o remain amongst these mountains, and here continue
his search.

The place was reached in due time, and for the time being there seemed
to be no chance of getting down into the plain, either to search for the
bears or to pursue their course in that direction.

The Doctor examined the slopes and ravines, plunged down into the most
sheltered chasms, and chipped at the fragments of rock, but no sign of
silver rewarded the search, and their journey would have been useless
but for the fact that, as they were making a circuit, Joses suddenly
arrested them, for he had caught a glimpse of a little flock of mountain
sheep, and these he and Bart immediately set themselves to try and
stalk.

It was no easy task, for the little group were upon a broad shelf high
above them, and in a position that gave them an excellent opportunity
for seeing approaching danger. But this time, after taking a long
circuit, the hunters were rewarded by finding themselves well within
shot, and only separated from the timid beasts by some rugged masses of
rock.

These they cautiously approached, crawling upon hands and knees, when,
after glancing from one to the other by way of signal, Bart and Joses
fired exactly together, with the result that a splendid young ram made a
bound into the air and rolled over the edge of the shelf, falling
crashing down amongst the bushes and loose stones, to land at last but a
very short distance from where the Doctor was awaiting his companions'
return.

The most remarkable part of the little hunt, though, was the action of
the rest of the flock, which went off with headlong speed to the end of
the shelf of the mountain, where they seemed to charge the perpendicular
face of the rock and run up it like so many enlarged beetles, to
disappear directly after over the edge of the cliff upon which they had
climbed.

"At last!" panted Bart eagerly. "We shall have something good in the
larder to-day instead of running short."

"Just you wait till you've tasted it," said Joses, as he came up, drew
his knife, and he and Sam rapidly dressed the sheep, getting rid of the
useless parts, and dividing it so that each might have a share of the
load back to camp, where Joses' words proved true, the various joints
being declared to be more delicious than any meat the eaters had tasted
yet.

In these thorough solitudes amongst the hills the practice of keeping
watch had not been so strictly attended to as during the journeying