254 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



till i i a.m. without seeing" a single animal in any of 

 the nullahs ; but on reaching fresh ground, and follow- 

 ing a high rocky ridge, I suddenly heard a shuffle 

 on the snow amongst the boulders below us, and 

 caught sight of two sheep that had jumped out of 

 the rocks and were making downhill. By the time 

 I was ready to shoot they were fairly 200 yards 

 away. Another running shot was my only chance, 

 and as I fired I distinctly saw the larger one stagger, 

 though he only stopped a second and continued his 

 course downhill, and then up again and over the 

 ridge. I naturally rushed across the corrie and 

 reached the place where he had disappeared, only 

 in time to see him pop over the next ridge. It was 

 a desperate chase, and we saw him once more when 

 he was galloping steadily on. The pursuit had to 

 be abandoned, for it was now fairly late in the after- 

 noon, and we had gone away from camp a very long 

 distance that day. Painfully retracing our steps, we 

 were returning home without precaution over the 

 ground we had passed in the morning, and where 

 we had found nothing, when suddenly my hunter 

 pointed out a couple of fine old rams staring at us 

 from a slope above, and presently starting off at a 

 sharp trot. In my state of excitement I decided 

 to follow them, which of course was a very rash 



