he cats
followed. The old woman, who had been plying distaff and spindle the
while, let out a yell of fury and half disappeared beneath the platform.
We all roared with laughter, while beneath us the cats spat and the old
woman cursed, beating about with the handle of her distaff till she had
rescued her dinner. She backed out with the bag, sat down again and
started spinning once more as though nothing had happened.

Beyond this cafe the track became very stony and rough. We passed a
typical couple. The man was carrying a light bag full of bottles, while
the women had on her back a huge wooden chest, in which things rattled
and bumped as she stumped along.

Jo looked at her with pity. "That's heavy," she said.

The woman stared stupidly and answered nothing; but the man smiled and
said--

"Yes, heavy. Bogami."

We passed more caravans of that all too soon benzine. Cliffs began to
tower up on every side, and precipices to fall away beneath our feet to
a greenish roaring torrent; great springs spouted from the rocks and
dashed down upon the stones below in shredded foam: one was pink in
colour. Here once a general and his lady were riding, and the lady's
horse slipped. The general grasped her but lost his own balance, and
both fell into the river and were killed. The track wound up and down,
often very slippery underfoot, and the horses, shod with the usual flat
plates of iron, were slithering and sliding on the edge of the
precipices. At last we got off and walked. It was an immense relief: our
saddles were intensely hard, stirrups unequal lengths, and with knots
which rubbed unmercifully on the shins. We passed a man who was
evidently an Englishman, and he stared at us as we passed, but neither
stopped. The gorge grew deeper, the stream more rapid. The cliffs
towered higher, black and grey in huge perpendicular stripes. We heard
sounds of thunder or of blasting which reverberated in the canyon; it
was oppressive and gloomy, and one shuddered to think what it would be
like if an earthquake occurred. The cliffs ceased abruptly in a huge
grass slope on which crowds of people were working on the new road; we
crossed the river over a wooden bridge.

We came down into Ipek suddenly, past the old orange towered monastery,
which lies, its outer walls half buried, keeping the landslides at bay.
Ramases, who had suddenly put on another air, flung his leg over the
saddle--he had previously been sitting sideways--and twiste