--in fact, too friendly--and their curiosity
was hardly welcome, for we found one of them testing his knife on
the tires and another about to punch a hole in one of the gasoline
cans; he hoped it held something to drink that was better than
water.

Thus far the trail had not been bad, as roads go in the Gobi, but I
was assured that the next hundred miles would be a different story,
for we were about to enter the most arid part of the desert between
Kalgan and Urga. We were prepared for the only real work of the
trip, however, by a taste of the exciting shooting which Coltman had
promised me.

I had been told that we should see antelope in thousands, but all
day I had vainly searched the plains for a sign of game. Ten miles
from Panj-kiang we were rolling comfortably along on a stretch of
good road when Mrs. Coltman, whose eyes are as keen as those of a
hawk, excitedly pointed to a knoll on the right, not a hundred yards
from the trail. At first I saw nothing but yellow grass; then the
whole hillside seemed to be in motion. A moment later I began to
distinguish heads and legs and realized that I was looking at an
enormous herd of antelope, closely packed together, restlessly
watching us.

Our rifles were out in an instant and Coltman opened the throttle.
The antelope were five or six hundred yards away, and as the car
leaped forward they ranged themselves in single file and strung out
across the plain. We left the road at once and headed diagonally
toward them. For some strange reason, when a horse or car runs
parallel with a herd of antelope, the animals will swing in a
complete semicircle and cross in front of the pursuer. This is also
true of some African species, whether they think they are being cut
off from some more desirable means of escape I cannot say, but the
fact remains that with the open plain on every side they always try
to "cross your bows."

I shall never forget the sight of those magnificent animals
streaming across the desert! There were at least a thousand of them,
and their yellow bodies seemed fairly to skim the earth. I was
shouting in excitement, but Coltman said:

"They're not running yet. Wait till we begin to shoot."

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the speedometer trembling
at thirty-five miles, for we were making a poor showing with the
antelope. But then the fatal attraction began to assert itself and
the long column bent gradually in our direction. Coltman widened the
a