A SHEEP STALK TO GET A PHOTOGRAPH 17

first one had gone a short distance, he was to stop and
do the watching while the other joined him.

We had a great and glorious time making that stalk.
As it happened the hill was so steep and smooth and wet
and greasy that, by lying flat on our backs, only a slight
effort was usually required to start a downward movement.
At first it was simple enough; the rams were so unwary
and we were such a long way off them that the chances
of them noticing us were not very great. But, as we got
closer, our movements had to be made with ever-increasing
caution, and our stops became more frequent and of
longer duration. By the time we were within a hundred
yards of the depression we were striving to reach the
rams began to get restless and suspicious, and a few
inches at a time was all we dared to move. Then, when
only a few yards more had to be passed to take us to cover,
all three rams stood gazing fixedly at us there without
moving a muscle. During this time a sharp-pointed
piece of rock was sticking into the back of my neck; yet
to have shifted my position to clear it would have ended
the fun then and there. But Lewis was even worse off
than I, as he had slid into a tiny spring, the water from
which just caught him about the waist and ran down his
legs the whole time.

Eventually we reached our depression in safety, and
after a few minutes’ wait to give the rams plenty of time
to recover from any nervousness they might have, we
crept up the other side and peeped over to the “ lick.”

It was a splendid sight that met our view. There
were the three rams still there, quite unalarmed, and not
more than fifty yards distant. Two of them were what
would be considered exceptionally fine beasts, but the
third one was a monster and had far finer horns than any
ram I have ever seen. We could have shot all three of
them almost before the last to live could have had time
to take alarm. As it was, all we did was to take a few
snaps of them and then give them a good fright as a warning
for them to be more careful in the future. Unfortunately
my camera was not a very good one, nor was the light