ed heartily.

"You know, Mr. Landor," put in Miss Brown, "we half foresaw that you
would not be provided with these articles of luxury, and we brought our
own cups and saucers."

The news was a great relief to me.

"Well now, let me persuade you to take some delicious chocolate instead
of tea."

"Very good, we would prefer it. We have not had chocolate for a long
time."

[Illustration: HOUSE OF A WEALTHY SHOKA]

A solid block of chocolate was produced weighing twenty-eight pounds, and
Chanden Sing set to chip off bits with a stone--a primitive but effective
method. In the meantime the kettle was boiling, while my two visitors
made themselves as comfortable as was possible under the circumstances on
pack-saddle cases.

The tea party went off well, for the ladies, evidently suspecting the
"eccentricity" of their host, had come provided not only with cups and
saucers, but with spoons, cake, bread, butter, and biscuits!

[4] N.B.--Anglo-Indians very rarely condescend to shake hands with the
natives.

CHAPTER IX

Discouraging reports--A steep ascent--How I came to deserve the
name of "monkey"--Hard at work--Promoted in rank--Collapse in a
gale of wind--Time and labour lost.

THE weather again became rainy and cold. The reports that I received of
the state of the roads farther up were not encouraging.

"The track is impassable," said an old Shoka who had just arrived from
Garbyang. "The Lippu Pass by which you wish to enter Tibet is still
closed, and there is much snow on it still. Then the Jong Pen of Taklakot
in Tibet, having been left unpunished for his last years' attack on
Lieutenant Gaussen, has now a strong guard of three hundred men to
prevent foreigners entering the country. The _Dakus_ (brigands) infesting
the region of the Mansarowar Lake seem to be more numerous this year than
ever."

I shall come in for a lively time, I thought to myself.

My next camp was at Shankula, 7450 feet above the sea level. It was
reached by going over a delightfully cool track, not unlike a shady path
through a picturesque park, among tall cedars of Lebanon, beeches and
maples, with here and there a stream or spring of water, and hundreds of
black-faced, white-bearded monkeys playing and leaping from tree to tree.

I encamped by the river. The day was glorious. In front of me, north-east
by east, stood, gigantic and majestic, some high snowy peaks. The valley
was narrow, and the remainder of