vii A LONG SHOT 195 



almost as we wished. Once we thought of climbing 

 straight up and trying to shoot him almost on a level, 

 but an avalanche falling with a horrid roar in the 

 couloir by the buttress made us think it better to beat 

 a retreat. There remained now but one chance, and 

 that was for me to creep along a narrow ledge, keeping 

 glued as close as I could to the rock. This I did, but 

 the bouquetin saw me, and without hesitation bounded 

 out of his hole. For a second he stopped broadside on 

 a rock, looking down towards Arthur. It was a long 

 nasty shot, close on 200 yards, and the beggar was 

 dreadfully the colour of the rocks. After the shot he 

 dashed off, and for a moment or two I thought I had 

 missed him. I had just got in another cartridge when, 

 to my relief, I saw the poor fellow fall backwards off a 

 steep rock and roll out of sight stone dead. He was, 

 as we afterwards found, hit exactly behind the shoulder. 

 There was no use me going up for him, so I left the men, 

 who were in great delight, singing congratulamine, to 

 bring him down, and went down to the fire. I was very 

 thirsty and drank freely of the Spanish wine which is 

 mighty strong. In about a quarter of an hour the men 

 came down with the bouquetin, and we laid him out and 

 examined him. He was a fine beast, about four years 

 old, all his incisors except the outer pair. Slight 

 indications of the side line, but no beard or smell 

 Returned in spirits, picking up Pierre who had been 

 lost 



Saturday, gth April 1881. There having been two 

 other bouquetin with the one I shot yesterday, and we 

 having found their tracks on the cornice below the 

 " lookout," we determined to beat the " rocks " again. 

 I forgot to say the dogs put the bouquetin up yesterday 

 in the Black Rocks, where the men found many marks. 

 Arthur went to my old post at the east end, and 



o 



