I flung myself beneath the few inches of pro- 

 jecting wall. The ram simply made a wild leap 

 off the ledge. 



This looked like a leap to death. He plunged 

 down at an angle to the wall, head forward and 

 a trifle lower than the rump, with feet drawn 

 upward and thrust forward. I looked over the 

 edge, hoping he was making a record jump. 

 The first place he struck was more than twenty 

 feet below me. When the fore feet struck, his 

 shoulder blades jammed upward as though they 

 would burst through the skin. A fraction of a 

 second later his hind feet also struck and his 

 back sagged violently; his belly must have 

 scraped the slope. He bounded upward and 

 outward like a heavy chunk of rubber. This 

 contact had checked his deadly drop and his 

 second striking-place was on a steeply inclined 

 buttress; apparently in his momentary contact 

 with this he altered his course with a kicking 

 action of the feet. 



There was lightning-like foot action, and 

 from this striking-place he veered off and came 

 down violently, feet first, upon a shelf of 



31 



