"No," admitted the American, "I never have."
Lady Barbara moistened a finger and held it up. "The wind is right," she announced. "So all you have to do is keep out of sight and make no noise."
"How am I going to keep out of sight?" demanded Smith.
"You'll have to crawl down to them, taking advantage of trees, rocks and bushes—anything that will conceal you. Crawl forward a few feet and then stop, if they show any sign of nervousness, until they appear unconcerned again."
"That will take a long time," said Smith.
"It may be a long time before we find anything else to eat," she reminded him, "and nothing we do find is going to walk up to us and lie down and die at our feet."
"I suppose you are right," assented Smith. "Here goes! Pray for me." He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled slowly forward over the rough ground in the direction of the forest and the goats. After a few yards he turned and whispered: "This is going to be tough on the knees."
"Not half as hard as it's going to be on our stomachs if you don't succeed," replied Lady Barbara.
Smith made a wry face and resumed his crawling while the two girls, laying flat now to conceal themselves from the quarry, watched his progress.
"He's not doing half badly," commented Lady Barbara after several minutes of silent watching.