At St. Mary's 



a sheep. Our plans were soon formed. 

 We would keep within the timber as long 

 as possible, and moving well off to our 

 left, approach them just below the line of 

 the ridge, always keeping between their 

 position and ours a clump of fir-brush 

 which we could discern in the immediate 

 vicinity of the spot where I had made the 

 discovery. 



We started at a rapid gait, all fatigue 

 forgotten. We had not gone a hundred 

 yards when we came upon the place where 

 the band had slept the night before. Up 

 to this time I think Hardeman had been 

 rather sceptical as to whether I had really 

 seen any game ; but now his eye lighted 

 up, as he realized that we were really in 

 the immediate neighborhood of the game 

 we sought. 



The prettiest little beds imaginable these 

 animals had made for themselves. Round, 

 shallow basins were scooped out of the 

 loose shale here and there; and so smooth 

 they appeared, with the small, flat pieces 

 of rock forming them, that they really 

 gave one the idea of being soft. 



My imagination depicted the sheep 

 reaching this spot the evening before, an 

 old ram in the lead. I saw them stop, and 

 busy themselves in selecting and preparing 



274 



