the tyrants of the earth
will be likely to trouble their heads with.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

CURING THE YAK-MEAT.

Our travellers found the yak-veal excellent, and the three consumed a
quarter of it for their breakfasts before their appetites were
satisfied.

This business being brought to a conclusion, they held a council as to
what was best to be done next. Of course they had already made up their
minds to spend some days in this beautiful valley in plant-hunting.
From the glance they had had of it, Karl had no doubt that its _flora_
and _sylva_ were exceedingly rich and varied. Indeed, while passing
through the underwood he had noticed many curious kinds that were quite
new to him, and he would be likely enough to find some altogether
unknown to the botanical world. These thoughts filled him with joyful
anticipations--bright visions of future triumph in his beloved science
passed before his mind's eye, and he felt for the moment contented and
happy.

The peculiar situation of the valley led him to expect a peculiar flora,
surrounded as it was by snowy mountains--isolated apparently from other
fertile tracts, and sheltered from every wind by the lofty ridges that
encircled it. Among other peculiarities he had observed plants of
almost tropical genera, although the altitude could not be less than
15,000 feet, and the snowy mountains that towered above it were some of
the highest peaks of the Himalayas! These tropical forms had puzzled
him not a little, considering the altitude at which he observed them;
and to account for the apparent anomaly was one of the thoughts that was
passing through his mind at the moment.

As for Caspar, he was pleased to know that his brother desired to remain
there for some days. He had less interest in the rare plants, but he
had observed that the place was very well stocked with wild animals, and
he anticipated no little sport in hunting them.

It is just possible that Ossaroo sighed for the warm plains, for the
palm-groves and bamboo thickets, but the shikarree liked the look of the
game, and could spend a few days well enough in this region. Moreover,
the atmosphere of the valley was much warmer than that of the country in
which they had been travelling for several days past. Indeed, the
difference was so great as to surprise all three of them, and they could
only account for the higher temperature by supposing that it arose from
the sheltered situation of the valle