best foot forward.
I estimated that even at first he was not doing more than
thirty-five miles an hour, and later we substantiated it on another,
which gave us a race of twelve miles. With antelope which can reach
fifty-five to sixty miles an hour a wolf has little chance, unless he
catches them unawares, or finds the newly born young. To avoid just
this the antelope are careful to stay well out on the plains where
there are no rocks or hills to conceal a skulking wolf.

The wolf we had killed was shedding its hair and presented a most
dilapidated, moth-eaten appearance; moreover, it had just been
feeding on the carcass of a dead camel, which subsequently we
discovered a mile away. When we reached camp I directed the two
taxidermists to prepare the skeleton of the wolf, but to keep well
away from the tents.

Charles and I had been talking a good deal about antelope steak, and
for tiffin I had cut the fillets from one of the young gazelle. We
were very anxious to "make good" on all that had been promised, so
we cooked the steak ourselves. Just when the party was assembled in
the tent for luncheon the Chinese began work upon the wolf. They had
obediently gone to a considerable distance to perform the last
rites, but had not chosen wisely in regard to the wind. As the
antelope steak was brought in, a gentle breeze wafted with it a
concentrated essence of defunct camel. Yvette put down her knife and
fork and looked up. She caught my eye and burst out laughing. Mrs.
Mac had her hand clasped firmly over her mouth and on her face was
an expression of horror and deathly nausea.

Although I am a great lover of antelope steak, I will admit that
when accompanied by _parfum de chameau_, especially when it is a
very dead _chameau_, there are other things more attractive.
Moreover, the antelope which we killed on the Panj-kiang plain
really were very strong indeed. I have never been able to discover
what was the cause, for those farther to the north were as delicious
as any we have ever eaten. The introduction was such an unfortunate
one that the party shied badly whenever antelope meat was mentioned
during the remainder of the trip to Urga. Coltman, who had charge of
the commissary, quite naturally expected that we would depend
largely on meat and had not provided a sufficiency of other food. As
a result we found that after the third day rations were becoming
very short.

We camped that night at a well in a sandy river bottom