AFTER GOAT ON THE MAINLAND 143 



cliff. We both thought they were the two we 

 were after, who had seen us or got our wind. 



We were now 6,000 feet up and it was quite 

 cold enough without a blizzard which suddenly 

 set in with a bitter wind, which drove the snow 

 and sleet almost through one. 



We were huddled under a sloping rock, 

 trying to get a little shelter, when it struck me 

 to send Kirby up and see if by any chance the 

 goats were still where we had seen them first, 

 as possibly the two we saw moving away were 

 another lot. It was lucky I did so, for he was 

 back in a few minutes with the good news that 

 our goats were feeding quietly in a hollow be- 

 hind a ridge not a hundred yards above us. 



I never was so cold in my life, but leaving 

 Kirby behind, I crawled up to the top of the 

 ridge, and looking over saw to my delight a good 

 billy and two nannies feeding a hundred yards 

 away. 



Getting into position for a careful shot, I 

 proceeded to remove the caps of my telescope 

 sight, which I had kept on up to the last moment 

 on account of the rain and the snow. 



At the critical moment the front cap jammed, 

 and with my half-frozen hands it took me a 

 couple of minutes, which seemed hours, to get 

 it off. Peering over I saw the goats moving 



