270 The White Goat 



groups, and by ones and twos, changing their 

 positions very leisurely; and they seemed num- 

 berless; they were up and down the hill every- 

 where. Getting to them this day was not 

 possible, since most of the day was already gone, 

 and we were high up on an opposite mountain 

 side. 



" There's a hundred thousand goat ! " exclaimed 

 T ; and I should have gone home asseverating 

 that I had seen at least hundreds. 



" Let's count them," said I. We took the 

 glasses and did so. There were thirty-five. 



From these thirty-five during the next two 

 days I completed with no trouble, save hard 

 climbing, my tally of desired specimens, an 

 adult male and female, and a kid, for my own 

 keeping, with two males to give away to friends. 

 And I learned a little more about the goat. 



The female is lighter built than the male, and 

 with horns more slender a trifle. And (to re- 

 turn to the question of diet) we visited the pas- 

 ture where the herd had been, and found no sign 

 of grass growing, or grass eaten ; there was no 

 grass on that mountain. The only edible sub- 

 stance was a moss, tufted, stiff, and dry to the 

 touch. The largest horns at the base measured 



