male and female chamois have these appendages--while every movement of
her delicately formed body was full of grace. It was no wonder Chaffer
was proud of her, and when she presented him later on with a fine
little kid, he was prouder than ever.

The baby chamois was a pretty little creature, and quick and active to
a remarkable degree. But she had also inherited her parents'
sensitiveness and timidity, and never left her mother's side; where
the mother chamois went, there the little one followed closely, and
when a chasm or ravine was too wide to cross with a leap of her small
body, the mother made a bridge of her own body by throwing herself
across, with feet planted firmly on either side of the chasm, and on
it the little one sprang lightly and gracefully over in safety.

Chaffer was not always with them; he had a good many other things to
attend to, but he kept careful and watchful guard over them, and his
keen senses of sight and hearing were always on the alert for danger.

One fine day in the following spring, when the kid was growing big and
strong, the herd had collected on a favorite feeding-ground, and was
browsing in calm enjoyment. Suddenly the sentinel lifted his head,
and, stamping his fore feet on the ground, gave the whistle of
warning.

The chamois were on the alert in an instant, and, scenting danger to
windward, flew wildly in the opposite direction. As a rule, they were
able to escape, but this time they had been trapped, for the same
hunters, who had tried in vain so many times to catch them, had formed
a circle round them now, and had narrowed it until they were close to
their prey.