16 SHORT STALKS 



long gaze this would suddenly give place to an eager look, 

 while the glass was convulsively clutched ; then a, Ijroad 

 grin and a volley of smothered oaths followed. Ross's 

 30-inch stalker was a new revelation to them, and visibly 

 altered their attitude towards us. From that moment 

 they recognised that we did know a thing or two which 

 they had not dreamed of in their philosophy. 



These moutlon were close above the hioh road, and as 

 they would obviously be put away by the first person that 

 passed along it that morning, w^e did not attempt to stalk 

 them, especially as they were all females or kids, and were 

 separated from us by a deep valley. We went on along 

 the ridge till we came to another favourable spying-place, 

 and again called a halt. Again the telescope, or rather 

 the practised eye behind it, was successful. This time 

 the mouflon were in a shallow hollow in the ridge upon 

 which w^e stood, and by dropping dow^n to our left and 

 keeping along parallel to the ridge, we could reach them in 

 twenty minutes. The Sards assumed an air of profound 

 wisdom, and showed how they w^ere to be driven. I 

 pointed out how they might be approached with certainty 

 if they remained where they were. We compromised. 

 They were to place themselves and the other guns as 

 thouoh for a drive, and I w^as to make the stalk. A lone: 

 tramp through drifted snow took us to the rock which we 

 had marked as overlooking the macquia where they were. 

 Lying flat on the top of it, we scanned the slope below us 

 with infinite precautions. There was nothing to be seen 

 but the 'inffc(jifi((, which was here so high and dense that 

 it might have concealed a hundred. I sent Celestin to 

 a point on the ridge three hundred yards fiirther back. 



