SPORT AND TRAVEL 39 



Before, however, we had decided upon our plan of ac- 

 tion, first one ram, and then the other, rose to his feet, 

 and, after being joined by the small female, commenced 

 to move very slowly and deliberately across the chaos 

 of rocks and stones amongst which they had been 

 lying. They soon crossed this open ground, and get- 

 ting amongst some scrubby bush, disappeared from 

 view. I thought they would soon show themselves 

 again, and indeed I deemed it not unlikely they would 

 ascend the spur of the mountain at the foot of which 

 they had been lying, and come right up of their own 

 accord to within shot of where we were sitting. It 

 looked the natural thing for them to do. However, 

 minute after minute passed, and we saw nothing more 

 of them, till at last it seemed evident that they had 

 again lain down in the shelter of the bushes amongst 

 which we had lost sight of them. The old Turk now 

 made signs that he wished me to work down on to 

 them, but I was loath to move, as it is one thing to stalk 

 an animal whose exact position you know, but quite 

 another to approach a patch of bush in some part of 

 which you know that an animal is lying concealed 

 without being sure of its exact position ; as in the 

 latter case the odds are ten to one that you are your- 

 self seen first, in which case, if you get a shot at all, it 

 will not be a good one. So I waited and waited and 

 waited, till at last the position of the sun warned me 

 that if I was to shoot a goat and get back to camp 

 before nightfall, I must make a move. 



