24 IBEX SHOOTING 



Imagine us, therefore, about to start for 

 the day. First goes Lassoo, a veteran of 

 forty-five years, who has been at the game 

 since he was a boy of fifteen. A tall spare 

 man is he, broad-chested and strong-limbed, 

 looked up to by all for his honesty, and 

 obeyed implicitly by all as a past master 

 of his craft : see him armed with his faithful 

 stick (which has seen the death of many a 

 veteran ibex, to judge by the marks on its 

 haft), with a small pair of binoculars for the 

 actual stalk, and his telescope, in the use of 

 which he is extraordinarily proficient. 



Next comes " Master/' with nothing to 

 inconvenience him, as he cannot afford to 

 do anything which would render his un- 

 accustomed feet less sure in the bad places. 

 After him, close behind, follows " Muk- 

 sooda/' the second shikari, a son of old 

 Lassoo ; a strong, active man of twenty-five, 

 who is learning his work, and carries the 

 rifle; and also, though this you are not told, 

 sticks closely to you in case of a slip, and 

 many a time had I to thank him for that 



