200 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



of weed-covered steeps, down which 1 thought 

 my burden might very well precede me. So 

 1 put him down and set him going, carefully 

 marking the spot at which he stopped. Then I 

 followed him at my leisure ; but though I 

 thought I went straight to him I searched for 

 half an hour before I could find him, and then 

 it was only thanks to Imat's keener eyes that 

 the beast who had nearly beaten us on one leg 

 did not elude me altogether when dead. 



There was great triumph in camp that 

 night when we towed in our game, and Platon 

 had plenty to do that Sunday cleaning the 

 heads, on my account, and the other chamois' 

 bones on his own. 



On Sunday the floodgates of heaven were 

 opened, and the rain poured down upon us in 

 good earnest. Our hut, which did very well 

 in fine weather, was no more watertight than 

 a sieve, and the rain had moreover dislodged a 

 large clan of black ants, two-thirds of an inch 



I 



