70 A STALK FOR PORK. 



but the steep intervening ground was so open, that there 

 was no chance of getting near them from below, and it 

 was too late in the afternoon to attempt to approach them 

 from the ridge above, even had it been possible to reach 

 it ; we therefore proceeded to try our luck elsewhere. Two 

 moving objects are soon descried on a distant grassy slope. 

 Surely they must be great old tahr, for they seem almost 

 black against the steep background of dried-up grass on 

 the slope, which looks yellow and bright in the rays of 

 the declining sun shooting athwart it over the high rocky 

 ridge already in deep shadow behind us. On bringing the 

 telescope to bear on them, they turn out to be wild pigs 

 rooting about among the grass. As wild pork is more 

 esteemed by the hill-men than any venison, we at once 

 resolved to try for a shot. After a long, tiresome, round- 

 about stalk, we find, to our chagrin, our porkers vanished. 

 It was now getting late, and our fruitless endeavour had 

 taken us a long way from our lodging, so we made for it 

 as straight as possible, lest darkness should overtake us on 

 ground where travelling was by no means easy, even in 

 daylight. By the time we got back, the shades of night 

 had closed down on the mountains, their rugged crests 

 rising black and grim against the clear starlit sky. 



After rekindling the fire, our supper of gooral-mcat was 

 soon frizzling away on wooden skewers over the glowing 

 embers. The small share of our airy lodging I had appro- 

 priated for the night was rendered somewhat uncomfortable 

 from having a sharp immovable bit of rock sticking up in 

 it, which, from the limited space, I was unable to avoid; 

 but after a hard day's clambering, such trifling inconveni- 

 ences do not interfere very much with one's slumbers. 



The moonal pheasants were whistling loudly among the 

 adjacent crags when we sallied forth in the grey dawn. 

 My only shot was at an old cock-moonal, which offered so 

 tempting a chance, as we suddenly came on him where 

 he sat, whistling away on a point of rock below us, quite 



