STARLIGHT AT HIGH ALTITUDES. 319 



I must by some mischance have shot over it. The contents 

 of the other barrel are sent after it, but it still holds on. This 

 time I feel certain I have missed, and my heart sinks within 

 me. But there is yet a chance, for the beast breaks into a 

 trot, and then into a walk, which becomes slower and slower, 

 until at last it pulls up and turns its drooping head to look 

 back. Taking the other rifle from Changter's ready hands, 

 and quickly adjusting the sight for 200 yards, which in such 

 rarefied air does for a much greater distance, I fire again. 

 " Shabash ! " (bravo), exclaims the old fellow, jumping up 

 excitedly, as the dong totters for a few seconds, and then fall- 

 ing heavily on its side, lies kicking in its death-struggle. 



On examining the carcass, we found that the first bullet had 

 passed clean through behind the shoulder, and had afterwards 

 knocked up the dust on the slope. The second had missed 

 entirely, and the last had struck within a few inches of the 

 first, but, taking a more forward direction, had actually per- 

 forated the heart, as was found on taking it out a lucky 

 shot ! 



It was rather disappointing to find that the animal was a 

 female, for the head's sake ; but I tried to console myself with 

 the idea that cow-beef was preferable to bull-beef, and was 

 certainly better than none at all, and her fine bushy tail was, 

 at any rate, a trophy worth having. 



As the sun was now getting low, we could do little more 

 that day than gralloch the dead beast. Whilst performing 

 this operation, another dong suddenly emerged from a gorge 

 below us; but catching our wind at once, it went off at a 

 rattling pace, and was soon lost to view. It was dusk by the 

 time we had recrossed the pass. Fortunately there was a 

 splendid bright moon to light us down the glen, as the rapid 

 stream flowing through it had to be crossed and recrossed 

 several times at certain places, and fording it in the dark 

 might have been a difficult, if not a dangerous undertaking. 

 There is little risk, however, of getting belated in Tibet if the 



