354 DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR. 



were gesticulating and clamouring away in an excited manner, 

 quite as unintelligible to us, with one exception, which was a 

 kind of pantomime of the act of binding the hands behind the 

 back. All this, we afterwards learnt, was inveighing against 

 the Hanle men for taking us up to the pass, and threatening 

 to bind the Major's guide, whom they considered the arch- 

 offender, hand and foot, and drown him, as they put it, for 

 doing so. Their having suggested this mode of disposing of 

 him struck me as being scarcely compatible with the means, 

 considering that, as far as we could see, there was not water 

 enough to drown a flea in nearer than the river far down 

 below. When we arose to depart they all collected around 

 their portly leader, and, as we retired, followed us for a short 

 distance, still vociferating loudly, and finally they saluted us 

 with a parting derisive jeer, evidently under the impression 

 that they had frustrated an attempt on our part to enter their 

 country. At hearing this, such was the Major's ire, that he 

 was for turning back to forcibly resent what he considered an 

 insult, and I had some difficulty in persuading him that, 

 under the circumstances, discretion was the better part of 

 valour. 



On our way back to camp, I thought I would again look 

 up the place where I had in the morning seen the solitary 

 doe, as she did not then seem to be at all scared. This time 

 I was determined not to lose another chance if she gave me 

 one, as our supply of animal food was done, and bucks were 

 scarce. I had not much difficulty in finding her again ; but 

 now she seemed to have some suspicion of my deadly intent, 

 for on each occasion that I tried to steal a march on her 

 among the broken ground, she would move off just out of 

 range. This sort of thing had happened for the third or 

 fourth time, and I had just topped a rise over which she had 

 gone, when, instead of seeing the doe, up sprang two fine 

 bucks from a hollow in front. As I felt pretty sure that 

 before going far they would stop to look back, I instantly lay 



