300 THE EVIL GENIUS OF THE GLEN. 



down to feed, upon which we at once proceeded to gird 

 up our loins for the business before us. Two men we had 

 brought with us for carrying game were left as markers on 

 the ridge, with directions not to leave it unless the tahr 

 should move off before we could get within range of them. 

 As we left the ridge I turned a parting look towards 

 Doonagiri, where the bluish-grey shadows were now grow- 

 ing longer and deeper, and the declining sun was beginning 

 to tinge the western slopes of the mighty frozen pile with a 

 beautiful golden light. 



The long narrow gully we had ascended to the ridge was 

 unfortunately in full view of the tahr, and there was no 

 other way of getting down, but we trusted to being able 

 to descend it unobserved by keeping as much as possible 

 under cover of the rhododendrons on either side. An 

 hour's work from the ridge brought us within what we 

 judged must be pretty close under where we had last seen 

 the tahr from below, and as our markers had not left the 

 ridge, we knew the animals had not moved away. But the 

 evil genius of the glen, in the shape of ill-luck, seemed still 

 to dog our footsteps. To our dismay a dense cloud of mist 

 now came whirling round from below and soon hid every- 

 thing above. The wind, too, which had hitherto been right, 

 suddenly shifted and blew straight up towards the tahr. 

 In vain was all our patient waiting until the mist cleared 

 off, for when it temporarily did so, we saw that our markers 

 had quitted their post, from which we knew that our game 

 was up and gone. They afterwards told us that the tahr 

 were all lying within 150 yards, directly above us, at the 

 time we became enveloped in the mist. 



As it was now getting late, our guide proposed that, 

 instead of our returning by the long round below, we 

 should take a shorter way he knew of over the mountain 

 above. Now short-cuts are not invariably the easiest or 

 the quickest, and more especially when they have to be 

 made through the clouds. It was all very well for Ganna 



I 



