THE YAKS.

Caspar was not out pheasant-shooting, and therefore these beautiful
birds were permitted to fly off unscathed. Caspar's game was the
grunting bull.

Where could the herd be? He had already traversed half the extent of
the valley without finding the yaks; but there was nothing singular in
this. There was plenty of covert among the rocks and woods; and wild
animals, however large, have an instinct or a faculty of concealing
themselves that often surprises the hunter. Even the gigantic elephant
will get out of sight amidst thin jungle, where you might suppose his
huge body could hardly be hidden; and the great black buffalo often
springs unexpectedly out of a bushy covert not much bigger than his own
body. Just as partridges can squat unseen in the shortest stubble, or
squirrels lie hid along the slenderest branch, so have the larger wild
animals the faculty of concealing themselves in a covert proportionately
scanty.

The young hunter was aware of this fact; and therefore was not so much
surprised that he did not at once come in sight of the yaks. The former
attack upon them, resulting in the loss of two of their number, had
rendered them wary; and the noises made in building the hut had, no
doubt, driven them to the most secluded corner of the valley. Thither
Caspar was bending his steps.

He was calculating that they would be found in some cover, and was
beginning to regret that he had not brought Fritz, instead of trying to
stalk them, when all at once the herd came under his eyes. They were
quietly browsing out in a stretch of open ground--the young calves, as
on the former occasion, playing with each other, tearing about over the
ground, biting one another, and uttering their tiny grunts, like so many
young porkers. The cows and yearlings were feeding unconcernedly--
occasionally raising their heads and looking around, but not with any
signs of uneasiness or fear. The bull was not in sight!

"Where can he be?" inquired Caspar of himself. "Perhaps these may be a
different herd; `one, two, three;'" and Caspar went on to tell over the
individuals of the flock.

"Yes," he continued, muttering to himself, "they are the same, I fancy:
three cows--four yearlings--the calves--exactly the number--all except
the bull.--Where can the old rascal have concealed himself?"

And with his eyes Caspar swept the whole of the open space, and looked
narrowly along the selvedge of the timber which grew around