124 



MICHAELS LUCK. 



rather blown, missed him clean. I ran forward and saw 

 him standing at the corner of a rock but I was too late ; 

 as I pulled the trigger he disappeared and I heard the ball 

 strike the rock, and there was an end of it. 





THE OLD SADDLE-BACK. 



One morning in October, 1856, I went with Michael 

 to Codaka-Mullay, a well-known ibex hill; we had to take 

 a rope to help us to scale the almost perpendicular preci- 

 pices so as to reach the upper plateau. At one part we were 

 stopped by a ledge, which overhung the rock, but working 

 round and with the help of the rope, we eventually gained 

 the plateau. We soon came upon the tracks of our game, 

 and at the further end we saw an ibex lying down on some 

 rocks. I think he saw us, but as he did not appear to be 

 alarmed, Michael slid down under cover of the grass till he 

 got within a hundred yards — his ball struck just too low. 



