A SPLENDID HEAD 191 



not before he had realised the actual size of the two 

 largest rams. One of these had then fallen to his 

 rifle, and the horns measured, as taped on the spot, 

 19?, inches in girth at the base, 60 inches length along 

 the curve, and 40 inches from tip to tip. The other 

 he thought was a still more massive head, though 

 perhaps shorter in length, and he strongly advised me 

 to start off directly and make an attempt to secure 

 it, as the animals, he said, had not been greatly 

 frightened by his single shot. The reason he had 

 stayed out all night was that darkness had set in 

 while he was in a steep gorge, and he found himself 

 shut up in a cul-de-sac amongst inaccessible rocks, 

 where further advance was out of question both for 

 men and ponies. He had accordingly squatted down 

 with his hunters under a protruding ledge and waited 

 for dawn. A small bit of chocolate divided in three 

 had constituted their evening meal ; but their spirits 

 were kept up by the day's success. On hearing of 

 the possibility of coming across the other large ram 

 I decided to take my chance without delay, and 

 started at J.30 with Taba, who was most anxious 

 on my behalf, and who, though he had spent the 

 whole night in the open, insisted upon accompanying 

 me. But this hurried departure was doomed to be 

 a failure. We covered that day miles and miles of 



