IN THE HIMALAYAS 93 



much of it. He said, after the manner of the 

 East, " If it's hit it's hit, if it's not hit it's not hit; 

 a matter of luck ! " 



I tried to sit on a bit of precipice to steady myself ; 

 one coolie held my feet and Nebra propped me up 

 as I fired the "303 rifle. The white ibex and another 

 one were lying close together with their noses nearly 

 touching, and the bullet splashed up the dust 

 between them. I fired another shot or two at the 

 white kael as he moved off, with no apparent result, 

 and they all disappeared round rocks. 



We all thought I had made clean misses and we 

 started at once to find a path and scramble down, 

 making for camp, when we heard a stone falling 

 from above us; the white ibex stood looking at us 

 five or six hundred yards away. Nebra said he 

 would never stay there alone when the others had 

 all gone if he had not been hit. I fired again and 

 he took no notice of the shot, which of course did 

 not hit him, but struck a rock near. He soon 

 afterwards lay down. 



I felt as if I could not climb another yard, at any 

 rate uphill, so Nebra took the rifle to go up and 

 finish him, and I started for home, down a nasty 

 steep side of hill, taking the coolie Ahmedu with me. 

 Soon after starting I found my grass shoes had worn 

 completely through, and the spare ones that we 

 had brought with us had been taken off by the man 

 that Nebra had with him. It was poor consolation 

 to think that they were all dangling to his waist, 

 not far distant. The two or three pairs of socks I 

 was wearing gradually wore themselves into large 



