THE LURE OF THE PLAINS 111 



raid on a marmot family. We could imagine easily into 

 what terror the tiny demon would throw a nest of mar- 

 mots comfortably snuggled together in the bottom of 

 their burrow. Probably it would be most interested in 

 the babies, and undoubtedly would destroy every one 

 within a few moments. All the weasel family, to which 

 the polecat belongs, kill for the pure joy of killing, and 

 in China one such animal will entirely depopulate a hen- 

 roost in a single night. 



At six o'clock Yvette and I left camp with the lama 

 and rode northeast. The plain swept away in long, 

 grassy billows, and at every rise I stopped for a mo- 

 ment to scan the horizon with my glasses. Within half 

 an hour we discovered a herd of antelope six or seven 

 hundred yards away. They saw us instantly and trotted 

 nervously about, staring in our direction. 



Dropping behind the crest of the rise, I directed the 

 lama to ride toward them from behind while we swung 

 about to cut them off. He was hardly out of sight when 

 we heard a snort and a rush of pounding hoofs. With a 

 shout to Yvette I loosened the reins over Kublai Khan's 

 neck, and he shot forward like a yellow arrow. Yvette 

 was close beside me, leaning far over her pony's neck. 

 We headed diagonally toward the herd, and they grad- 

 ually swung toward us as though drawn by a powerful 

 magnet. On we went, down into a hollow and up again 

 on its slope. We could not spare the horses for the ante-* 

 lope were already over the crest and lost to view, but 

 our horses took the hill at full speed, and from the sum- 



