THE IBEX AT LAST 



my exertion and trembling with excitement, I finally 

 reached the crest. I rested here a moment, and my eyes 

 being now on a level with the top, looked cautiously 

 around, expecting to see the herd quite close ; but much 

 to my surprise there was not an ibex on the hill ! 



To say I was disappointed would scarcely be correct, 

 in fact, to tell the truth, I felt considerably relieved, for I 

 was in no condition for accurate shooting at the moment, 

 and doubt much if I could have hit a haystack at ten yards ! 

 However, I examined the hill carefully with my glasses, till 

 satisfied that the animals were not there, and was about to 

 climb down again, when I noticed another smaller ridge to 

 my right. Following this with my eyes I found it ascended 

 to a level somewhat higher than where I stood, so, con- 

 cluding the ibex were probably on top, I decided to follow 

 them. 



It was a long, but fairly gradual ascent, and took me 

 half an hour to accomplish, but I was rewarded for my 

 trouble, for as I gained the crest I saw the herd before me. 

 Yes, there they were at last ; about twenty of them in all, 

 with five good bucks amongst them, and scarcely two 

 hundred yards from where I stood ! 



It was the first time I had seen these animals so close, 

 and as they seemed quite unconscious of my presence I 

 watched them for some minutes. The wind being in my 

 favour and my " khaki " covered " topee " alone visible 

 above the crest, it would have been difficult for even an ibex 

 to detect me. 



However, as my last ten days' experience had taught me 

 to respect the marvellous instinct of these beasts, I was not 

 inclined to prolong the situation. Selecting the biggest 

 " saddle-back " amongst them, I raised my *500 cautiously 

 to the shoulder, and aiming carefully, slowly pulled the 

 trigger, but in spite of all my care I saw that I had 

 missed. 



The buck was still standing where he was, evidently 

 untouched, but looking about inquiringly as if wondering 

 whence the noise proceeded, whilst the rest of the herd 

 seemed equally perplexed. Without waiting to reload I 

 fired the second barrel, and this time with more success, for 

 as the sound of the report went echoing through the hills, I 



169 



