SPORT AND TRAVEL 115 



from our bivouac, I suddenly heard a slight noise on 

 the hillside above me. I was just then making my 

 way along the edge of a small watercourse which led 

 up to near the top of a ridge which I had to cross be- 

 fore getting home. The hillsides above me were bare 

 and stony, with little or no vegetation save a few scat- 

 tered juniper-trees and bushes. The noise I had heard 

 was the clatter of displaced stones ; and on turning my 

 eyes upwards in the direction of the sound, I immediately 

 saw four hinds and a stag moving along the hillside. 

 No doubt these were the same animals I had been after 

 the previous day. They were going at a slow trot, the 

 stag following at some little distance behind the hinds, 

 who had no doubt been the first to see me and take the 

 alarm. 



The distance between us I judged to be about three 

 hundred yards, and the light was bad, as it was al- 

 ready late ; but as the chance for a lucky shot was one 

 that might not occur again, I determined to try it, so 

 sitting down and taking a careful aim with the three 

 hundred yards' sight, I pulled the trigger just as the 

 point of the big stag's shoulder came in view. The 

 report was followed by a dull thud which assured me 

 that my bullet had found its billet ; but as it afterwards 

 proved, this first shot had struck the stag too far back 

 behind the ribs, and had it not been improved upon, I 

 probably should have lost him. He showed no sign 

 of having been hit, but continued trotting slowly along 

 behind the hinds. I fired two more shots at him in 



