20 MOUNTAIN SHEEP

sheep his knowledge was practically nil, nor did he know
very much more of the country they were going into; in
fact, but for the cook they took with them, who had been
out with other hunting parties, the chances are they
would never have reached a sheep range at all. However,
they did manage to get into the mountains, and began
their hunt on a ewe-range where nobody, with any know-
ledge of the game, would have thought of trying so early
in the season. The very first day they went out to hunt
they tramped until they were tired without seeing either
sheep, deer or other game, and early in the afternoon
began to wend their way back to camp, the position of
which they were not at all sure of. Their wanderings led
them to a creek which, by the time it had reached down
into the timber, had acquired a sufficient volume of
water to make quite a noise, and they decided to follow
along its banks. Why they did this is hard to say, as it
took them through a succession of canyons and rough
gulches, where the going was extremely difficult, and
there was nice open ground on the benches above it.
Probably, having once got down into the creek, they did
not know enough, or were too weary, to climb out again.
Anyway, they struggled along as best they could, and just
as they made a sharp turn in the creek blundered almost
on top of a really fine ram that was on the point of crossing
the water. As they were not more than twenty-five yards
from him and the unfortunate beast had a stiff climb to
get up the side of the creek bed, they managed to slay
him, though it took their combined efforts and the expen-
diture of many cartridges to accomplish the deed. Prob-
ably this ram had been disturbed by another party that
was hunting on a neighbouring ram-range, and was travel-
ling to safer quarters. Unfortunately for him the noise
of the creek deadened the clatter the two men made,
and so this fine beast, that might have afforded a magnifi-
cent stalk to more worthy sportsmen, fell an easy prey to
a pair of clumsy novices.

Another remarkable case of pure luck also occurred to
a man with a poor guide, though the latter was not quite