e of any small incident of this kind to work judiciously on their
superstitions and frighten them as much as I could.

[Illustration: TIBETANS OVERHAULING OUR BAGGAGE]

The Tibetans, having examined all except my water-tight cases of
instruments, photographic plates and sketches, seemed so upset at one or
two things that happened, and at some remarks I made, that they hurriedly
sealed up all my property in bags and blankets, and ordered the things to
be placed on yaks and brought into the guard-house of the settlement.
This done, they tied the end of the ropes that bound our necks to the
pommels of their saddles, and, having loosed our feet, they sprang on
their ponies and rode off, with shouts, hisses and cries of victory,
firing their matchlocks in the air, and dragging us prisoners into the
settlement.

[27] The Lamas stated afterwards that this was the number.

[28] Counting Lamas, villagers and soldiers.

CHAPTER LXXV

A warning to my men--Calm and coolness--The Pombo's tent--Chanden
Sing cross-examined and flogged.

ON reaching the settlement, my last words to my men before we were
separated were, "No matter what they do to you, do not let them see that
you suffer," and they promised to obey me. We were then conveyed to
different tents. I was dragged to one of the larger tents, inside and
outside of which soldiers were placed on guard. Those near me were at
first sulky, and rough in their manner and speech, but I always made a
point of answering them in as collected and polite a fashion as I could.
I had on many previous occasions found that nothing carries one further
in dealings with Asiatics than to keep calm and cool, and I saw in a
moment that, if we were ever to get out of our present scrape, it would
be by maintaining a perfectly impassive demeanour in face of anything
that might take place. Whether I acted my part well it is not for me to
say, but the reader can satisfy himself on that point by perusing the
Government inquiry and report made by Mr. J. Larkin, and given in the
Appendix to this book.

The tent being kept closed, I was unable to discover what happened
outside, but from the noises I heard of people rushing hither and
thither, and of shouted orders, besides the continuous tinkling of the
soldiers' horse-bells as they galloped past the tent, I concluded that
the place must be in a state of turmoil. I had been some three hours in
the tent, when a soldier entered and o