SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



side of the ridge. Presently there was a splotch 

 of blood in one of the footprints, and I knew that 

 I was on the right scent. As I hurried along 

 through the pines and larches, I presently became 

 aware of my quarry standing amongst the trees 

 some twenty yards above me. With gleaming 

 eyes he stood looking down at me, but before he 

 could make up his mind to charge, I dropped 

 him with a bullet through the neck, just behind 

 the ear. 



The following afternoon we climbed a high 

 range of jagged peaks that lies to the south of the 

 village, our object being to catch the pigs as they 

 left the cover of the forests for their feeding - 

 grounds as dusk came on. Two hours' steady 

 climbing through the most enchanting woodland 

 scenery brought us to the crest of a knife-like 

 ridge between two pointed peaks some 2,000 feet 

 above the level of the valley bottom. Below us 

 on the one hand lay the dark woods of pine and 

 spruce, through which we had just climbed, on 

 the other tier upon tier of the purple ridges of 

 the foothills stretching away to the pink horizon. 



Away across the valley to our north rugged 

 ranges rose higher and higher, culminating in the 

 massive granite peak of Lo-yah Shan, whose 

 castellated summit caught the last pink rays of 

 the setting sun, while its base lay shrouded in 

 rapidly gathering mists and ever deepening 

 shadows. 



47 



