258 THE KARAKUL PAMIR AND HOME. 



upon him. This was rather a difficult business, 

 having to go round the hill out of sight, and yet 

 get well above his level. 



On getting round, he had disappeared again. 

 Could he have moved ? It was not possible to 

 see quite to the bottom of the water-course, and 

 if the Ovis lay in it, he would be out of my sight 

 until walking right on to him. To make sure, 

 the shikari went above to see if his tracks showed 

 as having gone over the top, which was not far 

 from where we were. He had gone no distance 

 before he came slithering back in great excite- 

 ment, having spotted the goolja in the water- 

 course below. He showed me the exact spot, 

 so I started off as quickly as the nature of the 

 ground would permit. It was very steep, and 

 here and there slopes of loose shale had to be 

 avoided. Nearer and nearer I got to the spot 

 where he lay, until I at last reached the edge of 

 the watercourse, which was about eight feet deep, 

 and was just crawling on, when I heard my 

 friend get up, and the stones rattled down the 

 nullah. There was a pause. Up came a head, 

 and then a body, within ten yards of me. A 

 bang, a crash, and over he went head over heels, 

 shot through the heart and finished at last ! 



