98 AMONG THE PAMIRS. 



which could scarcely be borne were it not for 

 the hope of better luck which buoys every true 

 hunter up, must to a certain extent be entered 

 into to enable a real impression to be formed of 

 the life we led. As a gambler lays his all on the 

 throw of the dice, so does a hunter stake his 

 hopes for the future, always with the firm belief 

 that the next move will be the lucky one. And 

 so we \vorked on in faith. 



Going to the nullah where I had made my last 

 shot and miss, I spotted a herd in a capital posi- 

 tion, and hugged myself with the idea of an easy 

 stalk. But not a bit of it. They left the nullah 

 to graze in the open. There was nothing for it 

 but to lie down and wait. The sun was getting 

 up, which meant a change of wind, and if they 

 did not move soon, my chance was gone. One 

 by one they went towards a depression, and dis- 

 appeared. As the last scut went out of sight, 

 I got up and ran after them, but before getting to 

 the edge, paused a moment to get my breath, 

 when, horror of horrors ! I felt the wind on my 

 back. It was all up then, but I went on and looked 

 over the brow. They had evidently got my 

 wind, and had made their first rush, for they 

 stood looking towards me. It was a long shot, 



