REINDEER-STALKING 107 



not to be resisted. The snow was smooth and hard. 

 Halfway across I slipped, and found myself sliding 

 downwards towards the precipice below. Instinctively 

 I threw out my left hand, the rifle being in the right, 

 and by a most fortunate chance managed to grip a 

 point of rock just below the surface of the snow. 

 Thinking over the matter afterwards, I can only 

 believe that my left hand found that point of rock 

 simply because my time had not yet come. A few 

 more yards of sliding, at quickly increasing pace, 

 would have taken me over the precipice, and so to 

 certain death, on the rocks far down below me. 



Having gripped the friendly point of rock, I 

 gradually secured fresh foothold in the snow, then 

 rushed the few remaining yards to the safety of the 

 bare ground beyond ; and now the excitement of the 

 stalk resumed its sway. 



Ole wisely stayed behind, and joined me after a 

 long detour. Going on alone, I reached the mouth 

 of the corrie, crawled up a burn, got a fair chance at 

 the buck in question, managed a clean kill, and so the 

 incident of the slip and the escape was happily put 

 out of mind. 



