FAIRLY IN THE WILDS 123 



going quite independently and resting when 

 he wanted to. I was fit now, and it was 

 " my day out," and that day I was as good 

 as any of them, so that by two we were on 

 the sloping plain of snow which topped the 

 cliff where our ibex had been. The lunch 

 coolie was then made to sit behind a rock, 

 and we three went on. Now we were 

 within a hundred yards of the edge, and 

 we crawled along without a sound, hardly 

 daring to breathe, for we knew the animals 

 should be within a few yards of us. Then 

 Lassoo looked carefully over, but saw no- 

 thing. Perhaps we had not located the 

 spot properly. Then he crawled a yard or 

 so to the right, and then tried a bit to the 

 left. Suddenly he drew back and beckoned 

 me to look. I did so, and my heart stood 

 still as I saw, not ten yards off, the head 

 and horns of a fine ibex directly below 

 us, gazing down into the valley beneath. 

 I withdrew my head, not knowing what 

 to do. It was not much of a target, so 

 I waited, and then crawled a yard to the 



