54 SPORT AND TRAVEL 



ing either the kid or the nanny, I made no motion to 

 take up my rifle, which was lying beside me; but the 

 Doctor could not resist the temptation to try for a 

 shot pour la viande, as he explained and so 

 stretched out his arm towards his gun. But the 

 movement was seen by both mother and kid, who, 

 immediately suspecting that they had got into bad 

 company, were off the rock, round a juniper-tree, and 

 out of sight before their would-be slayer had time to 

 say " Sacristi," or make any other philosophical reflec- 

 tion that would occur to a disappointed sportsman at 

 such a moment. 



After this, it being past midday, we wended our 

 way to a ravine, where the old Turk said we would 

 find a little water, and there we made a frugal lunch 

 of dried figs and bread. Whilst enjoying our meal, 

 we saw a party of about a dozen natives of the country 

 passing along the top of a ridge of rocks above us, all 

 armed with long guns. This was a hunting party, the 

 Doctor informed me, that had been on the mountain 

 for some days, numbering altogether fifteen guns and 

 a lot of beaters. Although they had had a certain 

 number of goats driven past them, and had fired a 

 good number of shots at them, they had not bagged 

 a single animal, though they had wounded and lost a 

 young ram. This animal, our old Turk told us, on 

 being followed up had made right down to the foot of 

 the mountain, where it was seen by a peasant passing 

 with a bullock cart. He, on going up to it, found it 



