"Well, how are we going to get near him?" asked Donald. "I don't know where he is. You will have to crawl up to him, and when you get to the right place, call me up and I'll shoot."
"I think we can get up to him all right," said Jack. "He's lying up on a little bench, and I believe we can crawl along under the bank right close to him. The only danger is that he'll see you when you rise to shoot; and I suppose if you have to shoot at him on the run, you'll miss him."
"I'm sure I shall; but let's try, anyhow."
They threw down the reins of their horses, and turning toward the valley crept very carefully down into a little sag. Jack pointed ahead to where a great rock showed sixty or seventy yards away.
"He's lying right at the foot of that rock; between us and it. Now, we'll have to crawl along this low place, sticking as flat to the ground as we know how, and then when we get within thirty or forty yards, you lift up your head and find him and kill him, if you can. If you miss him, I may take a pop at him; but I'm certain I shan't hit him when he's running. But, say," he cautioned in a whisper, "don't you take your pistol out of your holster until you get ready to shoot, and I won't take mine out either. I'm afraid that if we have them in our hands we might kill each other instead of the antelope."
"All right," agreed Donald.
Jack threw off his hat and Donald did the same, and the boys crept along very cautiously and slowly. As they advanced, the top of the rock seemed to come nearer and nearer, and at length they were quite close to it. Presently Jack stopped, looked back and motioned with his hand for Donald to creep up beside him.
"Now you go up very slowly on your knees," he whispered, "and try to find him. Remember that the first thing you will see is his black horns sticking up. If you see them close together, his head will be turned out toward the valley; if you see them wide spread he'll be looking straight in our direction. Wait, if you can, until he looks out toward the valley, and then rise and shoot. You'll have to shoot pretty quickly, for he's almost certain to see us. Raise your head very slowly."
Donald gathered his legs under him and very slowly rose to his knees, at the same time feeling for his six-shooter. Gradually as his head rose higher and higher, his hand went around to his hip; but when he was standing on his knees it was evident that he saw nothing. He looked at Jack, who motioned with his hand toward the rock, and Donald crept forward a little way up the bank. This time when he raised his head, he saw the animal. He drew his pistol and noiselessly cocked it, waited a moment and then, raising his head and hand slowly, he fired.