270 IX THE LAND OP THE BORA. 



lunch at one without fail. With this view I took 

 nothing with me to eat or drink — nor even to 

 smoke. 



But the fates were against me, for, first of all, I 

 missed the wood path I ought to have taken, 

 which led up to the Velikigradac ; and, secondly, 

 having placed my rucksack on a fallen tree to sit 

 on whilst waiting for the dog, who had gone off 

 on the line of a roedeer, I left it there on rising, 

 and had about half an hour's walk back for it. It 

 was then I discovered that I had not brought my 

 watch. Finally, I gained the object of my journey 

 — the rocky saddle between Velikigradac and 

 Zeleni Pas. In the snow-covered glen beyond 

 there were often chamois. On this occasion it 

 was vacant, but the field-glasses soon picked up 

 three chamois right up at the bottom of the cliffs 

 in the direction of the Botin. One lay down on 

 a ledge of rock, and the other two went on, and 

 took their quarters up in a curious place, behind 

 the snow which formed a mass detached from the 

 base of the cliff. They kept on coming out for a 

 look, so I guessed they had my wind. In any 

 case, I could not advance far without being seen. 

 Things looked pretty blue, but still I must have a 

 try. An approach from below is almost invariably 

 a failure, but the unexpected is a big element in 

 sport. Indeed, in this part the correct approach 

 from above is all but impossible, for the chamois 



