172 LARGE GAME. chap. hi. 



first time that we had found them there, we were in con- 

 sequence aware that, unless headed, they would as they 

 always had escape comparatively unharmed through the 

 opening already mentioned. It was therefore necessary 

 to send to the waggon for men, as at least two would be 

 wanted to guard that pass, and we also thought that if a 

 man could be placed at each end of the bush, where they 

 must necessarily otherwise break, they might perhaps be 

 turned back again to us in the valley. 



All this took time, and before we got away, the sun, in 

 more general use among hunters than watches, marked 

 eleven o'clock. However, we felt that the time had not 

 been wasted, and trotted along under the cheering influ- 

 ences of fresh air and bright sunshine, until we came in 

 sight of the great herd, numbering upwards of two 

 hundred, which was scattered, chiefly at rest, though some 

 were still grazing, over the whole of the bottom of the 

 glen. On those feeding perceiving us, and giving the 

 alarm by their anxious gaze, the others began to rise, first 

 singly or in pairs, doing so leisurely and stretching them- 

 selves before turning to watch us, but soon in groups of 

 half a dozen or more, until the ground seemed alive with 

 them, every eye being turned on our movements. We 

 were still walking, as we had done the moment we saw 

 them, so as not to give the alarm too quickly, and now 

 took the opportunity of giving the after-riders their last 

 instructions, which were simply to ride steadily in the 

 rear of the herd so long as they kept heading for the top 

 of the glen, and, while assisting us as circumstances 

 allowed, to keep their horses fresh and ready for us when 

 we wanted them ; our own tactics being that one should 



