another sportsman, who, when hunting on 

 this ground shortly after us, killed a big ram there which had 

 a recently-made wound in its haunch. 



On our way out in the early morning, several lots of small- 

 horned rams and ewes had been seen, and during our 

 stalk after the wounded animal, we had noticed five rams 

 move over the top of the range. We had also descried in the 

 distance what we thought to be the eight remaining rams of the 

 flock I had thinned the day before ; but as they would now, 

 most probably, be well on the alert, we turned our attention 

 to the five fresh ones, three of which carried grand horns. 

 We came upon them where they had stopped to graze in a 

 ravine on the north side of the range, and we had just reached 

 a spot from which, in another minute, I should have got 

 an easy chance within 150 yards, when three other rams 

 suddenly appeared, coming over the rise on the far side of the 

 ravine, and instantly catching sight of us, turned tail and 

 made off. Before I could get ready to shoot at the rams 

 in the ravine, they also, taking alarm at the flight of the three 

 intruders, started off at a gallop, and put a good 300 yards 

 between us and them before they pulled up on the crest of 

 a sloping spur, beyond another ravine running down on 

 our right into the one they had just quitted. The first shot, 

 sent at the big lord of the flock, knocked up the dust several 

 yards short of him. From not having seen us, and being far 

 out, the animals seemed only startled, so I had time for 



