318 WILD SPAIN. 



sterling in respect of license duty during half a century, 

 not one centimo of which is ever likely to find its way into 

 the Spanish Treasury. 



Poor Eamon, though well provided with powder and ball, 

 had but two caps ; hence it was necessary, after the mis- 

 fire, to draw the faithless charge in order to save intact the 

 two precious mitos. " Meanwhile," continued Eamon, "the 

 two ibex had moved up the rocks, and soon crossed the 

 sky-line just above those snow-gullies. They did not appear 

 much alarmed, never having seen me ; so I followed round 

 the shoulder of the main spur, as the goats had gone down- 

 wind. In the afternoon I came up with them, just where I 

 showed you. There were now four of them — all big males, 

 and as the two nearer were lying down in a favourable 

 position, I got a good shot, killing the largest quite dead, 

 with a bullet through chest and heart. 



" The other three, still uncertain whence the shot had 

 come, owing to the echo reverberating among the hills, 

 hesitated a few moments, and then sprang downwards, one 

 passing so near that, had I had another gun, I might 

 perhaps have killed him. My dog, which had followed me, 

 and which was well accustomed to herding my own goats, 

 now gave chase. I knew the ibex could not pass the ice- 

 slope of Cerradillo [two miles away] , and in the hope that 

 I might cut off their retreat by the Garganta del Canchon, 

 I set off, after reloading, to cross the two ravines." (This, 

 by the way, would have taken an average Englishman at 

 least an hour's difficult and laborious climbing.) " I 

 reached those steeple-rocks on the second ridge just in the 

 nick of time to meet the three ibex ascending on the other 

 side. The dog was nowhere in sight, though he was still 

 following. I had not gained the pass two minutes when 

 the ibex crossed in front, travelling slowly over a patch of 

 snow, where I shot the largest of the three at about eighty 

 paces distant. He fell to the shot, floundering for some 

 seconds in the loose snow, but recovered and went on 

 some distance, till the dog at last came up with him and 

 pulled him down." 



On surveying the field of operations carefully through 



