SPORT AND TRAVEL 37 



in the latter part of the day had it not been that by 

 that time we had reached the top of the mountain, and 

 in the afternoon a breeze came up from the sea, which 

 mitigated to some extent the intense heat. This was 

 another blank day, as we did not see a wild goat of 

 any sort, though there were evidently some about, as 

 was proved by their spoor and droppings, so I still 

 hoped for better luck on the morrow. The old head 

 man seemed much put out at my not having seen any 

 goats, and accused Mahmoud of not having carried out 

 his instructions and taken me to the best places to find 

 them. I do not think the boy was at all in fault, as 

 we had been over some very excellent-looking ground 

 and seen a good deal of spoor, though we had not had 

 the luck to actually sight game. Finally, the old man 

 said that on the following day, which would have to be 

 my last on the mountain, he would accompany me 

 himself, and, if Allah so willed it, would get me a shot 

 at a good goat. 



In order to take full advantage of the cool of early 

 dawn, I was astir before daylight the next morning, 

 and, accompanied by Mahmoud and the head man, 

 commenced to climb the mountain-side just as day 

 was breaking. It was still early when we reached the 

 summit, and here we had a rest, and enjoyed a frugal 

 meal of biscuits, dried figs, and water. So far we had 

 seen nothing, but the old Turk seemed full of confi- 

 dence, and, after our rest, again led the way along 

 a spur of the mountain running towards Atrassan. 



