A PROTRACTED CHASE 91 



the members of the herd sitting about on 

 various shelves of the rock, while the two 

 biggest were on its very top. One, a dark 

 one, was lying with his side towards me, and 

 the other, the light-coloured one, was a few 

 yards nearer, on the extreme left edge of the 

 rock, lying on his side, with his legs from 

 the knee downwards stiff and sticking out 

 over the edge, but his tail was towards me, 

 the target a very small one. I threw an in- 

 quiring look towards Lassoo, who put his 

 mouth to my ear and whispered, " Patience, 

 sahib, he'll get up after a bit. Get your 

 rifle on to him, and wait till he moves and 

 gives you a certain shot." 



I slowly worked my rifle over the edge 

 and covered him, and then without moving 

 the rifle withdrew my head, leaving one eye 

 only over. A quarter of an hour passed 

 and nothing happened. Then my ibex 

 moved his head a little, and I thought he 

 might be going to move, so I got my aim 

 on to him ; yes, I was sure he was going 

 to rise. My finger gently pressed the 



