MONGOLIAN ARGALI 



back. He ran a few steps and stopped. Again I fired 

 hurriedly, and the ball missed him by the fraction of 

 an inch. I saw it strike and came to my senses with a 

 jerk; but it was too late, for the rifle was empty. Be- 

 fore I could cram in another shell the sheep was gone. 



Na-mon-gin was absolutely disgusted. Even though 

 I had killed two fine rams, he wanted the big one. 

 "But," I said, "where did the fourth sheep come from? 

 I saw only three." He looked at me in amazement. 

 "Didn't you know that the ram which walked by us 

 went over to the others?" he answered. "Any one 

 ought to have known that much." 



Well, I hadn't known. Otherwise, I should have held 

 my fire. Right there the Mongol read me a lecture on 

 too much haste. He said I was like every other for- 

 eigner always in a rush. He said a lot of other things 

 which I accepted meekly, for I knew that he was right. 

 I always am in a hurry. Missing that ram had taken 

 most of the joy out of the others; and to make matters 

 worse, the magnificent animal stationed himself on the 

 very hillside where we had been sitting when we saw 

 them first and, with the little ewe close beside him, 

 watched us for half an hour. 



Na-mon-gin glared at him and shook his fist. "We'll 

 get you to-morrow, you old rabbit," he said; and then 

 to me, "Don't you care. I won't eat till we kill him." 



For the next ten minutes the kindly old Mongol 

 devoted himself to bringing a smile to my lips. He 

 told me he knew just where that ram would go; we 

 couldn't have carried in his head anyway; that it would 



