SPORT AND TRAVEL 77 



never gave me another, as instead of crossing the 

 gully they disappeared over its edge, and then, run- 

 ning down its bottom, did not show themselves again 

 till they had reached a point far below us. They then 

 turned back towards our camp along the lower slopes 

 of the mountain. These two goats had, I suppose, 

 been lying amongst the bushes on the mountain-side 

 above us, and a gust of wind blowing up from the 

 plain below must have given them warning of our 

 proximity; but at first they had evidently been only 

 very slightly alarmed, and could hardly have realised 

 where exactly the danger lay, and had the wind but 

 refrained from blowing for another few moments, they 

 would probably have shown themselves as they moved 

 slowly through the bushes, and given me a very fair 

 chance at one or other of them. As it was, they had 

 only given me a very difficult chance, and, such as it 

 was, I had failed to take advantage of it. Mustapha 

 now gave me to understand that they would not run 

 very far, but would make their way back towards our 

 camp along the lower slopes of the mountain, and that 

 by following cautiously on the line they had taken, 

 and examining the country in front of us from every 

 high bit of ground, we might yet come up with them 

 again before the day was over. 



On our way down to where we had the last glimpse 

 of the goats, we passed close to the pine-trees on 

 which the eagle's nest had been built, and put the 

 bird off it again, so that, early as it was in the season 



