1 88 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



approached, he quietly gazed at us and walked slowly 

 off, apparently disappointed at our interference, and 

 looking reproachfully back at us now and then. This 

 was ill omen indeed, and hardly had we advanced 

 when up sprang, from behind a mass of rock, a 

 couple of ewes, and trotted off in the direction we 

 had chosen for approaching the rams, disappearing 

 at the very point from which I had intended to take 

 my shot ! No words can convey an idea of my 

 feelings at that moment. As for Taba, he gave 

 vent to his rage in his usual broken English vocabu- 

 lary, which by no means helped matters. A faint 

 hope, however, inspired us that the sheep might not 

 have been completely scared away, and that we 

 might perhaps still find them in the neighbourhood. 

 I left the horses by the stream and, together with 

 Taba, followed up the gully in low spirits. The 

 wind was blowing in our faces as steadily as could 

 be, and had it not been for those ewes I certainly 

 should have given my rifle a chance. When we 

 reached the top, however, we found that our pre- 

 cautions were useless, for the sheep had vanished, 

 and we soon stood on the place where they had 

 been lying, evidence of this being afforded by the 

 numerous fresh droppings on the ground. We were 

 now on a lofty plateau at the back of the highest 



