108 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



all this set me mad with excitement and a wild exhilara- 

 tion. Suddenly I realized that I was yelling like an 

 Indian. Yvette, too, was screaming in sheer delight. 



The antelope were two hundred yards away when I 

 tightened on the reins. Kublai Khan stiffened and 

 stopped in twenty yards. The first shot was low and to 

 the left, but it gave the range. At the second, the rear- 

 most animal stumbled, recovered itself, and ran wildly 

 about in a circle. I missed him twice, and he disap- 

 peared over a little hill. Leaping into the saddle, we 

 tore after the wounded animal. As we thundered over 

 the rise I heard my wife screaming frantically and saw 

 her pointing to the right where the antelope was lying 

 down. There was just one more shell in the gun and my 

 pockets were empty. I fired again at fifty yards and 

 the gazelle rolled over, dead. 



Leading our horses, Yvette and I walked up to the 

 beautiful orange-yellow form lying in the fresh, green 

 grass. We both saw its horns in the same instant and 

 hugged each other in sheer delight. At this time of the 

 year the bucks are seldom with the does and then only 

 in the largest herds. This one was in full pelage, spot- 

 less and with the hair unworn. Moreover, it had finer 

 horns than any other which we killed during the entire 

 trip. 



Kublai Khan looked at the dead animal and arched 

 his neck, as much as to say, "Yes, I ran him down. He 

 had to quit when I really got started." My wife held 

 the pony's head, while I hoisted the antelope to his back 

 and strapped it behind the saddle. He watched the pro- 



