the car with his legs hanging out, rifle in hand,
ready to swing to the ground as soon as the car halted. Mr. Coltman,
who was driving, had already thrown on the brakes, but Roy, thinking
in his excitement that he had stopped, jumped--and jumped too soon.
The speed at which we were going threw him violently to the ground.
I hardly dared look to see what had happened but somehow he turned a
complete somersault, landed on his knees, and instantly began
shooting. Mr. Coltman, his hands trembling with the exertion of the
drive, opened fire across the wind shield. As the first reports
crashed out, the antelope, which had seemed to be flying before,
flattened out and literally skimmed over the plain. Half a dozen
bullets struck behind the herd, then as Roy's rifle cracked again,
one of those tiny specks dropped to the ground.

"It was a wonderful shot--four hundred and twenty yards measured
distance. No, this isn't a woman's inaccuracy of figures, it's a
fact. But then you must remember the extraordinary clearness of the
air in Mongolia, where every object appears to be magnified half a
dozen times. The brilliant atmosphere is one of the most bewildering
things of the desert. Once we thought we saw an antelope grazing on
the hillside and Mr. Coltman remarked disdainfully: 'Pooh, that's a
horse.' But the laugh was on him for as we drew near the 'horse'
proved to be only a bleached bone. At a short distance camels and
ponies stood out as though cut in steel, seeming as high as a
village church steeple; and, most ridiculous of all, my husband
mistook me once at a long, long distance for a telegraph pole!
Tartarin de Tarascon would have had some wonderful stories to tell
of Mongolia!"

[Illustration: The Water Carrier for a Caravan]

[Illustration: A Thirty-five Pound Bustard]

[Illustration: Young Mongolia]

We had hardly reached the road again before Mrs. Coltman discovered
a great herd of antelope on the slope of a low hill, and when the
ears carried us over the crest we could see animals in every
direction, feeding in pairs or in groups of ten to forty.

We all agreed that no better place could be found at which to obtain
motion pictures and camp was made forthwith. Unfortunately, the
gazelles were shedding their winter coats and the skins were useless
except for study; however, I did need half a dozen skeletons, so the
animals we killed would not be wasted.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when the tents were