^ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
CICELY CAMli TIIIRU. 
 
THE LAND OF 
 
 TAWNY BEASTS 
 
 By Pierre Mael,>^i^^^ 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 Elizabeth Luther Cary 
 M^ith fifty-two illustrations by A. Paris 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 Publishers 
 
Copgrigbt, 1895- 
 jfrcberich B. Stores Compang 
 
C37 
 
 TO MY FRIEND 
 
 MAURICE DUBAREL, 
 
 INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE COLONIES, IN CHARGE OF 
 THE INSPECTION SERVICE. 
 
 VERY AFFECTIONATELY, 
 
 P. M 
 
 jv!304133 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. A Scientific Flurry, . . . . 
 
 II. Devotees of the Fire God, 
 
 III, The Tarai, ...... 
 
 IV. Varieties of Monsters, 
 
 V. The Guardians of the Holy Ganges, 
 
 VI. The Sacred River, . . . . 
 
 VII. The Dhaulagir/, . . . . 
 
 VIII. The Ambuscade, . . . . 
 
 IX. A Cloud, 
 
 X. Blockaded, . . . . . , 
 
 XI. The Dholes, 
 
 XII. The Chingo-pa-iMari, . . . . 
 
 XIII. The Avalanche, . . . . 
 
 XIV. Failure of Air, . . . , . 
 XV. The Crater, 
 
 XVI. Rivalry Between Heroes, 
 
 XVII. The Death of a Hero, 
 
 I 
 i8 
 34 
 52 
 69 
 
 87 
 105 
 123 
 141 
 158 
 
 175 
 192 
 
 209 
 
 226 
 
 242 
 
 259 
 275 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 The Newcomer Drained the Glass at a Single Draught, . i 
 
 Madar-Goun Called Gently, ....... 15 
 
 At their Head Walked a Tall Old Man, . . . . 18 
 
 The Brahmin Extended his Arms, . . . ... 23 
 
 They Set Out upon their Way, . 34 
 
 The Stag Sniffed the Wind, . . . . ... 47 
 
 The Monk Designated Ramu, .52 
 
 A Single Blow of the Ax Decapitated the Creature, . . 61 
 They Drew Cecil Weldon, almost Swooning, from under the 
 
 Buffalo's Body, 69 
 
 The Buffaloes and the Gaurs Rushed upon the Kraal, . . 75 
 
 The Bohemians had in their Train an Immense Flock of Sheep, 87 
 
 Cicely Went Third, ......... 103 
 
 The Governor Sent two Officers to Meet the Travelers, . . 105 
 
 The Governor Gave them an Audience, . . . . 115 
 
 The Traitor had Dropped upon his Knees, . . . -123 
 
 The Assailant Could be Seen to Turn over Several Times, . 137 
 
 Miss Weldon Gave the Chief an American Doll, . . . 141 
 
 The Major Extended his Hand to Merrien, .... 153 
 
 The Three Rifles Threatened the Assailants, .... 158 
 
 Cicely Felt that she was Lost, ....... 165 
 
 The Troop Approached, . . . .. . . . -175 
 
 The Entire Pack Passed; ........ 189 
 
VIU 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Caravan Crossed on the Large Stones, 
 
 Cicely Felt the Elephant at her Heels, 
 
 Graec'h Flourished the Rope, . , . . , 
 
 A Cry of Despair Rang Out, .... 
 
 They were Lying in the Shade of the Pine Trees, 
 
 The Yak Passed Like a Streak of Light, 
 
 The Companions Emerged, One after the Other, 
 
 GouLAB Stretched Out his Hands to the Doctor, 
 
 The Flame Rose, Clear and Bright, 
 
 EuzEN Graec'h Placed the Young Girl on his Shoulder, 
 
 Plumptre Got Rid of the Man, . . . 
 
 Euzen Hurled Ramu into the Waters of the Torrent, 
 
 PAGE 
 209 
 
 221 
 
 226 
 
 -?)?> 
 242 
 
 267 
 
 275 
 287 
 

 '^ '/■■ //My'- 
 
 THE NKWCOMF.R DRAINED THE GLASS AT A SINGLE DRAUGHT. 
 
 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 
 
 The landlord of Great Tower Inn, one of the best 
 hotels of Srinagar, was literally worn out. 
 
 That morning, the isth of March, 1890, he had been 
 obliged since daybreak hastily to prepare his rooms— which 
 numbered forty— to receive an influx of travelers such as 
 he had never before seen. The previous night he had 
 received, one after another, the two following dispatches : 
 
 '* Mr. Cecil Weldon begs Mr. Jackson of the Great 
 Tower Inn, to keep six rooms for five gentlemen and 
 himself." 
 
 '' Keep an apartment for the R. H. Major Plumptre and 
 six persons of his attendance." 
 
2 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 The first of these dispatches came from Bombay, the 
 second from Calcutta. 
 
 The excellent Jackson had thus disposed of thirteen 
 rooms. Twenty-six others had been retained on that 
 same 15th of March, by divers travelers, all of different 
 nationalities. Of the number, fifteen were English, which 
 goes without saying, three were German, two Belgian, two 
 Russian, two Italian. The remaining two were highly 
 educated Hindus, speaking several languages, and educated 
 in various English schools. Dr. Lall-Sing-Catterjee and his 
 young disciple, Madar-Goun, physician of the University of 
 Paris. 
 
 There remained a twenty-seventh room, which the 
 honest Mr. Jackson was reserving, with all sorts of scruples, 
 for a traveler long since announced and expected. 
 
 He did not know his guests present and to come. One 
 of them, however, bore a reputation. This was the Right 
 Honorable Major Plumptre, a Scotchman from the Highlands, 
 the youngest son of a noble family, one of the most brilliant 
 officers of the Indian Army, and, moreover, already cele- 
 brated by his remarkable ascents of Hindu Kush and the 
 Himalayas. 
 
 What then was the motive that drew such a crowd into 
 the capital of Kashmir ? Was it the commencement of the 
 heated term in Bengal and the Deccan ? No, for sojourners 
 in those countries found nearer at hand summer resorts 
 in which they could seek coolness, in the Nilgiris for the 
 people of the south, for those of Calcutta at Darjiling. 
 
 The explanation of this eagerness could only be fur- 
 nished by reading the English newspapers. Three days 
 before, in fact, the Morning Post had published this news, 
 which had stirred the scientific world, and which the 
 Indian gazettes had immediately copied. 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 3 
 
 '' In all probability the French traveler, Jean Merrien, 
 whose departure from Batum by the Trans-Caspian Rail- 
 road, for the purpose of repeating the adventurous pass- 
 age across the Pamirs accomplished by Messrs. Bon- 
 valot, Capus, and Pepin, we announced three months ago, 
 will presently arrive at the gates of India, according to 
 reports sent to the authorities of the frontier by the Gover- 
 nor of Balkh."' 
 
 How and why had this simple notice had the power to 
 move scholars and to attract to Srinagar such a concourse 
 of the curious ? 
 
 The reason was that, three months previous, Jean Mer- 
 rien had made known his intention of entering India by way 
 of land. But this feat would not have sufficed to provoke 
 such excitement. M. Gabriel Bonvalot having already suc- 
 cessfully accomplished it, if Merrien had not betrayed, at 
 the same time, his intention of scaling the giant of the 
 Himalayas, the peak Gaurisankar, called Mt. Everest by the 
 English, and reputed the highest of the formidable chain of 
 which Kinchinjinga, Sihsour, and Dhaulagiri, rival one 
 another in height. 
 
 To scale Gaurisankar ! What height of audacity ! And 
 a Frenchman, too ! A Frenchman come from France, one 
 of those barbarians whom it is customary to make fun of 
 nowadays, since the great humiliation of France in 1870. 
 Only the serious people of England value him more highly 
 than does France. They credit him with a history of six- 
 teen centuries. They know that what a Frenchman reso- 
 lutely undertakes he accomplishes — witness this same 
 Bonvalot and his prodigious passage across the Pamirs. 
 
 Thus the excitement, though great, was justified. 
 
 At Calcutta, among other cities of the British Empire, 
 
4 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 numerous projects had been formed. It had not for an 
 instant entered the minds of our trusty adversaries to hinder 
 the bold traveler in his attempt. On the other hand, they 
 had said with one accord: "We must not permit this 
 Frenchman to be the only one to perform his exploit. An 
 Englishman must precede him, and the day that he sets 
 foot upon the inviolate crest of the peak, he shall find there 
 the flag of Great Britain planted by English hands." 
 
 This was the general sentiment, and this sentiment 
 found special echo in the soul of Major George Plumptre, 
 the most valiant of the adopted sons of Albion, since 
 Scotland is only sister by adoption to England. 
 
 The brave officer at once made his arrangements for the 
 campaign that he was about to undertake. 
 
 Duly authorized by his superiors, provided with an un- 
 limited leave of absence, he prepared his equipment, the 
 arms and utensils necessary to this perilous expedition. 
 He called together two of his friends, a Dr. William Ran- 
 dolph, and Captain James MacKinnon. Each of these 
 was accompanied by a Hindu domestic. The major on 
 his part retained two, one of whom, Bardwar by name, 
 was an Afghan of Chitral, a mountaineer of unusual vigor 
 and audacity. The seven men landed together on the 
 morning of the 15th of March at Srinagar. 
 
 During the day there arrived at the Great Tower Inn 
 Mr. Cecil Weldon and his five companions. 
 
 Jackson remarked, not without some surprise, that, 
 among the five ''gentlemen " announced, was a woman of 
 a certain age, wearing the appearance of a stewardess or 
 housekeeper. He was struck, moreover, by the extreme 
 youth, the frail and delicate aspect, and the gentle voice 
 of Cecil Weldon himself 
 
 "Jupiter!" said he to Mrs. Jackson, an exclamation 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 5 
 
 habitual to him, "this young man has all the appearance 
 of a young woman in disguise I "' 
 
 But the ease with which Cecil Weldon wore his 
 masculine costume subdued all his doubts. Furthermore, 
 the pseudo young woman was accompanied by four tine 
 fellows, of herculean build, who spoke to him as soldiers 
 to a superior. Mrs. Jackson was the first to say to 
 her husband : 
 
 "1 do not know where your wits are. Bob. This 
 young gentleman is certainly one of the very prettiest 
 boys I have ever seen in my life. He is too pretty a man 
 to be an ugly girl." 
 
 And with this observation, worthy of the great French- 
 man La Palisse, the good landlady went to look to her 
 ovens. She wished to do honor to the distinguished guests 
 that Providence had sent. 
 
 The two groups met in the evening at the table d'hote. 
 The major and his friends were forewarned. And already 
 their British pride had taken alarm. Their thoughts were 
 no longer occupied by the imprudent Frenchman alone. 
 They had just learned that this Mr. Weldon and his party 
 were Americans, who had crossed from New York to Lon- 
 don, from London to France, and from France, by the 
 {Messageries {Maritimes, to Bombay, where they had taken 
 the train which had brought them by way of Miiltan, 
 Lahore, and Rawal Pindi, to Srinagar, where they arrived 
 toward three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Of course conversation opened promptly. The major 
 did not like to tlnd himself confronted with strangers. 
 Had he not been seen, in the last English expedition 
 into Afghanistan, to advance alone, helmet in hand, to 
 meet a hostile column, and after a ceremonious salute, 
 to cry to the officer who commanded the detachment : 
 
6 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Sir, I beg your pardon. Tell me, please, your 
 name." 
 
 And the Afghan who, luckily, spoke English, had 
 laughed gallantly at this sally of the adventurous Scotch- 
 man. He had given his name and first name, after which 
 he had, not less politely, invited the '' Inglis " to return and 
 defend himself. Plumptre, satisfied, retraced his steps and 
 said to his companions in arms : 
 
 ''Decidedly these Pathans have been calumniated. 
 They know very well how to behave." 
 
 Such was the man who found himself seated opposite 
 the young American Weldon at the great central table of 
 the Grand Tower Hotel. From the moment Jackson's 
 guests had taken their places at dinner, they had not 
 ceased their observation of one another. 
 
 The major appealed directly to Cecil Weldon. 
 
 "Sir," he commenced, "you come from New York, 
 I am told." 
 
 The frail Yankee, with the feminine ring to his voice, 
 responded : 
 
 "You have been correctly informed, sir. We come 
 from New York, my companions and I." 
 
 " Ah !" said the officer. "As forme, I come from 
 Calcutta, which is a good deal nearer. But perhaps our 
 aim is the same, and we are rivals without know- 
 ing it ? " 
 
 Mr. Cecil Weldon had a charming smile, which 
 aroused the same doubts in the major's mind that it 
 had excited in the less distinguished brain of the excel- 
 lent Bob Jackson. He replied : 
 
 "Sir, I cannot say if we are rivals. 1 have come 
 with my friends to attempt the ascent of Mount Gauri- 
 sankar, which a Frenchman, they say, is preparing to 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 7 
 
 climb. I have thought, with all my fellow-citizens of 
 New York, that this would cast shame upon the most 
 advanced people of the world " 
 
 The officer here interrupted with a certain vivacity : 
 
 ''Young man, the most advanced people of the 
 world are certainly the English people." 
 
 Mr. Weldon smiled suggestively. He saluted British 
 susceptibility with a shade of irony. 
 
 '' Upon the road to Gaurisankar, assuredly, sir, since 
 Calcutta is nearer to it than New York ; while, to tell 
 the truth, at the present moment New York and Cal- 
 cutta are together at Kashmir." 
 
 ''Upon every road, sir!" cried the fuming English- 
 man. 
 
 The young Yankee, not wishing to enter upon a 
 discussion of this subject, parried him courteously : 
 
 "It will be very easy for us to sustain our flags 
 upon the summits of the Himalayas." 
 
 "What!" cried Plumptre, "you intend to attempt 
 the ascent ? " 
 
 "That is, indeed, my intention, sir." 
 
 "But, my good fellow, you have no suspicion of the 
 dangers of this undertaking ! " 
 
 A light gleamed in the steel-blue eyes of the young 
 man. His voice was cutting as a sword-blade, when, 
 looking fearlessly into the face of his haughty inter- 
 locutor, he responded : 
 
 " Major Plumptre, I have accomplished in the course 
 of my existence things quite as difficult. 1 have been 
 among the ices of the North Pole, as far as the encamp- 
 ments of Greely and Nares. I have climbed Chimborazo, 
 Cotopaxi, the giants of the Andes, and the Kilimanjaro 
 in Africa. I have crossed Niagara, and the Zambezi at 
 
8 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 the very brink of their cataracts. You see that 1 may 
 attempt the scaling of Gaurisankar." 
 
 The Englishman stretched a large and loyal hand 
 across the table to the proud youth. 
 
 ''All right. You are worthy o\ me. Let us make a 
 compact between ourselves, as becomes Saxon brothers. 
 We will prevent the miserable Frenchman from being 
 the first to arrive." 
 
 The honest major forgot that he was Saxon only by 
 annexation, being descended from the Scots and Picts 
 of old Caledonia. No matter ! He believed his honor 
 concerned in the defeat of France. 
 
 The Yankee responded with energy to the hand- 
 clasp ; but he added : 
 
 '' Each for himself, major. I intend to beat not 
 only France, but Old England as well. Hurrah for 
 Young America ! " 
 
 The other travelers around them kept silence, listen- 
 ing with interest. The two Hindu physicians, in particu- 
 lar, showed close attention. The major was doubtless 
 about to say something in reply to the provoking frank- 
 ness of his frail antagonist, when suddenly a clear and 
 vibrant voice rang out, saying in good French : '' France 
 is not yet beaten, gentlemen ! She salutes her trusty 
 adversaries, and drinks to their health." 
 
 *At the same time a man crossed the room, came directly 
 to the table, where he filled a glass of champagne, and, 
 raising it to the level of his head : 
 
 ''To Young America, whom France aided at Pittsburg 
 and at Yorktown ; to Old England, whom France succored 
 at Inkermann ! " 
 
 The newcomer drained the glass at a single draught. 
 He was a man of stature a trifle above the medium, of 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 9 
 
 athletic build. His face, with its refined though clearly 
 marked features, revealed indomitable energy. 
 
 A single cry broke from the lips of all, amid universal 
 astonishment : 
 
 ''Jean Merrien ! Jean Merrien !" 
 
 The stranger proudly saluted the assembled company. 
 
 ''Yes, gentlemen, Jean Merrien, himself, alive in the 
 flesh, who has Just crossed the Pamirs after Bonvalot, and 
 who will set out again to-morrow — with you, if that please 
 you ; if not, without you — for the mountains of Karakoram." 
 
 There was a fresh exclamation. The rivals of the bold 
 Frenchman failed to comprehend. 
 
 " But isn't it Gaurisankar that you purpose climbing ? " 
 asked Cecil Weldon. 
 
 " Precisely so, monsieur. It is indeed Gaurisankar." 
 
 "You spoke, just now, of Karakoram : the Gaurisankar 
 road does not lie in that direction." 
 
 The French explorer regarded his interlocutor with a 
 suspicion of disdain. 
 
 " My young sir, it must be believed that Americans are 
 badly informed as to Asiatic geography. If you had come, 
 as 1 did, by the north, you would know that Gaurisankar 
 is climbed only by the north ; the roads of the south are 
 closed." 
 
 "Ah! And why are they closed?" asked M^njor 
 Plumptre, with curiosity. 
 
 " Because the 15th of March is here, when the snows 
 of the southern slope commence to melt, and the flooded 
 streams render the Tarai impassable. But that is not the 
 true reason for so long a detour. If 1 ascend by the 
 north it is simply because the frontiers of Nepal and those 
 of Bhutan are rigorously interdicted to Europeans who have 
 not a direct commission from the English Government." 
 
lO THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 These words produced profound astonishment and 
 great dismay among those present. 
 
 Young Weldon, in particular, appeared a prey to lively 
 annoyance. 
 
 But Major Plumptre, as a good servant of Her Gracious 
 Majesty, protested then and there. 
 
 ''Mr. Frenchman," he cried, "it is permissible for you 
 to retrace your steps and take the northern road. Never- 
 theless, if you trust me, you will take my advice. 1 will 
 take the train back to Calcutta. 1 will see the Lord-Gov- 
 ernor, and 1 will undertake to bring back a double com- 
 mission, opening the gates of Nepal to us — one for you 
 and one for me." 
 
 ''And I, major," implored Cecil Weldon; "are you 
 going to leave me here ? " 
 
 The officer shook his head and gave two or three 
 sonorous " humphs ! " 
 
 "Three commissions, my dear fellow, maybe a good 
 deal to ask. No matter ! 1 will make the attempt. If 
 necessary, you can pass as one of our party." 
 
 The Frenchman and the Yankee simultaneously ex- 
 tended their hands to the generous Scotchman. 
 
 " Bravo, Major Plumptre ! and thanks for this proof of 
 good faith." 
 
 The entire room gave three cheers for the officer. 
 He thanked the company graciously, and went at once to 
 his room methodically to repack his valise. When he 
 came down again, ready to take the evening train, he 
 went directly to his future companions of the ascent. 
 
 "Well!" said he, "1 have reflected. It would be 
 much quicker for you to come with me. Instead of cross- 
 ing the Tarai at the west, we will approach the chain by 
 the passes of Bhutan to the north of Darjiling. In this way. 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. il 
 
 we will have the best of the road, and we shall encounter, 
 into the bargain, three of the good brothers or sisters of 
 Gaurisankar upon the way : Kinchinjinga, Chumalari, and 
 Kinchinjaou." 
 
 Jean Merrien thanked the Englishman warmly for his 
 proposition. Then he said with a smile : 
 
 "Major, your idea is inviting. But 1 will hold to my 
 programme. It will be just as satisfactory to us. We will 
 go to Gaurisankar by Dhaulagiri. And we shall at the 
 same time admire Morchiadi, Barathor, Yassa, Dayabang, 
 and Deorali. Furthermore," he added, ''there is nothing 
 to prevent our coming down again into India by the 
 road you just now mentioned, unless we have time and 
 strength to proceed to the discovery of the source of the 
 Brahmaputra." 
 
 '' You are right, Mr. Merrien," gravely replied the 
 Scotchman. ''The French have the reputation of hesitat- 
 ing at nothing. You nobly sustain that reputation. But by 
 Heaven, Old England will not yield to you at any point. 
 We will do all these things together, Mr. Frenchman." 
 
 "And Young America will be first at the summit!" 
 cried the enthusiastic Weldon. 
 
 Thereupon, as night had come on, and the train must 
 not be missed, a parting punch was drunk, and the Euro- 
 peans conducted Major Plumptre to the station. 
 
 Hardly had they quitted the hotel when the two Hindu 
 physicians rose simultaneously. 
 
 "You have heard?" asked Lall-Sing-Catterjee to 
 Madar-Gown. 
 
 " Yes," replied the other. 
 
 "Thus," resumed the elder of the two men, " bit by bit, 
 inch by inch, our land is becoming the prey of the foreigner. 
 When it is not in the name of humanity, it is in the 
 
12 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 name of science that they come. Humanity ! Ah, yes ! 
 England loves it, on condition that she makes of it a great 
 herd of slaves. And as to their ' science,' we know it — 
 you and 1. We have studied upon the benches of their 
 most famous universities. What have they then to teach 
 us that we do not already know ? " 
 
 He paused, and clenched his fists with a gesture of 
 savage energy. 
 
 ''Their science ? How does it serve them. We have 
 won their diplomas, we have the right to practice medicine 
 even in their own countries. And when my European 
 colleagues come here, among us, into this Hindustan that 
 draws them and infatuates them, they do not know what 
 use to make of their knowledge of words and books. 
 They have nothing with which to heal the bite of a 
 cobra or the cerebral congestion caused by our sun. 
 Do they even discover the remedy for cholera or the 
 marsh fevers, when our humblest fakirs obtain astonish- 
 ing cures ? Ah, Madar-Goun ! my blood boils at this 
 thought. India is only a land of conquest for the whites, 
 and the misfortune is, that she is becoming accustomed to 
 her servitude ! " 
 
 The young doctor raised his head. A light flashed in 
 his eyes. 
 
 'Ms it you who speak thus, master? You, Lall-Sing- 
 Catterjee, who have vowed to battle all your life for the 
 freedom of our land ? Do you then doubt the sentiment 
 which still reigns in the heart of the various countries of 
 our soil, which animates our pundits, which guides these 
 very fakirs of whom you spoke just now ? Do you not 
 know that there is not a district of the peninsula in which 
 there do not beat hearts aflame with the fire of Independ- 
 ence ? And we ourselves, are we not faithful servants of 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 13 
 
 the 'Great Family,' jealous to free our land from its Euro- 
 pean oppressors ? " 
 
 Lall-Sing let his arms fall in discouragement. 
 
 '' I would fain have your faith, my friend, your indom- 
 itable confidence. Alas ! the obstacle is always present to 
 my view. What can we do against these men ? What 
 means do we command ? We are not a single people with 
 our two hundred million of inhabitants. As you have just 
 said, a hundred different races live in common upon this 
 triangle which reaches from the Indus and the Ganges to 
 the point of Ceylon. A handful of Englishmen holds this 
 multitude under the yoke. Since Tippu-Sahib, what use- 
 less efforts, what attempts drowned in blood ! England no 
 longer fears since the day when Nana of Bithur mysteri- 
 ously disappeared, and our still independent rajahs contend 
 for the honor of figuring in the train of the Empress-Qiieen. 
 Our secret societies are no longer anything more than 
 gatherings of f^inatics performing abominable crimes with- 
 out aim or reason. Moreover, the British police hunt them 
 like wild beasts, and the Thugs survive only in legend." 
 
 The brows of Madar-Goun were knit. He made an 
 angry gesture. 
 
 ''Ha! what are you saying! Stigmatizing with the 
 name of ' crimes ' acts inspired by a patriotism as sincere 
 as it is cruel ? Is it forus, who dream of the emancipation 
 of our country, to check ourselves with such narrow preju- 
 dices ? What matter the means, provided they render to 
 the oppressed their liberty ! " 
 
 Lall-Sing was less savage than his young interlocutor. 
 He sighed : 
 
 ''Ah, my friend! you touch precisely the weak point 
 in my will. 1 doubt. 1 hesitate. Is it indeed true that 
 all means are legitimate? Is it a cause noble enough, 
 
1 4 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 pure enough, to justify serving it at the cost of violence? 
 And to redeem a people who themselves subscribe to their 
 dethronement, has one the right to spill innocent blood, as 
 our brothers so many times have done ? " 
 
 The young doctor gave an ugly laugh. 
 
 ''Ah, master! you have too long sojourned in Europe. 
 Humanitarian sophisms have troubled your mind and soft- 
 ened your heart. For me, who, like yourself, and even 
 being your pupil here, have studied at the great scientific 
 centers of the white continent, the question was long since 
 decided. I make no scruple in closing the road by all pos- 
 sible means to the ' pioneers of civilization,' as our adver- 
 saries call themselves, and 1 care so little for their lives that 
 1 have, since morning, notified the ' Great Family ' to hold 
 itself in readiness to receive our communications." 
 
 "You have done that, Madar-Goun ?" asked Catterjee, 
 with an accent of reproach. 
 
 The young man rapidly passed his arm under that of the 
 '' Master," and drawing him out of doors upon the Jhelum 
 road, said to him, with the same mocking laugh : 
 
 " You shall see what 1 have done ! " 
 
 They paused at the brink of the river, and approached 
 one of the seven wooden bridges which connected the two 
 banks. Under the radiant light of the moon, the river and 
 its quays, with their houses of brick, stone, and wood, 
 took on a fairy-like aspect. From time to time some dis- 
 tant melody, from an English harp or an Hindu instrument, 
 broke the dense silence of the sleeping city. A fresh, 
 pure breeze — a spring breeze descending from the southern 
 chain of the Panjal Mountains, through the snowy pass of 
 Zoji — saturated the atmosphere with perfumes gathered 
 upon its way in the lovely Vale of Roses. At times there 
 was also heard the plash of oars bringing a late gondola 
 
MADAR-GOUN CALLED GENTLY. 
 
1 6 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 from the balmy depths of the Dal Lake, into one of the 
 twenty-two canals of the Indian Venice. 
 
 The two men crossed the bridge, and approached the 
 lake. A bark with a sharp prow swung near a large ghat, 
 whose marble steps dipped into the water. Innumerable 
 gardens stretched in various directions, filling the air with 
 the odors of plant and flower. A man was lying in the 
 boat, and seemed to be sleeping heavily. 
 
 Madar-Goun w^ent to the edge of the water, and called 
 gently : '' Pandari ! " 
 
 The sleeper bounded to his feet, and, recognizing who it 
 was speaking to him, leaped ashore. Then he approached 
 humbly, with hands extended in front of his forehead in 
 salutation to receive the young physician's message. 
 
 ''Are you rested? Are you ready?" inquired the 
 latter. 
 
 ''You may speak, sahib," replied the Hindu. "1 am 
 ready. Is it time to go ? " 
 
 "Yes, immediately. You will not stop until you reach 
 Dras, to give the watchword to the brother who will 
 replace you." 
 
 " Very well, sahib. And when must 1 be at Dras ? " 
 
 The doctor reflected, and counted aloud. Then, with 
 haughty brevity, he gave his orders : 
 
 "It is eighty -two miles from here to Dras by the 
 Zoji pass. The roads are bad, but we have the start. It 
 will be in time if you arrive day after to-morrow." 
 
 " I will be there. Have you a writing to give me ? " 
 
 "No. This is what you are to say to the brother: 
 ' The white men will number about ten in passing the 
 boundary. They will doubtless go by Simla, and will have 
 English permits. Let the brothers of the Three Ganges 
 keep watch ! ' " 
 
A SCIENTIFIC FLURRY. 
 
 17 
 
 And extending his hand over the bowed head of the 
 man, as in benediction, Dr. Madar-Goun turned away 
 without a word more, drawing Lall-Sing with him toward 
 Jhelum, while the messenger detached the boat, which 
 glided over the silvery waters of the lake. 
 
srr\ 
 
 AT THEIR HEAD WALKED A TALL OLD MAN. 
 
 11. 
 
 DEVOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 
 
 To the north of Simla, in the high valley of the Sutlej, 
 rise the first terraces of the western Himalayas. 
 
 There, peaks of lesser elevation shoot up abruptly, 
 whose average altitude equals, however, that of Mont 
 Blanc, of Maladetta, or the Pic du Midi. Narrow ravines 
 such as the passes of Bhabar, of Manirung, of Dal, and of 
 Bahbeh, give access to the Indian cities of Chipki and 
 Sultanpur. 
 
 Below, on one of the first buttresses of the chain, 
 rises the wholly English city of Simla, which might be 
 called the second capital of the Indo-British Empire, a 
 sanitarium and pleasure resort which, during the great 
 heat, becomes the seat of government itself for the 
 viceroy, his household, and the principal civil and military 
 functionaries, move to these cool slopes, in this belt of 
 
DEVOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 19 
 
 hill-country commanding from a height of some seven 
 thousand feet the double valley of the Sutlej, and the 
 Jumna ; and covered with other pleasure resorts and mili- 
 tary stations such as Jaitak with its formidable batteries, 
 Dagshai, Sabathu, and Kalka. 
 
 Below Simla is found Masuri, and higher up the stream 
 ofTaoungsa, the half Indian city of Chakrata. 
 
 This is the Garhwal district, the original country, it 
 is believed, of the Sikhs, those redoubtable warriors who 
 issued thence to conquer the Punjab, and whose last 
 king, Ranjit Singh, the "Lion of the Five Rivers," 
 surrounded by French generals such as Allard, N'entura, 
 Avitabile, and De Facien, was able to make himself 
 respected by the English to the day of his death. To 
 Garhwal belong the healthy, picturesque, and fantastic- 
 ally inhabited regions of Kullu and Seoraj, with thei. 
 Tibetan, Rajput, Paharan, and Hindustdni populations. 
 Sultanpur is the capital of Kullu, and is connected with 
 Mandi by a very pretty road. 
 
 Now on the isth day of March, 1890, an eager crowd 
 of three or four thousand travelers climbed the crests 
 of Sikanda-Kadar, "Mount Alexander," directing their 
 course from Suket toward Mandi, along the steep banks 
 of the Bias. Men, women, and children, some on foot, 
 some on asses and mules, appeared hastening toward 
 their destination. The sun was already touching the 
 southern peaks which hide Pilaspur, and violet shadows 
 lengthened on the lower ranges, while the rapid fall of 
 the temperature gave reason to fear that night would 
 surprise the pilgrims in the narrow, cold defile. 
 
 At their head walked a tall old man, who was con- 
 strained by the increasing chilliness to wrap himself in 
 a mantle of white wool. On his forehead, the lower por- 
 
20 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 tion of which was uncovered, were three scars crossed 
 and painted red. He was a Brahmin by caste but not in 
 office. Those who followed him seemed to profess for 
 him respect, mingled with superstitious fear. From time 
 to time the band separated, falling back upon the slopes or 
 the sides of the road, to make way for some cavalier, an 
 English officer in white undress uniform, his linen helmet 
 on his head, his clanking sabre at the back of his saddle, 
 followed by a native soldier, clad in European dress with 
 the exception of the head-dress, which still consisted of 
 the turban in knotted folds of the mingled colors of the 
 different regiments, according to native custom. 
 
 Before the white man the crowd showed great humility, 
 and lavished their salaams upon the insolent conquerer, 
 who pushed through the press with that haughty swagger 
 peculiar to the Saxon race ; his left hand upon his hip, his 
 right hand indifferently letting the reins fall on the neck 
 of the horse, a costly animal imported from England or 
 brought down from Persia by the passes of Afghanistan 
 or the Pamirs. And the pilgrims no longer wondered that 
 a horse should risk itself where mules would hardly ven- 
 ture. They knew, from having all too often heard it said, 
 that the ''blond men" excel in all bodily exercises, and 
 take pleasure in all such feats of strength and daring, in 
 open defiance of common sense. 
 
 But after the white man had passed, the travelers turned 
 and sent after him, along the slope of the frightful preci- 
 pice, looks filled with execration. 
 
 Meanwhile darkness was descending upon the valley, 
 the waters of the Bias became shadowy, and all the sides 
 of Sikanda-Kadar disappeared under ragged clouds of mist 
 drifting obliquely across them. Alone in the eastern hori- 
 zon the summits of the Babah pass retained a golden and 
 
DEyOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 21 
 
 purple light upon their carpet of melting snow. Eagles 
 flew with hoarse cries above the cedars, the firs, the 
 teaks, the cypresses and larches covering the sides of the 
 mountains. From time to time a sound, strident yet sono- 
 rous because of the depth of the echoes, hastened the 
 footsteps of the crowd. They well knew that the Kala 
 bJgh, the black tiger of the Tarai, ventures among these 
 great altitudes where sheep abound. Abruptly, at a bend 
 in the road, a sort of platform of three or four square 
 kilometers revealed itself to the eyes of the travelers upon 
 their left. Abandoning the bed of the Bias upon its right, 
 the crowd precipitately followed the Brahmin in the direc- 
 tion of certain ruins of rather vague aspect. This brought 
 them to the foot of shapeless monuments, some formed of 
 monoliths of considerable dimensions, others of a quantity 
 of stones in ruins. 
 
 The Brahmin threw himself on his knees before the 
 highest of these time-defaced constructions. He put his 
 face against the earth and prayed in an ecstasy of fervor. 
 The following words were heard in his guttural voice, 
 speaking with monotonous rhythm : 
 
 " Principle of sacred fire and of the force which 
 destroys in order to renew; august brother of Vishnu 
 whom thou combatest, Sivd, God of Death, who reignest 
 upon the peaks of the Dhaulagiri, upon the triple tooth 
 of Trikota; thou who hast created these rocks and these 
 mountains in order to arrest the steps of impure men, 
 receive our adorations, and give unto us the light of thy 
 breath." 
 
 The night had shut down completely. Nothing was 
 now to be heard but the rustling of branches upon the 
 slopes of Sikanda-Kndar. The Brahmin rose and com- 
 manded : 
 
22 THE LAND OF TA[VNY BEASTS. 
 
 '' Withdraw the women and children. Let them take 
 shelter under the altars of the east." 
 
 Women and children obeyed with docility. The crowd 
 divided itself into two unequal masses, one of which took 
 its way toward the shapeless constructions situated at the 
 east of the narrow valley, while the other, that consist- 
 ing of the men alone, grouped itself in a solid body 
 about the religious Hindu, who then sent up a new form 
 of invocation : 
 
 *'Siva, principle of sacred Fire, Parvati, immortal 
 spouse of living death, we adore you in this place that you 
 have filled with signs of your power. It is here that the 
 first man from the West, come for conquest, was checked ; 
 it is here that Maha-Sikandar, before taking his way to the 
 white countries, raised these altars to your glory, O Pa"- 
 vati, 6 Siva, Mahadevi of holy Fire, Mahadevi of Death, 
 which transfigures. May the earth open under our feet, in 
 order that we may celebrate our sacrifices at the feet of 
 your divine images ! " 
 
 Upon finishing this speech, the Sivaite priest approached 
 the '' altar of Alexander," a square structure, without orna- 
 ment, quite like the megaliths of Brittany, and formed of a 
 collection of twelve regular blocks, covered over with a 
 thirteenth like a ceiling, after the fashion of a ''dolman." 
 
 The Brahmin extended his arms, and, seizing one of the 
 stones with a peculiar movement, without effort made it 
 whirl in its socket. 
 
 An opening was disclosed, large enough to permit a 
 man to pass through, and the mysterious personage 
 entered it, followed by the crowd of the faithful. 
 
 These went through, one by one, and the long chain of 
 men, engulfed in the silence beyond the narrow opening, 
 threaded their way like a procession of phantoms. 
 
THE BRAHMIN EXTENDED HIS ARMS. 
 
24 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 This was one of the subterranean temples of which 
 India possesses so many. The revolving stone set free a 
 slab, and this, swinging into a perpendicular, exposed 
 the gaping orifice of a stairway of forty steps, giving ac- 
 cess to a vast pillared room, at the back of which rose two 
 monsters with three heads and six arms, effigies in gilded 
 bronze of the Deva of Death, and his celestial companion 
 the redoubtable Parvati, called also, according to the cus- 
 tom of the different cults, Durga, or Kali. 
 
 The Hindus, led by the Sivaite Brahmin, all entered 
 this cavern, which was perpetually lighted by the flame of 
 ten golden lamps filled each night by one of the faithful 
 with the holy oil indispensable to the maintenance of this 
 sacred light. 
 
 The crowd prostrated itself before the hideous idols, and 
 after a series of invocations chanted in alternate verses, the 
 ceremonies of the sect commenced. 
 
 From the shadowy recesses of the cave sprang creatures 
 of incredible emaciation : old men with long white beards, 
 youths whose young bodies were reduced to skin and 
 bone, even children, veritable skeletons, hardly able to 
 crawl. Some women were among the number, belonging 
 to the class of devjdassis or dancing priestesses, dedicated 
 to the decorative pomp of open or secret festivals. 
 
 All this class of fanatics were devoted to the practice 
 of fakirism, that strange and inexplicable custom of the 
 Brahminic code ; the meaning and reason of which the 
 researches of contemporaneous science have not yet been 
 able to discover. Men, women, and children gave them- 
 selves up to frightful macerations, to impossible fasts, and 
 submitted to atrocious mutilations, such as those of which 
 the public had a glimpse in the unbridled saturnalia of 
 Durga Pujah. 
 
DEVOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 25 
 
 Sorne pierced their tongues with a stiletto of steel or 
 with bars of iron heated red hot ; others passed these bars 
 over the entire surface of their bodies, and the scorched 
 flesh could be heard shriveling while the features of the 
 sufferers betrayed not the least pain. 
 
 They were seen to whirl continuously, faster and 
 faster, until, crazed, they threw themselves upon the 
 ground foaming at the mouth and at the point of death. 
 
 A number wound about their bare limbs frightful ser- 
 pents — the hooded cobras, whose single bite brings death 
 in less than half an hour. 
 
 Suddenly the religious transports ceased, and the voice 
 of the pontiff rose : 
 
 ''Principle of renewing fire," cried he, ''manifest thy 
 presence ! " 
 
 Then took place a natural phenomenon well calculated 
 to impress all these minds, weakened by the degrading 
 practices of a worship as sanguinary as it is superstitious. 
 All at once the rocks behind the idols of Siva and Parvati 
 appeared to cleave asunder. A fissure, previously invisible, 
 extended the full height of the subterranean temple, and 
 rings of acrid and nauseous smoke, indicating the presence 
 of numerous carburates of hydrogen, rose toward the vaulted 
 ceiling. At the same time, from various holes made in the 
 wall, water commenced to fall in cascades into basins 
 of marble arranged along the foot of the wall. Obeying 
 some cleverly concealed inner mechanism, the two mon- 
 strous statues turned away from each other, melting, so to 
 speak, into the opaque shadow of the side passages. And, 
 suddenly, from the enlarged fissure rose a bluish fiame 
 which, developing into a sheet of light, put out the golden 
 lamps and filled the entire cave with a strange light and 
 at the same time with insupportable heat. A deathlike 
 
26 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 silence reigned in the sanctuary. Then, through the thick 
 vapor of the suffocating atmosphere, the guttural voice of 
 the priest was again heard, saying : 
 
 ''Glory be to Siva and to Parvati, in the unity of the 
 Fire God ! " 
 
 The illusive phenomenon lasted about a quarter of an 
 hour, after which the flame, diminished in intensity and 
 volume, appeared to re-enter the orifice from which it 
 came, then went altogether out, leaving behind some puffs 
 of vapor, traces of its passage as they had been forerunners 
 of its appearance. Then these also diminished and dis- 
 appeared, at the same time that the streams of water at the 
 infernal heat of 194" ceased to run. 
 
 The gasping mass of demoniacs rose little by little, and 
 when the faithful, exhausted with their ritualistic practices, 
 had recovered enough strength and intelligence to listen to 
 the exhortations of their priest, he went and stood erect at 
 the feet of the idols, which had returned to their respective 
 places, and harangued the multitude : 
 
 '' Very holy brothers, it is not by prayer alone that the 
 Mahadevas are honored. It is by sacrifices that are pecu- 
 liarly agreeable to them. You know what they are." 
 
 ''Yes," clamored the crowd, " the sacrifice that pleases 
 God greatly is the blood of the impious and those who 
 profane." 
 
 "Brother Ramu," said the priest, addressing one who 
 had spoken, "how many victims hast thou offered up for 
 the repast of the great goddess ? " 
 
 The man, a young Hindu, vigorously built, rose and 
 responded : 
 
 " Holy Priest, since our last assemblage these hands 
 have offered to our gods twelve victims. Seven were of the 
 cursed race of the invaders : one man, three women, and 
 
DEVOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 27 
 
 three children. The five others were of our race, but they 
 were criminals, since they had made themselves servants 
 of the accursed English." 
 
 A clamor of enthusiasm greeted the avowal of these 
 execrable crimes. 
 
 After Ramu, other Indians followed in their turn to 
 relate their abominable exploits. Then when the account 
 had been made up of the murders accomplished during the 
 previous year, consisting of twenty-seven European victims 
 and sixty Indians from among the Mussulmans and the 
 Buddhists, as well as from among the innumerable sects of 
 Brahminism ; when the faithful who had caused death 
 without drawing blood, as is agreeable to the heart of 
 Parvati, had been praised for so doing, and those had 
 been blamed who had m.ade use of other arms than the 
 cord or the handkerchief, which prevents Siva from pre- 
 senting the sacrifice to his over-sensitive spouse, the 
 pontiff summoned all the zeal of the sect to new acts 
 of faith. 
 
 ''At this very moment," he said, ^' ten white men 
 and ten Indians are preparing to violate our sacred 
 boundaries. They come by the Mandi road, that which 
 we are on, and will go up as far as Sultanpur. Their 
 sacrilegious intention is to invade the sacred mountain, 
 and push their footsteps even so far as the inviolate snow 
 of the thrones on which sit Siva and Parvati. These 
 men, who do not believe in our doctrines, who blaspheme 
 our divinities, are especially formidable. One of them is 
 that Scotch officer who made himself so terribly con- 
 spicuous in the English expedition upon the frontiers 
 of Afghanistan, and who, later, with thirty cavalrymen, 
 went up from Mandalay as far as the boundaries of 
 Assam, pitilessly sabering the Burman Dacoits." 
 
28 THE LAND OF TAPVNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Major Plumptre ! " wailed the group, stricken with 
 terror. 
 
 " Another," continued the priest, '' is a young American 
 whom some of our brothers have seen at Bombay and 
 Srinagar. Gun in hand, he is invincible. His ball cuts 
 a needle in two at eighty meters, and will kill a Bengal 
 bird on the Hy." 
 
 A shudder of fear shook the crowd. Some of them 
 found voice to ask the name of this terrible adversary. 
 
 "Cecil Weldon," responded the Brahmin. And, pur- 
 suing his address : 
 
 ''The third is more to be feared. He is a French- 
 man ; that is to say, he belongs to that extraordinary 
 race which is daunted by nothing. He is stronger than 
 Major Plumptre, and has even repeated the prodigies of 
 the other Frenchman, Bonvalot. Moreover, the Christ- 
 ian's demon cares for him, for he seems guarded by 
 invisible protection. Ten times already our brothers 
 of Persia, Afghanistan, and Chitral, have tried to arrest 
 his progress. The accursed Frenchman has broken all 
 their nets, overcome all their witchcraft, and it is our 
 brothers who have perished ' or who have been made to 
 suffer. He is called jean Merrien." 
 
 A silence full of trembling followed this address. 
 Finally, the panting and agitated crowd broke into eager 
 questioning. 
 
 " What can be done ? What can be done, Holy 
 Pontiff?" 
 
 The Brahmin meditated for an instant and appeared to 
 enter into communication with the inspiring god. 
 
 "Brothers," he resumed finally, "these men are 
 doubtless formidable, but what cannot the will of one 
 of the faithful do ? They are twenty, enough assuredly, 
 
DEJ/OTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 29 
 
 since each one of them, of the white men at all events, 
 is as good as ten. Their plan, which they do not in 
 any way conceal, is to enter the holy mountain by 
 these ranges where we now are, in order to mount 
 to the highest summits by way of Jamnotri and Nanda- 
 Devi. If they only wished to see Dhaulagiri we would 
 not need to agitate ourselves. The Mountain of the 
 Son of Man belongs to the faithful of Vishnu-Rama. 
 it is for them to defend it, but Nanda-Devi is the 
 throne of Parvati, and only the faithful have the right 
 to offer up goats to the goddess. But further than 
 this, the blasphemers wish to follow the entire chain, 
 and their final aim is to attain to the supreme throne, 
 the holy Tchango Pamari, which the Nepalis call 
 Gaurisankar." 
 
 An explosion of ferocious cries broke forth. Arms 
 waved, eyes filled with hatred. 
 
 '' Brothers, these men must not pass the waters of 
 our Sutlej. The snows of Nanda-Devi must not be 
 polluted by the foot of one of them. It is already too 
 much that heretofore one white man has been able to 
 penetrate thus far protected by the safe conduct of the 
 princes of Khatmandu. These others must die upon the 
 frontier of Nepal, even though all human laws protect 
 them." 
 
 ''Yes, yes, yes!" howled the excited crowd. ''They 
 must die ! Glory be to Siva ! The laws of man cannot 
 check the fulfillment of the will of the gods." 
 
 There was then for some moments an indescribable 
 tumult. A thousand projects crossed each other. An 
 immense disorder reigned ; and the devotees of the Fire- 
 God moved amid incredible confusion. 
 
 Silence, however, was re-established and the Brahmin 
 
30 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 profited by it to distribute orders apportioning the troop 
 of assassins along the mountain road from Sultanpur to 
 the frontiers of Tibet. 
 
 Accordingly, as the old man pronounced the name of 
 a man and the station designed for this murderous cam- 
 paign, he to whom the order was directed mounted the 
 staircase and started immediately upon the road across 
 the country, by night, in order to occupy his post the 
 sooner. 
 
 Thus the mob dispersed, and at the hour of mid- 
 night there remained only half a score of the faithful 
 about the Brahmin, chosen as among the most trusty 
 and able. Of this number Ramu was one. 
 
 ''For thee," the old man said to him, 'M have 
 reserved the most difficult, but also the most honorable 
 post. Thou wilt go to join the white men. Thou wilt 
 attach thyself to their persons, as their guide, or as their 
 servant. Not only wilt thou be able to offer the sacrifice 
 to Mahadeva in person, but thou canst also advise our 
 brothers, in order that they may accomplish that which 
 thou wilt not be able to execute. Go, then, and may the 
 strength of Siva be in thy arms : the smile of Parvati on 
 thy lips." 
 
 The Hindu prostrated himself before the old man, 
 whose right foot he took and placed upon his head, 
 but at the moment when he prepared to mount the 
 staircase in his turn, a man in European costume 
 descended it precipitately. Pushing aside those present, 
 in spite of menaces of death and poniards raised against 
 his breast, in two or three rapid bounds he had joined 
 the Brahmin. Then he was recognized, and a profound 
 stupor succeeded the anger with which the entrance of 
 the unholy one had been received. He was in fact not 
 
DEyOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 31 
 
 one of the unholy ; he was a brother, and of the most 
 zealous : the Dr. Madar-Goun. He began to explain even 
 before they questioned him. 
 
 'M do not come too late," he cried, ''since you are 
 still here. It is necessary to advise immediately as to 
 new measures. The accursed Frenchman and his com- 
 panions will not pass by the Kulla nor the Garhwal." 
 
 "Ah!" cried his hearers, much disappointed by his 
 news. 
 
 The physician proceeded, having finally overcome the 
 breathlessness caused by his haste : 
 
 '' 1 have come at full speed from Simla, for 1 only 
 knew this yesterday afternoon. Major Plumptre re- 
 entered Calcutta day before yesterday in the afternoon. 
 He waited for the government to advise him of the 
 instructions expected from Khatmandu, but they were 
 not known till a late hour. The maharaja has fixed 
 the road which the travelers must follow. It appears that 
 the Governor of Calcutta has spoken threateningly, and 
 the king has been afraid that the redcoats would profit 
 by a refusal on his part to take from him the countries 
 to the north of Darjiling bordering on Sikkim. He has 
 therefore granted them right of way, but on condition 
 that the explorers do not wander from the road desig- 
 nated, at least until they reach the level of the Great 
 Chain. Once in the mountains, since he is no longer 
 responsible for their lives, he troubles himself no further 
 about their path." 
 
 The Brahmin, interested by this communication, asked : 
 
 ''Then, once in the mountains, the king and the gov- 
 ernor are indifferent to their existence ? " 
 
 "Yes," answered the physician, "but once in the 
 mountains they have on their side the worshipers of 
 
32 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Vishnu, they have the snow and the cold. The men of 
 the South will not be able to pursue them." 
 
 "Then they must die before they have left the chain of 
 Chiriya-ghati," said Ramu, in a hollow voice. 
 
 The physician gave a little silent laugh: "In Tardi 
 Death is forever on the watch. She has many names and 
 aspects. The tiger and the panther, the elephant and the 
 rhinoceros, the cobra di capello, and the black serpent, 
 rather than the Hindus, will prefer to kill the white 
 man." 
 
 The Brahmin extended his hand and imposed silence 
 upon his few companions, who were commencing to 
 murmur : 
 
 "Brother," he said, "we must first know what we 
 are going to do, and how we shall proceed. You have 
 forgotten to tell us the road imposed upon the travelers 
 by the m ah a raj a. 
 
 Madar-Goun made a gesture of manifest annoyance. 
 
 "That is what 1 do not know," he replied. "The 
 white men have kept their instructions secret. We shall 
 have to guess the itinerary they will be apt to follow, for 
 1 know that the Frenchman expects to commence his 
 excursion with the Dhaulagiri." 
 
 The Indians looked at one another in much confusion. 
 It was evident that their too limited ideas of geography 
 would hardly permit of their establishing a base of opera- 
 tions. The physician, educated in Europe, and thus famil- 
 iarized with the processes of contemporaneous science, 
 extricated them from their embarrassment. 
 
 "The road that they will be almost certain to follow is 
 that from Jamla to Rawni. It is there that we must seek 
 them." 
 
 There was a heavy silence among the group. The 
 
DEyOTEES OF THE FIRE GOD. 33 
 
 faithful of the Fire-God were doubtless reflecting upon the 
 course they should take. 
 
 Then, when their meditations had come to an end, the 
 Brahmin chief, speaking last, announced : 
 
 " Ramu will take the mountain road. He will remain at 
 Jamla until the travelers arrive. There he will do as 1 have 
 said. Nothing is changed but the road of the white men. 
 But that road passes over the land of our gods. The pro- 
 fane ones must be chastised. So shall it be ! " 
 
 Then, one by one, the worshipers of the God of 
 Death left the cave and joined the encampment of 
 women. 
 
 The physician remounted his horse, which he had tied 
 to an iron hook fixed at one of the angles of the altar of 
 Alexander, and addressing Ramu, who was about to set out. 
 on the same road as himself: " Brother," he said, '' mount 
 behind me. You will thus gain a part of the way." 
 
 The Hindu did not wait to be urged, and the next 
 moment the animals hoofs were resounding on the horse- 
 road, well covered with broken stone, owing to the dili- 
 gence of the English administration, as they rode through 
 a cold night resplendent with stars. 
 
 'X ' 
 
THEY SET OUT UTON THEIR WAY. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE TARAI. 
 
 Dr. Madar-Goun and his fanatical companions were 
 mistaken. 
 
 It was not by way of Jamla and Rawni that the 
 explorers were going to commence their dangerous 
 ascent. 
 
 At the moment of leaving Srinagar they had taken 
 counsel together, compelled as they were to submit to the 
 conditions imposed by the King of Nepal. But these condi- 
 tions left them the choice of two ways of entering : that 
 of Jamla and Rawni the most direct certainly, but also the 
 most subject to control, that is to say, to the innumerable 
 annoyances of local authorities, and that of from Milam to 
 Taklagar, nearly unknown, bristling with natural obstacles, 
 but offering this advantage, that the travelers would find 
 themselves at once in the mountains, and would thus 
 
 34 
 
THE TARA'I. 35 
 
 escape the vexations of the Nepalese and Tibetan custom- 
 house. 
 
 The ill-will of the maharaja was manifest. While 
 appearing to make a friendly concession to the Lord-Gov- 
 ernor, the sovereign had hoped that in going directly across 
 his states the travelers would promptly become discouraged. 
 There, where Montgomery had failed, where Adolph von 
 Schlagintweit had succeeded in passing only by means of 
 stratagems and ruses, it was not possible that a column of 
 twenty men could find an egress. 
 
 Thus the road to Dhaulagiri was to all appearances 
 closed. Therefore, in a moment of ill-humor, easy enough 
 to justify. Major Plumptre had reproached Merrien with not 
 having embraced his suggestion when he had proposed to 
 approach the base of Gaurisankar by the east. 
 
 ''At least," he said, "the greater part of the journey 
 would lie through Sikhim, that is to say, upon English 
 ground, and we should at the same time have had the view 
 of the four highest peaks of the chain." 
 
 Merrien had replied laughingly to the Scotchman's 
 ill-temper : 
 
 "Let us see, major; difficulties will not stop you, I 
 fancy. Very well, even if you should refuse to face 
 them, 1 have made up my mind. I shall take the 
 longest road, that of Milam. 1 will do even better ; 1 will 
 see the sources of the Ganges in their own sanctuary at 
 Gangotri." 
 
 An exclamation of astonishment greeted this totally 
 unexpected declaration. 
 
 " But you" wish then to give a year to it," cried young 
 Weldon. " That takes us very far from Gaurisankar ! " 
 
 "What matter!" replied the Frenchman. "Do 
 delays trouble us ? I shall say with Mazarin, if necessary, 
 
36 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 'Time and 1/ and I shall add/' he concluded with careless 
 challenge : '' ' Who loves me, follows me ! ' " 
 
 '' 1 shall follow you ! " cried Cecil Weldon sturdily. 
 
 "I also, by G ," added the major. ''Besides, { 
 
 know something ot the road, and it will give me a 
 chance to kill some tigers and panthers on the way." 
 
 "Bravo, then! We are all in it! There will be the 
 fun of hunting ! " 
 
 The young Yankee uttered these last words with his 
 delicate, slender hands raised. 
 
 The agreement being thus clenched they decided 
 that they would take the next train, and that they 
 would stop at the station of Hardwar, to start from 
 there directly for the mountains. 
 
 Major Plumptre took with him his four companions, 
 these not having decided, however, that they would 
 take the complete trip. Cecil Weldon was escorted by 
 the two robust Yankees who had accompanied him to 
 the Great Tower Inn. As to Merrien he kept by him 
 only one servant, almost a confidant, Yves, or rather 
 Euzen Graec'h, an old sailor, a Breton, of almost super- 
 natural stature and vigor. 
 
 To this athlete was added a Hindu, Goulab, a man 
 of thirty-five or thereabouts, of the Brahmin caste. 
 Shikari, that is to say, professional hunter ; long, thin, and 
 supple as a reed in his ample vestments of white cotton 
 cloth. 
 
 The five Englishmen had, on their part, retained a 
 personnel of eight native domestics, chosen somewhat 
 at hazard from all castes, and distinguished rather by 
 their employments than by their social rank. One of 
 them, Salem-Bun, a Mussulman of the Sikh race, occu- 
 pied the important post of bahurji, or cook. Finally, 
 
THE TARAI. 37 
 
 young Weldon had attached to himself a Madrasi boy of 
 fifteen — a Christian child with fine and delicate features 
 lighted by beautiful black eyes, sparkling with intelligence. 
 The sojourn at Hardwar could not be of long duration. 
 The travelers stopped there just long enough to take a 
 meal, and recruit the wagons and the beasts of burden 
 necessary to the journey. 
 
 Mules and buffaloes were put to the four main wagons, 
 one of which was occupied by Cecil Weldon, the second 
 by Merrien and his two attendants, the third by the 
 major and his companions. The fourth was used in 
 common by the eight Hindus of the suite. Two other 
 vehicles carried the equipment of the English officers 
 and the American. Jean Merrien had reduced his own 
 baggage to a bag buckled across his shoulders, and the 
 Breton, Euzen Graec'h, had conscientiously imitated 
 him. 
 
 They set out upon their way, crossing the Ganges at 
 Kirksampur, then they followed the course of the Mun- 
 dakni or Alaknanda. 
 
 They reached the cool valley of Dehra-Dun formed by 
 the Ganges and the Jumna, the Tempe of northern India, 
 inclosed between the Siwalik Mountains and the outer 
 ranges of the Himalaya. Upon these slopes the English 
 had established their sanitariums, and cantons at Landaur 
 and MasLiri. Further to the north the climbers admired 
 the famous stone of Calsi at the confluence of the Tongsa 
 and the Jumna, upon which the early Buddhists engraved, 
 two centuries before Christ, the figure of an elephant and 
 the tables of their laws ; but they were in haste to get 
 to the heights, for each passing day rendered access to 
 the Great Chain more difficult. The melting of the snows 
 would swell the torrents and transform the lower slopes 
 
38 ■ THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 into marshes ; by what they had been able to see at 
 Dehra-Dun, it was easy to guess what the state of the 
 Tarai would be ; and by whatever side one approached 
 the Great Chain, one would have to undergo the 
 passage across the Tarai. 
 
 The plan of campaign had been heedlessly drawn 
 up. Upon the representation of one of the Hindus, 
 the Europeans had nourished the hope that they would 
 be able to go up the Ganges east of Landaur. 
 
 At the very outset it was necessary to renounce this 
 project, and recross the divine river this side of Siwalik. 
 The marshes which they had wished to avoid at Faizabad, 
 they found again at Bodalleth, and at Pinnath. 
 
 This time the major, exasperated by the delay of eight 
 days, declared that he would cross in spite of all obstacles. 
 It is needless to say that no one wished to abandon him. 
 
 "It is an ill wind that blows nobody good," says 
 the proverb. This rejection of the eastern road rendered 
 the travelers the service of bringing them near to the 
 Nepal frontier, while at the same time it led them into 
 a part of the Tarai where human industry had made 
 veritable conquest over the jungle and the desert. 
 
 In India the name Tarai, or Taryani, is given to that 
 warm and humid zone which lies at the base of the 
 Himalaya along the entire length of the chain, some 
 three thousand kilometers from the Passes of Kashmir 
 to the vales of Assam. This girdle, very unhealthy 
 because of the pestilences hidden within its marvelous for- 
 ests, very dangerous through the presence of innumerable 
 wild beasts, seems to have been placed there by nature to 
 forbid human access to the giant lands, the two arms of 
 which, Himalaya and Kuenluen, embrace the mysterious 
 unexplored region called Tibet. 
 
THE TARAI. ^g 
 
 Thus it is necessary to cross the Tarai to reach the first 
 terraces of the Himalaya. 
 
 " Now, where are we ? " asked Cecil Weldoii of Plump- 
 tre and Merrien, when, after having passed a thick wood, 
 the travelers found themselves to their great surprise upon 
 a beautiful road, well kept, stretching like a long ribbon 
 in the direction of the Chain, whose snowy domes and 
 gilded peaks could be seen sparkling. 
 
 It was Dr. MacGregor, a friend of Plumptre's, who 
 took upon himself to furnish his young companion with 
 the desired explanation. He amiably constituted himself 
 cicerone of the company. 
 
 ''Gentlemen," said he, ''this portion of northern 
 India is par excellence holy ground. It is the domain 
 proper to the Hindu-trimorti. When India had in some 
 sort abdicated from sovereign power, Brahma, born of 
 the sacred lotus, or of the eggs of Baohani, created this 
 land, to conserve and to devastate which was the mis- 
 sion of Vishnu and Siva. That is why the Hindus force 
 themselves every year to accomplish the great pilgrimage, 
 the most meritorious of all, that of the Sanctuary of 
 Gangotri, that we are to undertake ourselves, but in the 
 role of the merely curious. Very few bring it to a success- 
 ful end, for the difficulties are formidable, and we cannot 
 guarantee that we shall be more fortunate than the natives 
 in this dangerous attempt." 
 
 "We shall be, MacGregor," rang out the very positive 
 voice of Major Plumptre. 
 
 They resumed their march. Forests alternated with 
 cultivated ground laboriously reclaimed from the jungle. 
 Toward evening, however, they found themselves in the 
 middle of a thicket. The road was extremely difficult. 
 
 " Does not some one of our men know the region ?" 
 
40 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 asked Merrien of the cook Salem-Bun, when he was setting 
 up the tents for the night. Questioned one by one, the 
 natives avowed complete ignorance of the road. The 
 embarrassment was at its height when Cecil Weldon's 
 little Madrasi servant, who answered to the name of Christi, 
 given at baptism by the Fathers who had Christianized 
 him, timidly approached his master, and spoke to him in 
 a low voice. 
 
 The American then said : '' Gentlemen, Christi has 
 assured me that there must be near here a Catholic mission, 
 founded by the Capuchins. The Doums, in fact, almost all 
 belong to this religion, which they have embraced through 
 hatred of their old tyrants, the Gurkhas. The boy will 
 undertake to reconnoiter the neighborhood." 
 
 The major broke in with a word of caution : '' The boy 
 will make his excursion to-morrow. There is too much 
 danger in attempting it this evening." 
 
 ''Danger?" cried Weldon and the two Frenchmen 
 simultaneously. 
 
 The officer smiled somewhat conceitedly, then he 
 resumed seriously : 
 
 " 1 know, my dear comrades, that you fear nothing. 
 But take the word of a man who had some experience of 
 the country. We are here in the Tarai, and the Tarai is 
 not an ordinary place. We shall very likely realize that 
 this very night. Just now, in crossing a clear space, I dis- 
 covered unmistakable traces of the great flesh-eating 
 animals : tigers, panthers, and chitas." 
 
 '' But, then," observed young Weldon, *' we are very 
 badly situated in the event of a night attack. We should 
 be wiser to seek some village which might furnish us a 
 shelter." 
 
 Everyone approved this advice, which was dictated by 
 
THE TARAI. 41 
 
 prudence. There was, in fact, no refuge other than the 
 wagons drawn by buffaloes and mules. The very presence 
 of these animals indeed, might attract wild beasts, so, as 
 the night had not yet settled down, they decided to take up 
 their march as soon as the meal was finished, and to stop 
 at the first hamlet which they encountered. The smoke 
 which drifted across the openings of the forest led them to 
 suspect that some poor huts were close at hand. 
 
 Half an hour later they had reached one of those 
 Hindu villages built of earth and thatch, miserable dwell- 
 ings lacking not only luxury, but even the most element- 
 ary comfort. Their very aspect caused the young Yankee 
 to recoil in disgust, his delicacy, excessive for an explorer, 
 somewhat astonishing his companions. 
 
 However, at the end of a moment, this repugnance was 
 shared by Major Plumptre, Dr. MacGregor, and all their 
 compatriots, and in order to cut short the discussions sure 
 to be provoked by the choice of a lodging among the 
 repulsive huts, Merrien expressed the general sentiment in 
 proposing to sleep in the wagons after having established 
 them in the village. 
 
 This last proposition somewhat startled Cecil Weldon, 
 and his hesitation again awakened the surprise of the other 
 travelers. But it was quite necessary for him to resign 
 himself; there was no choice of hostelry, and the nearest 
 bungalow* was still no less than two miles away. 
 
 They decided, therefore, to accept Merrien's advice, and 
 the vehicles were brought into the village into the midst of 
 a population of Mehras, whose extreme timidity rendered 
 them very shy. It was with extreme difficulty and at the 
 cost of numerous paissas distributed right and left, that 
 
 * Halting-place or station. 
 
42 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 some of these savages could be brought to consent to fill 
 the offices of bhistis, that is to say, of water-carriers. 
 
 Only two of them decided to do so, and on the condi- 
 tion that the white men accompany them with arms 
 and lanterns. The spring was under cover of the wood, 
 and everything was fearsome at this hour of dead night ; 
 the watering-place was surronnded by flesh-eating animals 
 lying in wait for antelopes and deer. 
 
 The major at once demanded to be one of the escort. 
 Jean Merrien accompanied him as well as Euzen Graec'h 
 and the Indian Goulab, the special mission of the latter 
 being the surveillance of the two Mehras. 
 
 But there was no occasion to fear treason on the part of 
 these men. The Mehras, are, in fact, together with the 
 Doums, the most ancient people of the India peninsula ; 
 at least, in the cis-Gangetic portion. Successively con- 
 quered and brought under subjection by innumerable 
 incursions of invaders, enslaved for centuries, they owe 
 their liberty only to the coming of the English, who have 
 delivered them from the Gurkhas, those terrible moun- 
 taineers from among whom the government of Her 
 Britannic Majesty recruits the best foot-soldiers of the 
 Indian army, the most substantial soldiers of the Sepoy 
 regiments. 
 
 But the Mehras, of Aryan race, have kept a wild 
 independence which has degenerated into savagery, while 
 the Doums, black of skin, with woolly hair, represent 
 in riiide Ulotrique, or that part of India where the 
 natives have crisped hair, a negro race, expelled in an 
 immemorial past, the nearest approach to which is found 
 in the hideous and cannibal population of the Andaman 
 Islands. The Doums, laborious, sober, accord marvelously 
 with the whites, and it is thanks to their arms that civili- 
 
THE TARAI. 43 
 
 zation encroaches each day upon the domain of the 
 Tarai jungles. 
 
 The spring from which the water was to be brought 
 was situated at quite a distance, nearly a mile in the 
 forest. Through the darkness, and in spite of the reflec- 
 tion of the torches, the march was difficult. 
 
 The village in the center of which the travelers had 
 placed their wagons was laid out, after the fashion of 
 its kind, over the entire extent of this narrow territory. 
 The Doums had come first. They had attacked the 
 outskirts of the forest with fire, and with the ax. 
 Then, the place once cleared, they had planted the 
 nutritious and sheltering mango tree in place of the 
 useless palms, turpentine trees of strong species, flora, 
 similar to that of Europe, but among which appeared, 
 with its peculiar individuality, the astonishing banyan 
 tree, that giant which multiplies itself; which, like 
 Antaeus, acquires new strength each time that it touches 
 the earth, since each of its branches, provided with 
 adventitious roots, is transformed into a aiew tree, and 
 becomes the pillar of an arch which extends in all 
 directions around the primitive trunk, procreator of a 
 veritable forest in itself. 
 
 Then the Doums, their work of clearing finished to a 
 nicety, passed on to other labor, urged further by the 
 English, who pay them for their valiant toil. Then came 
 the Mehras, and even other races, some of whom emi- 
 grated from the valley of the Sutlej, or the banks of the 
 Jumna and the Gogra. These last are the ones who 
 build pitiful dwellings, a species of sordid hut, and 
 create wretched villages under the shade of the mango 
 trees. If the race be industrious, it surrounds the 
 territory thus conquered with all the resources necessary 
 
44 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 to combat the pestilence of the climate, and the per- 
 petual menace of terrible famine. Then arise bread- 
 trees, butter-trees, cocoanut trees, the mhowa, that 
 strange tree whose flower, of an insipid and resinous 
 odor resembling that of the mango, is a veritable manna 
 for persons living in the most cruel scarcity. 
 
 The two Mehras gave loud cries, and Goulab imitated 
 them, counseling the two Europeans to do the same. It 
 was a measure of prevention to disperse noxious beasts, 
 and more especially the serpents asleep in the heaps of 
 decayed foliage, or in the hollov/s of fallen trees. 
 
 Every moment a rustling of the branches, a murmur 
 in the thicket, warned the travelers that they had 
 disturbed some living creature in its repose, or in the 
 performance of some nocturnal task. From time to time 
 a hoarse growl revealed the departure of some tiger or 
 panther, or small-sized ape. 
 
 In proportion as they neared the watering place, the 
 cries of the Hindus redoubled in intensity and frequency. 
 The watering place is the classic ambush of the great 
 slayers, because it is the common rendezvous of all the 
 animal tribes. Suddenly a startled bellowing rose some 
 hundred feet from the little path. The Mehras stopped, 
 giving signs of violent terror. 
 
 ''Attention!" said Jean Merrien, quickly bringing his 
 ride to the shoulder. 
 
 "Well!" replied the Englishman; 'M know what 
 that is. That is only a spotted deer coming to 
 drink." 
 
 Goulab shook his head, and said in a low voice to 
 the fearless major : 
 
 "Sahib, it is only a deer, but this deer leads his 
 herd. It is not us that he has discovered, for the wind 
 
THE TARAl. 45 
 
 comes from his direction. There must be some other 
 enemy behind him, more formidable perhaps, and more 
 disquieting." 
 
 ''And what may it be?" asked the Scotchman. 
 
 'Mt may be the seigneur tiger, unless it is a 
 panther." 
 
 The group had paused ; the three white men and 
 Goulab, armed with rifles, had rapidly made a square 
 in the center of which they placed the two Mehras. 
 These had laid their empty bottles on the ground, and 
 had taken the two extra torches from the hands of 
 their protectors. With their two arms raised, they held 
 these torches above their heads, sending a fantastic 
 light into the dense shadows of the surrounding forest. 
 But at that very moment the wind, shifting unex- 
 pectedly, swept away the clouds, and revealed the full 
 disk of the moon. An intense radiance illumined the 
 heavens, and such a light streamed down upon the 
 landscape as is only seen under tropical skies. The 
 spring appeared, spread with silver, pouring out of a 
 large fissure in the rock upon a basin of transparent 
 pebbles of that marvelously colored quartz that the 
 Ganges draws from its bed, and that the people utilize in 
 the ornamentation of those exquisite boxes of precious 
 wood, those elegant sandal-wood cabinets, charming in 
 appearance, and of delightful fragrance. 
 
 Then an agitating scene was enacted under the eyes 
 of the explorers. 
 
 An entire herd of spotted deer, seven does and four 
 fawns, appeared upon the banks of the stream. The 
 animals did not drink. They pricked up their ears, and 
 turned their heads, with visible anxiety in their beautiful 
 black eyes. Ten paces in advance the male, a superb 
 
a6 the land of TAiVNY BEASTS. 
 
 stag of ten, with proud, intelligent eyes, sniffed the air 
 in the direction of the wind. It was he who had, for 
 the purpose of warning the others of danger, given the 
 cry just heard. He was suddenly seen to stretch out 
 his powerful neck. A second wailing cry, pitiful this 
 time, a true call of alarm, broke from the hollows of 
 his deep chest, and the entire troop fled at a gallop, 
 running wildly into the depths of the forest. He him- 
 self, after providing for the safety of his family, thought 
 of his own means of escape. Lying close to the ground, 
 effacing himself, so to speak, among the trees, he exam- 
 ined the surrounding openings. One alone was large 
 enough for his majestic horns, that by which the 
 explorers and the two Mehras had come. 
 
 Plumptre, suiting the action to the word, said to 
 his companions : "Let us stand aside to let him pass, 
 otherwise he will force the sentry. Moreover, he will 
 not attack us. The enemy is certainly behind him. That 
 is the one we must receive at the muzzle of the gun." 
 
 He had not finished speaking when the stag, crouch- 
 ing on his hind legs, bent for a spring, rose with a 
 prodigious bound, and passed the little troop in two 
 gigantic leaps. 
 
 "Brave animal!" exclaimed the Scotchman. "Did 
 you observe his maneuver ? He attracted the advancing 
 tiger to himself, in order to let the females and the little 
 ones reach the center of their herd. I should like to do 
 something for him." 
 
 "We too, major," said Jean Merrien, smiling. 
 
 The four rifles were raised at the same time, ready to 
 aim, and the appearance of the wild animal was awaited. 
 He was not long in showing himself. The underbrush on 
 the bank of the stream suddenly moved, the tall grasses 
 
THE STAG SNIFFED THE WIND. 
 
48 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 parted abruptly, and made way for a magnificent beast 
 with a supple and sinuous body, and a yellowish-gray 
 coat spotted with circles of black velvet. It was not a 
 tiger, but one of the leopards very common in Central 
 and Southern Asia. European naturalists call it guepard, 
 but the Indians designate it by the name of chita. 
 
 The chita is susceptible of education to such a degree 
 that the hunters of Persia, of Turkestan, of India, and of 
 China, train it to hunt with more f^icility than the dog. 
 It thus becomes the valuable aid, and the faithful com- 
 panion of the horseman, who takes it behind him and 
 lets it loose upon the prey designated. The one which 
 had just come into view was of great size. It came, 
 attracted by the trail of the herd, and was counting on 
 choosing from among it a morsel of ample dimensions. 
 It prepared to bound off in pursuit of the buck along the 
 very road that he had taken, when the sight of the six 
 men, illumined by their torches, stopped him short, halt- 
 ing between fear and the cravings of his stomach. One 
 or two guttural notes issued from his bronze chest. The 
 formidable beast was hesitating, not daring to disregard 
 the counsels of prudence. 
 
 ''We haven't the leisure to parley with this pretty 
 fellow," said the major, in an undertone. 
 
 " What a pity that he cannot be taken alive ! " sighed 
 Goulab, the Indian. 
 
 ''Why so?" asked the Breton sailor, much mystified 
 by this regret. The shikari explained the puzzle in his 
 words : 
 
 " You do not know, then, sahib, that the chita is easily 
 tamed, and becomes an excellent companion for him who 
 loves the chase ? " 
 
 "Doubtless," replied Major Plumptre, "but this one 
 
THE TARAl. 49 
 
 does not appear to be precisely in the humor to confide to 
 us the responsibility of his education. Furthermore, we are 
 a little pressed for time. And then the fate of this brave 
 deer interests me." 
 
 During this short dialogue, the giiepard had, on his 
 part, reflected, and the inclinations that he presently showed 
 were entirely hostile. He had come around the pond, 
 and, flattened against the ground, was moving his rump 
 and his tail, and scratching the earth with his claws. 
 
 It was in this position that he was surprised by the 
 major's shot. The ball penetrated the point of the shoulder 
 and prostrated the magnificent beast, while the noise of 
 the report reverberated through the black depths of the 
 forest. The chita turned over two or three times with 
 convulsive movements, and died. 
 
 Then the two Mehras ran to the stream, promptly filled 
 their bottles, and rejoined the group, while Euzen Graec'h, 
 putting his enormous strength to good use, lifted the body 
 o( the giiep J rd, still warm and palpitating, upon his shoul- 
 ders, and carried it triumphantly back into camp. 
 
 The noise of the shooting had caused the whole com- 
 pany great excitement, and everyone ran to look at the 
 superb game and compliment Major Plumptre on the happy 
 beginning of his hunting in the Tarai. Some of the Mehras 
 themselves came out of their cabins and approached the 
 wagons. 
 
 The two brave bhisf/s who had given proof of real 
 courage were royally rewarded, and they departed from 
 their habitual speechlessness warmly to thank the gener- 
 ous donors. 
 
 After which the wagons were disposed in a circle, in 
 the center of which were placed the mules and the 
 buffaloes. Two Danish dogs of great size watched at the 
 
50 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS, 
 
 spaces left open by the angles of the wagons. Then the 
 men wished one another a cordial good-night, very 
 desirable after so momentous an evening as they had just 
 passed, and each group shut itself into the wheeled house 
 assigned to it. 
 
 The day once at hand, it was necessary to think of 
 returning to the mountain road, in spite of the very marked 
 opposition of Major Plumptre and Dr. MacGregor. 
 
 ''My dear comrades," cried the officer, "mountains 
 after all are only mountains. Whoever has seen one, has 
 seen all. It is not so of theTarai, which is a place unique in 
 the whole world, the land of promise for the hunter. The 
 experience of yesterday evening has given you a chance to 
 judge of the numerous delights that a sojourn in this fortu- 
 nate region would procure for us. We should all return 
 with at least ten skins apiece. 1 ask, then, that we give 
 ourselves ten days' grace worthily to accomplish our hunts- 
 man's task." 
 
 Jean Merrien commenced to laugh at this proposition. 
 He answered the officer gayly : 
 
 " Parbleu ! major, that is what comes of praising your 
 cynegetic tastes, and if Mr. Weldon and your friends 
 see no inconvenience in it, we can very well dedicate 
 a week to the massacre of tigers, panthers, bears, and 
 other injurious creatures of the region. But let me 
 remind you that I have come with but one end in 
 view, the climbing of Gaurisankar, which you call 
 Mount Everest. You must also recall that you all 
 swore to carry off this palm from the Frenchman. 
 What have you done, then, with your beautiful ardor 
 of Srinigar ? " 
 
 And he added by way of conclusion : 
 
 " Hurrah, then, for a week or ten days of amuse- 
 
THE TARAI. 51 
 
 ment in the forests of the Tardi ! But, this delay once 
 over with, come what may, I will pause for no leave- 
 taking, but will return to the Gangotri road. It will be 
 the worse for those who will have been overcome by 
 the exhalations of the neighborhood, and who will have 
 contracted the marsh fever." 
 
 ''Well!" returned the Scotchman, ''those who are 
 sick can return to the Dun road. Ladour and Masuri 
 are not far distant, and, if necessary, they could be sent 
 on to Simla, where they would be able to recover." 
 
 "Hurrah, then, for the hunt! But let us take meas- 
 ures to have our days well filled. It would be too 
 humiliating to be left in the lurch after having made 
 such a loop in our itinerary." 
 
 ''Mr. Merrien," said Cecil Weldon gently, "we shall 
 not be left in the lurch. And furthermore, supposing 
 that the beasts of prey all steal away from us, the 
 mountains will not escape us, 1 think, and Gaurisankar 
 will remain in its place." 
 
 Upon this sensible conclusion they held a veritable 
 council of war, and decided to follow the forest, without, 
 however, departing from the northern route and the 
 Nepal frontier. 
 
 ^1 
 
THE MONK DESIGNATED RAMU. 
 
 IV. 
 
 VARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 
 
 That very day, Christi, the little Madras!, carried out 
 the project he had formed the previous evening, ot 
 putting himself into communication with the Christian 
 Doums in order to procure some guide from out their 
 ranks. 
 
 The boy set out, accompanied by one of the Hindus 
 in the service of the five Englishmen, and plunged 
 through the forest the sooner to gain the clearing. 
 There he knew he should find those laborious negroes 
 who have been indefatigable aids to English civilization. 
 
 Christi and his companion, a Pahari of Rohilkhand, 
 were nearly three hours in reaching the first of the Doum 
 settlements. These were veritable cantons. Directed by 
 a Capuchin father, several black tribes, men, women, 
 
 and children, had raised their portable barracks furnished 
 
 52 
 
U'ARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 53 
 
 by a European company of Calcutta, as were the wooden 
 convoys and wagons. Houses of boards erected upon 
 trestles of iron, with floors and roofs of sheet iron to 
 avoid contact with the earth and the invasion of insects 
 or serpents, offered an itinerant home to these troops of 
 benevolent workers, content with little, supporting them- 
 selves upon the moderate remuneration accorded them. 
 
 Christi at once sought the padre, an old Portuguese 
 monk, who had lived for thirty years among these 
 people, so remote from all civilization. 
 
 He made known to him his desire ; and the padre 
 hastened to call to him two men who were working 
 some distance away. 
 
 One of the two was a pure-blooded Doum, small 
 and stocky, black of skin, and woolly-haired ; the other 
 did not belong to the race. He was a large, fine youth, 
 superbly set up, with smooth hair and olive complexion. 
 Naked to the waist, where was knotted a large pagne, 
 the folds of which fell over the legs, he presented the 
 aspect of great strength joined to real intelligence. 
 
 The monk especially pointed out this latter to the 
 two emissaries of the white men. 
 
 " Ramu," said he, 'M believe this is your affair. You 
 are looking for work. There happen to be very near 
 here some Europeans who are asking for a guide. Would 
 you like to go ? That is, if you know the country ? " 
 
 The Hindu made a sign of acquiescence with his 
 head. 
 
 Then the padre, quitting his flock for the moment, 
 took the road to the encampment in company with the 
 three Indians. 
 
 He was received with respect. Although he spoke 
 English with great incorrectness, the use that he made of 
 
54 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 this language permitted him to explain himself sufficiently 
 to the travelers. He told them that Ramu was a Dogra 
 of Jumna, that is to say a Rajput, not a Mussulman, 
 who had been sent to him by a young physician, Madar- 
 Goun, who had been educated in Europe. He added 
 that the Dogra had only arrived the evening before, but 
 that the recommendation of Dr. Madar-Goun was in his 
 eyes the best of all guarantees. 
 
 The white men could not desire better reference than 
 that of Father Antonio, the name of the Portuguese 
 monk. Consequently they engaged Ramu in the capacity 
 of guide, and begged him to enter upon his duties from 
 that very day. 
 
 He spoke several languages, English among them, 
 with infinitely more facility than the good monk who 
 had brought him there. He explained laughingly to 
 the travelers that his duties would be very easy, as 
 it was the month of March, and at that time pilgrim- 
 ages abound, the more daring for Gangotri, but the 
 greater number for Hardwar, Badarinath, and Kedarnath. 
 
 '' Furthermore," he added, smiling, " this region is very 
 improperly called Tariyani. It is hardly more than the 
 advance guard of the forest. The true Tarai is still 
 some fifty kilometers from the place where we are, 
 and it would only have been necessary for you to 
 ascend the Mundakni as far as Kedarnath to choose 
 between the Gangotri road and that of Niti Liti." 
 
 Major Plumptre, who had not taken his eyes off the 
 Hindu while he was speaking, replied in a somewhat 
 testy tone of voice : 
 
 "Very well, my boy. We are charmed that you pos- 
 sess such geographical knowledge of the country. For 
 the moment what we ask of you is that you lead us 
 
VARIETIES OF MONSTERS. ' 55 
 
 as conveniently as possible into the forest between the 
 frontiers of Nepal and those of Tibet. We are to the 
 north of Ranikhet, and Almora, but we are to the south 
 of the Himalayas. It is for you to acquaint us with 
 the best hunting territory. You can even make a map 
 of it, if that will give you any pleasure. J bon entendeur, 
 saint!'' (A word to the wise is sufficient.) 
 
 The officer let fall this very French phrase, emphasiz- 
 ing it in such a way that Jean Merrien laughingly 
 applauded him. 
 
 When he found himself again among friends, the 
 major could not disguise his sentiments : 
 
 '' My dear Merrien, 1 will tell you at once that the 
 face of this Dogra does not greatly please me." 
 
 ''To be as frank as yourself, my dear major, I can 
 make the same confession without difficulty." 
 
 "And you, Weldon?" asked the two Europeans 
 simultaneously. 
 
 *' Frankly, gentlemen," replied the young Yankee, 'M 
 admit that I had not received the same impression as 
 you. This Rajput seemed to me very intelligent, and 
 I believe him to be active and courageous." 
 
 They exchanged no further opinions upon the subject, 
 in order to preserve perfect harmony Weldon proposed 
 to attach the guide to his own personnel. In that way 
 he would be placed, he declared, under the strict sur- 
 veillance of his two companions, Davis Morley and 
 Hermann Knebel, the latter of German descent. 
 
 That very day Ramu gave his companions a high 
 idea of his capacity. After some very natural hesitation, 
 he came to announce to the caravan that if they wished 
 to swerve a little further to the west, they would find 
 game in abundance. The wagons accordingly plunged 
 
56 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 into the forest, and in less than three hours all trace 
 of habitations had been lost sight of. 
 
 The ground rose rapidly, but the thick curtain of 
 the trees did not admit of any glimpse of the horizons 
 of the Great Chain, in spite of the elevation of the land 
 the temperature remained heavy and suffocating. Further- 
 more, the soil, deeply channeled, and covered with alluvial 
 deposits of all sorts of detritus, rendered walking very 
 difficult. It was necessary to encamp toward the middle 
 of the day, and they installed themselves in a sort of 
 clearing, where the perpendicular rays of the sun barely 
 succeeded in making some spots of light upon the damp 
 grass. 
 
 '' A pretty place to contract all sorts of known and 
 unknown fevers ! " cried Dr. MacGregor. 
 
 The doctor was in a very bad humor. He declared 
 that if they lingered only two days in that altitude, half 
 their force would be on their backs. 
 
 ''Bah!" joked the major. ''We are at the same 
 altitude as Simla, as Naini-Tal, as Ranikhet." 
 
 "With this difference," retorted the physician, "that 
 Ranikhet, Naini, and Simla are on exposed slopes, down 
 whose sides the water has drained, and which receive 
 the winds direct from the mountains." 
 
 " Let us not think of that," cried Merrien, " and since 
 we have agreed upon a week of shooting, out with the 
 guns." 
 
 This was the great compensation for sojourning in 
 these unhealthful regions. 
 
 For dinner that evening they had only game to eat. 
 The hunt had been miraculous. The major and his four 
 companions contributed sixty white partridges, eight 
 pheasants, and two grouse. Merrien, Graec'h, and Goulab 
 
VARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 57 
 
 the shikari, preferred the four-footed game. Their portion 
 was seven hares and sixteen Guinea pigs. But the tri- 
 umph of the day went to the Americans. Weldon had 
 brought down a male nilgau close to the muzzle, at the 
 very moment when the antelope, brought to bay, leveled 
 his horns and charged impetuously upon the bold hunter. 
 
 His two companions had brought down two beautiful 
 fawns of the same herd. 
 
 That did not keep the major from sighing over what 
 he called a sorry result. 
 
 "We have only had small game to-day," he said. 
 
 Occasion to modify his judgment was not slow in 
 coming. 
 
 Toward the second half of the afternoon, just as the 
 English, fLiithful to their goodly custom of tiffin, that is 
 to say lunch, had laid the cover in the shelter of a 
 group of mango-trees, at the foot of which the ground was 
 perfectly dry, cries of distress rang out, coming from 
 the very edge of the forest, less than five hundred yards 
 from the wagons. 
 
 Everyone seized arms, and ran in the direction of the 
 outcry. 
 
 A frightful spectacle met their sight. A sort of marsh 
 lay beneath the nearer trees. From the stagnant water 
 four or five hideous reptile heads had started up, darting 
 their forked tongues with horrible hissing. They were 
 of that particular species called daboia, water serpents, 
 of gigantic size, uniting to the strength of the boa the 
 fataJ venom of the cobra, which kills in less than half an 
 hour. 
 
 A man belonging to the escort, one of those in the 
 service of the English, was writhing from many wounds 
 inflicted by poisoned fangs, a prey to the last convul- 
 
58 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 sions of the death agony. Some steps distant, a second 
 Hindu of the same troop, bound to a tree by the deadly 
 embrace of an ophidian, was yelling with pain. His 
 were the cries that had given the alarm. 
 
 To rescue him it would be necessary to pass over the 
 bodies of five threatening daboias. 
 
 Goulab made this useful though little comforting 
 observation : 
 
 " It is neither a naga nor a daboia which is holding him ; 
 it has no fangs. It is a python." 
 
 But whether the poor boy must be crushed to death or 
 poisoned mattered little. The essential thing was that he 
 should not die. But the embrace of the constrictor tight- 
 ened, making the limbs of the poor wretch crack. 
 Shooting could not be thought of. Besides the chance 
 that the ball might glance harmless from the scales of 
 the serpent, there were ten chances to one of killing the 
 unfortunate being held in his entwining grasp. 
 
 Fortunately, Jean Merrien was a man of resource. 
 He had foreseen such an emergency, and was provided 
 with special arms of his own invention. 
 
 With a gesture he indicated to Graec'h the ax that he 
 wore at his belt, and cried to him : 
 
 '' To the man ! extricate him. 1 will take care of these 
 villainous water beasts." 
 
 Then he was seen to draw from a sort of quiver 
 that hung at his waist a syringe terminating in a rose 
 like that of a watering-pot. He rapidly filled it half full 
 from the stagnant pool, then he poured into it some 
 drops from a flask which he drew from his game pouch. 
 Then he marched resolutely against the daboias, who, far 
 from avoiding him, raised themselves in increased fury 
 in front of him. 
 
VARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 59 
 
 The syringe did its work. It threw upon the ophidians 
 a large jet of the corrosive liquid that it contained. The 
 effect was immediate. Struck on the points of their vis- 
 cous rings, the hideous creatures showed by their quicker 
 hissing, and by their convulsive movements, that the 
 vitriol was burning their skins and penetrating deep into 
 their flesh. 
 
 Without pausing, Merrien quickened the terrible 
 sprinkling, and in a few moments the five dying reptiles 
 fell back into the muddy water of the marsh, showing 
 the scales of their bellies, after the manner of dead fish. 
 
 The way was clear. The Breton leaped with a bound 
 to the succor of the unfortunate Hindu, whom the python 
 was lacerating with cruel wounds while endeavoring to 
 strangle him. The herculean hand of Euzen Graec'h 
 had torn the head of the ophidian from the shoulder of 
 its victim in which it had buried its fangs, and pressed 
 it against the trunk of the tree. 
 
 A single blow of the ax decapitated the creature, whose 
 rings at once relaxed, letting the enormous body fall 
 inert, still shaken by the spasms of death. 
 
 They drew the swooning Indian from its embrace, 
 and hastened to lavish on him the care that his con- 
 dition demanded. Happily the daboias had not touched 
 him, and he had had the truly extraordinary fortune 
 to be picked out by the python. They had, therefore, 
 only to wash and then to cauterize his wounds. As to 
 his companion, all efforts in his behalf were henceforth 
 useless. Already swollen and distended, his body cov- 
 ered with green blotches, his tongue tumefied, his 
 wounds — he had received more than twenty bites — puru- 
 lent and bluish, the Hindu could not be long in succumb- 
 ing. He expired, indeed, at the end of some moments. 
 
6o THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 literally asphyxiated by the poison, and with nerves agi- 
 tated by tetanic convulsions. 
 
 This event sobered all hearts. The major himself, 
 ordinarily so bravely care-free, could not repress his 
 sadness. 
 
 The man who had just died was an old servant 
 who had been over fifteen years in his service, and who 
 possessed his entire confidence. 
 
 In the midst of the comments provoked by this 
 catastrophe, Goulab the shikari, whose brows were 
 knit, put in his word, which was anything but re- 
 assuring. 
 
 ''One thing astonishes me in all this," he said. 
 ''Among the innumerable varieties of serpents which 
 infect Indian territory, there is hardly one who dares 
 attack a man except the cobra-di-capello. Even then 
 the man must surprise it, and disturb its sleep. As to 
 the boas and daboias, they are reptiles whose first 
 movement is of flight, and who only defend themselves 
 in the last extremity. 1 am utterly surprised by what 
 has just taken place. I find it so very strange that I 
 dare not yet express an opinion on the subject." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" questioned Merrien. " What 
 are you concealing under this reticence ? " 
 
 The shikari shook his head, and contented himself 
 with responding enigmatically : 
 
 "Sahib, when the wounded man is able to speak 
 to you, ask him simply how his accident occurred, how 
 the thing was done. I have no right to say more at 
 present." And urge as they might, the Indian refused to 
 throw off his reserve. 
 
 "Truly," said young Weldon, who appeared strongly 
 moved by the incident, "there is good reason for say- 
 
A SINGLE BLOW OF THE AX DECAPITATED THE CREATURE. 
 
62 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ing that India is the land of mysteries. I come from a 
 country where serpents certainly are not lacking ; where 
 they are as formidable as these. But our trigonocephales, 
 our rattlesnakes, would not venture thus imprudently to 
 approach the neighborhood of man. You have just heard, 
 moreover, the reflections of this shikari. He also finds 
 it strange, even inexplicable. I should like to know, I 
 admit, the hypothesis that he has conceived." 
 
 ''Meanwhile," grumbled the major, ''1 have just lost 
 in a single instant my poor old Gourap-Sing. 1 cannot be 
 reconciled to it." 
 
 He was sincere. The cruel fate of his faithful behra 
 caused him violent grief, and had he been able to vent 
 his sorrow, aggravated by the mysterious words of 
 Goulab, he would have pitilessly killed the man or the 
 animals whose imprudence or stupidity had led to this 
 terrible catastrophe. Naturally, the day ended in gloom. 
 They dined rather early on an excellent curry made by 
 Salem-Bun out of white meat. 
 
 Then, night having fallen, they stockaded the wagons, 
 and lighted six fires, to guard which they stationed some 
 Doums recruited in the neighborhood, over whom the 
 travelers kept watch two by two, in turn. This was 
 not a useless precaution, as they were soon in a posi- 
 tion to recognize. 
 
 Indeed, darkness had hardly closed down before the 
 noises of the forest broke forth, discordant at first, but 
 soon united and blended in an immense concert, to which 
 every beast in creation contributed his note. It com- 
 menced by the yelping of jackals, and the mournful 
 notes of the great horned owls, to which were soon 
 added the bellowings of those enormous frogs, sisters 
 of the American pipas, which people all the marshes of 
 
l^ARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 63 
 
 India. Then this prelude gradually died down, as if the 
 murmur of the overture had given way to the virtuosos, 
 to the great chief performers. To the cries of the wide- 
 mouthed frogs succeeded the bellowing of the true rumi- 
 nants, such as the formidable gdial, with a head maned 
 like that of the yak, the bison, and the buffalo of the 
 swamps, the most terrible, perhaps, of the wild inhab- 
 itants of the jungle, the only one, which, like the rhi- 
 noceros, every day growing more rare, always attacks 
 the white man, for whom it seems to feel a furious 
 hatred. 
 
 Soon afterward troops of wild elephants started the 
 echoes with their cries like the jangle of a bronze rattle, 
 and the travelers trembled at the mere thought that a 
 band of these gigantic animals might surprise their encamp- 
 ment. They knew well that the gangs of gandas, or 
 tusked elephants, are never under a dozen individuals, 
 composing two or three families. What could they do 
 in the way of defense, in the presence of such formidable 
 adversaries. They did not breathe easily until the noise 
 of the voices was lost in the depths of the forest. 
 
 But then a new voice arose, which at once imposed 
 silence upon the bellowings and wailings. A long 
 shudder was heard to run through the thick under- 
 brush — the sound of animals fleeing or crowding close 
 together, to avoid the pursuit of the great wanderer of 
 the night, the frightful huntsman thirsting for warm 
 blood, starving for palpitating flesh. The bagh-sahib, 
 the seigneur tiger was prowling in the woods, in quest 
 of his repast. 
 
 The tiger has no cry. It is an imitative play of sound 
 that has given birth to the word feulement, because of 
 that particular sound which comes from the animal's 
 
64 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 throat at the moment when the muscles of its face con- 
 tract in a grin of defiance. One clearly distinguishes the 
 letter f ox v lengthening into a yawn, that terminates 
 in the growl of a double-bass roughened by an unskillful 
 stroke of the bow. 
 
 When the day had finally dawned, after long terrors, 
 Merrien gathered together his companions. 
 
 ''Gentlemen," he said to them, "\ shall, perhaps, 
 greatly astonish you by speaking the language of pru- 
 dence. But I have always considered, and I judge that 
 you are all of you of my opinion, that courage does not 
 consist in throwing one's self heedlessly into the midst of 
 danger. 
 
 ''Now let me say to you that we have acted with 
 absolute heedlessness, and it is a veritable miracle that 
 we have not been crushed or devoured during the past 
 night by the multitude of mischievous creatures which 
 have surrounded us. If I may believe the testimony of 
 Goulab, an expert in these matters, buffaloes and gaials 
 have approached our camp by hundreds. The shikari, 
 moreover, counted tigers to the number of five, and 
 elephants to the number of eighteen or twenty." 
 
 " It is certain," said Cecil Weldon, with emphasis, 
 "that I have not felt very tranquil." 
 
 "Consequently," pursued the Frenchman, " 1 propose 
 that we ascend some miles to the west, in order to 
 insure ourselves a better shelter than that of our wooden 
 wagons, which would not form a sufficient rampart 
 against beasts of the size of gandas and buffaloes." 
 
 "All right!" concluded the major. "You speak 
 \yisely, Mr. Merrien, and your advice will be particularly 
 acceptable to the doctor, who fears nothing so much 
 as the miasma of these marshes." 
 
l^ARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 65 
 
 Camp was therefore broken, and, after a glance at 
 the map, they decided to appioach Keddrnath, from 
 which they were separated by a distance of not more 
 than thirty kilometers. Certainly they could not fail to 
 come across one of those bungalows placed by the 
 order of the English administration on all the lost roads 
 of India, and at which no traveler can remain more 
 than one day, unless provided with a special permit 
 according him a longer period of subsistence. 
 
 At the moment of departure they called the roll. 
 Only the unfortunate Gourap-Sing was missing, whom 
 they had buried the evening before, heaping upon the 
 grave the heaviest stones that they could find, to guard 
 the remains from the profanation of hyenas and jackals. 
 
 Merrien remarked that Goulab was at that moment 
 stealthily watching Ramu, the guide. 
 
 Without saying a word, the shikari had approached 
 the Dogra, and had put his finger on the arm of the 
 Rajput, indicating a scratch an inch or two in length, 
 which formed a swelling on the forearm. 
 
 Master as he was of himself, the Sivaite zealot could 
 not restrain a start. 
 
 ''Serpent's tooth," said the Sikh finally, speaking 
 laconically in his own language. 
 
 ''Yes," confessed the Dogra, "I have been bitten, 
 but 1 have washed the wound." 
 
 The incident had drawn all the travelers about the 
 guide, who could not repress a movement of impatience. 
 
 The look which he cast at the shikari was filled with 
 ferocious hatred. But, without otherwise moving, the 
 latter again indicated with his finger a flexible malacca 
 reed half lost in the floating folds of the pagne which 
 surrounded the Rajput's waist. 
 
66 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Excellent for cutting the little ones in two, insuffi- 
 cient for the big ones," said he. 
 
 He articulated these words clearly, with a little 
 guttural laugh full of insinuation. 
 
 Merrien knew his servant well. He guessed at once 
 that Goulab had suspicions. But he said to himself at 
 the same time that the faithful shikari would not 
 impart them until they had been subjected to scrupu- 
 lous verification. 
 
 Nevertheless, Goulab profited by a moment when 
 the guide had gone to the head of the column, to 
 approach Jean, and give him this tolerably enigmatic 
 advice : 
 
 '' Sahib, recommend the doctor not to lose sight of 
 the man who was wounded yesterday, and to question 
 him as soon as possible, that is, as soon as the man is 
 in a condition to speak." 
 
 All this sufficiently obscure language was not reassur- 
 ing to the explorer. He refrained, however, from com- 
 municating his apprehensions to his companions. During 
 the short time that he had been in his company, he had 
 gained sufficient knowledge of the major's character to be 
 persuaded that he would not scruple to break the guide's 
 head in spite of his presentation by Father Antonio, and 
 the excellent references from the physician Madar-Goun. 
 
 The march through the forest was accomplished with 
 difficulty. The principal reason for this was that one 
 must climb the gently sloping plane of the Tarai, and 
 animals as well as people slipped on this declivity, com- 
 pletely coated as it was with a vegetable mold which 
 was constantly enriched by the leaves and branches, rot- 
 ting in the water that trickled down from the mountain. 
 
 It was, moreover, necessary narrowly to watch the 
 
VARIETIES OF MONSTERS. 67 
 
 line of wagons, because from the tree-trunks as well as 
 from the stagnant pools of water there might at any 
 instant leap the most formidable of adversaries, those 
 hideous serpents, the recognition of whose presence in 
 these dangerous parts had been only too well enforced 
 by the accident of the day before. By means of such 
 precautions as giving loud cries, and beating or setting 
 on fire the underbrush, this perilous encounter was 
 avoided. 
 
 It was otherwise with other wild creatures. 
 
 Before reaching the first encampment for the day 
 the travelers had to undergo a regular battle. 
 
 By a lucky chance, however, they had time to for- 
 tify themselves against this terrible onslaught, by 
 inclosing themselves in an old cattle park, built there, 
 some years before, by some Tibetan shepherds who 
 were bringing to Ratmando their sheep and their goats 
 previously shorn at Hardwar. 
 
 The event was as frightful as it was unexpected. 
 
 Cecil Weldon, who had placed himself in the van- 
 guard with his two Yankee companions and young 
 Christi, suddenly informed the rest of the troop that he 
 had just discovered traces of a considerable herd of large 
 ruminants I 
 
 Little acquainted with the habits of these savage 
 beasts, and full of confidence, moreover, in the effect of 
 his glance seconded by his incomparable skill as a 
 marksman, the young American walked straight up to 
 the first individuals of the herd that he met on his 
 way. In this place the trees, after having opened for a 
 very defectively marked path,, suddenly cleared upon a 
 space of three or four square kilometers. They had 
 reached one of the lower terraces of the Himalayas, and 
 
68 
 
 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 water, draining from the slopes or oozing from the cracks 
 of the rocks, formed an immense marsh hidden by reeds, 
 bamboos, and tall grasses under a thick carpet of vege- 
 tation. There, in that morass inaccessible to all other 
 quadrupeds, splashed and pastured at their ease a score 
 of gaurs (wild oxen) with sharp horns, and quite as 
 many black buffaloes with enormous foreheads, protected 
 by inordinately large horns expanding on either side in 
 frightfully threatening curves. 
 
 The buffalo of India has the disquieting peculiarity of 
 making spontaneous attacks, above all, when the enemy 
 upon which he charges is a European. He offers, 
 furthermore, to the inexperienced hunter the disagreeable 
 surprise of presenting a skull that is impervious to balls, 
 unless the balls are conical and provided with steel 
 tips. 
 
 The imprudent Weldon had plenty of steel-tipped 
 balls, but he had neglected to put them in his hunting 
 belt. It was, therefore, only with ordinary leaden bullets 
 that he went forth to the battle. 
 
THEY DREW CECIL WELDON, ALMOST SWOONING, FROM UNDER THE BUFFALO'S BODY. 
 
 V. 
 
 THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 
 
 While the rest of the column were, with great diffi- 
 culty, extricating themselves from the embarrassments of 
 the road, which was nearly obliterated by landslides due 
 to the constant undermining of the earth by the rains, 
 the three Yankees had already reached the verdant terrace 
 in the center of which gamboled buffaloes and gaurs. 
 
 ''Major," the audacious young man cried from a 
 
 distance, ''you have desired a hunting trip. You are 
 
 marvelously gratified, and 1 shall be most happy presently 
 
 to ofter you some roast-beef such, I imagine, as you can 
 
 eat neither in London nor in Calcutta." The breeze 
 
 blowing from the hills carried his voice. Unfortunately 
 
 it beat back that of his companions, who immediately 
 
 gathered together to call to him with violent gestures to 
 
 69 
 
70 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 retrace his steps at once, before he had been perceived 
 by the formidable ruminants. 
 
 Thus Cecil Weldon heard not a word of the wise 
 cautions given him by his friends. 
 
 He advanced upon the species of causeway, or rather 
 upon the pier of rocks which Nature herself had built 
 across the enormous marsh, without paying attention 
 to the tumultuous movements caused among the agi- 
 tated herd of wild oxen by the apparition of three 
 white-clad men. 
 
 But there was no time for long remarks on the 
 subject. 
 
 Abruptly one of the gaurs started from the grass 
 with a bellow of anger, shaking his mane that dripped 
 fetid mire, and Weldon, whatever his courage, could not 
 repress a shudder at the sight of the formidable animal 
 which, lowering its horns, spouting foam and vapor at 
 the mouth and nostrils, advanced toward him with blood- 
 shot eyes, at a steadily increasing pace. He could not 
 mistake the hostile intentions of the beast, which must 
 be stopped without loss of time. 
 
 Cecil Weldon did not hesitate. Rapidly raising his 
 rifle to his shoulder, and aiming between the gaur's 
 eyes, he pulled the trigger. The animal, struck down, 
 fell headlong on the jetty, while the echoes of the swamp 
 repeated the report with such force that the tumult was 
 increased a hundred-fold by the neighboring buttresses of 
 rock. 
 
 But, at the same time, this unusual noise, instead of 
 terrifying the herd, only excited their rage. In an instant 
 the terrible animals, advancing by groups of four or five, 
 precipitated themselves upon the jetty of stones. 
 
 The situation became truly critical. 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 71 
 
 The young American was too adventurous. Although 
 he had not proceeded more than a hundred steps upon 
 this natural road, which might have been cut by the 
 strange gods of Hindu mythology, in those fabulous 
 times when Kama made alliance with Hanuman, King of 
 the Apes, Cecil ran great risk of being outflanked, and 
 having all retreat cut off by the aggression of his impla- 
 cable adversaries. He turned, after having retreated some 
 fifteen meters, and his alarm was great at perceiving two 
 gigantic buffaloes charging upon the causeway. A cry of 
 distress naturally rose to his lips. He called : '' Help, 
 Morley, Knebel, help ! Shoot ! Shoot ! or we are lost ! " 
 
 The two Yankees fired simultaneously. One of the 
 buffaloes fell into the mud * of the swamp. The other, 
 confused for a moment, stopped short on the first steps 
 of the rocks, and set up a frightful bellowing. Knebel, 
 the American of German extraction, seemed suddenly 
 struck with terror, and fled as fast as his legs could take 
 him, without pausing for the furious imprecations of his 
 comrade or the reiterated appeals from Weldon. 
 
 Meanwhile, two other beasts had set foot upon the 
 causeway. Now the two men were facing three assail- 
 ants. Never had greater peril confronted them. 
 
 Happily the convoy hastened up. Merrien, Euzen 
 Graec'h, the shikari, and the five Englishmen flew 
 rather than ran. Three shots again rang out. Two of 
 the ruminants fell. The third in spite of his rage recoiled 
 before the number of the new-comers, and plunged into 
 the marsh. 
 
 Cecil Weldon profited by this short respite to beat a 
 precipitate retreat. But he had not yet gained the 
 extremity of the causeway when six buffaloes of great 
 size threw themselves forward in attack. 
 
^2 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 But one of the recently fallen beasts lay across the 
 road. At the moment that Weldon, carried away by his 
 haste, with his eyes turned toward his assailants, reached 
 the body, his foot struck the enormous mass sharply, 
 and he fell upon the yet warm remains of the wild ox. 
 
 Behind him the irritated animals were coming at the 
 top of their speed. 
 
 The fall he had just had saved the young American. 
 Stunned by the shock, he lay quiet for some seconds. 
 This short delay sufficed to avert danger. The thin, 
 trembling voice of little Christi reached Weldon's ears. 
 
 " Don't budge. Sahib ; do not rise ! Put yourself under 
 the animal's belly." 
 
 Weldon crouched as best he could between the feet 
 of the carcass. During this time, the buffaloes, hindered 
 by the narrowness of the causeway, became entangled 
 one with another, and stumbled with all the impetuosity 
 of their chase over the dead body. The shock the 
 young man sustained was a rude one, but it gave him 
 the advantage of covering himself almost entirely with the 
 enormous prostrate mass. He thus at least escaped the 
 violence of the assault. 
 
 At the same moment Merrien and his companions, 
 running to the rescue, fired simultaneously upon the 
 thick, living barrier of entangled ruminants. This time 
 the balls were steel-tipped. Five buffaloes fell, pierced 
 in skull or flank. This made nine bodies, a more than 
 sufficient obstacle temporarily to check all new demon- 
 strations from these stupidly headstrong beasts. 
 
 They ran at once to poor Cecil, whom they drew, 
 almost swooning, from under the carcass, the weight of 
 which was stifling him. There was no thought of too- 
 bitterly reproaching Knebel for his recent shameful flight. 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 71 
 
 pLirthermore, this had been but a passing weakness on 
 his part. The Yankee had returned bravely to the 
 charge. He excused himself later, alleging a sudden 
 irresistible giving out, the effect of which had been 
 physical, causing the nervous system to be thrown into 
 a perturbation that he himself could not explain. 
 
 There was, moreover, no time to lose in recrimi- 
 nations. Frightful bellowings, rising from the marsh, 
 announced, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the 
 entire troop, with an esprit dii corps as ferocious as it 
 was obstinate, was about to return to the charge. 
 
 They beat a retreat in all haste toward the wagons, 
 and they all experienced a lively satisfaction in finding 
 that Ramu, the guide, had already placed the wagons 
 and the animals within the shelter of the stockaded 
 inclosure of an old abandoned park. 
 
 Alas ! it was but a very uncertain shelter. The badly 
 joined palings, of a height scarcely sufficient to keep the 
 beasts without from leaping them, were worm-eaten 
 besides, and worn by remaining long in the stagnant 
 water of the heavy rains. It was necessary at once to 
 make additional strategic arrangements by placing the 
 various wagons in such a way as to form a second 
 inclosure. The marksmen were placed according to their 
 skill, at posts necessary to the defense. Merrien, Plumptre, 
 Goulab, and the American Morley stood in front of the 
 palisade, while the four Englishmen, Graec'h, and the 
 seven Indians of the escort installed themselves at the 
 windows of the dock-carriages. The second of the two 
 Yankees and the little Madrasi had enough to do in 
 attending to Cecil Weldon. 
 
 The besieged had barely time to make their prepara- 
 tions for combat. Twenty buffaloes and ten gaurs 
 
74 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 advanced in one compact mass, necks extended, horns 
 menacing, scanning the marsh with rhythmical and sono- 
 rous bellowings. And it was an astonishing spectacle, 
 that of this strange army marching to the attack like a 
 well-drilled regiment to the sound of trumpets and bugles. 
 It had been decided that the major should have the 
 direction of operations, and in order to obtain more unity, 
 and more effective results, they were to shoot only at his 
 command. He ordered them to aim particularly at the 
 buffaloes, the gaurs being of a less aggressive and tena- 
 cious disposition. They commanded sixteen rifles, and, 
 said the major, it would be entirely inexcusable for 
 them to be conquered by a troop of oxen. 
 
 "Attention ! " he cried, '' the tide is rising. Aim well, 
 without haste." 
 
 He waited until the attacking line of the troop had 
 come within sixty paces of the palisade. Then, placing 
 his rifle quietly against the palings, he counted with his 
 hands : 
 
 ''One! two! three! Fire!" The discharge struck 
 the assailants like a tempest. All the shots had told. 
 Fifteen shaggy, muddy bodies lay on the reddened grass. 
 
 Plumptre, laughing, amused himself by bringing down 
 the sixteenth. 
 
 But such was the obstinacy of these stupid creatures, 
 that, closing their ranks on the spot, the survivors 
 rushed upon the kraal with such speed that the besieged, 
 taken by surprise, had no time to anticipate the second 
 attack. Three or four isolated shots alone rang out. A 
 single gaur was struck. The rest of the troop rushed 
 against the palings with frightful impetuosity. The stock- 
 ade yielded under the pressure, and one of the buffaloes, 
 carried away by the impetus of his onslaught, upset 
 
"the buffaloes and the gaurs rushed upon the krall." 
 
76 THE LAND OF TA[VNY BEASTS. 
 
 Goulab, and entangled his horns in the wheels of the 
 first wagon. The breach was made, the whole herd 
 were about to invade the encampment. Suddenly, the 
 band stopped short and pricked up their ears. Then, 
 renouncing their attack upon the travelers, the formidable 
 animals retreated some paces, and, with hollow bellow- 
 ings, gathered together back to back, in the manner of 
 bulls protecting their families against wolves. With a 
 furious wrench which shook the vehicle, the buffalo 
 whose horn was caught between the spokes extricated 
 himself, and rejoined his fellows. 
 
 ''Ho, ho!" said Jean Merrien. 'Mt occurs to me that 
 we shall be better off inside the wagons. Something 
 new is certainly up, and from our windows we shall be 
 in the best possible position to see, and to interfere, if 
 necessary." 
 
 The prediction was too well founded, and the counsel 
 too wise to be neglected. 
 
 They, therefore, replaced their wagons, and shut 
 themselves in, not without serious apprehensions as to 
 the fate of the mules and the domestic buffaloes inclosed 
 within the kraal. What was about to happen ? No one 
 could guess precisely, but everyone understood that the 
 savage inhabitants of the swamp had so unexpectedly 
 given up their attack because they feared to be them- 
 selves attacked. Furthermore, their attitude, their tactics 
 of common resistance, would have revealed to the most 
 ignorant eye that they were preparing for combat. 
 
 The travelers were promptly enlightened, and shut 
 within their wagons, they could not help, in spite of 
 their anxiety, contemplating, as passionately interested 
 spectators, the most stirring drama that it was ever 
 given to human eye to witness. The scene was 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 77 
 
 worthy of the epic tableaux given in the great amphi- 
 theaters of Rome. 
 
 While twelve or thirteen united animals presented 
 to the still invisible enemy a cluster of menacing horns, 
 uttering from time to time deep murmurs, suggesting 
 the first rumblings of thunder, the neighboring under- 
 brush was agitated by the coming of the wild beasts 
 whose presence the buffaloes had got wind of. 
 
 Suddenly, almost simultaneously, they showed them- 
 selves at four different points in the clearing. Three 
 tigers and two tigresses appeared under a stream of 
 sunlight on the carpet of high grasses. 
 
 They were marvelous animals, in all the splendor 
 of their golden fur striated with black velvet, in all 
 the elegance of their light, nervous carriage. They 
 belonged to that Bengal race which prevails over the 
 species of Indo-China and the Sunda Isles, just as the 
 lion of the Atlas prevails over its conquerors of Senegal 
 or the Cape of Good Hope. They deserve their name 
 of "royal tiger." Much taller than their brothers of 
 the other parts of Asia, ten or eleven feet long from 
 the muzzle to the end of the tail, with the face framed 
 in large cheeks with silky white whiskers, the terrible 
 felines justify the terror which their prodigious force 
 and startling beauty inspire, not only in men but in all 
 Jiving creatures. 
 
 They approached as by a preconcerted signal, and 
 prefaced with movements full of undulating grace the 
 strategic maneuvers which they were about to put in 
 practice. 
 
 At the windows of the camp wagons the explorers 
 stood motionless and panting. Each had his rifle in 
 his hand, and his cartridges ready. 
 
78 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 Cecil Weldoii, in spite of the bruises he had re- 
 ceived, had obstinately refused the assistance of his 
 companions. While still pale enough he had desired to 
 be present at the spectacle, and rejoined his colleagues 
 in Jean Merrien's wagon, where they had chosen their 
 place. 
 
 '' We are going to assist at a drama entirely unique 
 of its kind," cried Major Plumptre. 
 
 "God grant," added Dr. MacGregor, a little crustily, 
 ''that we may be spectators only." 
 
 There was very little leisure for further reflection. 
 The curtain had risen, the first act of the drama was 
 about to begin. The five tigers had commenced to prowl 
 about the circle of buffaloes. 
 
 This formidable rampart of horns, this fortress of 
 powerful spines buttressed against one another, whose 
 shaggy convexity hid the cruppers from sight, were very 
 well qualified to inspire the felines with the sentiment of 
 prudence. They understood that all their suppleness, all 
 their lightness, would not serve them either against 
 these enormous heads capable of grinding them upon the 
 ground and crushing them against the trunks of trees, 
 or against the pointed tusks, a single well-directed blow 
 from which would suffice to disembowel them. 
 
 It was necessary for them to use strategy in their 
 attempt to break the line by drawing one of the formi- 
 dable creatures outside ot the ranks. Invincible as a fort, 
 taken in the aggregate, the buffaloes and gaurs would 
 promptly lose their advantage when their line of battle 
 suffered any break. For then it would be mere play 
 for the tigers to take them from behind, seize them by 
 their cruppers, or grapple with them in the way a bull- 
 dog grapples a wild boar. In order to attain this result 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 79 
 
 the five tawny beasts set about fascinating their adver- 
 saries by confusing their vision with the rapidity and 
 multiplicity of their movements. Slowly, at first, and 
 with apparent indifference they paced about the clearing 
 with great steps, then, accelerating their pace, they dropped 
 imperceptibly into a sort of undulating trot of such gra- 
 cious sprightliness that, in the wagon of the Europeans, 
 Euzen Graec'h made the picturesque remark : 
 
 " Hullo ! 1 wonder how long they mean to dance that 
 quadrille ? " 
 
 To which Merrien on his side added the no less just 
 reflection, founded on the peculiar capriciousness of 
 tigers : 
 
 "Unless it occurs to them to leave these wild buffa- 
 loes in the lurch to come and eat ours." 
 
 The question of the French traveler was a most 
 natural one. He was obliged, however, to content him- 
 self with the approximate answer with which Goulab 
 the shikari furnished him. The latter explained, in 
 effect, that the tiger is an animal whose sense of smell 
 is but moderately developed, and that these perhaps had 
 not distinguished the trail of the wild beasts from that 
 of the others. These last being placed between them and 
 the corral, the felines had judged it to be better tactics 
 to clear the ground to the profit of their insatiable 
 ferocity. 
 
 Now the wild beasts, hastening their pace, varying 
 their feints, gave themselves up to unrestrained leaps, 
 crossing their ellipses, springing to great heights to fall 
 again lightly upon the grass, where they stretched them- 
 selves, twisting and rolling like kittens, and striving 
 more and more to induce a break in the skillful order of 
 their enemies. 
 
So THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 But the latter did not quit their defensive position ; 
 lii<e those Saxons of Hastings, invincible behind their 
 stockades, who did not succumb until they were forced to 
 descend into the plain in pursuit of the astute Normans. 
 
 Suddenly the tigers, weary perhaps with too long 
 effort, risked an assault from the front. Two of them, 
 rising in a concentric spring, passed over the heads of 
 the buffaloes and fell upon the mass of crowded rumps. 
 They did not remain there long. Two giant horns 
 received the first one on the fly, and like a gigantic 
 racket sent him violently outside the circle. 
 
 The other had not time to plant his claws in the 
 backs on which he had fallen. These separated, and the 
 tiger falling into the opening, found himself immediately 
 crushed with such force that his sides cracked. Then 
 when, with a more energetic wrench, the animals had 
 let him fall at their feet, they trampled and mangled 
 him with fury. 
 
 In vain the tiger tried to strike his terrible blow 
 right and left, the victory remained with the well-drilled 
 ruminants, and in the twinkling of an eye the superb 
 furry coat was spotted and defiled, and the supple body 
 twisted and crushed among the mass of the assailants, 
 iind the beautiful, imprudent animal, pierced by many 
 horns, with broken bones and crushed paws, was finally 
 rejected by the hostile line, or rather thrown back, 
 dying, to his brothers, where he expired in a few swift 
 convulsions. The felines recoiled, rendered prudent by 
 this grave check, while the buffaloes celebrated their 
 victory by a long bellow. 
 
 But the tigers responded in concert with hoarse growls. 
 Evidently they did not confess themselves vanquished. 
 
 Pretending to give up the struggle, they appeared to 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 8i 
 
 content themselves with the bodies felled by the balls 
 of the explorers. Consequently they approached the 
 heap of carcasses with considerable indifference, and 
 crouched to lick off the blood, without, however, showing 
 much appetite for it, for the remains, cold already, were 
 little to their taste. 
 
 Nevertheless, this stratagem changed in an instant 
 the repective situations of the combatants. 
 
 The buffaloes proceeded to assume the offensive. 
 Breaking their circle of resistance, they drew up in a 
 single line of attack, and set up a frightful clamor of war. 
 The ground trembled under their onset. They charged 
 straight for the tigers, swinging their enormous heads 
 from right to left, and striving to gain by the shortest 
 road the marsh, where they would find shelter. 
 
 The felines did not await the attack. They fled on 
 either side to make way for the onslaught, comprehend- 
 ing that the victory would finally be theirs. And while 
 the ranks of the ruminants, forcibly hindered by the 
 prostrate bodies, broke up into several parts, the tigers, 
 turning the enemy's flank, and taking them in the rear, 
 precipitated themselves upon the troop in a concentrated 
 attack, and instantly put them to rout. 
 
 It was the gaurs, less robust and less swift, who 
 had to bear the greater penalties of the combat. 
 Three among them were seized and stricken down by 
 the three uninjured tigers. As to the fourth, the one 
 who;? imprudent aggression had been so rudely 
 repulsed by the buffaloes, he avenged himself by seiz- 
 ing the throat of a young female, whose warm blood 
 and tenderer flesh permitted him to recuperate the 
 forces that had sustained so severe a trial. Thus the 
 combat ended. 
 
82 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 But that was not any more encouraging for the 
 travelers. Plumptre, whose fingers clutched the barrel 
 of his rifle, made a bold proposition, the logic of which, 
 however, convinced the entire company. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said he, ''you are aware that the 
 seigneur bagh is a glutton of the first order, who does not 
 eat the half of what he tears to pieces, and that, in 
 consequence, after having tasted their breakfast, the four 
 consumers confronting us are entirely capable of coming 
 to continue their repast to the detriment of our poor 
 servants and ourselves. 1 am, then, wholly of the opin- 
 ion that, in place of losing time in watching them eat, 
 which would retard our progress, and detain us beyond 
 reason in these manifestly unhealthy parts, we should 
 interrupt this feast by one good handsome fusillade, which 
 will procure us four superb skins, while giving us the 
 freedom of the neighborhood. Furthermore, our sixteen 
 cattle are worth the trouble with which we have 
 obtained them. They will furnish us a superabundance 
 of that roast beef of which Mr. Weldon so generously 
 offered me his share, and which had just missed costing 
 us so dear." 
 
 The young American took the raillery gayly. 
 
 ''Major," he said, "1 have learned the lesson so 
 much the better for having paid for it." And, turning 
 toward Merrien, he added with a charming smile : 
 
 ''Monsieur le Fraufais, your inimitable La Fontaine 
 has written a fable that 1 may apply to myself. 1 have 
 just proven this truth at my own expense, that one 
 must never sell buffalo fillet before the animal is down." 
 
 Having made this witty observation, he seized his 
 rifle, and urging his companions on, " Forward, gentle- 
 men ! " he cried, "it shall not be said, surely, that we 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 83 
 
 have shot these charming animals from the height of 
 a block-house. On foot, face to face, and each for the 
 honor of his native land." 
 
 He said no more, and, without giving his companions 
 time to make any comment, he threw himself out of 
 the wagon, rifle in hand ; Merrien, Plumptre, Dr. Mac- 
 Gregor, Graec'h the Breton, followed him immediately 
 in spite of the danger of the adventure. 
 
 The tigers, warned by the noise, rose, abandoning 
 their prey. They had scented the presence of man, king 
 of creation, conqueror of plagues and monsters. With 
 bloody mouths and flaming eyes, they paused to defend 
 themselves, and to attack, if necessary. 
 
 Cecil Weldon, always imprudent, marched resolutely/ 
 toward the one nearest him, the one vanquished by the 
 male buffaloes, but vanquisher of the female buffalo. 
 At the very moment when the superb animal, more 
 astonished than frightened, flattened himself along the 
 ground, preparing for a spring, the Yankee's ball struck 
 him between the eyes. The beast did not even stir. 
 He turned upon his side with a swift convulsion, and 
 died upon the spot. Then, instead of justifying their 
 reputation for boldness, the three other tigers gave a 
 growl of mingled fear and anger, and with a backward 
 bound plunged into the underbrush, where they disap- 
 peared, followed by some useless shots. 
 
 As the astonished Europeans dared not believe their eyes, 
 Goulab again came in with his explanation of this anomaly. 
 
 The animals just encountered were certainly young 
 tigers, having never yet tasted human flesh, and never 
 having seen Europeans. The noise of fire-arms, the unex- 
 pected apparition of unknown creatures, had sufficed to 
 terrify them. They had fled, never to return. 
 
84 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 The explorers nevertheless set rapidly to work. 
 While the Hindus skinned the dead buffaloes, detaching 
 the best bits, among which must be counted the dorsal 
 hump, Cecil Weldon, aided by Merrien, Plumptre, and 
 the Breton, took the tiger skin, a magnificent bedside 
 rug for future use. 
 
 "A very pretty shot, truly," said the Englishman 
 with sincere admiration. ''You fired like a hunter of the 
 first order, my young comrade. It is a royal shot, and 
 if there is a paradise for tigers, this one must bless 
 you for having hurried him into it without suffering, 
 according him a hero's death : right between the eyes I 
 Ah, well !" he added, a little spitefully, ''the luck is all 
 on your side. Since the beginning of our trip, all the 
 brilliant shots have fallen to you. You have just 
 brought down a tiger — a true tiger— while 1, an old 
 professional hunter, can only boast of a miserable 
 Chita." 
 
 He said that with a grimace, making his tongue 
 clack with an expression that sent the other travelers into 
 shouts of laughter. 
 
 "You will soon take your revenge, my dear major," 
 replied Weldon lightly. 
 
 "I hope so indeed, young man. Without that hope, 
 I believe 1 should leave you all in the lurch to seek 
 good fortune elsewhere." 
 
 "And the sources of the Ganges, major? And 
 Gaurisankar ? " 
 
 "My dear friend," replied Plumptre, "1 repeat that 
 Gaurisankar can wait for me. As to the sources of the 
 Ganges, they seem to me to be frightfully well guarded 
 by the inhabitants of the Tarai. It is for us to exter- 
 minate these noxious creatures, and then we shall have 
 
THE GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY GANGES. 85 
 
 realized the myths of Hercules, Theseus, and Belerophon, 
 slayers of monsters." 
 
 This dialogue did not hinder their departure at a later 
 hour. The plans and itinerary were definitely fixed ; 
 they would make no more halts before getting out of 
 the forest, at least unless the difficulties, of the journey 
 obliged them to encamp for the night. The major part 
 of the company, contrary to the advice of the Scotchman, 
 wished to have done with the dangerous gloom of Tarai 
 as soon as possible. They would have all the leisure for 
 hunting that they desired when they had cleared the 
 Nepal frontier. 
 
 Their progress was thus accomplished without relax- 
 ation or respite. Fortunately the boundaries of the 
 wooded lands were near at hand, and the only difficulty 
 upon which it was necessary henceforth to count was 
 the painful ascent of the first slopes of the Himalayas. 
 These were perceived immediately upon their arrival at. 
 Kedarnath. Of the seventy thousand pilgrims who come 
 every year as far as Hardwar, barely three thousand 
 have undertaken to finish the sacred ■ journey ; more 
 than two thousand remained this side of Badarinath ; 
 certainly not more than a fiftieth would continue tO' 
 Gangotri. But the ascent of the lower ranges sud- 
 denly became very rough. A new council was neces- 
 sary. In fact, the cattle wagons were of no further use. 
 The travelers then paid their drivers and dismissed 
 them. Furthermore, an accident diminished their num- 
 ber by depriving them of one of their companions. 
 Captain MacKinnon had so serious a fall that he broke 
 his right leg, and was constrained to remain at the 
 dak-bungalow at Kedarnath. He bade adieu to the rest 
 of the company, and decided to wait in the care of his. 
 
86 
 
 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 Indian servant until the removal of the splints adjusted 
 by Dr. MacGregor should permit him to return to 
 MasLiri and Simla. 
 
 The travelers had thus suffered three losses in less 
 than ten days : that of the Hindu Gourap-Sing, dead 
 from the bite of the daboias ; of Captain MacKinnon, 
 invalided by the fracture of his leg, and of his servant. 
 Their number nov/ consisted of nine whites and eight 
 natives, among whom was the poor devil who had 
 escaped death from the mortal embrace of the python, 
 and who had been so valiantly rescued by the ax of 
 Euzen Graec'h. 
 
''^^i^0^£f^^^^M> 
 
 
 THE BOHEMIANS HAD IN IHEIK TKAliN AM IMMENSE FLOCK OK SHEEP. 
 
 no cause for 
 
 join the 
 meet on 
 
 first 
 the 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE SACRED RIVER. 
 
 The company of tourists still comprised eighteen 
 men, counting the guide Ramu, whose conduct, since 
 the incident of the forest, had given 
 criticism or even for suspicion. 
 
 Upon his advice they decided to 
 group of pilgrims whom they should 
 mountain. 
 
 This first group of fifty-five people, 
 were women, was not long in appearing, 
 encounter, which was moreover full of reserve, Merrien 
 believed that he observed a shadow on Goulab's brow. 
 
 This time the Frenchman did not care to keep silence, 
 and hastened to question his servant. The shikari, as 
 prudent as he was upright, but moderate in his expres- 
 sions, only revealed a part of his apprehensions. 
 
 87 
 
 two of whom 
 From the first 
 
88 THE LAND OF TAiVNY BEASTS. 
 
 *' Sahib," said he, ''I would not wish to alarm your 
 mind with chimerical fears. But 1 do not hesitate to 
 tell you that it will be henceforth necessary to take 
 great precautions. Many disquieting things have takeni 
 place, and are still taking place around us." 
 
 Then he explained to the young explorer that he 
 had found the incident of the forest in which the 
 unfortunate Gourap-Sing had met his death, a very 
 strange one — the simultaneous appearance of serpents 
 that are never found together. It was on this very 
 account that he had recommended to Merrien to have 
 the wounded man questioned by Dr. MacGregor. This 
 insistence on the part of the shikari decided Jean to 
 confer anew with the physician. The latter profited by 
 an improvement in the condition of the wounded man, 
 still stretched out in one of the mule-wagons, to ques- 
 tion him. The man's response confirmed Goulab's 
 statement, and increased their suspicions. He recounted 
 that at the time he had been surprised by the boa 
 he was in the company of Gourap-Sing. The Dogra 
 guide who was with them at first had separated from 
 them for a moment. The two men advanced without 
 suspicion, and were suddenly surprised to hear, some dis- 
 tance off, soft notes like those that the snake-charmers 
 draw from the reed flutes that they carry with them, and 
 it was while they were seeking to divine the origin of 
 this melody in this desert place, that they were attacked 
 by these reptiles. 
 
 The words of the wounded man explained to Merrien 
 the meaning of the raillery that Goulab had addressed to 
 Ramu in joking him about the reed with which he was 
 furnished : '' excellent to cut serpents with." The shikari, 
 without going so far as to accuse the guide formally,. 
 
THE SACRED Rl^ER. 89 
 
 suspected him of not being unconnected with the 
 appearance of the venomous creatures. To the direct 
 question that the traveler put to iiim, the faithful 
 Hindu responded very clearly this time that such indeed 
 was his thought. 
 
 By mutual agreement they decided not to let their 
 suspicions be perceived. Prudence itself counseled this 
 determination, for they had just quitted the beaten track 
 which, in spite of its defects, had permitted up to that 
 time a sufficiently rapid ascent of the cliffs. They had 
 before them now only extremely steep paths on which 
 the mules and asses, the only beasts of burden that 
 one could utilize in such regions, could scarcely keep 
 their footing. Here and there gorges appeared, announc- 
 ing still narrower defiles and more frightful diises. 
 The road was hidden between enormous perpendicular 
 walls overhanging the way, from the height of which a 
 handful of men would have sufficed to destroy an army. 
 Then the passage widened, the road became practicable 
 again, and, the difficult point passed, they breathed easily 
 once more, still trembling with the terrors which had 
 excited the imagination so violently impressed by the 
 grand and terrible picture of the abysses skirted and the 
 dangers escaped. 
 
 Each step which the tourists took brought them 
 nearer to the sanctuary of the Brahman worship. Was 
 it not in these savage places that the divine Ganges 
 was born from springs flowing direct from heaven ? 
 Was it not here that the three streams of water which 
 contend for precedence, the Baghirathi, the Mundakni, 
 and the Ram-Ganga, run nearly parallel, tempestuous 
 streams before their currents unite beyond the Tarai in 
 mighty confluents, such as Hardwar and Almora? 
 
90 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Already the travelers discerned on the horizon the 
 high terraces where stand the temple of Gangotri and 
 its convents of Brahmans at three thousand meters' alti- 
 tude. Beyond, the cleft rocks scaled the sky, and the 
 somber and lofty sides of the gorges of Nilang were 
 visible, from which Baghirathi, together with its first 
 tributary, the Jahnavi, sprang. 
 
 It was necessary to ascend to that point if one 
 wished to see the cradle of the divine river born under 
 the trident of Siva, under the five peaks of the Kailas. 
 The column ascended resolutely, but the increasing 
 obstacles had already caused some of the Hindu pil- 
 grims to retreat. At the entrance to the first ravine five 
 hundred of them could barely drag themselves painfully 
 along the rough road, which was full of cracks as sharp and 
 cutting as the points of a hunter's trap. The feet of the 
 unfortunate people were bleeding, and they were shaken 
 by violent chills whenever at nightfall, after the torrid 
 rays of the sun upon the bare rocks, the mountain 
 wind came to freeze their limbs shivering under their 
 dhotis of cotton cloth, white or striped with gay colors. 
 
 Such, however, was the power of belief, the sway of 
 religious sentiment, that the exhausted troop pursued the 
 pilgrimage to them the most hallowing of all. They had 
 come from all parts of India, these '' Faithful of the God 
 Yama," "the guide of death," these anivarttiiu, or 
 "travelers who do not turn back." And when they 
 should have attained the summit, when they should have 
 kissed the holy stones of Gangotri, how many would die 
 on the banks of the Baghirathi of destitution and exhaus- 
 tion ; happy, however, to enter into immortality on the 
 very threshold of the divinity. 
 
 The spectacle was calculated to touch feeling hearts. 
 
THE SACRED RIl^ER. 91 
 
 Of all the Europeans who followed that steep ascent, and 
 scandalized the zealots by the presence of their mules, 
 as if one had any right to ascend to God's sanctuary 
 by the aid of animals, Cecil Weldon appeared the most 
 moved. A number of times, constrained by pity, he had 
 offered the unfortunate pilgrims the relief of the supplies 
 that the white men carried with them. Generally he 
 was met with refusal by the devotees, who practiced a 
 more rigorous fast in proportion as they approached 
 nearer to the temple. Nevertheless, he had been fortu- 
 nate enough to be able to succor and relieve some of 
 the miserable creatures falling from starvation by the way. 
 At other times, aided by his companions, who were 
 won over by the example of his generosity, he had 
 made a part of the journey on foot, after putting those 
 who were sickest on mule-back. 
 
 At the same time that unfavorable suspicions of the 
 Rajput guide sprang up in Jean Merrien's mind, doubts 
 of an entirely different nature concerning his young 
 American companion haunted him. 
 
 On many occasions he had been^ struck by the 
 extreme reserve of this young man, by his modesty, 
 his bashfulness even, which had sometimes seemed 
 exaggerated even to the major, a rigid Puritan in spite 
 of his soldierly license. 
 
 Cecil Weldon had never consented to share a room 
 occupied by others of the travelers. Moreover, Cecil had 
 a very strange aspect for a man. In spite of the energy 
 and courage of which he had always given proof, his 
 constitution was frail and delicate. His voice was too 
 sweet, his skin too fine for a man, and the beauty of 
 his features would have been remarked even had he 
 been in woman's dress. 
 
92 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Merrien could not refrain from suspicions analogous to 
 those which had brought upon the worthy Jackson, land- 
 lord of the Great Tower Inn at Srinagar, the vehement 
 objurgations of Mrs. Jackson, his spouse. 
 
 The ascent became more and more painful. On reach- 
 ing the high village of Ahosinath, the explorers esti- 
 mated that a hundred pilgrims at the most followed the 
 road to Gangotri in their company. Merrien noticed that 
 the face of Goulab, which had been very solemn up to 
 this time, brightened. He questioned him. 
 
 ''Sahib," responded the shikari, *M will not conceal 
 from you that 1 was very anxious. The major part of 
 these people were devotees of Siva and of Kali. Happily 
 the fatigue of the journey has discouraged many of them, 
 and now a large proportion of those who will keep on are 
 of the same religion as myself, the faithful of Vishnu, the 
 preserver. Nevertheless, my fears are not all dissipated, 
 and we will do well to redouble our caution ; above all 
 when we shall be within some miles of the sanctuary." 
 
 Following the advice that he had received from his 
 faithful servant, Merrien gathered together his com- 
 panions and informed them of his misgivings. They, 
 then, accepted the part of prudence, and as the mules 
 themselves seemed to refuse to travel by night, they 
 raised the tents of their camp under the starry skies 
 of the Himalayas. 
 
 Cecil Weldon's attitude still gave the Frenchman 
 food for reflection. The Yankee isolated himself entirely 
 from the rest of the troop, and appeared disagreeably 
 surprised that they had not waited to gain some village 
 of the mountains before making a halt. There, miser- 
 able though the huts might be, he would have been 
 able to undress, and taste repose. 
 
THE SACRED RIFER. 93 
 
 But this was only a beginning of the fatigues and 
 troubles inherent to all enterprises of this kind. 
 
 So remarked Major Plumptre, who joked the American 
 with some liveliness. 
 
 ''My dear Weldon, what will you say, then, when 
 we get into the upper ravines ? Though you are as 
 brave as anyone, your education leaves something to be 
 desired for an explorer. You are as soft as a woman." 
 
 "Major," retorted Cecil quickly enough, "\ confess 
 my weakness for sleep, which is indispensable to my 
 nature, and 1 reserve my epigrams until the Right 
 Honorable Plumptre shall be constrained to make but 
 one meal a day." 
 
 The officer took this retort in very good part. He 
 burst out laughing as he replied : 
 
 ''Then, my good fellow, 1 shall not have occasion 
 to applaud your spirit of raillery. Keep this in your 
 mind : Major Plumptre is a mortal like other human 
 beings, but with the protection of God, and the aid of 
 his rifle, he will always find enough to eat were it in 
 the very domains of the devil, and as 1 ,was born gener- 
 ous this will be a guarantee to you that you will 
 never suffer hunger." 
 
 " In that case, my dear major," cried the other, in 
 the same tone, " I am entirely reassured. Eating when 
 hungry I shall sleep my full, if it be only during the 
 leisure that you afford me in provisioning the larder." 
 
 This exchange of repartee enlivened the evening. 
 Then they snatched a little slumber during the latter 
 hours of the night. 
 
 Alas ! when morning dawned a double catastrophe 
 appalled the travelers. The Hindu who had escaped 
 from the embrace of the boa had been able to regain his 
 
94 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 strength, thanks to the intelligent care of Dr. MacGregor. 
 The wounds which the bite of the terrible ophidian had 
 left were closed, and in a fair way to heal, so that the 
 poor boy had been able to continue following on mule- 
 back the Englishman by whom his services were 
 engaged. 
 
 But it happened that morning as they folded the 
 tents for departure the little Madrasi came running, 
 terror depicted upon his face, to announce to Dr. Mac- 
 Gregor that Ali, the name of the wounded man, who 
 was a Mussulman, writhed upon his couch, a prey to 
 intolerable agony, and that his wounds had opened again 
 and presented an ugly aspect. The child's eyes filled 
 with tears while relating this. 
 
 Everyone ran to the tent where Ali lay. They found 
 him dying, shaken by convulsive movements, foam com- 
 ing out of the corners of his mouth, and green and 
 fetid pus showing from the wounds left by the teeth of 
 the python. It was manifest that the sick man had grown 
 worse suddenly, and this in contradiction to the opti- 
 mistic expectation of the doctor. The latter could not 
 refrain from a grimace on seeing the wounded man. 
 
 "There is nothing to do," he said to his com- 
 panions. ''We are in the presence of a disease as 
 grave as it is rare — of spontaneous septicaemia. The 
 man is lost. It is a purulent general infection." 
 
 Goulab also had bent his brows. He contented 
 himself with saying to the physician : 
 
 "This man has been poisoned during the night." 
 
 "Hey!" cried Dr. MacGregor, "what do you 
 say ? " 
 
 " 1 say," replied the shikari, very positively this 
 time, "that a criminal hand has poured upon such 
 
THE SACRED RIFER. 95 
 
 wounds of this unfortunate man as remained open 
 some of the tincture of euphorbia." 
 
 'Ms it possible?" questioned the doctor. " But then 
 who is the criminal, do you think ? " 
 
 The shikari extended his right hand with solemnity, 
 and placing his left upon his heart, said : 
 
 *'The Mahadera knows that 1 never accused one 
 of my brothers vainly, but 1 accuse of this murder, 
 and of Gourap-Sing's, Ramu your guide, the Rajput 
 Dogra." 
 
 A shiver ran over all present. Plumptre seized his 
 rifle with fury. 
 
 ''Ah ! the rascal!" roared he. "1 will kill him like a 
 dog ! " 
 
 'Mf you find him," said Goulab, shaking his head 
 ironically. "I have sinned through prudence, sahibs; 1 
 should have spoken yesterday. The assassin should 
 have been gotten rid of yesterday." 
 
 "Truly, Goulab," agreed the doctor, "you have been 
 too reticent." 
 
 They were not long in deciding upon their plan of 
 campaign. It was necessary to overtake the murderer 
 as soon as possible. He must be with the pilgrims, 
 and they were a whole night in advance. 
 
 They set out immediately when they had decided 
 that the unfortunate Ali was lost, and that Ramu had 
 deserted his post of guide. A tribe of nomadic Ban- 
 jaras engaged, in consideration of a compensation, to 
 take to Hardwc'ir the body of the poor Mohammedan 
 who had begged earnestly to be delivered to his breth- 
 ren. His last prayer was granted. The Bohemians had 
 with them an immense flock of sheep which had 
 come down from Tibet, as well as planks of teak- 
 
96 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 wood and pine all ready for the southern industry. 
 Four of these planks sufficed to furnish Ali with his 
 last vehicle, and with tears in their eyes, the Europeans 
 bade adieu to the body of their unfortunate servant. 
 
 But then came a fresh torture, and a new cause for 
 grief and indignation. They counted one member too 
 few in the column : the little Madrasi who was attached 
 to Cecil Weldon had disappeared. 
 
 ''Ah ! the unhappy boy!" cried the young American, 
 whose eyes filled with tears. 'Mf they only have not 
 killed him also ! This Dogra deserves no pity, if we 
 find him again ! " 
 
 It was difficult to repress the exasperation of the 
 different members of the little troop ; and if the infamous 
 Ramu had fallen into their hands at that moment, 
 *'they would not have left him to languish," in the 
 picturesque language of Euzen Graec'h. 
 
 ''As for me," cried the Breton, "I only ask to 
 have him for a moment in my hands. And I should 
 have no need of arms to do the business for him," he 
 added, with a movement full of expression. 
 
 There were, then, two new gaps in the ranks of the 
 little column. There were but eight members left. It 
 was necessary to redouble their vigilance, and, especially 
 since they had entered the bad passes of the mountain, 
 to manage to keep elbow to elbow, in order that each 
 of the explorers should be security for his companions. 
 
 But just as they were about to enter the high closes 
 of the water courses, young Cecil Weldon assembled his 
 companions of the journey and made them a confession 
 which, stupefying as it was, did not astonish them. 
 They had had a presentiment of it. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said the young traveler, with blushing 
 
THE SACRED RIFER. gy 
 
 confusion, ''I owe you a confession, and I have a request 
 to make of you." 
 
 ''A request?" cried Plumptre gallantly. "Let us call 
 it granted in advance." 
 
 ''Bah!" replied Cecil, with a mischievous grimace, 
 "'you don't know what you are bargaining for, 
 major." 
 
 And before the officer could protest, the American 
 explained himself clearly : 
 
 "The request that 1 make of you all without dis- 
 tinction, gentlemen, for you are all my friends, is a little 
 cruel. If our expedition should incur too formidable 
 trials, if we should be exposed to dangers which left 
 us no resource, no hope, swear to me that the last 
 survivor among you will kill me, if I have not pre- 
 ceded him in death." 
 
 "Oh! oh!" said Dr. MacGregor, smiling, " that is 
 indeed a strange request, young man, and you were 
 right just now in reproaching Plumptre for pledging 
 himself too rashly." 
 
 " During the crusade of St. Louis in Egypt," said 
 Merrien gravely, "the Queen of France, a prisoner of 
 the infidels, exacted a similar promise from the old 
 chevalier appointed for her defense." 
 
 The young American wore a melancholy smile. Then 
 he said, with great sweetness : 
 
 "It is for the same reason, gentlemen, that I entreat 
 you. 1 am a woman, but for others than you 1 must 
 always be Cecil, not Cicely Weldon." 
 
 All bowed respectfully before the intrepid young 
 girl, and Merrien added, with a kind of gayety : 
 
 "That is all right, miss. But calm yourself: all the 
 Dogras, all the Rajputs, all the Sivaites in the world 
 
98 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 cannot prevent people like ourselves from bringing their 
 enterprise to a fortunate conclusion." 
 
 And, though a little embarrassed by this secret, the 
 brave men did not permit themselves to show the 
 feeling. 
 
 All precautions had now been taken. The column 
 divided itself into three groups : a vanguard, the body 
 of the troop, and the rear guard. 
 
 Merrien, Graec'h, Plumptre, and the doctor, and one 
 of the Americans in rotation, and the f^iithful Goulab 
 relieved one another at the difficult posts, that is to 
 say, at the head and at the rear of the procession. 
 
 Thirty kilometers from Gangotri, at the last bungalow 
 established by the English company, the travelers were 
 constrained to part with their animals. They must 
 henceforth depend upon themselves to overcome all 
 obstacles. These were numerous and varied. Never in 
 the entire universe was a pilgrimage made more deserv- 
 ing of credit than that of the faithful Brahman to the 
 cradle of the divine Ganga. 
 
 There were at every step frightful precipices five 
 hundred and six hundred meters in height, opening 
 from the edges of the bad road clinging en corniche 
 to the buttresses of the prodigious chain ; plateaus 
 calcined by the sun by day, and swept by night by 
 the sharp wind from the snowy regions ; and valleys 
 so deep and so narrow that daylight scarcely ever 
 penetrates to them. 
 
 Finally, after a day of unspeakable effort, the column 
 arrived at the holy place. As they had no concern 
 with the neighborhood of the Brahman convent which 
 surrounds the middle pagoda, they at once took the most 
 frequented way, that on which they were sure to find 
 
THE SACRED RI^ER. 99 
 
 the greatest number of pilgrims of the two orders of 
 Vishnu and Siva. 
 
 It was natural that a pious man like Goulab should 
 profit by the opportunity which was offered him of 
 sanctifying himself by contact with the sacred spring. 
 So he solicited and obtained permission from his com- 
 panions to accomplish the prescriptions of the religious 
 law, which orders the ceremonial of the pilgrimages with 
 great particularity. 
 
 They had arrived at the boundary of the consecrated 
 territory at the confluence of the Baghirathi and the 
 Jahnavi. 
 
 The shikari completely divested himself of his clothes, 
 and took his place in a line of some forty Hindus as 
 naked as himself. One after another, each of the men 
 plunged into the swift, icy waters of the river, and came 
 out shivering. On the bank a Brahman clad in white, 
 attended by two children filling the office of acolytes, 
 murmured a benediction upon the heads of the purified. 
 Then the latter, before dressing themselves again, received 
 from one of the children a sheaf of flowers and fragrant 
 herbs, rich in color, which they threw into the current of 
 the river, after which the Brahman, with a new formula, 
 took from a little basket carried by the other child 
 an oval biscuit, and gave it to the penitent, who, fast- 
 ing and exhausted in all probability, made haste to bite 
 into it vigorously. 
 
 The shikari complied with all these forms with the 
 rigorous piety that characterizes the people of the 
 Orient. But the prescriptions did not stop there. 
 From the sacred confluent to the sanctuary the distance 
 was not excessive. On the other hand the road 
 bristled with difficulties of every kind, and even though 
 
lOO THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 having no concern with the religious exercises, the 
 European travelers were none the less subjected to the 
 same trials. 
 
 For henceforth the word ''road" could be used 
 only in antiphrasis. It was an irony which mocked 
 the energy of the explorers at every step, threatening, 
 even, to discourage them. So that Graec'h the Breton, 
 a seaman, and used to scaling the yards, could not 
 help thinking the mountains fatiguing. 
 
 ''If it is like this at the beginning, before coming to 
 the real climbing, what will it be when we are on 
 Gaurisankar ? " 
 
 "Bah!" retorted Merrien gayly, "when we are on 
 Gaurisankar, we shall only have a thousand or fifteen 
 hundred meters more to climb. Ibi-Gamin, which we 
 can see from here, is very nearly eight kilometers in 
 the air. We shall long before have acquired the habit 
 of ascent." 
 
 "There is still another habit which one acquires 
 even more easily," joked the Breton, "it is that of 
 dying." 
 
 While Goulab lifted himself by the strength of his 
 wrists from rock to rock until he reached the level of 
 the sanctuary which covers the spring of the Baghi- 
 rathi-Ganga, his European companions resolutely entered 
 the frightful gorge where the holy river falls tempestu- 
 ously in cascade after cascade. 
 
 A perpendicular wall, three hundred meters in height, 
 rose before them. They were barely able to climb the 
 first terrace with the aid of some steps cut in the 
 wall. 
 
 Above that, a frightful staircase presented itself, 
 formed of shelves of iron sunk in the perpendicular 
 
THE SACRED RIl^ER. lor 
 
 wall at a distance of about a foot one from the other. 
 It was by this dizzy ladder that the travelers must 
 attain to the upper platform. 
 
 At sight of this unexpected difficulty, young Weldon, 
 or rather Miss Cicely Weldon, since she was hence- 
 forth known to her companions by her true name, 
 could not repress a shudder of fear. 
 
 One may perhaps brave man and beast, and look 
 calmly upon the most cruel death, but here one was 
 in the presence of another kind of danger, a trial 
 directed to man's physical resistance, and to which the 
 nervous system of a woman, especially, must offer still less 
 resistance. Everything contributed to terrify the eyes and 
 to disturb the sang-froid indispensable at such moments, 
 and the fear of vertigo was added to the horror of the 
 place. One could not, however, pause by the way. It 
 was necessary, at any cost, to get out of the terrible cluse. 
 
 As a measure of prudence they decided that the Hin- 
 dus should go first in the ascent. But this produced an 
 unexpected defection. 
 
 Of the seven natives who had remained with the 
 travelers, four were men of the plains, whose good will 
 and devotion had been already seriously shaken by the 
 difficulties of the ascent. This last test found them insen- 
 sible to all exhortations, to all promises of remuneration. 
 They absolutely refused to carry the experience any 
 further. Merrien and Plumptre did not, however, insist 
 beyond reason. When the poor devils were brought to 
 the foot of this ''monkey-ladder," as Graec'h called it, 
 they were seized with violent trembling, their teeth 
 chattered, their legs failed them. It was manifest that 
 the poor creatures could not climb fifty meters without 
 accident. 
 
I02 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Unde- such conditions, humanity as well as prudence 
 obliged the explorers to dismiss these useless and even 
 embarrassing servants. 
 
 Merrien settled up all accounts, and each of the 
 behras came in turn to kiss the feet of the masters whom 
 they had so poorly seconded. It was apparent, neverthe- 
 less, that they were ashamed and disconsolate at their 
 faint-heartedness. 
 
 ''There is as much superstition as there is nervous- 
 ness in their case," said Dr. MacGregor. ''They are 
 persuaded that we are going to our death, and they 
 by no means pride themselves on their heroism. Let us 
 not forget that above Gangotri is the ' Mouth of the 
 Cow,' to the south of the glacier of Nilang. To the 
 west is Trikanta, to the east Nanda-Parvati. When we 
 arrive there we shall be divine beings to some, abomi- 
 nable profaners to the others." 
 
 In order not to linger in these perilous gorges, they 
 at once undertook the scaling of the iron steps. The 
 two Hindus who had remained faithful went first. 
 Then Merrien and Graec'h thought of a way practically 
 to aid their group in the weird ascent. They knotted 
 about their shoulders two cords of unequal length, the 
 other ends of which they fastened to the shoulders and 
 about the body of the young girl. That done, the Breton, 
 whose incredible strength was seconded by his habit of 
 climbing yards, and who feared no vertigo, leaped in 
 his turn upon the frightful ladder. Merrien followed 
 him, and Cicely came third, helping herself so ener- 
 getically with her hands and her feet that she rendered 
 the provisional aid of her two companions unnecessary. 
 After them came Dr. MacGregor and the Americans. 
 The brave major brought up the rear. 
 
CICELY CAME THIRD. 
 
I04 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Fortunately this dizzy staircase did not extend further 
 than a hundred meters. The wall was again broken 
 away at the summit, and natural notches, with sharp 
 edges, gave easier foothold. 
 
 Finally the upper plateau was reached. They had 
 before them the slopes of the nearer ranges, and the 
 horizon disclosed enormous distances with marvelous 
 perspectives. 
 
 To the south were the valleys they had just crossed, 
 the Hindu Tarai ; to the north the source of the Ganges, 
 appeared springing from the glaciers of the Kailas. 
 To the left stretched the vanishing chain of which 
 Dehra-Dun, and the Siwalik mountains are only the stair- 
 ways ; to the right extended the parallel lines of the 
 Chiriya-ghati, gigantic propylaea of the principal mass, 
 or rather of the succession of the prodigious masses 
 which commence at Chumalari on the frontiers of 
 Bhutan. Nepal was at their feet ; the central Himalayas, 
 lay open to their gaze. 
 
 ■ '^^■^-^^g^g^^i^^^!^.!^ 
 
THE (iOVERNOR SENT TWO OFFICERS TO MEET THE TRAVELERS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE DHAULAGIRI. 
 
 The travelers were tliree days in leaching the east- 
 ern frontiers above the lakes and the English station of 
 Naini-Tal. Toward the 25th of March they had passed 
 Chakrata, and cleared the pass of Niti-Liti, at a height of 
 more than five thousand meters. It only remained to 
 them to cross the two arms of the ^ogra and the peak 
 of the goddess Manda, before entering Nepal. 
 
 The major had not ceased grumbling during the 
 entire ascent. 
 
 "How much better off are we," he said; ''what 
 
 have we gained by this journey ? We are already in 
 
 the midst of glaciers and snows, and we have managed 
 
 to stretch our itinerary to nearly double its length. If 
 
 we had started from Darjiling we should already be at 
 
 the foot of Mt. Everest, and we should have had some 
 
 admirable hunting." 
 
 105 
 
io6 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 '\Morbleu! '' cried the doctor, who was fond of 
 French oaths, " haven't you hunted all you want to 
 thus far ? You have forgotten the tigers, and the 
 buffaloes of Garhwal ? " 
 And Plumptre sighed with genuine sadness : 
 
 'Mt is precisely because 1 remember . them that 1 
 regret them. What beautiful shots we are losing ! " 
 
 Goulab the shikc4ri, who, his rites being accomplished, 
 had rejoined the travelers above Gangotri, somewhat 
 reassured the insatiable hunter by informing him that 
 the Himalayan chain is the most capricious in the 
 world ; that after reaching a height of seven thousand 
 meters, one frequently has to descend again to below 
 three thousand, and even to two thousand ; and that at 
 each of these descents game is found again in abun- 
 dance, more especially the wild elephant, and the siiil- 
 liens; among them the bahiroussa, that wild and curious 
 animal, provided with four long and broad tusks, giving it 
 a most terrible aspect, but which is less formidable, as a 
 matter of fact, than the wild boar of Europe. 
 
 He added, to give him a final bit of consolation : 
 
 "As to the tiger, he pushes his way to incredible 
 heights, and we can never be certain that we shall not 
 have to defend ourselves against him, even at three 
 thousand meters' altitude. Be prepared for the chance 
 of a surprise." 
 
 With this hope, the brave Scotchman took his way 
 over the mountains. For the rest, incidents of quite 
 another order were not long in furnishing the explorers 
 with emotions that they were not expecting. When 
 they were about to enter upon the Taklagar road, one 
 of the two ways the gates of which had been opened 
 to them by the Nepalisian permits accorded them by 
 
THE DHAULAGIRL 107 
 
 request of the Calcutta government, the travelers 
 thought they ought themselves to draw up a map of 
 their explorations. 
 
 They therefore assembled in council in a village of' 
 the western frontier, about the thirtieth degree north 
 latitude, and devoted an entire day to resting, in order 
 to recover their strength, already somewhat tried, and 
 to make out their itinerary with the most rigorous 
 exactitude. All were compelled to contribute, and each 
 one brought to the task, in addition to his own intel- 
 ligence and his personal opinions, the experience ac- 
 quired by previous efforts and courageous investigation. 
 
 Dr. MacGregor was, under these circumstances, able 
 to furnish the best advice, having already had occasion 
 upon a previous expedition to penetrate as far as Khat- 
 mandu. He revealed to his friends the result of his 
 personal observations, which, united to notes made by 
 Merrien of the statements of previous explorers, sufficed 
 for the elaboration of a common plan. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said the physician, /' you are not 
 ignorant of the fact that Nepal is an independent state, 
 very shut in, very wild, of which we ourselves know 
 very little, in spite of the presence of our minister in 
 the very capital of this state. It is counted among 
 the number of regions reported unknown, and its frontier, 
 which is very indefinite, has no fixity except on the 
 Indian side, and this in consequence of the wars which 
 the British Government has victoriously sustained against 
 the wild and independent peoples of the region— notably 
 against the Gurkhas, who, dispossessed by us, after 
 bloody combats, have ended by adopting our hegemony, 
 and furnishing us to-day with the best foot-soldiers of 
 our Indian armv. 
 
io8 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''These limits, often moved back, make of Nepal a 
 long quadrilateral, backed, or rather inclosed, by the 
 double chain of the Himalayas and the Trans-Himalayas. 
 This quadrilateral measures about seven hundred kilo- 
 meters, or four hundred miles in length by a hundred 
 and twenty-five kilometers, or seventy-two miles in 
 breadth. The sum of the population contained within 
 these boundaries has never been ascertained exactly, 
 and it is quite at hazard, relying upon the declarations 
 made by the native authorities, that our geographers 
 estimate it sometimes at three, sometimes at five 
 millions of inhabitants. Such statistics are evidently 
 fanciful." 
 
 ''Doctor," interrupted Plumptre abruptly, "how does 
 that interest us ? What we need to know, in order to 
 carry out our enterprise, is the road that we are going 
 to follow, together with the dangers or the difficulties 
 that it may offer, and the means that we shall have at 
 our disposal to escape these dangers and overcome these 
 difficulties." 
 
 It goes without saying that in this respect MacGregor 
 knew no more than the common run of mortals. The 
 silence that he maintained, in place of responding to 
 the officer's question, gave Merrien a chance to intervene. 
 
 " My dear major, we. have for our enlightenment 
 only the reports of these travelers who have preceded 
 us. And these are very incomplete, since none of them, 
 not one of them, I say, has been able to penetrate to 
 the heart of the mountains ; and thus far it has been 
 necessary to hold to the angular measurements of the 
 highest summits as made from the plains of Hindustan. 
 The mission that we have voluntarily assigned ourselves 
 is all the more glorious for that. We shall be the 
 
THE DHAULA'GIRf. 109 
 
 first among Europeans, perhaps even among Indians, to 
 force the gates of Nepal, and approach, according to our 
 ability, the majestic summits that such men as Adolph 
 and Hermann Schlagintweit, and the Pandit Nain-Sing, 
 have been able to contemplate only from a distance." 
 
 The Scotchman responded in a friendly manner and 
 with a gracious smile : 
 
 '' 1 understand that very well, my dear Merrien, 
 since my intention has been to accompany you in 
 your bold project. Yet it would appear to me wise 
 and prudent should we be advised of the nature of 
 the obstacles that we shall encounter." 
 
 "They will be of various kinds," replied the French- 
 man. ''But the most obstinate ones will very cer- 
 tainly be presented by the people of these unknown 
 countries. God grant that we shall have to come into 
 as little contact with them as possible ! " 
 
 Then they took the final census of the expedition 
 and the inventory of things indispensable to the 
 journey. 
 
 Each man, and Cicely Weldon figured as one, car- 
 ried with him a double-barreled rifle, one of the "choke- 
 bore " barrels of which answered for either shot 
 or bullets ; three hundred cartridges divided between 
 the knapsack, the cartridge box, and the belt, a six- 
 barreled revolver of the same caliber, a hunting knife, 
 tent-stakes or supports, a reserve of blasting powder, 
 some ropes of hemp and copper thread, a pike, and 
 twelve steel climbing spurs. That made enough of a 
 burden in itself. They had to add food supplies in the 
 smallest possible compass : two boxes of pemmican and 
 of Liebig, one of kola powder, a bottle of essence of 
 coffee, and a gourd of rum. 
 
no THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Thus provided, the explorers arranged for their halts. 
 The march through the mountain region could not be 
 estimated in figures based on the average day's jour- 
 neys over the plains. They decided, therefore, to make 
 twenty kilometers a day the desideratum, and twelve 
 the minimum, which allowed of their reaching Dhau- 
 lagiri toward the loth or the 15th of April at the latest. 
 
 They also inspected their foot-gear. This plays an 
 important part in the life of mountain climbers. The 
 travelers were provided with strong leather gaiters, pjsse 
 montjgnes of heavy wool, jerseys of tricot, and hunting 
 jackets, soft woolen gloves, a loose cloak, which could, 
 however, be held close to the body by means of a belt ; 
 these completed the equipment of the valiant comrades. 
 
 Finally, as they could not carry everything upon their 
 shoulders, they took pains to place all the supplementary 
 baggage on light litters which they were obliged to 
 carry, two and two, by means of straps passed over the 
 neck of each bearer. It was decided that they should 
 relieve one another from hour to hour of the drudgery 
 of this carriage. 
 
 Through a sentiment of gallantry that was altogether 
 French, Merrien proposed to exempt Miss Weldon from 
 all drudgery, and all especially heavy burdens. The 
 plucky young girl refused to accept this indulgence, 
 which humiliated her. She did not in the least consent 
 to leave to her friends all that concerned the material 
 cares of existence. 
 
 Each day, at each halt, they took counsel as to 
 their next proceedings. This foresight was indispensable 
 for the avoidance of events that were to be feared. 
 The worthy Goulab, for whom there were now no 
 secrets, had confided to the travelers the information 
 
THE DHAULAGIRI. iir 
 
 obtained at the sanctuary of Gangotri. Some fifty 
 Sivaites had passed that way in advance of him, and 
 from the details that he had gathered, the shikari had 
 recognized that the Rajput guide, Ramu, was among 
 them. He then summed up his impressions in a coun- 
 sel of caution that was very skillfully defined. 
 
 He was convinced that the Dogra had been able 
 to lead a certain number of fanatics on the mountains 
 for the sole purpose of laying a snare for the white 
 travelers. 
 
 They would before long find them on their road, 
 and then, far from the eyes of English authority, the 
 wretches would not hesitate to attempt an attack. It 
 would then be necessary to give battle, and perhaps 
 under disadvantageous conditions. 
 
 All the maps were unfolded, all those, at least, that 
 related to the expedition. They were unfortunately very 
 incomplete, none of the preceding explorers since Mont- 
 gomery, Bailie, and the Pundit Nain-Sing, having suc- 
 ceeded in passing the elevation of the Niti Pass. 
 Adolph Schlagintweit himself had not been further than 
 Nanda-Devi. 
 
 Nevertheless, not one of the daring excursionists had 
 a moment's hesitation in dicing the dangers of the 
 route. All responded with a vigorous exclamation lO 
 the little discourse that Merrien thought it his duty to 
 address to them. 
 
 *'My dear colleagues and rivals, whom I am happy 
 to call my friends, the moment has come to examine 
 your resolution afresh. There is yet time to retrace 
 your steps. The excursion that has led us to the foot 
 of the Kaila mountains, to the very ' Mouth of the 
 Cow,' is a very pretty one to have acccomplished. The 
 
112 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 fame of it is sufficient, and I believe that you have al- 
 ready your names upon the rocks of the Himalayas, and 
 upon history." 
 
 Major Plumptre was not pleased with this speech, 
 which seemed to him to be inspired by disdain. 
 
 ''Mr. Frenchman," he cried, with some ill-humor, 
 "'is it your intention to beat a retreat yourself?" 
 
 "Never," declared Merrien, laughing. "Even if 1 
 were about to die, I should implore some Bothia to carry 
 my bones to the summit." 
 
 "In that case, I find you very inconsiderate in daring 
 to propose a retreat to Englishmen. Where you go, 
 we go." 
 
 " I agree with Major Plumptre," said Cicely Weldon 
 on her part. 
 
 " I didn't leave Srinagar to stop at the seventy- 
 ninth meridian from Paris. Go ahead, then, Mr. Merrien, 
 and we will follow, that is, unless we go ahead of 
 you." 
 
 There was nothing more to say after such replies. 
 They set out with no delay, and in three days they 
 had traversed eighty kilometers ; they had not only 
 done more than the proposed average, but they had 
 "skipped" certain stopping places, such as Niti-Liti, 
 and the plateaus of Milam. The evening of the fourth 
 day they had reached Taklagar, and penetrated into 
 Nepal without having had their progress interrupted by 
 any prohibition or any frontier broils. This result had 
 been obtained thanks to the resolution and wisdom of 
 Merrien, who was unanimously proclaimed the leader 
 of the expedition. The Frenchman had decided that it 
 would be best to follow as long as possible the line 
 of the summit at a mean altitude of five and six 
 
THE DHAULAGIRl. 113 
 
 thousand meters, where one would hardly encounter 
 anyone other than the Bhutan shepherds, and need 
 not dread the unexpected appearance of Hindu or 
 Nepalese zealots. The event had proved him entirely 
 right, and, what was entirely unlooked for, but a very 
 agreeable surprise to the travelers, they had been 
 enabled to ascertain that at this level, by a strange 
 freak of nature, the summit line that they were fol- 
 lowing formed a veritable flat causeway across the 
 groups of the chain. Thus they were able to gain 
 ground while avoiding the dangerous valleys of the 
 south. 
 
 "Yes," said Jean, laughing, "we are here in a region 
 which only Europeans can approach with impunity. 
 The sharp cold of the nights renders access to it well- 
 nigh impossible to men of the southern regions, and 
 that is what has kept our enemies from following us 
 upon these heights. God grant that we may thus 
 continue our way until we reach Dhaulagiri." 
 
 Unhappily, this hope was promptly to be crushed. 
 Taklagar is a sort of fortress fastened between the high 
 buttresses of the chain. It was impossible to proceed 
 beyond it, the authorities of the country exercising 
 their surveillance very actively at this point, which 
 touches the Tibet frontiers. 
 
 Dr. MacGregor could not repress a sigh as he 
 contemplated the white line of the summits of the 
 Trans-Himalayas. 
 
 And as the major asked the reason of this apparent 
 grief, he replied very frankly : 
 
 "It is truly too bad that we should not be able 
 to profit by the proximity to descend upon the other 
 side of the chain into the valleys that separate the 
 
114 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Himalayas from Kuenlun. It is in this part of Tibet 
 that the sources of that unknown river are found, the 
 one called Tsang-bo in French geographies, and confused: 
 with the Brahmaputra on a number of English maps." 
 
 He spread out a rather ancient map, on which the 
 mysterious stream of water figured under the name of 
 '' Burrampooter." 
 
 ''Well!" exclaimed the Scotchman, ''why shouldn't 
 we do it ? Perhaps we shall never be so well situated 
 as we are to-day to settle a question which constitutes a 
 geographical problem of the highest interest. After all, 
 to scale Gaurisankar offers glory for ourselves alone, but. 
 to reconnoiter the Tsang-bo renders a service to the 
 cosmographic science of all nations. The doctor's idea is 
 a good one. Hurrah for the doctor's idea! Moreover, 
 Merrien himself had entertained the same dream ! " 
 
 The sudden and contagious enthusiasm of the major 
 came near leading the entire troop into a complete 
 overthrow of the programme that they had made out 
 together, and with which the press of the whole world 
 was presently to concern itself, as well as the scholars 
 of all countries. 
 
 But Jean Merrien showed himself inflexible. He 
 harangued his companions with a vehemence which the 
 circumstances justified. 
 
 "Truly, gentlemen, has the mountain wind turned 
 your heads? Must it be I, a Frenchman, a man of that 
 race that you call crazy-headed, who recalls you to a 
 remembrance of honor pledged, of reason, of a plan that 
 we have adopted after common deliberation ? As for the 
 rest, do as you please. Go and seek the Tsang-bo or 
 the Brahmaputra if that seem good to you ! 1 shall pur- 
 sue my way to Gaurisankar by way of Dhaulagiri. We 
 
THE GOVERNOR GAVE THEM AN AUDIENCE. 
 
il6 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 shall have a chance later to return to the Tsang-bo or 
 the Brahmaputra." 
 
 This discourse would have sufficed to keep the enthu- 
 siasts in "the straight path," if an incident of a differ- 
 ent order had not occurred to render palpable the 
 almost insurmountable obstacles to an enterprise that 
 they had applauded without due reflection. 
 
 The governor of Taklagar sent two of his officers to 
 meet the travelers. These officers belonged to a mani- 
 festly Tartar race. Their angular features, their promi- 
 nent cheek-bones, their perceptibly flattened noses, attested 
 their origin. Moreover, their accouterments bore marks 
 of the proximity of China, at the same time that the 
 woolen stuffs of which their clothing was made re- 
 vealed the habit of sojourning in inclement zones. 
 The two envoys of the governor expressed very 
 courteously the desire of the latter to himself see and 
 question the explorers. They found no difficulty in 
 deferring to this request, and, conducted by their guides, 
 they set out upon the rugged and tortuous path that 
 leads from the city to the "palace" of the eminent 
 personage, a formless structure like a stone balcony sus- 
 pended on the projection of an isolated hill. 
 
 They had not to wait at all. The governor gave them 
 an audience at once, in the presence of a third officer 
 whom Merrien and his friends esteemed it great good 
 fortune to find in these regions. He was a Gurkha, 
 who had served nearly twenty years in the Indian army, 
 where he had won the rank of soubadhar, or adjutant, 
 which the general-in-chief had converted into that of 
 lieutenant the moment that Rannah Garry, the name of 
 the ex-subaltern, had been retired. 
 
 Very proud of this title, and of the honors which it 
 
THE DHAULAGIRI. 117 
 
 had gained for him and his country, the Gurkha had 
 kept a very genuine attachment for his old superiors, 
 and a profound respect for "Old England." Now, 
 Major Plumptre had known the soubadhar while in 
 garrison at Delhi, and although the latter had never 
 been under the orders of the cavalry officer, he was 
 none the less pleased to present himself to the Scotch- 
 man with the language and martial bearing of an old 
 soldier. 
 
 ''God save you, major!" he greeted him, as soon 
 as Plumptre, Merrien, Miss Weldon, and their suite had 
 entered the audience chamber. Much surprised to hear 
 himself addressed in his mother tongue, the officer was 
 still more agreeably surprised to learn from the lips of 
 the ex-adjutant himself the story of his life and the good 
 will that he felt toward the travelers. 
 
 These latter, prompted in a few words, were able to 
 reply suitably to the species of examination to which 
 they were subjected by the official personage with whom 
 they had to do. They produced the safe-conducts coun- 
 tersigned by the president of Calcutta, and delivered by 
 the sovereign of Khatmandu. But they at once per- 
 ceived the pretensions to independence set up by the 
 singular functionaries of this strange kingdom composed 
 of twenty different peoples. 
 
 Rannah gave them to understand that a present of 
 some rupees would completely soften the governor, and 
 the latter found that very day upon a Kashmir rug a 
 very beautiful Sheffield knife with a handle of . horn 
 decorated in silver, and five good guineas. 
 
 Easily satisfied, the potentate of Taklagar invited all 
 his visitors to a sort of banquet, where they ate a 
 succulent curry made of the meat of the kid, which 
 
Il8 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 was followed by an evening of dancing by some 
 Tibetan Nautch girls of remarkable ugliness, munching 
 nuts, while the major alone of all the troop consented to 
 smoke three pipes of opium in company with the lord 
 governor. 
 
 Thanks to this exchange of civilities, Merrien, the 
 doctor, and Cicely were enabled to take valuable notes 
 upon the manners and customs of the region, and 
 upon the precautions that it would be necessary to 
 observe during the remainder of the journey. They 
 learned in this way that the road to the north was 
 positively closed against them, and that the mystic 
 barriers of Tibet would be lowered only for shepherds 
 and traders. But what annoyed them most was the 
 necessity of descending again into the southern valleys 
 on account of the impossibility of crossing the Gogra 
 near its source. 
 
 This river, which furnishes the Ganges with one of 
 its principal affluents, comes out from the Himalayas in 
 two branches some forty miles distant from one an- 
 other. They both, however, bear the same name, or 
 rather the same names, for nothing is more varied 
 than the denominations of this stream of water. After 
 having borne in turn upon its western as well as upon 
 its eastern branch the appellations of Rizab, of Kali, of 
 Sarju, of Gogra, of Dewa, fused in one only after 
 leaving Srinagar, that of Dogra, it ends by adopting 
 the name of Dewah in India, the name under which 
 it waters Faizabad, and Sultanpur, and throws itself 
 into the Ganges above Azimgar, after having received 
 the limpid waters of the poetic Rapti. 
 
 Now, each of these two sources of the Gogra pro- 
 ceeds from the dense mass of the Himalayas, through 
 
THE DHAULAGIRI. 119 
 
 frightful gorges, between the walls of defiles four or 
 five hundred meters in height, separated by precipices 
 two hundred meters wide, across which human indus- 
 try has not yet had time to throw bridges. 
 
 it was the absence of these bridges" that obliged 
 the Europeans to go down into the south. Possibly the 
 fuming major would have been headstrong enough to 
 descend into the frightful gorges, if the Gurkha, Ran- 
 nah, had not cautioned him to use strategy rather than 
 open force. 
 
 He even held forth to them upon this subject in very 
 explicit language. 
 
 ''Get it well into your mind that the sovereign of 
 Khatn'.andu exercises only a nominal authority over 
 the diverse and fragmentary populations whose cohesion 
 is due only to their hatred of Europeans. It is from 
 Tibet that the real influence comes, counterbalanced by 
 the fear of England. But here in the mountains the 
 hatred of the white men often overbears the fear that 
 they inspire, and nothing is easier than to hinder them 
 with obstacles ; to lay snares for them," the least de- 
 plorable effect of which is to constrain them to turn 
 back in their path. For the rest," added the old Indian 
 soldier, *M will give you a guide who is personally 
 devoted to me. He will conduct you by the shortest 
 road to Chinachin, and from there to the falls of Kanar, 
 where he will procure you a new guide." 
 
 They were obliged to resign themselves to the enor- 
 mous loss of time which this detour occasioned. The 
 travelers descended the eastern arm of the Gogra as 
 far as the terrible cataracts, and again found them- 
 selves within the boundaries of the Tarai toward the 
 middle of April. The great heat was about commenc- 
 
I20 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 ing. They had lost an entire month in useless journey- 
 ing, and it became absolutely necessary to cross Nepal 
 obliquely along its greatest width. 
 
 This first disappointment threw some discouragement 
 over the little group, but the indomitable energy of 
 Merrien did not fail. Moreover, the substitute pro- 
 vided by the guide spoke of the remainder of the 
 journey with so much faith in its success that every- 
 one accepted his opinion, and it was decided that they 
 take the northern road again as soon as possible. 
 
 The guide performed his duty very conscientiously. 
 On the 17th of April they had passed the Nagal- 
 pani, one of the sources of the Rapti. On the 25th 
 the travelers, after great hardships, found themselves at 
 the center of the high valleys watered by the Gandak. 
 
 The explorers did not allow themselves to be dis- 
 mayed by the difficulties. The guide had warned them 
 that this part of the journey was not the most arduous 
 or the most dangerous. The ground, in spite of its fre- 
 quent variations in level, nevertheless maintained an 
 uninterrupted elevation. The plateau of Malebun, situated 
 between the gorges of Barga, and the Mayandi-Kola, 
 finally permitted them a reassuring sight of the northern 
 horizon. 
 
 About thirty kilometers away, dominating the great 
 mass of the ''Son of Man," or Narayana, appeared 
 TDwaldgiri, or more exactly Dhaulagiri, which means 
 White Mountain. 
 
 The prodigious peak rose straight upward in the tender 
 blue vault of the sky, and its mantle of snow was crossed 
 here and there by drifts of trailing clouds. At its right, 
 scarcely less high, secondary peaks were seen resplend- 
 ent under the rays of the sun, Yassa, Barathor, and 
 
THE DHAULAGIRf. 121 
 
 Morchiadi ; at its left Dayabang and Deorali rose above 
 the dark line of the horizon. 
 
 The travelers all paused, filled with religious emotion. 
 The four Hindus, among whom were Goulab and the 
 guide, prostrated themselves, obeying different senti- 
 ments. Erect, with shining eyes and heaving chest, 
 Cicely Weldon broke out in admiration : 
 
 ''There it is at last, the Dwalagiri ! We have seen 
 it ! How beautiful it is ! " 
 
 "Nothing remains but to climb it!" cried Plumptre. 
 "The eighteen miles which separate us from it is no dis- 
 tance at all." 
 
 Merrien intervened, recalling the general plan. He 
 reminded them that it was not Dhaulagiri that they 
 proposed to climb, but Gaurisankar ; which is higher by 
 six hundred meters. The " Mt. Blanc" of Nepal figured 
 on the programme only with the simple title of 
 "visite," the picturesque expression used by the 
 Frenchman. 
 
 After the difficulties which had been encountered 
 up to this time, one must assume - that obstacles 
 would not be lacking on the rest of the journey. Now, 
 in order to attain Gaurisankar by following the valleys 
 of the Gandak and the Koci, or along the Hanks of the 
 Lama-Dogra which follow the Chiriya-ghatis, it was 
 necessary to estimate the distance as at least forty miles 
 in a straight line. 
 
 "Gentlemen," he concluded, with much logic, "be- 
 sides what is due to our programme, we must not 
 forget that we are in the second half of April, that 
 the heats have commenced, and that our strength will 
 have to be economized. The same reasons which 
 made us renounce the exploration of the Tsang-bo 
 
122 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ought still to keep us upon the slope on which we 
 are at present ; that is to say, upon the southern 
 slope of Dhaulagiri. Let us then content ourselves with 
 a glance, and leave the younger for the elder." 
 
 But this time Major Plumptre protested against this 
 sensible language. His arguments were specious. 
 
 "My dear Merrien," he replied, ''permit me to 
 oppose to your very correct reasons other good reasons. 
 Scarcely thirty kilometers separate us from Narayana. 
 We shall never be nearer that goal than at this moment. 
 Why not profit by the opportunity ? What is six hun- 
 dred meters more or less ? " 
 
 Merrien was not at a loss to refute this argument. 
 The sentiment of the greater number was against him. 
 Dr. MacGregor himself passed over to the opposition, 
 and in order to satisfy his traveling companions, the 
 Frenchman consented that they should approach nearer 
 the glorious summit. They took the advice of the 
 guide, who declared that the best road was that which 
 skirted valleys of the Barga as far as Deorali. From 
 there they would be able to rise progressively along a 
 gentle slope to the farthest level attainable by man. 
 
 This advice they followed, and Merrien, somewhat 
 disturbed, took his place with the rest. From that day 
 they again resumed the road to the north. 
 

 TUE TRAITOR HAD DROPPED UPON HIS KNEES. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 Nepal, ns Dr. MacGregor had said, is a country in 
 which you are met by all sorts of surprises. Completely 
 covered by mountains, it is composed of valleys and 
 high plateaus, so that the geographers long mistook 
 the nature of its soil and its boundaries. Numerous 
 English maps make it commence at Siwalik at the 
 Chiriya-ghati or the Lama-Dogra chain, to terminate at 
 the true Himalayas. 
 
 Upon these maps the giants of India belong only 
 to the frontier of Tibet. A manifest error, and one 
 that is to-day universally recognized. 
 
 Central Asia, in fact, contains two chains of unequal 
 dimersions, the lesser of which forms the rugged 
 plateaus of Afghanistan to the west of India, while the 
 greater is distributed in two gigantic groups, in two 
 
124 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 divisions running one from the southeast to the north- 
 west under the name of the Kara-Koram Mountains, 
 the other from the northwest to the southeast, the 
 Himalayas. 
 
 This in its turn is divided into two great masses 
 separated by the valley of the Dingri-Maidan, which 
 has caused them to be designated by the titles of Hima- 
 layas and Trans-Himdlayas. Beyond the Trans-Himalayas 
 commence the plateaus of Tibet, themselves crossed by 
 the deep valley of the Tsang-bo, and narrowly closed 
 in between the double Himalayan chain and the moun- 
 tains of Kuenlun which belong to the Kara-Koram 
 system and are almost unknown. Now, Nepal is situ- 
 ated between the Himalayas and the Trans-Himalayas, 
 and the mountains of Dhaulagiri, Gaurisankar, Kinchin- 
 jinga, and Chumalari are found in the center not on the 
 northern frontier of the kingdom. 
 
 Thus the travelers were mistaken when, according to 
 Merrien's advice, they adopted the northern summit line 
 in order to redescend toward the Narayana. Their 
 shortest road was, beyond all possible question, that 
 from Faizabad to Jamla, across the Chiriya-ghati, but 
 leaving Jamla upon their left to pass through the 
 frontier cities of Perthan, of Kebrachi, and of Durkhot. 
 Unhappily, the permits granted by the sovereign of 
 Nepal only left them the choice of two routes, and 
 they had thought it well to avoid that which would 
 subject them to the most annoyance on the part oi 
 the worrying authorities of the region. It was for these 
 reasons that they had lost nearly a month, and had use- 
 lessly traversed a thousand kilometers. But it was not 
 worth while to dwell on past mistakes, since they were 
 nearing the goal. They must avoid making others in 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 125 
 
 the future, and prepare for the obstacles which might 
 rise in the path of the little column. 
 
 The peoples of Nepal, in spite of their diversity, are 
 generally hospitable and loyal. With the exception of 
 the nomadic tribes, who nearly all belong to the Mon- 
 golian type, and are connected by their very visible origin 
 with the Chinese or Manchoo families, the mountaineers 
 of the Himalayas belong to the Aryan race. Tall, well- 
 built, with noble features marked by a warlike pride, the 
 men of these high regions are conscious of their worth, 
 and seem to hold to their independence 'before any other 
 advantage of life. Thanks to the astonishing variety of 
 the climates that succeed one another in accordance with 
 the gradual elevation of the crests, there are found in the 
 Himalayas now the products of the tropical zones, and 
 again the vegetation of the temperate zones. 
 
 The same slope gives in the spring a harvest of 
 wheat ; in the autumn, a harvest of rice. While the 
 palm tree, the mango tree, the pineapple, and the banana 
 mingle and ripen in the sinuous depths of the chain, the 
 bread tree, the European cereals, even the fruits of our 
 climes, rejoice the agricultural population of the higher 
 levels, and this at heights which belong to the domain of 
 perpetual snow in our European mountains. 
 
 At three thousand meters' altitude crops flourish, at 
 five thousand the resinous trees, the teak, the pine, the 
 fir, the cypress, the larch abound in thick forests ; by 
 means of the warm temperature maintained by their 
 shelter infinitely less robust species are preserved, such as 
 the maple, the aspen, the plane tree, the poplar. The 
 Himalayas present in this respect the appearance of an 
 immense experimental garden. Further up, desolation 
 reigns supreme. No mountain system offers in so great 
 
126 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 a degree the appearance of death. Bare rocks with sharp 
 crests blend together the entire hierarchy of minerals and 
 earthy sediments. The crust in its upheaval had 
 cracked in places, and the rigid granite rose almost to 
 the skies. 
 
 Around about gneiss, mica schist, limestones of mul- 
 tiple origin extend and mingle in gradations that discon- 
 cert geological science. And over this chaos of deposited 
 stones and upheaved pyrites the snow lies like a carpet 
 of silver, continually frozen by the north wind, and 
 continually attacked by the sun up to those deadly 
 levels where the rarity of the atmosphere renders life 
 impossible. The travelers had to cross these various 
 stages, and submit to these differences of surroundings, 
 these variations of temperature. The necessity of 
 anticipating them, and of fortifying themselves against 
 them, had constrained them to provide themselves with 
 clothing appropriate to the climatic conditions to which 
 they would be subjected. Together with cotton or 
 flannel stuffs, they had been obliged to carry thicker 
 and tougher materials. Their baggage was overloaded 
 by just that much, and the ascent rendered more 
 difficult. Furthermore, on the litters that necessitated 
 the presence of two carriers, there had been placed 
 certain carefully closed metal boxes, which belonged to 
 jean Merrien, and concerning which he maintained an 
 obstinate silence. 
 
 The shikari Goulab showed himself no less obsti- 
 nately taciturn. Two or three times Merrien had seen 
 the pensive and searching eyes of the Indian fixed 
 upon hjs own with an odd expression, as though he 
 desired to confide to him something which he repressed 
 just at the moment of speaking. 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 127 
 
 At other times the faithful companion's glances rested 
 upon the new guide. This latter was also a taciturn 
 fellow, who was rarely intrusive. They had every 
 reason to be satisfied with his services, moreover, and 
 there had not been the slightest sign to arouse suspi- 
 cion against him. 
 
 It was evident, however, that Goulab was uneasy, 
 that Goulab was distrustful. 
 
 Now, if Goulab were distrustful, everyone ought to 
 be on his guard. Was not the Indian as reserved as 
 he was prudent ? When the ascent by way of Deorali 
 had been decided upon, the calm anxiety of the shikari 
 was abruptly transformed into agitation. 
 
 He did not care to keep his doubts to himself, and 
 this time he went to Merrien of his own accord. 
 
 ''Sahib," said he, ''perhaps you have failed to pay 
 sufficient attention to the itinerary that we are follow- 
 ing?" 
 
 "No," replied the Frenchman, "but 1 have, I know 
 not why, an inexplicable repugnance for it. I should 
 have preferred approaching Dwalagiri by its own slopes 
 at the foot of its first terraces. This Deorali route 
 seems to me good for nothing." 
 
 "Your repugnance would be explained if you knew 
 that the mountain of Nayarana is the only one exclu- 
 sively dedicated to Vishnu, while the peaks that flank 
 it are consecrated to Siva and to Kali, whose chosen seats 
 are Deorali and Barathor." 
 
 "Ah !" exclaimed Merrien, "and you who know re- 
 ligious distinctions to the core do not feel very much 
 confidence in the vicinity of mountains over which the 
 Deva of death is the uncontested sovereign ; isn't that 
 so?" 
 
128 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 "More than that," replied Goulab ; ''not only do I 
 feel no confidence in them, but I have all kinds of good 
 reasons for altogether distrusting the votaries of Siva. 
 Remember that the Dogra was one of them." 
 
 Merrien did not wish to remain in uncertainty. 
 Doing violence, in some sort, to the Indian's reserve, he 
 asked : 
 
 '' And you suspect, do you not, that this is a second 
 Ramu ? Speak frankly, and without disguise. Have I 
 understood you ? " 
 
 So speaking, he indicated by a gesture the guide 
 who was walking without a word at the head of the 
 column. 
 
 Goulab bent his head in sign of assent. Then, after 
 some final hesitation, he added : 
 
 ''The man has never been questioned. You should 
 do it in my presence. 1 can inform you at once, if 
 he lies to you." 
 
 They had come to the entrance of a prodigiously 
 narrow and somber gorge. 
 
 Sidewalls of three hundred or four hundred meters in 
 height rise like dizzy cliffs on either side of a torrent 
 whose troubled bed and foaming waters they incased. 
 
 They were about to enter this gorge without knowing 
 either its extent or its breadth. 
 
 It was natural that they should inform themselves 
 before plunging into it, for everything was to be feared 
 in that frightful passage. Beside the danger of an at- 
 tack, which would be a veritable ambuscade, there was 
 to be dreaded one of those avalanches that are so 
 frequent in the Himalayas, and which displace such 
 quantities of ice and snow, that streams scarcely two 
 meters in breadth have been seen to be transformed 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 129 
 
 in less than an hour into frightful torrents, whose sud- 
 den increase inundates the entire valley and raises the 
 water level from fifteen to twenty meters above the 
 ordinary high-water mark. 
 
 Merrien made a sign to his companions. The 
 Breton placed himself at the opening of the gorge, 
 watching the least movement on the part of the guide. 
 Then, when they had gone a hundred paces into the 
 valley, the column stopped abruptly. Dr. MacGregor, 
 who spoke a dozen Indian dialects, addressed the guide 
 quickly : 
 
 ''Boy," he commenced, "we have trusted you, 
 without asking who you are. It is right that we 
 should have fuller information." 
 
 The man gave a start. The physician had addressed 
 him in Kashmir dialect with the intonation of the 
 Pahdris. He had aimed true. The man must be a native 
 of Punjab, and of Dudputra. How came he to be here, 
 in the mountains of Nepal, so far from his native coun- 
 try ? The Pahdris pass in general for very sedentary 
 people and industrious workmen. This^ peculiarity had 
 been for some time the subject of the doctor's reflections, 
 and he had compared it with the nationality of the fii'st 
 guide, Ramu, a Rdjput Dogra ; that is to say, almost a 
 compatriot of the Pahdri. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Hindu kept his countenance and 
 replied clearly to MacGregor's very definite ques- 
 tioning : 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "Pandari." 
 
 "Your country — I mean the last city you lived in?" 
 
 " Srinagar, in Kashmir." 
 
 The physician kept silence for a moment : he appeared 
 
I30 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 to consider. Then, suddenly raising his head, he looked 
 the guide full in the face. 
 
 *'You are a professional guide?" 
 
 The man was troubled. To reply in the affirmative 
 was to give his interlocutor the right to ask him for 
 his guide's license. 
 
 Now the Pandari, coming from Srinagar by way of 
 Dras, Dehra, Almora, and Rolpah, could not, and for 
 good reason, show such a license. 
 
 ''No," he said, 'M am only an occasional guide. I 
 have crossed the passes many times, and I know the 
 country." 
 
 " Do you also know a Dogra, who is called Ramu, 
 and who was our guide as far as Gangotri ? " 
 
 The man was not disconcerted. He replied boldly, 
 ''No," without taking his eyes from those of his inter- 
 locutor. All present at this scene kept silence, not taking 
 their eyes from the group, and not knowing what 
 MacGregor was getting at. 
 
 The latter was preparing his effects. Suddenly, and 
 with apparent indifference, he let drop this very sug- 
 gestive phrase : 
 
 " Since you come from Srinagar, you must certainly 
 know two of my professional friends — Dr. Lall-Sing 
 Catterjee and his pupil Madar-Goun." 
 
 In speaking these words, the Englishman fixed so 
 sharp a gaze upon the guide that, in spite of all his power 
 of dissimulation, the latter could not hide his confusion. 
 He stammered something, and finally confessed that he 
 knew the two native physicians. 
 
 MacGregor turned toward Merrien and his companion, 
 and fearing that the Pahari would understand English, 
 he spoke in French : 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 131 
 
 '' I know now what I wanted to know," he said. 
 '' Dr. Madar-GoLin has long been known to me. He 
 is one of the worst enemies of Europeans in general, 
 and of the British influence in particular. He is strongly 
 suspected of having connection with the secret societies 
 of India and elsewhere. 1 am now very exactly in- 
 formed on his score ; and if we return from our expedi- 
 tion, 1 shall be able to furnish proofs to the Supreme 
 Court of Calcutta." 
 
 "If we return?" cried Major Plumptre. ''Why do 
 you speak thus, doctor ? " 
 
 " 1 feel absolutely certain that we have fallen into 
 a trap, and that we shall presently be attacked." 
 
 "Ho! ho!" cried the officer, "that is not at all 
 reassuring. On what grounds do you found that suppo- 
 sition?" 
 
 MacGregor rapidly explained. His entirely plausible 
 inferences rested on the double occurrence of a Sivaite 
 guide succeeding another guide of the same religion. He 
 did not conclude that all Sivaites pushed the worship of 
 the God of Death as far as the offering up of human 
 sacrifices, but the three attempts which had already been 
 made upon the column, two of which attempts had been 
 followed by the death of the victims, and the third of 
 which might have had the same termination, since they 
 had lost all trace of the little Christian Madrasi, were 
 more than sufficient to justify the inferences of the 
 physician. 
 
 He then added, designating Pandari, who had retired 
 into his fatalist silence : 
 
 "The simplest prudence commands us to shoot this 
 man at once. Nevertheless, since we cannot commit 
 homicide on mere suppositions, however probable they 
 
132 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 appear, I recommend that one or another of us keep 
 him constantly in sight. At the first alarm we will 
 blow his brains out." 
 
 ''So be it !" said Merrien ; ''but meanwhile, what 
 are we going to do, gentlemen ? " The alternative was 
 embarrassing. To beat a retreat was to recoil before a 
 menace not yet actual ; to go forward was to throw 
 one's self into the unknown, consequently to face peril. 
 
 Merrien, always wise, was the first to give counsel : 
 
 "Gentlemen, I have opposed the project of ascend- 
 ing Dwalagiri for reasons that you know. At present, on 
 the contrary, 1 am of the opinion that we should continue 
 our route for several reasons, chief among them the fact 
 that, in gaining the heights, we shall escape the pur- 
 suit of adversaries, whom the cold in itself will suffice to 
 check." 
 
 "Hurrah for Merrien!" cried Plumptre. "All right! 
 Let us climb the cliffs by the shortest way, and we 
 shall avoid a surprise in this infernal passageway." 
 
 " But will everyone be able to follow us ? " ques- 
 tioned the doctor. He indicated Miss Weldon, Goulab, 
 and the two faithful Hindus. Cicely responded, with a 
 charming gesture of indifference : 
 
 "So far as 1 am concerned, doctor, you know that 
 1 am an American." 
 
 The shikari on his part unfolded a large shawl brought 
 from Srinagar, and with a smile that was full of pride 
 he added : 
 
 " 1 know what cold is, doctor. In fact, we are old 
 acquaintances. With this I shall be able to face it 
 without fear." 
 
 The two Indians, who were devoted to their mas- 
 ters, made similar replies. • 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 133 
 
 "Then," concluded Merrien, ''there is no need for 
 hesitation. Let us retrace our steps, and try to scale 
 the cliff." 
 
 At the first sign of retreat the Pahari showed by 
 a gesture the annoyance he felt. Seeing which, the 
 major had seized his rifle and rapidly pointed its 
 muzzle at the guide. But Euzen Graec'h caught hold 
 of it, saying to the Scotchman peaceably : 
 
 " Bah ! that's useless ! don't lose your powder. I 
 will take care of this bird. He shan't fly away from 
 me, 1 swear to you." 
 
 Then, with the same placidity, he walked up to the 
 Indian, and with a hand like a pair of pincers gripped 
 Pandari's shoulder. Held in that frightful clutch, the 
 traitor dropped upon his knees, and a hoarse cry sprang 
 from his throat. 
 
 ''Come, come!" joked the ex-sailor, "don't cry yet. 
 I don't want to kill you so soon. Later on we'll see 
 about it. But for the moment, 1 only intend to spare 
 you the hardships of the journey. You ought to thank 
 me for that. Come now — whoop ! " So speaking, the 
 Breton forced the guide's arms violently backward until 
 the wrists crossed. By the aid of a slender cord he 
 bound them in such a way that the man was incapable 
 of making the least use of them. Then, lifting him as 
 a marketman would lift a bag of meal, he threw him 
 over his left shoulder. 
 
 "It is astonishing how little these Hindus weigh!" 
 exclaimed the Hercules, with a naivete that, in spite of 
 the gravity of the situation, made them all laugh. 
 
 "Are we ready?" then asked Merrien's vibrating 
 voice, as the explorer sent his glance over his troop in 
 review. He saw that all were arrayed for the march. 
 
134 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 He himself took the lead, in company with the sailor and 
 his burden. 
 
 They put Miss Weldon in the center of the column, 
 flanked by her two Yankee body-guards. Goulab, the 
 Hindus, Plumptre, and the doctor brought up the rear. 
 
 They were not more than ten minutes in regaining 
 the entrance of the gorge. Nothing occurred along the 
 dangerous defile. 
 
 "Zounds!" said the doctor. ''The Pahari has had 
 no time to warn his accomplices. Otherwise, it is not 
 credible that we should have been permitted to come 
 out alive from the infernal passage. Two or three 
 rocks detached from the overhanging cliff would have 
 been enough to lay us all out." 
 
 And the doctor pointed with his fingers to the 
 frightful height of the walls that were as smooth as 
 walls of glass or ice. 
 
 He had not finished his sentence before Merrien, 
 who was some fifty meters ahead of the troop, gave 
 an abrupt command : 
 
 "Halt!" he cried. "To arms!" 
 
 Euzen Graec'h quickly threw down the human bundle 
 with which he was encumbered. His left foot on the 
 chest of the prostrate Pandari, he had put his rifle to 
 his shoulder at the same time that Merrien did his. 
 In the twinkling of an eye the other travelers had 
 spread to the right and left, ready for skirmishing. 
 They were more than a mile from any town, on a 
 sharp and exposed crest that commanded the steep 
 cliff under which they had just passed. As far as the 
 eye could reach there was nothing to be seen but the 
 northern chain, and, to the south, the wooded slopes 
 they had climbed the day before. It was a bad place to 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 135 
 
 give battle, for it was precisely by way of the cliff that 
 the enemy was approaching. The assailants, to the 
 number of fifty or thereabouts, ran at the top of their 
 speed, to open a downward fire upon the little troop. 
 It was evident that they had expected to wait for the 
 column in the middle of the defile in order to crush 
 it, just as the doctor had foreseen. 
 
 But seeing no one coming, and warned, doubtless, 
 by scouts posted along the route, they did not wish 
 to let their prey escape. 
 
 One of them, the first to arrive at the edge of the 
 precipice, aimed rapidly at the sailor standing erect 
 upon Pandari. 
 
 He had not time to press the trigger. His arms 
 opened, letting the rifle drop into space, whither it was 
 immediately followed by the man. 
 
 The latter could be seen to turn over several times before 
 he came crashing down at the foot of the granite wall. 
 
 ''That's one!" cried Plumptre, reloading his weapon. 
 ''You were right just now, Graec'h. There was a better 
 use for the powder." 
 
 He pointed to the guide turned on his face under 
 the ex-sailor's foot, and asked : " Well, what are you 
 going to do with that one ? I think it is time to get rid 
 of him by sending him to his god." 
 
 "I think so, too," replied the Breton. 
 
 He stooped, placed his rifle on the ground, and gath- 
 ering up the miserable Pahari by the nape of the neck 
 and the thighs, he bent him over his titanic knee. This 
 he did with marvelous ease. Literally broken in two, the 
 traitor uttered a dreadful death cry. A single blow from 
 the butt-end of a rifle closed this frightful wail, crushing 
 the scoundrel's skull. 
 
136 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 It was answered by two shots from the top of the 
 cliffs. They hit no one. 
 
 *' Bunglers ! " cried Euzen, who, together with Mer- 
 rien, Goulab, and the doctor, had taken aim. 
 
 Ten of the assailants were now at the Q(\gQ o\ the 
 abyss. Four of them fell as the first had fallen. 
 
 Jean Merrien turned toward his companions. He had 
 had time to inspect the line of the heights. 
 
 ''Gentlemen," he commanded, ''we have time to 
 reach the wooded slopes, and then we shall be under 
 shelter. I will cover the retreat with the major, the 
 doctor, and Goulab. Let all the others file down the 
 side of the slope. Euzen, you take charge of the 
 heaviest of the baggage. Save the boxes. You know 
 how important they are." 
 
 That was the order of the commanding officer. 
 Everyone obeyed. In the twinkling of an eye the body 
 of the troop had cleared the crest of the plateau, gaining 
 the shelter of the forest of teaks and pines which fringed 
 the slope. Meanwhile, the four men who remained 
 behind swept the line of the cliff with their unerring 
 fire. 
 
 That done, they in their turn followed their com- 
 rades' retreat, joining them under the trees. 
 
 The skirmish had ended well, since they had sustained 
 no loss and had killed a dozen of their adversaries. 
 
 But they could no longer think of continuing the 
 ascent of Dhaulagiri, especially by the Deorali road. 
 The most elementary prudence, even, urged them to 
 regain the valleys of the Barga as soon as possible, 
 where they would find an asylum by the firesides of 
 worthy and hospitable mountaineer families. They 
 would, moreover, have To keep the closest watch, not 
 
THE ASSAILANT COULD BE SEEN TO TURN OVER SEVERAL TIMES. 
 
138 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 relaxing it in the smallest particular, especially while 
 crossing- the forests. If the trees furnished a provisional 
 shelter for the explorers, they would be of equal aid 
 to their assailants. It was a terribly difficult retreat. 
 Even though they were safe from the great flesh - 
 eating animals, and from serpents who never attain to 
 such elevations, they had still to dread buffaloes, 
 yaks, boars, and even wild elephants. 
 
 Moreover, they were obliged to find their relation to 
 the points of the compass every moment, in order not to 
 lose themselves in the depths of the woods. Frequently 
 the descent sloped suddenly at a tremendously sharp 
 angle, and there was nothing for the travelers to do but 
 to let themselves slide down on their backs ; catching 
 with their hands and feet, at the tree-trunks, at tufts of 
 brake, at anything in fact that would break their fall. 
 Sometimes the slope would cut perpendicularly across a 
 deep ravine, over a yawning gulf that did not reveal 
 itself until they had reached its dizzy rim ; many times 
 they had good reason to tremble, for it happened that 
 Morley, one of Miss Weldon's servants, descended one 
 of these treacherous banks more rapidly than he would 
 have desired. The unfortunate fellow rolled for two 
 hundred meters over the slippery grass and damp moss 
 to the very edge of a precipice giving upon a valley 
 four hundred meters below. He owed his safety en- 
 tirely to his providential encounter with an enormous 
 stump that sprang up at the point mentioned to check 
 the poor boy at the very mouth of the abyss. 
 
 Thus they were nearly eighteen hours in regaining 
 the plateau of Malebun, which they had left the evening 
 previous to their adventure in the Deorali gorges. This 
 made five more days lost, without counting the hardships 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 139 
 
 they had undergone and the dangers they had run. 
 Twice, in the course of the stages of their progress, 
 which were cruel in spite of their shortness, they had 
 been obliged to bivouac m the midst of the trees. The 
 anticipation of possible ambuscades had prevented their 
 lighting a fire, and they had suffered severely from 
 the terrible cold of the night. 
 
 In all these trials the bold adventurers, now united 
 by a friendship that was rendered firmer and closer by 
 community of suffering, were equal to the circumstances 
 and to the mission that they had undertaken. They 
 all showed a touching devotion to the courageous young 
 girl who shared their perils. They united to keep her 
 from the most severe extremities, before everything 
 else, and Cicely Weldon, moved to tears by such dis- 
 interested affection, vowed to her friends that she 
 would never forget the days of Himalayan hardships. 
 She appeared no less distressed at being in some sort a 
 hindrance to her companions, reproaching herself for 
 having imposed further toil and anxiety upon them by 
 her presence. 
 
 They finally reached the little town of Takam on the 
 Mayandi-Kola. A complete day of rest was indispensable. 
 The travelers allowed themselves this respite. 
 
 They could but congratulate themselves upon the re- 
 ception that had been given them. 
 
 Lodged in the house of the officer in charge of the 
 region, they found dry and clean mats to sleep on, and 
 healthful and abundant food at the open-air markets. 
 They had, indeed, to content themselves with the same 
 meat at every meal — that of lambs, left there by the 
 nomadic shepherds who come down from Tibet with 
 innumerable herds, the wool of which they sell at Agra, 
 
HO THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 at Delhi, at Gwalior, at Srinagar, and at Lahore, and 
 which they lead, transformed into beasts of burden, 
 laden with the products of the Anglo-Indian peninsula, 
 to supply the markets of Tibet and China. 
 
 Merrien, who had not opened his lips since the begin- 
 ning of the descent, except to give his orders for the 
 march, profited by the circumstances to interview one 
 of these shepherds, and to obtain from him at a cost of 
 sixty rupees the promise that he would abandon the 
 passes of the northwest for those of the northeast. 
 
 The travelers gained from this bargain the assurance 
 of permanent supplies, and an easy and cheap means of 
 transport for the baggage that they had, up to that time, 
 carried themselves. The nomads agreed to escort them 
 as far as the Kerang pass at the entrance to the moun- 
 tain of Chingo-pa-mari. 
 
 ^'^^ 
 
 vi:r'9y<i^''~^ 
 

 MISS WELDON GAVE THE CHIEF AN AMERICAN POLL. 
 
 IX. 
 
 A CLOUD. 
 
 From Thnkur to Gaurisankar the travelers had nearly 
 three hundred kilometers to traverse. They were obliged 
 to proceed by such stages as suited the shepherds who 
 accompanied them, twenty kilometers a day, which gave 
 them fifteen good days of marching. And at the end of 
 the time they would only have reached the foot of the 
 mountain. It was still to be climbed. Would they be 
 any better off than before for the ascent of Dhaulagiri ? 
 
 Up to this time, apart from the attack by the zeal- 
 ots on the slopes of Deorali, they had had nothing to 
 complain of on the part of either the population or the 
 authorities. The former had shown themselves at all 
 times cordial and compliant, the latter had been con- 
 spicuous by their absence, and no village chief had re- 
 newed the inquisitorial pretensions of the ''governor" of 
 
 Taklagar. But they must hold themselves ready for any 
 
 141 
 
142 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 event. The territory that they were entering upon was 
 almost entirely peopled by independent Gurkhas, and it 
 was to be feared that these wild natives, refugees from 
 Garhwal and from Kumaun, would not share the senti- 
 ments of respect and affection felt for the English by 
 their reconciled brethren. 
 
 They were soon made acquainted with the disposi- 
 tion of the inhabitants. They encountered no hostility. 
 The preceding year, in fact, the governor of Calcutta 
 had sent to Darjiling a strong detachment of Anglo- 
 Indian troops, about three thousand men with two 
 field batteries. This was at once a skillful demonstra- 
 tion, a useful exercise for the soldiers, and a most ap- 
 propriate hygienic measure. 
 
 They had chosen three battalions of the finest regi- 
 ments of India ; Sikhs, Maharatis, and Gurkhas. These 
 last had been sent apparently in order that they might 
 breathe their native air, in reality in order that in the 
 course of their mountain maneuvers they might easily 
 put themselves in touch with the populations on the 
 other side of the frontier. 
 
 Now the latter had swarmed to contemplate and ad- 
 mire the fine deportment, the martial attitude, and the 
 superb uniforms of these chosen troops during the re- 
 views and evolutions. The officers who commanded 
 them were also picked men, and if Plumptre was not of 
 their number, it was only because it is difficult to make 
 use of a cavalry officer at from three thousand to six 
 thousand meters' altitude. The good major had been 
 greatly annoyed about it, and was forever storming 
 against regulations that prevent a man from being at 
 once cavalryman and infantryman. He now abundantly 
 proved the absurdity of such regulations. 
 
A CLOUD. 143 
 
 The travelers could not but be satisfied with the 
 reception that they met with. Furthermore they passed 
 to the north of the capital, higher than the valley in 
 which Khatmandu is situated upon the two rivers 
 Baghmati and Vishnumati. The commissions with which 
 they were provided did not permit them to descend 
 into the sacred city, but from the summit line which 
 they followed they could discern in the distance in- 
 numerable pagodas, like those of the towns of Patau 
 and of Bhatgaon, situated in the beautiful valley of 
 the Newa, at the foot of the mountain of Nagarjun and 
 Omhasf. 
 
 While wondering at the diversity of the races, admir- 
 ing the vigor and warlike spirit of the Gurkhas, the 
 original elegance and literary feeling of the Newars, the 
 most ancient of the Aryans of Nepal, the explorers 
 could not restrain a pained surprise in noticing the 
 infirmity with which a considerable number of the in- 
 habitants are afflicted. In these mountainous regions, 
 in fact, as in the Alps and the Pyrenees, the goiter, 
 that hideous deformity, has spread to -such a degree 
 that it is even found among certain races of animals, 
 such as cattle, sheep, goats, even swine — animals that 
 are very well treated by the more or less fervent Bud- 
 dhists of the country. Of the three assistants of the 
 shepherd with whom the explorers had made their con- 
 tract, two were abominably goitrous. 
 
 When Cicely Weldon questioned the shepherd as to 
 the cause of this affliction, the latter responded that the 
 Pundits and the Gurkhas attributed it to the bad qual- 
 ity of the water, which was heavily charged with lime. 
 He added that an additional cause might be found in 
 the fact that the natives carry upon their heads, or 
 
144 THE LAND OF TAU/NY BEASTS. 
 
 hung over their shoulders by means of a strap fast- 
 ened in front, the heaviest kind of burdens. 
 
 Dr. MacGregor shook his head at this last allega- 
 tion. 
 
 ''No," said he, "that is not the cause of this de- 
 formity. The water certainly has a great deal to do 
 with it, but one must also consider the variations of 
 temperature, and especially the humid exhalations of the 
 ground under the scalding sun." 
 
 Another malady produced a still worse effect upon the 
 travelers. 
 
 They encountered, in bands and itinerant groups, 
 men, women, and even children, with faces corroded by 
 that horrible disease, that tuberculosis of the cutaneous 
 tissue, which receives in Europe the name of 'Mupus." 
 The contrast was a frightful one between these unfortu- 
 nate beings devoured by cancer and their surroundings, 
 these lovely valleys, these wooded and grassy slopes, 
 the marvels of the flora that belongs to the temperate 
 and torrid zones, the exquisite perfumes exhaled by 
 open corollas and fruit still hanging to the branch. 
 
 Above Bhatgaon, in a settlement occupied by the mag- 
 nificent Magyar race — ancestors, so certain ethnologists 
 say, of the modern Hungarians, who claim their founder 
 Arpad from Asia — the travelers could not contemplate 
 without agreeable surprise the successive terraces, admi- 
 rably arranged by the inhabitants upon the mountain 
 sides. And upon these terraces, in imitation of the high 
 cultivation of Darjiling and Masuri, fields of wheat 
 alternate with flourishing vines. 
 
 The shepherds who served as convoys to the little 
 column, after having shown a somewhat shy distrust, 
 now let themselves go in exuberant confidence. They 
 
A CLOUD. 145 
 
 had never crossed Nepal under such profitable conditions. 
 The white men did, indeed, pay them generously. The 
 leader of the troop confided laughingly to Goulab 
 that, with the money earned on this trip, he would buy 
 a hundred more sheep upon his arrival in Tibet. Besides 
 which, the smaller favors distributed by the Europeans 
 found them appreciative and grateful. Thus Merrien 
 gave the chief herdsman a marine glass which the lat- 
 ter had long admired. Plumptre gave his son a six- 
 barreled English revolver with fifty cartridges ; the doctor 
 divided between the two subordinates two solid Sheffield 
 knives, and two sealed boxes of kola with which to re- 
 fresh themselves after the fatigues of the journey. Finally, 
 Miss Weldon gave them for their wives some rings, 
 some bracelets, some earrings, and she gave the chief 
 an American doll with which to amuse his children — a 
 veritable masterpiece of mechanism which would long 
 command the admiration of the whole tribe, and the 
 works of which she taught the man to wind up with 
 delicacy and desirable precaution. 
 
 This Cicely Weldon was a strange and charming 
 girl. 
 
 Tall, and admirably proportioned, like nearly all her 
 compatriots; fair, but a little "burned" by her travels 
 and the open air ; with tawny golden hair, cut short ; a 
 small mischievous mouth, beautiful blue eyes that ex- 
 pressed both goodness and intelligence, she wore the 
 masculine dress with an ease that took from her none of 
 the womanly graces. 
 
 Up to that time her presence in the ranks of the little 
 company had only tightened the bonds that united the 
 different members of the expedition. Even the mystery 
 with which she was surrounded, and concerning which 
 
146 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 she had made them her confidants, contributed to make 
 this union closer. 
 
 Nevertheless, a little jealousy seemed to be springing 
 up among the members, owing to the rivalry between 
 the French habit of command of Jean Merrien, and the 
 pretensions of British pride, of which Plumptre was the 
 incarnation. The natural preference of the young Ameri- 
 can ''miss" for the leader of the expedition — whatever 
 pains she might take to divert attention from it, even to 
 dissimulate it — must needs give occasion for differences 
 between the two men, but only such as could occur 
 between gentlemen and warm-hearted men. 
 
 Fortunately, besides her truly superior intelligence, 
 Cicely was provided in the highest degree with that 
 almost infallible instinct of women, that sagacity which 
 permits them to read souls, and that delicate art which 
 allows them to pour healing balm upon the wounds of 
 love. She was pained at the idea of possible rivalry 
 between two men whose high qualities and chivalric 
 loyalty she could appreciate in one as in the other. 
 
 But it had not taken her long to establish the dif- 
 ference between the two characters. In contradiction 
 to the reputation given our countrymen by foreigners, 
 Merrien was very little of a talker. He expressed him- 
 self, on the contrary, with a terseness equal to that of 
 Graec'h the Breton, who only spoke on great occasions. 
 On the other hand, the major possessed exuberant 
 loquacity, which afforded a striking contrast to the sober, 
 measured language of his fellow-countryman. Dr. Mac- 
 Gregor, and which had given the latter occasion to ad- 
 minister many a reproof: 
 
 "My dear fellow, you are very garrulous in words, 
 but, happily, your actions have the eloquence of silence." 
 
A CLOUD. 147 
 
 Cicely could not help noticing that, since the be- 
 ginning of the campaign, Jean Merrien had become 
 more and more reserved, while, by an opposite phe- 
 nomenon, the Scotchman became more and more wordy 
 and intemperate in his language. 
 
 Furthermore, he had upon different occasions allowed 
 ironical remarks to escape him, unpleasant criticisms of 
 the direction given by Merrien to the expedition. 
 
 This tendency to bitterness between the two men 
 must then be averted at any cost. 
 
 Knowing them as she did, the young girl could 
 easily foresee that the Frenchman's patience would 
 finally give way, and that one unfortunate word would 
 be enough forever to envenom a quarrel that up to 
 this time had had no serious grounds. Already, she 
 had several times seen Jean's brows knit quickly, and 
 a gleam cross his black eyes. 
 
 Discord came near breaking out upon a very slight 
 pretext. 
 
 They had just halted at the little town of Dud- 
 kunda, on the banks of the Tomba-Kosi, after having 
 crossed the second slope of Dayabang. Nepal, in fact, 
 possesses three mountains known by the name of Deo- 
 rali, and two by that of Dayabang. 
 
 These are, besides, mythological designations which 
 are common to India. The halt had been requested by 
 the herdsmen in order to let the sheep rest a day, 
 and also because the question had come up whether 
 the herdsmen should separate at this point from their 
 companions. 
 
 The travelers found themselves together again in a 
 sort of bungalow, wretched enough, having for furniture 
 only a table and some stools upon some old mats 
 
148 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 that covered the ground. They discussed the different 
 hypotheses relative to their separation from the shep- 
 herds. 
 
 'Mt is here that we really ought to separate," said 
 Jean Merrien. "The Kerong pass is tweiity kilometers 
 to the north of the place we are in, by eighty-three 
 degrees, five minutes. That is the most direct route to 
 Thakur-guba, the residence of the Saimprupra Lama." 
 
 ''We have still another," cried Plumptre, consulting 
 the map ; ''that is the Lonkour pass. 
 
 "There is a third one," said MacGregor, "the Ibey- 
 Dong pass in the gorges of Anun." 
 
 "That one, gentlemen," resumed Merrien, " is forbid- 
 den to caravans. Goulab has just informed me that, by 
 a common decision of the Lamas and the Chinese 
 Empire, that route is exclusively reserved to pilgrims who 
 only stop at Ib'Lassa." 
 
 "Eh! what does that matter to us!" replied the 
 major crossly. "We do not have to concern ourselves 
 with the preferences of the Buddhists. If we pay our 
 people a few more rupees, they will not hesitate to 
 accompany us to the end." 
 
 "Major," intervened Cicely, "do not forget that the 
 end for us is the mountain of Mayanama." 
 
 '' All the more reason why our shepherds should ac- 
 company us. They will only be all the nearer to the 
 Ibey-Dong pass. Besides, if they are refused passage, 
 they can retrace their steps. The season is propitious, 
 the weather superb, and the shorn sheep can fatten^ 
 themselves on the fresh grass of the heights." 
 
 "1 warn you, major," said Merrien, "that they 
 have already refused this service to me, although I 
 offered them a hundred more rupees." 
 
A CLOUD. 149 
 
 The officer shrugged his shoulders, and replied in a 
 mocking tone : 
 
 '* Because you did not know how to approach them, 
 my dear sir. The French are miserable diplomats. I 
 will take the responsibility of deciding these people." 
 
 They separated upon this bitter-sweet remark ; Plump- 
 tre going straightway to win the herdsmen over to his 
 side. 
 
 When he was seen returning, however, with a 
 lengthened face and discomfited air, no one thought of 
 making fun of his failure. 
 
 ''Zounds!" he cried violently, "it is your fault, 
 Merrien. You should have warned me that they had 
 already concluded a bargain with you. At my first 
 overture they immediately replied that all the money 
 in the world could not make them go as far as Ibatia, 
 that is to say, as far as the Ibey-Dong pass, because 
 all the money in the world would avail them nothing 
 if the Chinese should impale them. They added that 
 they had, moreover, promised Sahib Merrien to carry 
 our baggage to the passes of Lonkour or-Tinki-la." 
 
 ''My dear major," replied the Frenchman, without 
 bitterness, " you did not give me time to tell you. 
 You seemed so sure of your negotiations that 1 should 
 have shown a very bad grace to try to turn you from 
 them." 
 
 "It is a service that you should have rendered me, 
 my dear sir," said the irascible Scotchman. "1 do not 
 like to be ridiculous." 
 
 "Nor to be contradicted, it appears. So much the 
 worse for you. It is easier to direct one's self than others." 
 
 So saying, the Frenchman turned his back impatiently 
 upon his interlocutor, who suddenly became very rel 
 
I50 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Miss Weldon saw the impending menace, just ready 
 to break forth. 
 
 She rose, and in a voice that was moved with sor- 
 row, she said : 
 
 ''Come, gentlemen, we have been nothing but friends 
 up to to-day. Shall such a puerile incident bring 
 trouble among us ? " 
 
 The two men bowed respectfully before the young 
 girl, but drew apart from one another, without saying a 
 word. 
 
 Cicely comprehended that the situation was too 
 strained. She went and shut herself up in the room 
 that had been reserved for her in the center of the 
 wretched caravansary. She passed the rest of the day in 
 making up her notes, and in writing. 
 
 The night passed without incident. But on the mor- 
 row there was profound astonishment among the travel- 
 ers at the disappearance of Cicely and her two Yankees. 
 
 A letter which the girl had left enlightened them as 
 to her unexpected absence. 
 
 Miss Weldon had taken the thing lightly. She chaffed 
 her traveling companions gayly : 
 
 My Dear Friends : 
 
 Your trifling difference of yesterday came just in time to remind 
 me that you are at the same time my rivals. As I know that 
 you would not let me leave you, on account of apprehensions of 
 a feminine victory over your manly strength, I am playing you 
 the trick of being the first to remind myself of your wager. 
 
 Consequently I am leaving you to take the trouble of having my 
 baggage carried by these good shepherds. I abandon it to you, if 
 necessary, and I take the lead on the road to Gaurisankar. The 
 American flag will there precede all others, and there you will be 
 welcomed by it. But while warning you that I shall have four or 
 
A .CLOUD. 151 
 
 five leagues the start of you at the time that you will read this 
 epistle, 1 do not wish to be treacherous to you, and will inform 
 you that I shall go directly by the Dudkunda road to Pangmo. 
 
 Your devoted, 
 
 Cicely Weldon. 
 
 She had done as she said. Convinced that the only 
 way to restore concord between the two men was to 
 remove from them all pretext for rivalry, even cour- 
 teous rivalry, the brave young girl had resolved to hasten 
 her march toward the desired summit. 
 
 She had warned her two American body-guards to 
 hold themselves in readiness tg set out that very night. 
 All three had rapidly sorted out the things most nec- 
 essary to their immediate needs, and had put them in 
 three knapsacks. Then, provided with their rifles and 
 necessary ammunition, they plunged resolutely into the 
 darkness and the perils of an unknown mountain road. 
 
 On receiving this singular missive, the Frenchman 
 and the Englishman looked at one another with em- 
 barrassment, almost with consternation. 
 
 ''These women ! They're all alike !" cried MacGregor, 
 with a significant shrug of the shoulders: ''creatures 
 of nerves and emotions. Ont never knows what they 
 are thinking ; one can never foresee what they will do. 
 Here we are all upset on account of this crazy girl." 
 
 The major appeared deeply moved. He approached 
 Merrien, and extended his hand spontaneously. 
 
 "My dear friend," he said, "I was wrong yesterday, 
 and at other times, as well. 1 can but excuse myself 1 
 feel great affection for Miss Weldon, and 1 was jealous 
 of you. There, my confession is made ! At present, 1 
 think the most important thing is to rejoin her, and 
 bring her aid and succor." 
 
152 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 The Frenchman -responded warmly to the pressure of 
 his noble rivaFs hand. He said : 
 
 '' 1 agree with you, Major Plumptre, and I think that 
 you are the most loyal and generous man that 1 know." 
 
 ''Well!" said the Englishman, "then let us lose no 
 time in advancing upon the Pangmo road." 
 
 Without being able to explain it the two men felt 
 simultaneously a sinister presentiment. The recollection 
 of the dangers they had run since the commencement 
 of the expedition, and just recently in the abortive at- 
 tempt to scale Dhauldgiri, justified them in their dread 
 of new ambuscades. They were, no doubt, reassured 
 by the thought, that this time they were no longer at 
 the mercy of a guide bought or acquired by the fero- 
 cious worshipers of Sivd ; there was no doubt that the 
 herdsmen to whom they had intrusted the. care of 
 their baggage, to whom they had confided the task of 
 piloting them across this mountain-covered country, had 
 merited all their confidence. But, after all, they were in 
 an unknown region, they frequently crossed enormous 
 desert places, ten and fifteen miles square, with no sign 
 of habitation or cultivation ; they could make no profes- 
 sion of Christian faith among natives belonging to all 
 the sects of India, especially to Buddhism and Brah- 
 man ism. 
 
 They had been able, in spite of the proverbial hos- 
 pitality of the mountaineers, to estimate correctly the 
 repulsion with which the white men inspired nearly 
 all the peoples of Nepal. At Naokot, to the west of 
 Khatmandu, they had come very near being obliged 
 by the governor of the place, more annoying than the 
 one at Taklagar, to descend again to the south ; per- 
 haps even to have the permits vested with the seal oi 
 
THE MAJOR EXTKNDED HIS HAND TO MERRIEN. 
 
154 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 the Bengal Presidency indorsed at the. capital. The 
 major was obliged to show his teeth, which were very 
 sharp, and to express himself in forcibly concise language 
 on the subject of the rights due to the boundless power 
 of England. This haughty, almost threatening attitude 
 finally compelled respect on the part of the functionary 
 for the privileges of Great Britain. 
 
 There was no room for doubt that at Pangmo, the 
 young American would find herself confronted by just 
 as difficult, and perhaps even more vexatious exactions. 
 And what redoubled the anxiety of the travelers was 
 the discovery that Cicely had forgotten to take with 
 her her personal commission, which also covered her 
 two attendants. They, therefore, hastened their progress 
 along a route as difficult as one can conceive a road 
 to be that is no wider than a footpath, and that rises 
 and falls with the ridges ; thus rendering the journey 
 very fatiguing, and lengthening it to a disheartening 
 degree. They had left their baggage in the hands of 
 the shepherds, knowing very well that if the Nepalese 
 and Tibetan mountaineers had been able to accomplish 
 the trick of utilizing the sheep as beasts of burden, 
 they had not, on the other hand, been able to learn 
 the discipline which would keep them from wandering 
 in every direction, nor to rid themselves of that strange 
 spirit of imitation that Panurge observed in them. 
 
 In order to secure the safety of the transports, they 
 left the guardianship of them to Dr. MacGregor and the 
 two Hindus, while Merrien, Plumptre, Graec'h the Breton, 
 and Goulab, hastened, at forced march, to seek the young 
 girl. 
 
 From time to time, worn with fatigue, the little troop 
 called a halt at some propitious spot. The country had 
 
A CLOUD. 155 
 
 a somewhat wild but singularly rich beauty. Fixing his 
 eyes upon the double chain of moderately high summits 
 that separate Dud-Kosi from Tomba-Kosi, Merrien could 
 not but regret that this fertile region should lie fallow, 
 literally abandoned by the colonists. 
 
 ''Verily, Plumptre," said he, ''this country is a 
 perfect paradise. We are marching across an enchanted 
 landscape, intoxicated by the fragrance of flowers and 
 fruits. Nevertheless, there is no cultivation to make the 
 ground fruitful, and its products are owing only to the 
 lavishness with which Providence has endowed it." 
 
 The Scotchman shook his head, then replied very 
 gravely : 
 
 " It is somewhat the custom in France to decry 
 England. Nevertheless, by what you have already 
 seen, by what you are still seeing, you must acknowl- 
 edge to yourself the service that England renders to 
 humanity. If the south of Nepal is repopulated, if 
 agriculture again flourishes, if the mountaineers are 
 growing gentler, if the Gurkhas are crossing the fron- 
 tier to enlist in India, and, their time ,once up, bring 
 back to their country the idea of civilization, is it not 
 to contact with England that all this progress is due ? 
 It must be remembered that the mountains which are 
 a barrier between us and the stationary world of 
 China have nevertheless afforded passage to the Chinese 
 troops, and if the region that we are passing through 
 astonishes you by its solitude, it is only because it 
 has been the scene of bloody wars, and terrible dev- 
 astation. A hundred years ago the Gurkhas were 
 vanquished by the Tibetans and the Chinese combined, 
 who took possession of Kerong, of Dudkunda, and of 
 Naokot. Since that time the valleys of the seven Kosi 
 
156 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 have been almost abandoned. If England takes possession 
 of Nepal, richness and joy will again spring up in these 
 districts." 
 
 "To the great profit of Old England, is it not?" re- 
 torted Merrien gayly ; "and you will create sanitariums 
 on the slopes of Yassa, of Goussainthan, of Mayanama, 
 and of Mergui, while the Russians, weary of Siberian 
 cold, will come to take a sun bath, facing you upon the 
 southern slopes of the Kara-Koram, and Kuenlun ranges." 
 
 "The Russians ! " exclaimed the officer, with equal 
 gayety. "1 hold them of no more account than a Euro- 
 pean gean [choke-cherry] compared to a Khatmandu 
 cherry." 
 
 They were chatting thus on terms of the most jovial 
 cordiality when suddenly piercing cries attracted their 
 attention. 
 
 They had traveled a dozen kilometers from the point 
 of departure. The road, although in disrepair, was now 
 straight and fine, continually swept by the mountain 
 winds. It now extended in a natural embankment 
 between the two valleys, covered to the north by the 
 enormous mass of Goussainthan, rising imperceptibly at 
 the east toward Mayanama, across the snows from which 
 no human eye has yet been able to discern that king of 
 giants, the Chingo-pa-mari of the Tibetans, the Gaurisan- 
 kar of the Nepalese, the Everest of the English. From 
 the center of a confused mass of monstrous excres- 
 cences, some rounded like a dome, others cut horizontally 
 across like Table Mountain of the Cape of Good Hope, 
 rise a dozen white heads in such a way as to appear 
 welded all together. 
 
 There was the unknown one — the goal toward which 
 they tended ; the mysterious mountain that scholars have 
 
A CLOUD. 157 
 
 measured from the Indian plains, but whose exact posi- 
 tion no white man, no Hindu pundit, has been able to 
 determine in the chaos of eruptive rocks, in the midst 
 of the giants that surround it as if they would hide it 
 from sacrilegious gaze. 
 
 Now, on the road, about two kilometers down, a 
 human figure was moving, running toward the travelers. 
 The wind which blew from the east had carried its cries 
 across the majestic silence of the peaks. As yet, neither 
 the features nor the ethnological characteristics of the 
 person could be distinguished, but, thanks to the marvel- 
 ous clearness of the atmosphere he was recognized to 
 be an Indian. Who was this man, and what did he 
 want ? They were soon to be informed. 
 
 The man continuing to run, and the explorers hasten- 
 ing toward him, it was not more than ten minutes before 
 they met. The newcomer had torn garments, a body 
 covered with scars, and bloody feet. He was exhausted 
 by a long run, and his lips had scarcely uttered the 
 word, ''Sahibs," when he gave out, and fell unconscious 
 into the arms of Euzen Graec'h. 
 
 ''Thunder!" cried the sailor, in the utmost surprise. 
 " I know that face. It is Miss Weldon's little Madrasi. 
 So ! the little fellow isn't dead, then ! " 
 

 THE THREE RIFLES THREATENED THE ASSAILANTS. 
 
 X. 
 
 BLOCKADED. 
 
 The first moment of stupefaction having passed, and' 
 each having convinced himself that the Breton was not 
 the victim of an hallucination, they hastened to lavish 
 their care on the poor child. There was the utmost need 
 to revive him, to restore him, and to hear the communi- 
 cations he was about to make to the travelers. 
 
 Energetic rubbing, and some drops of rum poured 
 with difficulty between his teeth, brought him to his 
 senses. But it was some time yet before the little 
 Madrasi could recover the use of his tongue. Although 
 his face was drawn with pain, his eyes filled with 
 tears at his sense of powerlessness to express himself, 
 and his gestures, more eloquent than explicit, urged the 
 Europeans on to the northward. Finally, disconnected- 
 words sprang from his oppressed bosom. 
 
 158 
 
BLOCKADED. 159 
 
 '' Living ! Ramu ! Weldon ! Quick to his rescue I 
 Attacked in the mountain ! " 
 
 That was enough to reveal to the four men the 
 general import of what he had to say. But in order 
 to avoid a misdirected course, and fresh loss of time, 
 Merrien imposed silence upon Christi's confused demon- 
 strations, and questioned him methodically : 
 
 ''You were Ramu's prisoner, weren't you?" 
 
 '^Yes." 
 
 ''You met Weldon and his two companions?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " But, at the same time, Ramu and his men have 
 attacked them ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And you, you escaped to warn us?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Very well," concluded the Frenchman. "We have 
 not an instant to lose. But we must know where to 
 find our imprudent companion." 
 
 The little Madras! comprehended the question put 
 to him by the eyes of the explorer. He extended his 
 hand toward the road, and said in English : 
 
 "Three miles — three miles — about five and a half 
 kilometers ! " 
 
 Then Plumptre reached him his gourd, and two or 
 three biscuits, also a leaf of his memorandum book on 
 which he had hastily scribbled some words. Laying 
 him down on the slope of the road in the shade of a 
 bunch of cypress trees, he told him to await the pass- 
 ing of the troop, which would not be long delayed. He 
 would find Dr. MacGregor, in company with his two 
 Hindus and the herdsmen. The child moved his head 
 in assent. He smiled to reassure his friends as to his 
 
i6o THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 condition, and commenced to bite vigorously into the 
 
 biscuit. The three Europeans and Goulab, loaded 
 
 rifle in hand, were already climbing the slope with 
 athletic step. 
 
 This is what had happened. 
 
 Enchanted with her bright idea, which was an 
 amusing piece of mischief, Cicely Weldon had meant 
 to carry out her escapade, and put as great a distance 
 as possible between herself and her companions. 
 
 The night was superb, lighted by a moon which 
 sent into strong relief ihe slightest projections of the 
 rocks. No surprise, no ambush, was to be feared under 
 this marvelous radiance. 
 
 So the little group rapidly gained ground in the 
 direction of Pangmo, a most wretched village, where 
 they arrived at daybreak. 
 
 Pangmo contained barely two or three hundred in- 
 habitants, living in the depths of wretched hovels. It 
 was a degraded, ferocious, but cowardly population, 
 which did not attempt any attack upon resolute people, 
 unless the assailants were in the proportion of twenty 
 to one. 
 
 The perpetual raids of the Gurkhas and other warrior 
 tribes of Nepal have gradually decimated and reduced 
 this degenerate Metch branch, formerly celebrated for 
 the beauty of its women, in whom they now carry 
 on a business, selling them as servants or odalisks in 
 all the markets of Tibet, and northern India. 
 
 Fortune favored Weldon and her men ; entirely 
 ignorant of this peculiarity, they passed through the 
 larger part of the settlement under cover of an ob- 
 scurity dense enough to disguise their costumes and 
 
BLOCKADED. i6i 
 
 their personality. Moreover, very few of the women 
 who are the slaves, or rather the beasts of burden of 
 their husbands, had commenced household labor at that 
 early hour. 
 
 A mile further up, the travelers met some ragged 
 children, who fled at their approach, uttering loud cries. 
 
 Then, from the hollow of a valley, they saw first some 
 heads emerge which hastened to conceal themselves. But 
 further on the heads showed themselves in greater num- 
 bers, making a hostile clamor. 
 
 Disconcerted for a moment. Cicely at once compre- 
 hended that she must let nothing appear of her anxiety, 
 and that the best way to force respect from the evil-dis- 
 posed was boldly to pursue her onward march. 
 
 Unfortunately, the light in the sky was spreading, and 
 it was impossible for the three companions to disguise 
 the smallness of their number. 
 
 Suddenly, at a turn in the road, a herd of furious 
 people sprang up, brandishing rifles and sabers, and 
 threw themselves in front of the three travelers with such 
 evidently threatening intentions that Cicely stopped and 
 took aim with her carbine. 
 
 "Ah!" said she, speaking to her nearest neighbor, 
 the Yankee of German descent, " these are not people 
 of this country. 1 recognize our Deorali assassins. 
 And they even have with them our old acquaintance, 
 that rascal Ramu." 
 
 The two Americans had imitated their companion's 
 action. The three extended guns threatened the assail- 
 ants. 
 
 But what could two men and a woman— three men, 
 in the eyes of their adversaries — do against fifty fanatics 
 animated by the worst possible intentions ! With their 
 
1 62 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 backs to a perpendicular wall, they were exposed to the 
 fire of their enemies, however little these might make use 
 of their arms. 
 
 One circumstance was a protection to them : They 
 had to do with the worshipers of the Fire God, with 
 religious murderers, with the sect of the Thugs, or 
 stranglers ; in whose eyes the act of slaying a human 
 being had no true merit unless it were accomplished 
 without bloodshed, or at least without blood being spilled 
 at their hands. Thus were explained the previous 
 crimes accomplished by Ramu : the death of Gourap-Sing, 
 thrust by him between the teeth of the daboias ; that 
 of the Mussulman saved by Dr. MacGregor's care, and 
 succumbing, when they believed him to be healed, to 
 the poisoning of his wounds with the juice of euphor- 
 bia, or upas. 
 
 With such adversaries they could defend them- 
 selves, if they could keep them at a distance. Still there 
 was reason to fear that rather than let their victims live, 
 and moved by the spirit of self-preservation, the odious 
 bandits would not hesitate to have recourse to the 
 blade and the bullet. 
 
 In a few moments the restless eye of the American 
 Morley, examining the smooth walls which rose behind 
 him, had discovered a sort of fissure between the 
 rocks. About this fissure one could see a heap of 
 rocks forming a rough staircase, and there was a precious 
 shelter for people in such a critical situation. He rapidly 
 pointed it out to Cicely, saying : 
 
 '' Miss Weldon, let us try to reach that corner. There 
 we shall be covered, and shall be able to fire from there 
 at our ease." 
 
 The young girl acquiesced in this project ; marching 
 
BLOCKADED. i6 
 
 o 
 
 in single file the length of the wall, without taking their 
 eyes from their enemies, all three endeavored to reach 
 this protecting cliff. As if they had guessed their inten- 
 tions, the Thugs scattered to the sides of the road, not 
 quickly enough, however, for three among them, struck 
 by avenging balls, fell prostrate in the road. 
 
 Some sixty meters separated the fissure from the 
 three. With quiet devotion the two men both at once 
 declared to Cicely their intention of saving her first. 
 The latter then ran to the fissure, while her acolytes, 
 watching the line of the ridge, used their arms with 
 effect, bringing down two new assailants. None of them 
 had been able to foresee the trap that was set for 
 them, for while they were trying to gain the shelter, 
 the infernal scoundrel of a Ramu had been laying new 
 plans. Quicker than lightning, two of the Durga-Kali, 
 entirely naked and anointed with that kind of grease 
 which renders them as slippery as serpents, had scaled 
 the wall, rounded the fissure, and squatted down, silk 
 handkerchief in hand, gag between the teeth, crouched 
 like tigers ready to spring. 
 
 Just as Miss Weldon, looking straight ahead of her, 
 took refuge in the protecting cranny, two nervous 
 arms suddenly encircled her. A hand was placed upon 
 her mouth, stifling her cries, and a running noose 
 tightened about her neck. 
 
 Cicely felt herself lost. One moment of prayer in 
 her heart and upon her lips, and she fell swooning. 
 One of the assassins, leaning over her, laughed in tri- 
 umph, and taking the ends of the handkerchief passed 
 between them a fine steel bar, designed to act as a 
 lever to break the cervical vertebras, which renders 
 death inevitable. But at the same moment some- 
 
1 64 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 thing unexpected happened — miraculous succor inter- 
 vened. 
 
 While the two Hindus, leaning over their victim, 
 prepared to consummate their crime, a third Indian 
 glided from behind them. This one seemed to fall from 
 the perpendicular wall. He held in his hand something 
 brilliant and sharp, a Malay kris with a flat blade 
 grooved on the under side. 
 
 The newcomer gave one bound. His knees rested 
 on the back and shoulders of the Thug, and his kris 
 buried itself in the bandit's neck. The man fell dead 
 upon the body of the unconscious Cicely. His accom- 
 plice, surprised by this attack, and seeing the kris raised 
 above his head, evaded the blow and leaped in terror 
 out from the cranny upon the road. He had, how- 
 ever, only jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire. 
 He had literally thrown himself into Knebel's arms. 
 With a single blow of the butt-end of his rifle, the 
 sturdy American crushed the bandit's skull, and wild with 
 rage over the unconscious body of his young mistress, 
 he was also about to kill her savior, but the latter 
 sprang in front of him and seized his upraised arm, crying : 
 
 '' Knebel, no kill me! Me, Christi, no dead. No 
 dead. Sahib Weldon. Me kill Thug. He living." 
 
 The Yankee gave a cry of joy, and embraced the 
 brave little Madrasi. Then, aided by his companion, who 
 had just reached the shelter, they carried Cicely to a 
 cleft in the rocks, where the young girl, already freed 
 from her bonds by Christi, finally recovered her breath 
 and her consciousness. 
 
 As soon as she arose she warmly thanked the brave 
 child whose intervention had just snatched her from 
 death. 
 
CICELY KKI.T THAT SHE WAS LOST. 
 
1 66 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 But Christi was uneasy. With a brevity necessitated 
 by the circumstances he explained himself to his com- 
 panions. 
 
 Some twenty meters above them there was a terrace 
 backed by the mountain. It was reached by the staircase 
 of rocks. Once there, the travelers would be for the 
 moment sheltered. They would command and be able 
 to watch all the movements of their adversaries. As for 
 him, he would go back to the road by a detour in order 
 to notify the rest of the column to come as quickly as 
 possible. He would explain to them later the miracle 
 of this resurrection when they should have time for 
 explanations. 
 
 Every bit of him moved. His eyes, his mouth, his 
 gestures, all spoke at once. 
 
 The Americans saw that his advice was excellent, and, 
 letting themselves be guided by him, they reached the 
 bluff referred to. He, then, without waiting for details, 
 ran along the ridge, and the next moment his three com- 
 panions could see him running at the top of his speed 
 beyond the most distant huts of Pangmo. 
 
 As the child had said, they were provisionally out of 
 danger. Behind them the mountain rose in a perpendicu- 
 lar wall of gneiss and mica schist, to a height of about 
 three hundred meters, a single peak beyond which dipped 
 the valley of the Tomba-Kosi. At their feet the road 
 unfurled itself like a ribbon. Beyond were the wooded 
 banks of the Dud-Kosi. What was going to become of 
 them upon this shelf twenty meters in height ? If they 
 could see their enemies, and anticipate treachery, they 
 were none the less spied upon themselves. From time 
 to time a brown head, a white spot of drapery, was 
 seen between the rocks and trees. There was no possi- 
 
BLOCKADED. 167 
 
 bility of doubt that the aggressors would not risk an 
 attack in broad daylight, and even by night such an 
 attempt on their part would be extremely perilous. 
 
 But if they were insured against the malignity of 
 men, they were by no means so much so against the 
 different danger of a siege. 
 
 For it was a veritable siege that they were about 
 to undergo, and with no resources against the most ter- 
 rible of possibilities, the point of death by hunger and 
 thirst. 
 
 Cicely and her two companions, counting on the 
 speedy arrival of Merrien and Plumptre, had brought 
 nothing in their knapsacks but some biscuits, some 
 chocolate tablets and kola wafers. If they were not 
 promptly supplied with rations, they were condemned 
 to die there on that bracket of stone, after suffering 
 the most atrocious torture, unless they ventured a des- 
 perate sortie through the ranks of assassins. Now, by 
 this time the Sivaites were no longer alone. They had 
 seen their number rapidly increase with all the contrasts 
 furnished by the savage Buddhists of Pangmo. These 
 wild Metchmen, without professing the murderous creed 
 of the worshipers of the God of Death, had, neverthe- 
 less a way of their own of eluding the precepts of 
 Kakya-Muni, who forbids the spilling of blood. 
 
 Like the Burmanese of Akyab and of Mandalay, they 
 neither crushed spiders nor venomous Hies ; they drove 
 the cobra di capello and the " Belougas " of their 
 gardens into those of their neighbors in order not to 
 violate the sacred prohibition ; but they killed their fei- 
 low-men with blows of club or sandbag; they buried 
 them alive up to the neck, smearing their faces with 
 honey. 
 
1 68 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 A hundred of these brutes had just joined Ramu's 
 desperados, and it was possible that they, relying upon 
 their number, would together attempt an assault upon 
 the intrenchment. For three mortal hours the besieged 
 endured that frightful suspense. Each of them ap- 
 proached the crest in turn, and looked over the border 
 of rocks the better to perceive the disposition of the enemy. 
 
 Gun in hand, ready to bring down the first venture- 
 some spirit that should attempt the stairway, Cicely 
 and her attendants maintained an immobility that ren- 
 dered them safe from discovery, while they were pre- 
 served from the possible fire of the assailants by the 
 broken rocks which formed a rampart for them. 
 
 Suddenly a murmur, proceeding from the foot of the 
 terrace, warned them that an assault was about to com- 
 mence. 
 
 They ran to the wall of rocks, and could see twenty 
 Metch leaping like monkeys along the projections of 
 the abyss. A dozen had sprung upon the outthrow of 
 rock, and were running rapidly. 
 
 ''Attention !" cried Morley. ''We have not a ball to 
 lose. Aim well, and, as far as possible, in the midst of 
 them." 
 
 "Yes," added his comrade, "but let the first of them 
 pass, we can dispose of them later." 
 
 He was right. In the fury of the attack the ban- 
 dits got in one another's way. Four of them took the 
 lead. Six others piled on to the short ladder, mutually 
 helping each other. 
 
 It was the second group that was made a target 
 of The discharge produced an astonishing effect. 
 
 All were struck by the terrible Remington balls ; 
 four fell dead on the spot. 
 
BLOCKADED. 169 
 
 The two men who brought up the rear fled pre- 
 cipitately, and the besieged had only to shoot at short 
 range the four bold leaders who had so imprudently ad- 
 vanced. Unhappily two balls missed their aim, and one 
 of the robust Yankees was obliged to throw himself 
 upon the ladder in order to beat one of the two 
 fugitives to death with the butt of his rifle. 
 
 "Three and four, seven, and two are nine," counted 
 the Irish-American philosophically. ''Three apiece. 
 That is a fine beginning. If they continue in this way 
 we shall massacre them in detail down to the last 
 one, provided that " 
 
 "Provided that— what ? " asked Cicely, alarmed by 
 her brave companion's anxious intonation. 
 
 "Provided that our ammunition does not give out, 
 for there are more than a hundred and thirty of them 
 in all." They went back behind the barrier of fallen 
 rocks, and commenced to count their cartridges. 
 
 " I have twenty," said Knebel, " leaving a hundred 
 and ten in round numbers." 
 
 "I— forty," seconded Morley, "leaving seventy if 
 there are no hitches. And you, miss ? " 
 
 "Only twenty-two," said the young girl in a tone 
 of profound discouragement. 
 
 " Leaving forty-eight. That is rather too many. 
 Let us say thirty, if we count on our revolvers. That 
 is still too many." 
 
 They had not finished their examination, when 
 frightful cries rang out. Seized with a veritable craze 
 for murder, the brigands returned to the charge. But 
 this time they all ran to it, and in a few moments 
 the side of the hill was covered with spots of black 
 and white. 
 
I70 THE LAND OF TAU/NY BEASTS. 
 
 ''I believe we are lost," said Cicely, her voice 
 trembling a little. 
 
 And turning to her friends, she added with great 
 firmness this time : '' Remember your promise. A ball 
 more or less will not alter our fate. And you know 
 that 1 will not shrink. There," said she, putting her 
 hand back of her head, ''there, where the white silk 
 turban does not protect the neck." 
 
 "Yes, miss!" said the German, in a sorrowful voice, 
 with a sob contracting his throat. 
 
 ''Come, now for a volley!" commanded the brave 
 girl. But what was this single fire against such a mass 
 of assailants. Already more than twenty menacing 
 arms were seizing the edges of the rocks, and hideous 
 faces, grinning with joy at the thought of the mas- 
 sacre, were rising above the barrier. 
 
 Suddenly four shots coming from the road were 
 repeated with unspeakable power by the echo of the 
 peaks. 
 
 "God be praised!" cried Cicely piously. "Here 
 come our friends ! " 
 
 They ran to their observatory, from which the alarmed 
 assailants were letting themselves drop to the lower 
 rocks, and they were able to contemplate a striking 
 spectacle, well calculated to explain the panic of the 
 copper-faced rascals. 
 
 Merrien, Plumptre, Graec'h, and Goulab had not stopped 
 running since the moment of their meeting with little 
 Christi. 
 
 It was at this precipitous pace that they had come 
 through the village of Pangmo, from which the men had 
 gone forth to give assistance to the stranglers, or to 
 share in the spoils. 
 
BLOCKADED. 171 
 
 Women alone were left in the viHage. 
 
 At the sight of these armed white men, who wore a 
 terrible aspect in their rage, they hurriedly entered their 
 dwellings, where they barricaded themselves as well as 
 they could. 
 
 Certainly none of the four travelers thought of dis- 
 turbing them ; they had too much to do elsewhere in 
 the mountain. 
 
 They arrived at the precise moment when the band 
 were rushing to a general assault. 
 
 Then it was that from the height of their intrench- 
 ment, the besieged heard four rifle-shots, immediately 
 followed by a formidable discharge, of which each shot 
 made frightful ravages among the enemy. 
 
 These, territled, abandoned the attack, and fled in 
 every direction. 
 
 ''To the rocks!" cried Plumptre, with the voice of 
 command that he knew how to assume at the head of 
 his squadron. 
 
 In a few bounds the new arrivals were in the melee. 
 
 Without reloading, using saber, ax, or ritle-butt, 
 they cleared their way. It was more especially Euzen 
 Graec'h who accomplished this formidable task. His 
 quasi-superhuman strength served to disperse the enemy 
 even more by the fear it caused than by its own per- 
 formance. He was no longer a man, but a sort of god 
 rushing with full strength upon this herd of brutes, 
 hewing off heads and arms with his ax, from which the 
 blood streamed down his arms, upon his garments, 
 transfigured by that bloody rain, and appearing to the 
 slaughterers, petrified by their terror, only under the as- 
 pect with which their imaginations invested their own 
 divinity, the sinister God of Death. 
 
172 THE LAND OF TA[VNY BEASTS. 
 
 And behind him Goulab, full of admiration for this 
 incomparable power, did not cease crying out to, the 
 Sivaites crazed by their terror : 
 
 "This is Rama, newly incarnated, who is come to 
 punish the crimes of the impious ! It is Vishnu, who 
 remembers his enemies ! " 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye the vicinity of the rocky 
 stairway was cleared, and the four newcomers climbed 
 up to join their companions. 
 
 "Ah!" cried Merrien, much moved, pressing Cicely's 
 hands. "Thank God, we arrived in time!" 
 
 "And above all," added Plumptre almost gayly, 
 "do not undertake any more escapades to punish us 
 for wrangling in your presence. Such experiences cost 
 too dear ! What would have become of us if we had 
 not found you living ? " 
 
 The first demonstrations over, they began to think 
 of dividing the task of protection and surveillance. The 
 enemy had just received too rough a lesson to dare 
 risk a fresh attack so soon. They had prudently taken 
 refuge on the other side of the road, under shelter of 
 the trees which cover the Dud-Kosi slope. But it was 
 evident that they had not lost all hope of renewing 
 the onslaught with a prospect of success. 
 
 "We have, indeed, killed or wounded from twenty- 
 five to thirty men," said Goulab; "that is a fifth of 
 their effective force," 
 
 " Even add to that the fourteen that we brought 
 down before your arrival," said Cicley, "and you will 
 see that there are still at least a hundred." 
 
 "No matter!" replied the shikari, laughing, "so long 
 as they see Sahib Graec'h they will not dare return." 
 And the brave hunter contemplated in amazement the 
 
BLOCKADED. 1 72> 
 
 taciturn and modest Breton, who only complained of 
 one thing— of not having water at hand to wash his 
 arms, his face, and his garments, splashed with the 
 blood of the bandits. 
 
 ''Those rascals," he grumbled, "are as swollen with 
 venom and as soft as vermin. Their brains burst out like 
 fire-crackers, and as to their arms, it is shameful, they do 
 not stick to their shoulders. At every blow I took one off." 
 
 Everyone, in spite of the gravity of the situation, 
 broke out laughing at this sally. Goulab, who had 
 just given himself over to worship of the sailor, sud- 
 denly approached him, with an hilarious aspect, and 
 with joy in his eyes. He said to him : 
 
 "Sahib Graec'h, you are looking for water. There 
 is certainly some in the rock. It will only be neces- 
 sary to break it a little, and you will see." And he 
 indicated in the perpendicular wall back of them a 
 sort of vein, grayish red in color, and very glittering. 
 
 Putting the hand upon it one felt the humidity in 
 it. There must be under the coating of mica schist 
 and silex an abundant ooze due to the penetration of 
 the snow accumulated on the summit, and descended 
 therefrom as in a Paris or London conduit. "Well!" 
 cried the major, "if we are condemned to die of hunger 
 upon this ledge, at least we shall not die of thirst." 
 
 Immediately axes and cutlasses came into play. But 
 only for the purpose of breaking the wall. 
 
 The herculean arm of Euzen soon caused the vein 
 to bleed as he had recently made the bodies of the 
 Sivaites to bleed. A stream, troubled and yellow at 
 first, soon clear and limpid, of exquisite flavor and cool- 
 ness, poured out of the hole, and a thread of crystal 
 commenced to run regularly and uninterruptedly. 
 
174 
 
 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Good luck!" said Merrien, in high spirits. "There 
 are no microbes in that, as in the water of the Seine 
 that my Parisian countrymen are having." 
 
 *' Humph!" said Piumptre, in the same tone, 'Mf 
 the microbes are not in the water, they are not very 
 far from it ; and without speaking of the villainous beasts 
 who are in the surrounding woods, the sun will take 
 care to draw bacilli from all the blackguards whom we 
 have sent to the devil." 
 
 This speech, in spite of its gayety, recalled the trav- 
 elers to the discomforts of their situation. It was not a 
 cheerful one. There were seven of them, and the sup- 
 plies that the latest comers had brought with them 
 would sustain them for two days, or three at most. 
 Furthermore, they had neither tents nor coverings, nor 
 utensils of any sort, and after having suffered the in- 
 tense heat of the sun by day, they would have to 
 undergo by night the terrible variations of temperature 
 that render ascents so fatal. 
 
 Goulab went to take an observation from the height 
 of the rampart of rocks, and returned with lowering 
 brow and saddened eye. 
 
 ''We are decidedly blockaded!" he said. 
 
 ffij'*. 
 
 
 ■-''f'^'f^'"'''' 
 

 
 
 THE TROOP APPROACHED. 
 
 XI. 
 
 THE DHOLES. 
 
 Day was meanwhile advancing, and the sun was 
 rising rapidly to the zenith, increasing the heat to frightful 
 proportions. 
 
 A profound anxiety had come over the besieged. 
 Independently of the difficulties of their own position, 
 they were full of apprehensions concerning the fate of 
 the doctor, of the two Hindus, one of whom was the 
 cook Salem-Bun, and of the little Christi. 
 
 ''What is going to become of our poor friends?" 
 said Miss Weldon, much afflicted. "There is certainly 
 no other road than this, and the shepherds will not be 
 i long in appearing ; this will be the signal for these fanatics 
 to throw themselves on the doctor ; and our poor little 
 Christi, after having served us so generously, will have 
 escaped death only to become again the prey of these 
 monsters." 
 
 175 
 
1/6 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 GoLilab shook his head, and answered the young girl 
 as follows : 
 
 "Have no anxiety concerning Christi. If they have 
 spared him they have a reason for so doing. He is for 
 them henceforth consecrated. Do you not know that the 
 man who escapes death by the noose is forever covered by 
 the protection of Kali ? A Thug would be flayed alive, and 
 even lose his caste, rather than lay a sacrilegious hand 
 upon the victim that the goddess has reserved to herself." 
 
 ''Ah!" exclaimed Cicely, ''that is a very curious 
 detail, of which 1 was ignorant ! My dear Goulab, what 
 a singular people you are ! " 
 
 The shikari drew himself up proudly, but like an 
 educated and well-bred man, he bowed again, his hand 
 upon his heart. 
 
 " Lady," he said, "there are many instances of igno- 
 rance among your ' civilized ' peoples ! There is not one 
 race merely, but a thousand, in India. As for me, 1 am 
 an Aryan like yourself, a Rajput, one of those who form, 
 ever since Rama, the noblest of the families. But 1 am a 
 Kashmiri, while that abominable Ramu is a Dogra ; 1 
 belong to the order of Vishnu, and he worships Siva. 
 And besides these differences, how many more could 1 
 not point out to you that would still more astonish 
 you! But," he added, "it is neither the time nor the 
 place for an historical dissertation. The most pressing 
 need is that of providing some way of averting danger 
 from the doctor, Salem-Bun, and the other one. I still 
 hope that the Bathia will have scented danger, and taken 
 precautions for the safety of his companions, unless he 
 has chosen to abandon the Tinki-la road." 
 
 Goulab suddenly stopped speaking, and inclined his 
 ear, making a sign to his companions to listen also. 
 
THE DHOLES. 177 
 
 The rays of the sun lighted the entire landscape to a 
 very great distance, and the view was marvelous. With 
 the exception of the northern horizon, which was hidden 
 from them by the enormous wall that rose behind them, 
 the travelers beheld at all three remaining cardinal points 
 an incomparable panorama. Human eye has never con- 
 templated a more beautiful spectacle, and this was only 
 a foretaste of what might be reserved for them upon 
 the crest of Gaurisankar. 
 
 No cloud, no mist, trailed across the broadly lighted 
 planes of the landscape, and it seemed as though, by the 
 stroke of a magic wand, some friendly fairy had suddenly 
 raised the veil which covered these sublime regions, to 
 spread their innumerable beauties before human eyes. 
 
 To the south, beyond the valley of Tomba-Kosi, clad 
 with luxuriant vegetation, stretched the cliffs that descend 
 to the plains of the Ganges ; at the west was Goussainthan, 
 six thousand or seven thousand meters in height, with 
 the snows of the peaks of Kerong sparkling ; to the east, 
 the whole Mayanama group rose above the clouds, and 
 from the center of this prodigious mass a diamond spire 
 sprang up, cleaving the blue heavens. This was the sov- 
 ereign of the land ; the Gaurisankar toward which the 
 untiring efforts of the travelers were directed. 
 
 And upon the crest that they had just left a cloud 
 of dust rose from the great road, and from this cloud 
 came a long rattling sound, the bleating of three thou- 
 sand sheep mingled with barking, and the tinkling of the 
 bells that the herdsman had fastened to the necks of the 
 rams. 
 
 "There they are ! It is they !" cried Goulab at last, 
 his piercing eye penetrating the horizon. The cloud 
 approached. It could be seen to extend, to separate, 
 
178 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 to expand to either side of the road, on the slopes of the 
 two valleys whose verdure suddenly disappeared under 
 the invasion of this living stream. The ground vibrated 
 under the shock of all these little cloven feet running 
 or bounding in an aggregate that would cause a Pont- 
 Neuf to give way. Finally with opera glasses and 
 spyglasses they were able to distinguish objects among 
 the dense crowd. It could be seen that the flock ap- 
 proached rapidly. It passed Pangmo, and the noise of 
 the bleating was accompanied by the lowing of the 
 few oxen and cows which followed the mass of sheep. 
 Soon the head of the column, preceded by a dozen 
 dogs, arrived at the very foot of the intrenchment, and 
 the besieged could not restrain a cry of surprise upon 
 perceiving that neither the doctor, nor Christi, nor the 
 two Hindus were among the number. 
 
 Nevertheless, they were certainly the same herdsmen 
 and the same flock. With scrupulous honesty the 
 herdsmen stopped the animals which bore the baggage, 
 and soon as they recognized the white men upon the 
 rocks they placed their cargo upon the road. As there 
 was no immediate danger to fear, Graec'h and the 
 two Yankees hastened to go and fetch the things left 
 on the path. They even exchanged some words with 
 the leader of the Bhotan nomads. But at the question 
 they put to them concerning the doctor and his 
 companions, the Bhotias burst out laughing and re- 
 plied : 
 
 ''You haven't seen them, then? They are already 
 among you ! " And they spoke the truth. A cry of 
 joy had burst forth from the platform, and when the 
 Breton and the two Americans had remounted to the 
 terrace, they were able to join in the heartfelt con- 
 
THE DHOLES. 179 
 
 gratulations that the doctor and his companions were 
 lavishing upon one another. 
 
 The explanation was very simple. The wind, coming 
 from the east, had brought to the shepherds, far up 
 the ridge path, the sound of the firing. 
 
 "Our friends are having a fight somewhere!" 
 the physician had cried. 
 
 And from the information given by the little Mad- 
 rasi, all concluded that a combat must be going on 
 on the sides of the terrace where Christi had left them. 
 If they succeeded in joining them the besieged would 
 have four more rifles at their service, which was a 
 strong re-enforcement, increasing their number from seven 
 to eleven. 
 
 But what was more important, the arrival of the 
 four new combatants would have the immense advan- 
 tage of bringing the baggage, that is to say, clothing, 
 tents, food, and ammunition, of which they would have 
 the utmost need. 
 
 That indeed was their special cause for concern. 
 
 Now, would they be able to rejoin the-ir companions? 
 
 Was there not reason to fear that the assailants, 
 foreseeing the coming of the flock, might advance to 
 meet it, in order to capture or kill the remainder of 
 the column ? This hypothesis had every appearance of 
 probability. 
 
 Happily the Bhotan herdsmen, as cunning as they 
 were true to their word, were posted as to the situa- 
 tion. The chief decided it, laughing. With his ordinary 
 gay brevity he informed the four travelers as to the 
 mode of procedure they had best follow. This was a 
 revival of the artifice of Ulysses desiring to escape from 
 the cave of Polyphemus, and certainly the nomadic 
 
i8o THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 shepherd had never read the Odyssey. But he had had 
 long training in the niceties of his trade, and was provided 
 with more than one trick to play upon the annoying 
 customhouse officials of Tibet and Nepal. 
 
 They led out four zebus from among the other beasts 
 of burden. They placed the doctor and his companions 
 upon their backs — in very uncomfortable positions, by 
 the way. They even added very inconvenient packages, 
 and hid all under the coverings of red or white wool, so 
 frequently used by trading caravans. Thus disguised, the 
 travelers could cross the threatening belt with impunity. 
 
 On the road the leader of the flock responded as 
 simply as he could to the first Metch who asked him 
 what had become of the other white travelers : 
 
 ''They remained at Dud-Kunda. 1 did not agree to 
 keep them or conduct them." 
 
 As soon as the troop reached the foot of the intrench- 
 ment, Christi, who had continually peeped from under his 
 coverings, let himself slide quickly from the hard back of 
 his mount, and ran to the aid of his companions. 
 
 Now all were reunited ; the staff was quite complete. 
 But they were not at the end of their troubles. They 
 were certainly more numerous, better armed ; they cer- 
 tainly had supplies for at least ten days, tents and cov- 
 erings for the night ; but they were none the less block- 
 aded, and must anticipate and undergo the pains and 
 fatigues of a siege that might last a long time. 
 
 '' How lucky those fellows are ! " said the major, 
 clenching his fists as he watched the shepherds and their 
 flock go up the road again. 
 
 Suddenly, coming to a bend in the road, the Bhotias 
 turned toward the north, descending the Dud-Kosi slopes. 
 They had held faithfully to their bargain. Nothing 
 
THE DHOLES. i8r 
 
 would prevent them now from proceeding by the short- 
 est way to the Tinki-la pass. 
 
 The besieged experienced deep sadness at seeing' these 
 half-savages disappear, who had been for ten days their 
 true and tried associates. 
 
 It was like the eclipse of a hope for them, especially 
 as their thoughts returned to the bitterness and difficulty 
 of their present position. 
 
 The route that the herdsmen followed so lightly was 
 closed to them, friendly travelers far from all support, far 
 from all succor on the part of local authorities, and they 
 could only open it at the cost of a bloody combat such 
 as they had already undergone, of a victory that might 
 be dearly bought. 
 
 The day closed with these painful reflections. But all 
 possessed a sturdy spirit, and were confident in their own 
 energy. The goal they had desired to reach was too 
 near, their resolution too firm, for them to hesitate in 
 their decision. 
 
 They therefore took counsel at sunset in order to 
 conclude all arrangements for the morrow. 
 
 They unanimously decided that at daybreak they 
 would resume their march. 
 
 To remain where they were offered no advantage. 
 Besides having no succor to expect, they would lose 
 precious time and uselessly waste their provisions. 
 Goulab very justly remarked that the rocky mass by 
 which they were backed was only a freak, and that 
 it must certainly terminate some kilometers further up ; 
 that the level they had reached was apparently the 
 highest that could be attained by the Hindus or even the 
 Nepalis of the valley ; that is to say, by men who were 
 unaccustomed both by temperament and constitution to- 
 
l82 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 the cold of the peaks, and too lightly clad, moreover, to 
 dare to face it, and they would be under protection as 
 soon as they touched the snowy region. 
 
 Thus all militated in favor of bold decision. Plump- 
 tre and Euzen Graec'h even pronounced in favor of 
 immediate departure. But they were m.ade to realize 
 that this would be the height of imprudence ; that 
 they knew nothing at all of the ambushes of the road 
 and the perils of a nocturnal journey. 
 
 There was no attack. The bandits had manifestly 
 become prudent through counting their losses and esti- 
 mating the frightful precision of firearms. But this 
 abstention and silence only appeared the more disquiet- 
 ing to the explorers, and they did not relax their rigid 
 watchfulness. 
 
 Finally day dawned — a radiant day, full of brilliancy. 
 The Mayanama's bulk first showed black, then white and 
 red in the pale light of the dawn. Then, as the sun rose 
 in the firmament, the incomparable giant, the throne 
 of Siva and Parvati, appeared in the blue like a snowy 
 phantom, with shoulders upon which a collar of gold, 
 rubies, topazes, and opals radiated color under a canopy 
 of turquoise and sapphire. 
 
 The moment had come to launch themselves bravely 
 toward those heights. 
 
 But at this very moment a furious clamor broke 
 forth, and rising, as they had done the day before, from 
 the wooded slopes, the brigands, Sivaites and Buddhists, 
 with no distinction of belief, united by a common thirst 
 for murder and pillage, rushed to the assault, veritable 
 maniacs who had vowed themselves to Yama, God of 
 Sacrifice and Voluntary Death, hastening to a paradise 
 of orgies or to the repose of Nirvana. At the first 
 
THE DHOLES. 183 
 
 glance that he threw upon the convulsed faces of those 
 demoniacs, wild for carnage, Goulab turned toward 
 Merrien, and pointing toward the hideous herd, brand- 
 ishing all sorts of arms as it ran, uttered the one word : 
 
 "Opium!" 
 
 Yes, it was opium that had transfigured and trans- 
 formed these savages ; that had given them their mad 
 courage; stripping from them even their respect for their 
 odious religious practices. And it was now that the 
 danger was most terrible, for they had renounced the 
 merits of bloodless murder, and were about to give 
 themselves up to the profane joys of massacre. 
 
 A hundred men, at least, threw themselves upon the 
 plateau on which the travelers awaited them. 
 
 Divided into three groups, the latter met the attack 
 with a triple discharge. 
 
 Eleven of the fanatics fell senseless. But at the 
 same instant, six balls passed over the heads of the 
 besieged. A seventh, rebounding from the wall of 
 gneiss, grazed the naked calf of Goulab's leg, leaving a 
 bleeding furrow. The shikari did not make a moan, but 
 he muttered between his teeth : 
 
 "It is nothing, nothing ! Barely a scratch ! But they 
 shall pay dear for it." 
 
 He kept his word. Three times in succession the 
 carbine of the valiant Chatrya was extended, and three 
 Sivaites fell. 
 
 "Attention!" cried Merrien; "only aim at those 
 who carry rifles. They are at present the most 
 formidable." 
 
 These tactics certainly produced excellent results. In 
 a few moments a dozen marksmen were put hors de 
 combat, and they had for the most part only to do 
 
1 84 THE LAND OF TAiVNY BEASTS. 
 
 with the body of fanatics armed with sabers, poniards^ 
 or nooses. Nevertheless their number was not per- 
 ceptibly diminished, and there came a moment when 
 the three groups were forced to form themselves into 
 a square, in order that they should not be broken up 
 by the onset of the aggressors. 
 
 Suddenly, Euzen Graec'h gave a cry of fury : 
 
 "Oh, for once 1 will not miss thee!" 
 
 He had just perceived Ramu hardly thirty steps away, 
 exciting his followers to combat. To throw himself upon 
 the assailants, to crush skulls and spines with the butt of 
 his clubbed rifle, was mere play to the Breton. For a 
 single second his iron hand clutched the scoundrel's 
 shoulder, but it only left the mark of its five fingers upon the 
 brown skin of the Dogra, who fled at this terrible touch. 
 
 At the same time ten of the Thugs rushed together 
 upon the Hercules. 
 
 Merrien, Plumptre, and the doctor at once plunged 
 forward to extricate their friend. It was unnecessary. 
 With a titanic movement Graec'h shook off the bunch 
 of humanity, staved in a chest with a blow from his 
 heel, broke a jaw with his left fist, and, letting his 
 carbine drop, seized a third body at hazard, and flung 
 it full at the band of Thugs, who were overcome with 
 panic. He himself got clear at slight cost, merely a 
 scratch or two. Then came something utterly unex- 
 pected. Suddenly the assailants turned and fled, letting 
 themselves roll down the rocks with every sign of 
 violent terror. 
 
 Three among them, who had not time to escape^ 
 flung themselves upon the ground, face downward, 
 multiplying gestures of supplication, to the great aston- 
 ishment of the white men. 
 
THE DHOLES. 185 
 
 As they did not rise, one of the Americans asked : 
 
 "Shall we crush these vermin? If they think we are 
 going to let them alone " 
 
 But Goulab raised his voice, and his companions were 
 surprised by the terror in his face. 
 
 ''Sahibs," cried the shikari, ''we shall have no more 
 to fear from these scoundrels. At present they are stream- 
 ing down the mountain at the top of their speed. Un- 
 fortunately we are threatened by a much greater 
 danger." 
 
 "What do you mean, Goulab?" asked Merrien anx- 
 iously. 
 
 " 1 mean that the bandits have fled from something 
 stronger than themselves. Only listen, and you will hear 
 the voice of the dholes." 
 
 All paused and listened, without paying any further 
 attention to the three wretches who were still prostrate. 
 
 A distant mournful cry came down the flanks of the 
 chain from the east. It was a sort of lugubrious, pro- 
 longed howl, and in spite of the distance, which was 
 still great, that separated it from the travelers, the latter 
 could recognize the multitudinous clamor of wild dogs, 
 traveling in troops. They must be innumerable. 
 
 The dholes, in fact, belong to the canine race, and, 
 like all the Indian fauna, they represent the most terrible 
 element. Of medium size, thin and lank, dirty, and 
 emitting a pestilential odor, they would be hardly more 
 to be dreaded than an ordinary dog, were not their 
 strange habits and their number truly frightful. They 
 are nomadic, live in families, and are as fitted to endure 
 the most vigorous cold as the most extreme heat ; travers- 
 ing the Indian peninsula from north to south, from east 
 to west. Always famished, necessity makes them brave. 
 
1 86 THE LAND OF TAU^NY BEASTS. 
 
 Nothing holds out against them, and certain travelers 
 affirm that they do not even fear the tiger and the ele- 
 phant. But these are tales that it is impossible to verify, 
 and one may consider fabulous that other assertion that 
 the dhole seems rather to profess sympathy for man. 
 
 One may cite, unfortunately, examples of villages 
 besieged and boroughs destroyed by these frightful ani- 
 mals. The energetic measures taken by the English 
 authorities, the use of strychnine in pieces of meat placed 
 in the pathway of the troop, have succeeded in almost 
 entirely banishing them from southern India. But these 
 means are far from being equally efficacious in the 
 north, where dense forests, continuous jungles, and vast 
 uncultivated and desert spaces prevent the trail of the 
 devastating herd from being traced. 
 
 Whatever might be the manners and customs of these 
 dangerous neighbors, the explorers, not trusting to hy- 
 pothesis, resolved to surround themselves with all possible 
 precautions. The plateau on which they were situated 
 was accessible only on the side of the rocky stairway. 
 The remaining sides, almost perpendicularly cut, had lent 
 some aid to the ascent of human assailants. But the 
 dogs certainly could not fare so well. If then they suc- 
 ceeded in sufficiently barricading the one side, they would 
 have nothing to fear from the yelping herd, and they 
 would be able to look down from the terrace in all 
 security upon the canine pariahs as they swept past. 
 It would certainly be a curious sight. Meanwhile, the 
 noise increased and drew nearer. The horrible pack came 
 down the mountain with a sound like rolling thunder. 
 They raised a cloud of dust equal to that raised the day 
 before by the passage of the Bhotan sheep. At the same 
 time the barking of the pack took on a formidable 
 
THE DHOLES. 187 
 
 intensity. The air was full of it, and the abominable 
 hubbub obliged the onlookers to put their hands over 
 their ears. 
 
 '' It is lucky that they are coming with the wind," 
 said Goulab. ''Perhaps they will pass without scent- 
 ing us ! " 
 
 Everyone had run to the rocks. With desperate 
 haste they commenced to move the blocks, and roll 
 them one on top of the other to obstruct the passage- 
 way. Euzen Graec'h, while shaking the biggest one of 
 all, suddenly remembered the three assassins. They had 
 not budged from their place, face to the earth, arms 
 crossed, like dead bodies. 
 
 '' Heh ! Shammers ! heap of good-for-nothings ! " 
 cried the sailor, in a voice that made the travelers burst 
 out laughing in spite of their anxiety. 
 
 ''Come here for a bit and help us! We'll pay you 
 whatever suits you, villainous monkeys without a 
 skin." 
 
 And, as the Hindus did not appear to hear him, he 
 went up to them and kicked them into rising. 
 
 " That is the only way to get ideas into your heads," 
 he said. 
 
 The demonstration had, indeed, an immediate effect. 
 
 Enlightened by the gestures of the Europeans, further 
 reassured by the words of Goulab, Christi, Salem-Bun,- 
 and his comrade, who, in order to make them under- 
 stand, employed nearly all the dialects of India, they 
 passed from fright to delirious joy, and, laughing and 
 weeping at one and the same time, they devoted them- 
 selves with as much docility as energy to the task that 
 the travelers required of them. 
 
 " Come ! come ! " said the Breton, somewhat softened, 
 
i88 THE LAND OF TAiVNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''they are not bad fellows. With some blows from a 
 rope's end, and some kindness, they would do whatever 
 you wanted them to." 
 
 "We are fourteen now," said the doctor. "I con- 
 fess that this addition to our force does not displease me." 
 
 But conversation came to an end. There was too 
 much to do to stop up the last crevices of the rocks, 
 and unfortunately no human strength was capable of 
 moving the enormous blocks that overhung the road. 
 There still remained a breach, a meter in width. It 
 was more than sufficient to admit the dogs. 
 
 The howling was not more than two miles away, 
 and the eye could behold the first undulating waves 
 of this living sea. 
 
 They all looked at one another in consternation. 
 
 ''May God have mercy on us!" uttered Plumptre 
 gravely. " I know too well what these brutes are. I 
 was once near being devoured by them." 
 
 "What are we to do?" asked Miss Weldon. 
 
 " Wait ! " answered Jean Merrien. 
 
 An enormous rock, of at least five thousand kilo- 
 grams in weight, was hanging to the side of the 
 mountain, attached only at its base. 
 
 The explorer went and got from among the baggnge 
 a carefully closed iron box. He opened it and drew 
 out a little tube of tin provided with a rather long 
 fuse, and introduced it into a crack in the block. Then 
 he waited, a box of matches in his hand. 
 
 Now they could no longer hear one another, the 
 yelping so drowned their voices, filling the air with 
 discordant noises. 
 
 The pack arrived, panting, starving, like a tremendous 
 tide. 
 
THE ENTIRE PACK PASSED, 
 
I90 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 From their position in the shelter of the rocks the 
 travelers saw this barking wave sweep on. They saw 
 the inflamed eyes and mouths, the hanging tongues, 
 the breath giving out steam and vile odor. At the 
 same time the filthy herd seized, tore, and scattered in 
 a thousand shreds the bodies of the Hindus who had 
 been slain by the white men and abandoned on the 
 road by their brethren. This occupied only a few 
 seconds, and the dogs, like the African termites, left no 
 trace of the bodies ; they passed, swept on by the 
 rapidity of their course. 
 
 But behind the first ones the mass was denser, 
 more swarming, blacker. The dholes, jostling and 
 hustling one another, sent out wings to their army. 
 One flank rolled over the slopes of Tomba-Kosi under 
 the trees. The other, thrown against the wall of the 
 mountain, crowding and fighting with teeth and paws, 
 found the cleft in the rocks, as water that has broken 
 its dike fills all the hollows that it finds. They strug- 
 gled and piled themselves into the narrow passage, and 
 twenty bloody mouths showed their gleaming teeth 
 above the first rocks. 
 
 Jean Merrien struck his match. He held it to the fuse. 
 They heard a hollow sound — an ominous cracking. The 
 wall split asunder, and the rock was torn from the trench 
 of gneiss, of which it formed a part, leaving the place as 
 empty and fresh behind it as the stump of a recently 
 amputated limb. It fell exactly across the narrow entrance, 
 crushing a dozen of the wild dogs, while a frightful re- 
 port shook the layers of ambient air. 
 
 This unexpected thunder rendered the travelers good 
 service. Panic-stricken by such a crash as they had 
 never before heard, the dholes hastened their pace, and 
 
THE DHOLES. 191 
 
 the entire pack, silent with terror, passed as quickly as a 
 rapid train over the road, fleeing in the direction of 
 Pangmo, and were soon blotted out, buried in the opaque 
 cloud of dust raised by their dizzy flight. 
 
 The travelers raised their eyes and their hearts toward 
 heaven. They were saved. After having delivered them 
 from the Thugs, the wild dogs had just given them their 
 liberty. 
 
 As a measure of prudence, they waited an hour before 
 setting out. But Goulab pointed out to them that meet- 
 ing with a second pack was very improbable. Three 
 thousand dogs at least had just passed under their eyes. 
 What other troop would be able to find food, coming after 
 these ? 
 
 The day was advanced when they sallied forth. No 
 suspicious sign came to reawaken their anxiety. Toward 
 evening they stopped to sleep in the little town of Khansa, 
 whose governor received them kindly. They had well 
 earned their rest. 
 
 

 THE CARAVAN CROSSED ON THE LARGE STONES. 
 
 Xll. 
 
 THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 
 
 Upon leaving Khansn, the travelers still followed for 
 some time the road on which they had come from Dud- 
 kunda. This road that lay along a ridge commanded a 
 valley upon either side. Through each of these valleys 
 wound a stream, the Tomba-Kosi on the right, the 
 Dud-Kosi on the left, both flowing down from the same 
 mountain. The slope was steep, and seemed entirely 
 unsuited to a descent. They agreed, therefore, to con- 
 tinue, as long as they could do so without delaying their 
 arrival, on the road that they had chosen. When they 
 arrived at Gama, the first village that they came to after 
 leaving Khansa, the information that was given them 
 apprised them of the f^ict that the road parted abruptly in 
 two directions. In fact, instead of running from west to 
 east according to its first direction, it made a bend and 
 
 sank toward the south. 
 
 192 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 193 
 
 ''Well, my dear Frenchman," questioned the major 
 gayly, ''what are we to decide upon?" 
 
 "Well, major," responded jean, in the same tone, 
 "it seems to me that we can no longer follow this 
 road." 
 
 "At least not without turning our backs upon our 
 goal ; that is also my opinion." 
 
 "And you, mademoiselle, what do you propose?" 
 asked the young man, in his turn. 
 
 "There is only one reply: we must now resign 
 ourselves to the abandonment of outlined paths and 
 advance directly to our goal." 
 
 In uttering these last words the young girl had 
 raised her head. They could read in her eyes that the 
 suggestion she had just made did not terrify her ; that 
 she was, in a word, completely decided to proceed to 
 the end. 
 
 Her opinion was unanimously adopted, and hence- 
 forth the little band confronted the dangers and delays 
 concealed among the inaccessible mountains. The first 
 difficulty that presented itself was the necessity of cross- 
 ing the Dud-Kosi. 
 
 After much searching, a Hindu finally discovered a 
 path descending toward the valley. This path, which 
 had never been used save by some inhabitants of the 
 opposite side of the river when going to Gama, was 
 barely indicated. The almost perpendicular descent would 
 have been impossible to the Europeans, if some trees 
 scattered along the way had not enabled them, by attach- 
 ing a cord thereto, to improvise a sort of balustrade, by 
 which Miss Cicely Weldon, Major Plumptre, and Jean 
 Merrien let themselves slide almost to the bottom. And 
 now that the river confronted them, deafening them with 
 
194 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 the noise of its current, they questioned anxiously how 
 they were going to get across it. 
 
 From the height at which they had been some mo- 
 ments before, it had seemed to them a little stream, with 
 its waters flowing gently over a shallow bed ; and they 
 now beheld an impetuous torrent, whose windings of a 
 moment ago had become roaring rapids. 
 
 It was again Miss Weldon who succeeded, by means 
 of signs, in making her companions understand that a ford 
 must be somewhere near the path. 
 
 They resumed their march, and presently, indeed, 
 some large flat stones emerging from the waters, and 
 making a very picturesque bridge, served as a crossing 
 for the caravan. 
 
 The ascent resembled the descent, thanks to the trees 
 which fringed the slope as on the opposite bank. Above, 
 the country which stretched before the travelers' vision 
 was slightly undulating, now hills, now valleys, but 
 everywhere carefully cultivated. Fields of wheat alter- 
 nated, when the ground inclined, with fields of rice, 
 and for a boundary between them, cherry trees and fig 
 trees arose, breaking the monotony of the landscape. 
 The travelers entered these plantations resolutely, march- 
 ing straight ahead without encountering a single habi- 
 tation. They concluded that this cultivated land must all 
 belong to one estate, and that they would sooner or 
 later come to the house of the proprietor. 
 
 But what was their surprise when, after having 
 gone a considerable distance, they found themselves 
 again upon a road, that was very well kept up for 
 the region. Their indecision was great. Which direc- 
 tion should they follow ? After much deliberation the 
 little band started on again, following the road, and 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARL 1 95 
 
 hoping to come across some village, or at least some 
 habitation. 
 
 Their expectations were not disappointed, for they 
 arrived in this way at Lanya. They learned there that 
 the road led to Ghat, the nearest station of the 
 Mayanama Mountains, in the midst of which was the 
 summit of Gaurisankar. They learned besides that the 
 domain they had come through belonged to an English- 
 man by a special concession, and on condition of keep- 
 ing up the road. This caused Merrien some disturbance 
 of mind, and he could not refrain from making a little 
 attack upon Major Plumptre. 
 
 *'Say, now, Plumptre, 1 have but one dread left." 
 
 ''What is it, then ?" asked the major phlegmatically. 
 
 ''That 1 may find an Englishwoman on Gaurisankar." 
 
 This sally made everyone laugh, the major most 
 heartily of all. 
 
 "In truth," he replied, "if I were sure of it, 1 
 would cease my efforts here and now, and patiently 
 await your return at the house of my fellow-country- 
 man." 
 
 " Why, major ! " asked Cicely, "are you already tired 
 of your trip ? " 
 
 "No, Miss Weldon, no ! I was simply replying to 
 Mr. Merrien, who always finds a joke on me in order." 
 
 Some hours later the travelers came in sight of 
 Ghat, situated at the foot of an almost isolated peak. 
 They followed the road a little longer, and finally 
 abandoned it definitely, and plunged into the chain 
 which contained their goal. From this time on they 
 kept always to the north. But their march became more 
 and more laborious because of the unprecedented heights 
 that they were obliged to scale, or the rapid descents 
 
196 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 they were forced to make. The great humidity of the 
 climate does not admit of travelers venturing far into these 
 regions, or at all events, it renders any excursion very 
 dangerous. The rain softens the soil, and forms a sort of 
 glutinous mud, on account of the argillaceous nature of 
 the rocks. The dense fogs that close abruptly in about 
 the mountain prevent the tourist from ascertaining his 
 position, and hide from him the precipices that yawn at 
 his feet. This danger, which the caravan had up to this 
 time always avoided, either by taking refuge in caves or 
 going into camp on some sheltered plateau, put them at 
 one time in very great peril. It was, perhaps, three 
 o'clock in the afternoon. The travelers were chatting 
 gayly as they followed a very narrow ledge bounded on 
 one side by a stretch of vertical wall, and on the other 
 by a precipice some hundred meters in depth. Goulab 
 had seemed anxious all day. 
 
 ''Come now, Goulab, my friend, what a funereal 
 countenance ! Tell us what is troubling you," asked 
 MacGregor. 
 
 ''The road is long!" the shikari replied laconically. 
 
 "Well, my friend; more so than any other? And 
 then it has the advantage of being flat." 
 
 "Flat, but narrow," replied Goulab, again. "And 
 then," he continued, "do we know where it ends?" 
 
 " The deuce ! We'll soon see, Goulab. We are not 
 yet blind," Merrien interposed brusquely. 
 
 "If we do not become so, sahib ! " 
 
 Jean had not time to respond, when the whole troop 
 stopped, dumb with terror. A mist was slowly rising, 
 and the neighboring summits had already disappeared. 
 They all understood, and a single cry broke from their 
 full hearts : 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 197 
 
 "The fog!" 
 
 They comprehended the horrible position in which 
 they were placed, on a ledge where they could barely 
 walk four abreast, with no possibility of raising their 
 tents. 
 
 What would become of them, not daring to stir, 
 not able to see a meter ahead of them ? 
 
 Goulab's grave voice was again heard. 
 
 ''Well, sahib; are we not blind? This is what I 
 anticipated." 
 
 "Why didn't you say so sooner, Goulab ? And now 
 what are you going to do ? " the young man questioned 
 anxiously. 
 
 "1 am going to take the lead and show you the 
 road," replied the shikari quietly. 
 
 "No, no, Goulab! 1 do not wish it. It is exposing 
 yourself uselessly." 
 
 "I risk nothing, sahib," replied the Kashmiri, with 
 emotion. " Let us now march in single file, and keep 
 our left hands against the wall." 
 
 In this way, without a word, Goulab leading, 
 Merrien, Cicely, Plumptre, Christi, MacGregor, and the 
 rest of the troop slowly advanced ; starting at the least 
 projection of the rocks. It made them dizzy to think 
 that the road might grow narrower ; that they had only 
 room for their two feet ; that a movement might fling 
 them into space. 
 
 Suddenly a terrible cry pierced the fog. They all 
 stopped, gasping. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Goulab. 
 
 "I do not know," replied Merrien. "Let each one 
 speak his name in turn." And they heard successively 
 the names of Cicely, Plumptre, MacGregor, Euzen 
 
198 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Graec'h, and the Hindus. One name only was missing 
 from the roll, that of Christi. 
 
 ''The poor child, he has fallen," murmured Cicely 
 faintly. "And to think that we can do nothing, 
 nothing ! " 
 
 'Mt is useless to go on, my friends," continued 
 Jean Merrien. ''We must wait here until the fog 
 breaks. Possibly Christi is not dead. It would be 
 inhuman to abandon him." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; let us wait ! " the troop, who were all 
 attached to the little Madrasi, responded as with one 
 voice. 
 
 And they all gathered together. They wished to be 
 near one another in this common danger. It is impossible 
 to describe the night that followed. Standing upright 
 with their backs to the mountain, and an abyss in front 
 of them, unable to relax themselves, the unfortunate group 
 awaited the daylight. Morning came, bringing no change, 
 and then broken with weariness, despairing, having had 
 no nourishment since the day before, the travelers felt 
 that they were giving out. Complaints were heard. 
 
 "1 am too tired," murmured Cicely; "1 must lie 
 down. 1 can stand up no longer." 
 
 " Mademoiselle, Miss Cicely, courage ! " broke in the 
 major and Jean at the same time. 
 
 " I cannot bear it any longer ; no, 1 cannot," the young 
 girl repeated. 
 
 "Hold on, Miss Cicely, the fog is breaking at last." 
 it was Euzen Graec'h who spoke. 
 
 It was the truth. The opaque mass of vapor grew 
 more translucent, after the fashion of the gauze curtains 
 of the theater that are raised one after another and reveal 
 the background by degrees. The web grew thinner, 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 199 
 
 separated in slabs, in shreds, which drifted off like thin 
 smoke. 
 
 Soon the heads, then the shoulders of the travelers 
 emerged from this smoke. It sank lower still, to their 
 waists, to their feet. Then above their heads they saw 
 the incandescent disk of the sun, and the incommensu- 
 rable point of Everest, three thousand meters up in the 
 heavens, while below them the fog unfurled, undulating 
 like an ocean on the submerged peaks and valleys. 
 
 Thus must the survivors of the Ark, stranded on the 
 Armenian height, have beheld the spectacle of the globe 
 emerging from the waters of the deluge. 
 
 At the same time that hope re-entered their hearts, 
 the imposing vision of these gigantic mountains dazzled 
 their eyes. They had never yet contemplated such a 
 panorama. Their ecstasy had lasted a long time without 
 their even recalling their situation when Euzen Graec'h 
 suddenly cried out : 
 
 "Christi! 1 see Christi ! " 
 
 They started as from out of a dream. The anguish 
 of the night had caused them to forget the little Madrasi. 
 Their eyes were simultaneously lowered, and in place of 
 the abyss which, the evening before, had bounded the 
 ledge, they saw only a gentle declivity sloping down to a 
 sort of broad esplanade. Upon this esplanade, stretched 
 out among the ferns, lay Christi, who seemed to give 
 no sign of life. Then, without a word spoken, they 
 all ran rapidly down the slope, and grouped themselves 
 anxiously about Christi, impatiently awaiting the opinion 
 of Dr. MacGregor, who was kneeling at the child's 
 side. 
 
 ''This will amount to nothing," he said finally; 
 ''a prolonged swoon that 1 shall bring him out of." 
 
200 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 And taking a bottle out of his little traveling case, he 
 poured a few drops of its contents between the boy's 
 teeth. 
 
 The effect of the cordial was soon seen. After one 
 or two starts Christi opened his eyes, astonished to find 
 himself thus surrounded by his friends. He tried to move, 
 but a sharp pain suddenly contracted his features, and 
 he fell back again. 
 
 *' Dear me, doctor ! If only the f^ill has caused no 
 grave injury ! " exclaimed Cicely, in an anxious voice. 
 
 ''Reassure yourself, Miss Weldon," replied MacGregor, 
 "he is only suffering now from the general numbness 
 caused by this damp night, like the rest of us ; and we 
 shall do well to look for a more propitious place for 
 a little repose." 
 
 At these words Jean Merrien and Euzen Graec'h 
 took the lead, while Major Plumptre offered his arm 
 to Cicely, and the two Hindus with infinite care lifted 
 Christi, whom everyone had believed to be dead. 
 
 They had not taken fifty steps when Merrien and 
 Euzen turned back, wearing an hilarious aspect. 
 
 " Come, come, quickly ; 1 have just discovered a pal- 
 ace ! " cried jean gayly. At this puzzling remark, the 
 little band forgot its fatigue and quickened its pace, 
 soon joining the young man, who guided it toward a 
 mass of verdure, an oasis in the midst of these moun- 
 tains They paused, filled with admiration. In a recess 
 of the rocky wall, a little open space appeared. And 
 growing at hazard, but in a most charming disorder, 
 were palm trees, banana trees, rhododendrons, anc^ 
 epiphytal orchids attached to the branches of a majestic 
 oak. 
 
 This occurrence, which is not so very rare, is ex- 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 201 
 
 plained by the transportation of tropical flora by the 
 south winds. 
 
 Jean Merrien let them admire this little enchanted 
 nook at their leisure, then, in a solemn voice, he 
 cried out : 
 
 '' Ladies and gentlemen, 1 have promised you a pal- 
 ace : 1 am going to keep my promise. This is only the 
 garden. ' Be kind enough to follow me." 
 
 And this time, hastening to Miss Weldon's side, he 
 gracefully offered his arm, on which she placed her little 
 hand, laughing as she did so. Then the two, at the head 
 of the caravan which followed, curious and impatient, ad- 
 vanced toward an opening, which was reached by means 
 of two steps placed one above the other, and hollowed 
 out in the rock as though by the hand of man. This 
 opening had escaped their notice at first, masked as it 
 was by the more luxuriant vegetation of this place. 
 Merrien brushed aside the growth and led in the young 
 girl, who, struck with admiration, stopped abruptly, while 
 all the others of the party followed her example as one 
 man. Jean and his faithful Breton enjoyed their surprise. 
 
 In truth the spectacle was positively riiarvelous. The 
 travelers found themselves in a circular grotto, the rocky 
 walls of which were of a blood-red color. In the center 
 stalactites and stalagmites, meeting each other, formed 
 columns elegant in shape, which seemed to support the 
 roof. This latter, at the center of this circle, rose suddenly, 
 and, from the height of the cupola thus formed fell a 
 cascade, the waters of which were scattered in mist by 
 the time they reached the ground. The daylight came 
 through round, regular fissures. The ardent rays of the 
 sun, streaming in through these, broke on every drop of 
 water, and lit a thousand fires in the crystals of the col- 
 
202 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 umns. The entire grotto was illumined by the incessant 
 flashing. And the dazzled eye seemed to see in this 
 richness of light the fires of a myriad of diamonds. 
 
 The first moment of surprise past, exclamations rose 
 to the lips of all. 
 
 '' How beautiful it is ! How did you discover this 
 marvel ? Ah, M. Merrien, you are a veritable en- 
 chanter ! " 
 
 This last sentence came from Cicely Weldon, who 
 was already running about the grotto like a child, 
 calling her companions to share in her enthusiastic 
 admiration. 
 
 It was decided that they should remain at least two 
 days in the "Fairy Palace," as the young American 
 poetically named it. Christi, who had been comfortably 
 settled, found himself completely restored the following 
 morning. He was able to join the others in exploring 
 the thousand nooks and crannies of this incomparable place. 
 
 The third day finally dawned, and it was with re- 
 gret that the little group abandoned the refuge filled 
 with the coolness they had had so little chance to 
 enjoy. They found themselves once more upon the 
 mountain, with its wearisome ascents and perilous 
 descents. 
 
 As they advanced into the Mayanama range, the peaks 
 rose steadily higher and more arid. They sometimes 
 marched for a number of days without a sign of human 
 habitation. The narrow valleys are veritable funnels in 
 which are gathered the waters of the showers, so that 
 cabins cannot be put up for fear of inundations, and the 
 best sites for the erection of villages are the high prom- 
 ontories from which the water runs rapidly in all direc- 
 tions. 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARL 203 
 
 Twenty times they were obliged to flee, abandon 
 their camp, and climb the side of a cliff in haste, to 
 avoid the sudden flooding of a torrent swollen by the 
 rain. In this way, forced to long detours and unexpected 
 tacking, they arrived at the Thung-Lung pass. Since 
 crossing the Dud-Kosi they had described a semicircle 
 about Chingo-pa-mari, and it was by such turnings, but 
 continually narrowing the circles as in a monstrous 
 labyrinth, that they must reach the foot of Gaurisankar. 
 
 In the midst of the Thung-Lung pass a new peril 
 awaited them. It was decreed that they should escape 
 none of the dangers with which these mountains abounded. 
 One evening, when they had camped in the cleft of a 
 rock, a dark mass interposed suddenly between the road 
 they had just left and the retreat they had chosen. 
 The opening was obstructed by an elephant of gigantic 
 size, and with long, black hair. The travelers were safe 
 in their little cave, for the elephant could not enter its 
 mouth, which was large enough for the passage of a man, 
 but much too narrow for such a colossal creature. But 
 if the pachyderm could not altogether enter, he could 
 without difficulty seize the things which had been spread 
 out by the Hindus in preparation for the supper and the 
 night's rest. Already his enormous trunk had carried off 
 a cake of rice and two bottles of wine. The rest was 
 quickly taken to the back of the grotto, but the elephant, 
 furious at finding nothing more, commenced to puff into 
 the travelers' faces a fetid breath that filled the entire 
 cavity. It was impossible to remain longer in such a 
 place, and Jean Merrien, Major Plumptre, MacGregor, 
 Euzen Graec'h started to attack the dangerous probos- 
 cidean, when Christi cried out : 
 
 ''An exit ! 1 have found an exit !" 
 
204 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 And with nervous hands he cleared an opening in 
 the rock large enough for a man to slip through. One 
 by one they went out by way of this passage, and 
 joined each other on a platform which was in reality 
 the roof of the cavern they had just been in, and from 
 which they now looked down upon the elephant. 
 
 The latter, furious at seeing his prey escape him, 
 started to make an attempt to reach them. His weight 
 dragging him down for one thing, the very steep slope 
 for another, caused him continually to f^ill back to the 
 point he started from. 
 
 The travelers, recovered from their first fright, now 
 were laughing heartily at the fruitless efforts of their 
 formidable adversary, when suddenly the scene changed. 
 The elephant had finally hoisted himself on to a lower 
 ridge ; a moment more, and he would reach them. Mac- 
 Gregor raised his rifle, took an instant's aim ; then 
 fired, but only wounded the animal. Excited by the 
 shot, the elephant concentrated his entire force upon 
 one supreme attempt, and with a single bound stood 
 beside his enemies. 
 
 ''Fly! fly!" cried Christi. ''Here is a path which 
 leads to the road we were just now on." 
 
 And taking the lead he ran rapidly down, followed 
 closely by the Hindus and the rest of the company. 
 Cicely Weldon, Jean Merrien, and Plumptre came last 
 of all. The two men took the young girl's hands and 
 dragged her rapidly along, while the pachyderm, unde- 
 cided in his mind, finally concluded to pursue them, 
 giving them a few moments' headway. It was then a 
 mad race, no one daring to stop to attack the animal 
 who, moment by moment, gained upon the rear fugitives. 
 Cicely felt him at her heels, and from time to time 
 
tfc.^^^-^^ 
 
 CICELY FELT THE ELEPHANT AT HER HEELS. 
 
206 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 his hot and nauseating breath struck her neck and 
 those of her companions. 
 
 With extended trunk the elephant was about to 
 catch the girl's floating blouse, and then all effort on 
 the part of Jean and the major would be in vain : the 
 unfortunate girl would be crushed by the formidable 
 tusks, when suddenly Plumptre dropped Cicely's hand. 
 She looked anxiously at him, without pausing in her 
 running. An atrocious suspicion gnawed at her heart. 
 Did he wish to relinquish her and thus be freer to escape ? 
 At this thought her courage left her, her strength 
 failed her. 
 
 Merrien felt her pace slacken. He also had seen the 
 major's movement. 
 
 ''One more effort, mademoiselle, just one little effort. 
 / want to save you," he murmured in the young Ameri- 
 can's ear. 
 
 But what could he do ? A double cry was heard. 
 The elephant had just seized the girl, who clung desper- 
 ately to the Frenchman's arm. And while all stopped, 
 dumb with horror, a shot rang out, the trunk relaxed its 
 hold, the colossal brute wavered and fell in a heap, a 
 stream of blood trickling down l:>etween his eyes. 
 
 All this happened in much less time than it takes to 
 tell it. And it was not until they saw their terrible ad- 
 versary lying at their feet, that they thought to find out 
 who had been Miss Weldon's brave and skillful savior. 
 
 Cicely, still trembling with emotion, scarcely able to 
 support herself, and unconscious of what was going on 
 around her, fixed her eyes mechanically on the still 
 smoking rifle of the Englishman. She comprehended 
 everything ; a great thankfulness and a great remorse 
 filled her heart. 
 
THE CHINGO-PA-MARI. 207 
 
 She advanced smiling, held out her hand to the major, 
 and said to him so low that no one heard her : 
 
 "Thanks, thanks, and pardon!" 
 
 They all approached to congratulate the brave officer, 
 while he, distraught, heard the congratulations, un- 
 heeding. 
 
 Why had she asked his pardon ? Yes, pardon ; he had 
 certainly heard correctly. What could she have done to 
 say such a thing as that? He decided to think no more 
 of it. He was never to know what had inspired Cicely 
 Weldon to such strange thanks. 
 
 The Hindus had thrown themselves upon the ele- 
 phant's body and were cutting him to pieces with 
 incomparable skill. Plumptre's ball had not only deliv- 
 ered them from great danger, but had also furnished 
 them with very delicate food. And that evening, feasting 
 upon some bits of the trunk, feet, and sides the trav- 
 elers laughingly declared that it's an ill wind that blows 
 nobody good. 
 
 After having traversed the Thung-Lung pass, in which 
 this tragic event had taken place, the caravan again 
 ascended to the north, and so arrived in the Tingri- 
 Maidan plain, through the entire length of which flowed 
 the Tingri-Chu river. 
 
 But they could go no further to the northward, 
 being stopped at the Tibetan customhouse. From this 
 time their course swerved completely to the eastward, 
 thus passing around the central mass in which is situ- 
 ated Gaurisankar. Most of the rivers which flow down 
 from Tibet pass through the wall presented by the 
 Himalayas by gorges of such depth and such abruptness 
 that it was impossible for the travelers to enter them. 
 It was only by scaling the neighboring cliffs, by a 
 
2o8 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 succession of passes more than four thousand meters 
 in height, that they could continue on their way. They 
 were even obliged to avoid certain gaps in the chain by 
 detours of more than fifty kilometers. Time was passing, 
 the food was giving out, and the calculations that they 
 made with great regularity each day showed them that 
 they had traveled enormous distances without making 
 much headway. They were still at the foot of Chingo- 
 pa-mari. 
 
 ''Ah, bah!" cried Plumptre one morning, no longer 
 recognizing his way, ''has the earth turned upside 
 down ? " 
 
 What had drawn from him this exclamation was the 
 strange phenomenon of the mirage, which on account of 
 the refraction of the rarefied layers of air, renders it diffi- 
 cult to locate one's self, and causes the sun to appear 
 almost motionless at one point of the heavens. 
 
GRALC II FLOUKISHEU THt KOl'li. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 THE AVALANCHE. 
 
 Since leaving Dud-Kunda the travelers had marched 
 at the rate of fifteen kilometers a day, and eight days 
 had passed. They could do no better,^ and it was the 
 maximum effort that could be made by human energy 
 at such levels and against such obstacles. They were 
 now in the midst of their definite ascent, six thou- 
 sand meters up, already feeling the divers troubles that 
 afflict mountain climbers ; vertigo, weight upon the 
 stomach, impeded circulation, difficulty in breathing — in 
 a word, they were threatened with all those ills that 
 physicians group under the generic name of mountain 
 sickness. None of them, however, wished to abandon 
 the party. When the goal is so near, one is rarely 
 discouraged. 
 
 So near! They knew very little about it. Like the 
 
2IO THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 Hindu pundit who was the first to attempt this tre- 
 mendous ascent, they passed around the mountain 
 without seeing it. The level they had reached gave 
 them a view of all the inferior or surrounding summits. 
 Nowhere could they discover the mysterious Gauri- 
 sankar. The nearer they came, the more closely it 
 concealed itself. It was a regular game of hide-and- 
 seek in which the one who escaped the pursuit of the 
 seekers was the giant par excellence, the king of the 
 Himalayas. 
 
 Now the travelers took all possible pains to keep 
 their way. They were in a labyrinth, as it were, and 
 the sun alone could guide them, furnishing them with 
 a point of comparison. 
 
 From Dudkunda to Khansa, from Khansa to Gaura, 
 from Gaura to Ghat, they had sometimes gone up and 
 sometimes down. They had not apparently gained a 
 meter. 
 
 Now, far from any designated road, they had no path 
 other than they made for themselves. But with each 
 ascent came a fresh disappointment. Did they climb one 
 peak, from its summit they discovered ten, twenty others, 
 to the north, to the east, to the west, to the south. 
 Then they had to descend again, and try to measure the 
 heights, and recommence the ascent with no more chance 
 of success. Meanwhile all had remarked one thing, and 
 this common observation had permitted them to com- 
 pare their estimates with more certainty. It was to the 
 north that the landscape kept the most unvarying 
 aspect, and one could perceive in that direction a suc- 
 cession of giant summits, from among which one in par- 
 ticular detached itself with noticeable clearness. 
 
 "Can we be mistaken?" asked Miss Weldon, one 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 211 
 
 morning, on whom all these goings and comings had 
 slowly begun to tell. ''Are we indeed in the neighbor- 
 hood of Gaurisankar ? Perhaps we have been victims, in 
 our ignorance, to some effect of the mirage, and are still 
 a great way from the mountain. The savages whom we 
 have questioned would not be likely to inform us as to 
 that." 
 
 Merrien responded. His eyes were fixed upon a map, 
 and he and the doctor came to show it to her. 
 
 ''No, mademoiselle. There can be no error, we are 
 eighty-four degrees, thirty minutes east of the meridian 
 of Paris, and twenty-seven degrees, fifty minutes north 
 latitude. The range on which we now are is certainly 
 that of Mayanama, in the center of which rises Chingo- 
 pa-mari or Gaurisankar, called Mt. Everest by the English. 
 The two rivers that we have crossed are certainly the 
 Tomba-Kosi, and the Dud-Kosi, and if we succeed in 
 finding the course of the two streams Arun and Barun, 
 we shall have found Gaurisankar." 
 
 That was not the only anxiety that the travelers ex- 
 perienced. There were others, of a different gravity ; the 
 first and most pressing of which was the question of 
 food. 
 
 At a height of six thousand meters, indeed, the trav- 
 elers had no dread of dangerous or even intrusive neigh- 
 bors. They decided, indeed, that there were not enough 
 of these. What would they not have given to meet 
 some of those wild goats in these valleys beside these 
 Himalayan rivers ; some of these broad-horned elans, whose 
 flesh is found so delectable by the hunters of the country ! 
 And it was not to satisfy a mere gourmand's caprice, but 
 to insure their very existence, that they gave themselves 
 up to the pleasures of the chase. 
 
212 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 In default of these innocent animals they would have 
 found acceptable an attack by one of the great ruminants 
 of the forest, one of the yaks or woolly oxen which are 
 still found on the plateaus of Tibet and of Central 
 Asia. 
 
 But nothing appeared. Occasionally, here and there 
 upon the heath, they saw in the distance a white rabbit 
 leaping or a snowy partridge flying ; creatures invariably 
 found in the cold regions, perhaps because the law of the 
 struggle for existence has developed the instinct to tlnd 
 shelter for their barren lives upon these bleak summits as 
 well as among the ice of the poles, where the flesh-eaters 
 of all kinds may not seek them. Nevertheless the travel- 
 ers could still see now and then white-headed eagles, 
 griffins, and vultures start up with hoarse cries above the 
 rocky spires where they had hung their eyries. 
 
 Now, during the six days that they had been in the 
 mountain the travelers had greatly reduced their sup- 
 plies. Up to this time they had eaten almost as usual. 
 Game had not been lacking, which had continued to 
 provide them with fresh meat. Bread itself had been 
 found, thanks to the cleverness of Salem-Bun, who had 
 bought a full supply of corn-meal of the peasants of 
 Ghat ; a simple and hospitable people, whose good 
 offices had been very much prized by the explorers. 
 
 But everything had given out at once, flour and rice, 
 meat and vegetables. They had to content themselves 
 with biscuit which had been brought in their knap- 
 sacks and occasional cups of tea or coffee ; but it was 
 absolutely necessary to hasten the ascent, if the sup- 
 plies were to hold out until they returned. 
 
 Since their entrance by the Thung-Lung pass, their 
 march had been nearly circular. They kept continually 
 
THE AFALANCHE. 215 
 
 going around the peak, and, strange to say, it seemed as 
 thoLigii tiie entire mountain turned in a contrary direction. 
 A sort of despair seized them. 
 
 The evening of the eighth day they halted on one of 
 the rocky ledges with which they were too well ac- 
 quainted, since they were all alike. 
 
 A gloomy silence reigned while they occupied them- 
 selves with cooking their last meal of meat. Salem- 
 Bun had set up in a cranny of the granite wall the 
 tripod on which he did his cooking in the open air, 
 after having announced to his companions that he was 
 going to make them a curry with the last bits of 
 salted kid left to them. 
 
 The platform on which they were was a projection 
 half a kilometer in width and length, overhanging dark 
 perpendicular gorges, at the bottom of which through 
 pines, cypresses, rhododendrons, and wild laurel trees 
 could be heard the roaring of torrents. Above them the 
 naked slippery wall rose to the height of three or four 
 hundred meters, except at the northeast, where a fright- 
 fully steep slope occurred, itself overhung by a glacier, 
 the surface of which could be seen sparkling in the sun. 
 
 The glacier appeared at a distance to inclose a lake. 
 It was probable that the waters coming from the melt- 
 ing snow had collected in this species of reservoir ; a 
 very slow trickling stream carried it in dazzling falls into 
 the shadowy valleys of the east, and one could often see 
 the spray of this water, reduced to mist, rise to the 
 crest of the mountain. 
 
 'Mt is strange," suddenly cried MacGregor ; ''the 
 more I consider this landscape, the more 1 fear being 
 the victim of an optical illusion." 
 
 '' What do you mean, doctor? " asked Cicely Weldon. 
 
2 14 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 The doctor had put his hand upon his eyes ; seeing 
 which, his companions had imitated him. 
 
 "Strange, strange!" repeated the Scotchman. ''My 
 sight must be deranged, for everything on the glacier 
 seems to be trembling." 
 
 "Bah! A phenomenon of mirage, doubtless, nothing 
 more," corrected Major Plumptre, but the officer had 
 not quitted his place by the fire which the baburdji 
 had lighted, and upon which the pot of curry was 
 exhaling its fragrant steam. 
 
 "Come and look yourself, Plumptre," cried Merrien ; 
 "your testimony would confirm ours." 
 
 The major rose carelessly, as if reluctant. He picked 
 up his spy-glass, which he had let fall at the entrance 
 of the little grotto in which they had taken shelter, and 
 advanced toward his friends, grumbling : 
 
 "What a bore to disturb me for nothing! One sees 
 that sort of thing ten times a day." 
 
 But he had hardly placed the glass to his eyes 
 when he gave a cry : 
 
 "By Jove!" he cried. "That is not a mirage, it 
 is a reality. The glacier is moving, it is coming 
 upon us ! " 
 
 Everyone sprang for his glass, and the next moment 
 the entire troop had fastened their gaze upon the 
 phenomenon. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Merrien, "this is serious. It is an 
 avalanche, but a diluvial one. I am not mistaken ; 1 
 have seen plenty of them, on Mt. Blanc, the Pyre- 
 nees, and the Caucasus, but nothing which was com- 
 parable to the one we now behold. This goes beyond 
 everything, surpassing all conception. May God pro- 
 tect us ! " 
 
THE AJ^ALANCHE. 215 
 
 Then, in sickening stupor mingled with admiration, 
 they all contemplated the terrifying marvel which nature 
 had put before their eyes. It was indeed an avalanche 
 which was descending the slope of the mountains. 
 The entire glacier was moving with a motion very slow 
 at first because of the slight incline, and also, doubtless, 
 because of the first obstacles which it found in its path. 
 But it was evident that these obstacles once overcome, 
 the descent once under way, the advance would be 
 fearfully rapid. Already hollow sounds, rumblings heard 
 faintly in the distance, betrayed that this had been 
 accomplished. The pressure of the enormous snowy 
 mass was splitting the dam of rocks that girdled it. 
 These broke loose under the immense impulse, and 
 from where they stood, the travelers could see them 
 fly out or roll down the slope. Some of the most tre- 
 mendous blocks fell into the waters of the lake, and then 
 the cascades, increasing in volumes, became torrents. 
 Finally a thunderous noise wakened the echoes of the 
 mountain. The glacier had found an outlet, it had forced 
 the stone rampart ; and the avalanche, eating away the 
 walls of the passage, crowded the granite masses to right 
 and left, filled the little lake in the twinkling of an eye, 
 sending its waters wildly out of their basin, and rushed 
 down the side of the mountain, with, henceforth, no 
 possible check. 
 
 'M understand now," said Merrien, "why these 
 mountains are a veritable labyrinth, and why the 
 Nepalis speak with absolute terror of the Himalayan 
 avalanches. They are daily changing the faces of the 
 peaks, effacing the path of yesterday, and making that of 
 the morrow only to efface it afresh. Either 1 am very 
 much mistaken, or the phenomenon that we now behold 
 
2i6 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 will in the end help to open the way to us, and tear the 
 veil from the mysterious Gaurisankar." 
 
 '' If it does not carry us away !" cried Miss Weldon, 
 in deep anxiety. 
 
 Jean Merrien reassured her. 
 
 ''No," he said, ''that fear should be dismissed. The 
 platform on which we stand is cut at right angles, 
 and the torrent descending from the chain cannot sub- 
 merge us. But it will indeed be better not to venture on 
 the other slope, for " 
 
 He did not finish. A frightful commotion shook the 
 atmosphere. A column of air displaced by the cataclysm 
 sped with the swiftness and force of a waterspout. The 
 first eddy had cut short the explorer's words. 
 
 "To the grotto! to the grotto!"' he cried, shouting 
 at the top of his voice. 
 
 All fled to the shelter, and crouched there in terror. 
 They were able from there to watch all the splendid hor- 
 ror of the scene. 
 
 All ? no, alas ! One was missing ; poor Knebel, one of 
 the Americans. 
 
 The imprudent fellow had left the ledge an hour 
 before and had ventured upon the slopes situated on 
 the other side of the cleft. The powerless spectators of 
 the scene, with broken hearts and brows contracted by a 
 horrible dread, could see the unfortunate man running, 
 tumbling heels over head, to reach them. Sometimes the 
 earth slipped from under his feet, and he fell on his back. 
 Sometimes he clutched desperately at the trunk of a tree 
 and succeeded in gaining some few feet of ground. But 
 it was obvious that he would not arrive in time at the 
 species of isthmus that connected the two slopes. The 
 avalanche would be ahead of him. 
 
THE Al^ALANCHE. 217 
 
 The catastrophe was inevitable. It came. A deluge 
 of stones, of mud, of bits of ice, of powdery snow passed 
 over the levels of the foreground. At the same time the 
 waters of the lake, driven from their basin, poured 
 out in torrents. A sheet of water occupying many 
 thousand cubic meters of space, like an instantaneous 
 Niagara, but often times greater volume than the famous 
 falls of Lake Erie, spread like a liquid veil over the side 
 of the mountain, followed immediately by the snowy 
 and rocky mass of the glacier. 
 
 It was prodigious, terrifying, and sublime. Trees, 
 bushes, grasses, and turf; the scant vegetation of the 
 wind-swept regions ; the dense and bushy mosses of the 
 valley, all disappeared in the twinkling of an eye, all 
 were swept away by the gigantic, supernatural wave. 
 A deafening noise, as of the bursting of a planet, made 
 up of thunder-claps, of the wail of winds started by 
 this sudden displacement, the cracking of tree trunks 
 and rocks, filled the air as with cries of agony. And 
 in the intervals of this cataclysm the explorers, petri- 
 fied with terror, perceived the unfortunate Knebel at 
 the very edge of the crevasse that separated the pla- 
 teau on which they had taken refuge from the declivity 
 of the neighboring slope. 
 
 The poor fellow's voice came to them between two 
 roars of the avalanche. 
 
 *' Help ! " he cried, in desperation, ''help! " 
 
 He was clinging to a strong root overhanging the 
 precipice, his feet resting on a sort of bracket of stone. 
 He looked about him with eyes crazed by fright. It 
 was a terrible sight that the travelers were forced to 
 behold. 
 
 ''Come, then!" cried Merrien. "We must do what 
 
2i8 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 we can to help him. The avalanche has not yet 
 broken over this side. Perhaps it will not do so. Couldn't 
 we try and throw him a rope ? " 
 
 ''Yes, yes," begged Cicely. ''Try that, friends. We 
 cannot leave him to perish unaided." 
 
 She was about to dart forth at once. The Frenchman 
 gently detained her, saying : 
 
 "No, mademoiselle, you would be of no use. The 
 vortices of air are still too violent, and, besides, we 
 will do all that can be done." 
 
 Aided by Plumptre and Euzen Graec'h, after they had 
 rapidly tied themselves together, Merrien ventured outside 
 the cleft in the rocks. 
 
 The undertaking was an extremely perilous one. It 
 was blowing a whirlwind, and the wind followed all 
 the fluctuations of the meteor. Seized by its gusts as 
 by an invisible and gigantic hand, the trees snapped. 
 Some were torn out by the roots and sent flying into 
 space, with their branches torn, their roots hanging 
 clogged with enormous clods of earth. Blocks weighing 
 many hundredweight. Hung as from a monstrous sling, 
 struck the smooth and rigid wall of the precipice, and 
 broke into innumerable fragments. The ^r^7^ of the abyss 
 was heaped with this debris, and the courageous travel- 
 ers might easily be caught in one of these showers before 
 they could accomplish their generous attempt. 
 ' Nevertheless, they did not draw back. Arrived at the 
 brink of the precipice, Graec'h, whose sailor's education 
 made him more skillful than the others, flourished the 
 rope which was coiled in two or three rings. He whirled 
 it about his head and let it fly. The end touched the 
 tree, and Knebel was able to grasp it. 
 
 All was not yet done, however. The American must 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 219 
 
 now, regardless of vertigo, and without hesitating at 
 the terrible shock, trusting himself to the rope, leap the 
 three or four meters between him and the opposite 
 wall, at the risk of being crushed against the granite. 
 
 For an instant the explorers considered him saved. 
 Abandoning his miserable refuge, the unfortunate man 
 had leaped, clinging to the rope. 
 
 But at the same moment the wind rose furiously. 
 A mass of snow, driven by the tempest, flew over the 
 edge of the cliff. The impulse was so unexpected, so 
 violent, that the Breton was thrown headlong upon the 
 brink, and half buried under a shroud oi neve^ while the 
 rope was cut on the sharp edge of the cliff, and the 
 unfortunate Knebel was plunged two hundred meters 
 into the abyss by the avalanche. 
 
 A cry of despair went up from the ledge. The catas- 
 trophe was complete. The American was dead, without 
 suffering, doubtless ; crushed by one hundred cubic meters 
 of earth, snow, and rocks. 
 
 They were fortunate if they had not two accidents to 
 deplore ! They were promptly reassured upon this point. 
 Euzen Graec'h rose, safe, but pretty badly bruised. 
 
 This terrible event cast a gloom over them all, and a 
 profound sadness weighed upon the hearts of the little 
 company. 
 
 Knebel was the first European to succumb in this 
 expedition. 
 
 Cicely Weldon, to whom he had been a devoted serv- 
 ant and faithful guardian, was cruelly stricken by this 
 loss. Sobs choked her, and a broken moan rose to her 
 lips, through her tears. 
 
 " How many misfortunes we have had upon our 
 
 * Neve is snow in the condition preceding the glacial 
 
220 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 journey!" she groaned. ''How many deaths! Is it not 
 a punishment for our pride, our vain curiosity ? Do we 
 not tempt God by trying to penetrate the mysteries of 
 the globe, the approaches to which are so guarded by 
 nature ? " 
 
 Her companions lavished attentions upon her and 
 revived her courage. No, their enterprise was not con- 
 trary to the will of God, and, sad as the accident was, 
 it was only too naturally explained by the imprudence of 
 the unfortunate Knebel himself. If he had not separated 
 himself from the camp, he would not have been surprised 
 by the avalanche, and would still be safe and sound 
 among his comrades. 
 
 They let grief have its way, until time should some- 
 what soften it. 
 
 Already Merrien, Plumptre, Dr. MacGregor, and Goulab 
 were inspecting the landscape and seeking to discover a 
 fresh path. 
 
 The prognostications of the Frenchman had been very 
 exact. The avalanche had cleared the ground and opened 
 the road to the explorers. 
 
 The Himalayas are thus masked and veiled each day 
 by the grand and terrible phenomena hidden among their 
 inaccessible heights. And these very phenomena are 
 what render them inaccessible. 
 
 Thence these unforeseen apparitions of walls unsus- 
 pected the day before, these overturnings of unstable 
 crests, in the wake of repeated excavations and the mys- 
 terious work of the waters ; thence these sudden floods 
 that transform a marsh into a lake, a stream into a river, 
 a gorge into a roaring and wild current of water, a glacier 
 into a cataract. But thence also the extreme difficulty 
 of the journey, the almost absolute impossibility of a 
 
A CRY OK DESPAIR RANG OUT. 
 
22 2 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 man's surmounting the obstacles and finding the marks of 
 the road, when that road is reduced to the proportions 
 of a goat- or bear-path. 
 
 hi this case the avalanche, in spite of the misfor- 
 tune it had caused them, had rendered a signal service 
 to the mountain-climbers— all the northwest of the mass 
 appeared clear before their eyes. 
 
 There, where two hours before were stretched a 
 glacier and a lake, was now nothing to be seen but a 
 long valley hollowed into a funnel. 
 
 A series of superposed terraces indicated the road to 
 be followed, and above the last of them a cone of 
 dazzling whiteness showed its profile against a sky of 
 remarkable purity. 
 
 Merrien pointed it out to the little group, and cried 
 out in a sort of transport : 
 
 "There it is! There it is, that Gaurisankar we have 
 so yearned for ! If my calculations are right, we ought 
 in two days to be at the entrance of the zone that 
 it dominates. Come, then— forward !— this time without 
 regret ! We touch our goal ! " This encouraging speech 
 renewed everyone's energy, and all prepared to follow 
 the road. 
 
 . But before leaving the scene of the catastrophe, the 
 travelers wished to make a final effort in behalf of their 
 poor lost comrade. 
 
 Possibly, thanks to some miraculous circumstance, 
 Knebel had been able, in spite of all appearances, to es- 
 cape the almost certain death of the abyss. They could, 
 not depart until they had exhausted all means of suc- 
 coring him if that were yet possible. 
 
 At the cost of extraordinary peril, Merrien, Plump- 
 tre, Graec'h, and Goulab descended by the aid of ropes 
 
THE Al^ALANCHE. 223 
 
 to the bottom of the precipice heaped with debris by 
 the avalanche. They were obliged to surrender all 
 hope. There, where some hours before the steep slope 
 had terminated in a valley carpeted by thick vegeta- 
 tion, was now only a chaos of ruin, as if an earth- 
 quake had crumbled the mountain, shaking to pieces 
 the entire mass of the Mayanamas. Of the trees, re- 
 cently bushy and green, there remained not a vestige ; 
 and at the bottom of the gorge there lay a pool of yel- 
 lowish water, which ran slowly into the prodigiously 
 enlarged bed of a stream. Upon the side of the seared 
 slope an enormous rent, a gaping wound, two hundred 
 meters long and more than five hundred meters wide, was 
 still pouring into the abyss the last eddies of rock and 
 water. 
 
 A mound of heaped-up earth alone indicated the huge 
 tomb under which rested the crushed remains of the poor 
 American. They had to climb up again more sorrowful 
 than before they had gone down, and it was with tears 
 and farewell prayers, after having planted upon this 
 Cyclopean grave a cross made of two pine branches, that 
 the travelers took leave of their companion, now effaced 
 from among the number of the living. 
 
 The dangerous and fatiguing march began again. But 
 this time, at least, the explorers had the satisfaction of 
 feeling that their trouble was not pure loss, and that they 
 were rising continually toward the peak. 
 
 They first crossed the bed of the little lake that 
 had been dried up by the cataclysm, then the site of 
 the glacier itself 
 
 Singular to relate, the ground here was as dry as 
 though it had never borne a wet bed of ice. Stranger 
 still ! at this level of six thousand meters or there- 
 
224 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 aboLits, they did not experience the difficulty in breath- 
 ing from which they had suffered at nuicii lower 
 altitude. 
 
 The doctor explained this anomaly by the displace- 
 ment of air that had been brought about by the 
 meteor. According to him, the phenomenon could not 
 have taken place without freeing a prodigious quantity 
 of all kinds of gases, bringing a fresh supply of oxygen 
 to the rarefied atmosphere. 
 
 He calculated that, unfortunately, this relative com- 
 fort would not last, and the ordinary density of high 
 altitudes would soon be resumed. 
 
 He was only too correct. After passing another 
 night under tents erected on a plateau seven thousand 
 meters in altitude, the travelers realized, from the un- 
 conquerable lassitude of their limbs, the congestion and 
 vertigo that they experienced, and the overwhelming 
 oppression for breath, that they had reached regions 
 fatal to every creature that breathes. The moment had 
 come to use the most extreme measures against that 
 greatest of all dangers, the danger of asphyxia. 
 
 Then they unpacked with the greatest care the 
 boxes that had been placed on the litters which the 
 travelers had transported sometimes on the backs of 
 mules, sometimes on oxen or sheep, and sometimes on 
 their own shoulders. Jean Merrien explained their nature 
 and the part they were to play. 
 
 " Here," said he, " is the most recent product of the 
 inventive genius of man. The copper helmets that we 
 are going to put on much resemble diving jackets. These 
 bags that you see contain little steel bottles and little 
 glass tubes which have in them bi-oxide ot manganese, 
 and the water requisite to the production of oxygen. 
 
THE Al^ALANCHE. 
 
 225 
 
 Communication is established between the tubes and bot- 
 tles by means of valve conduits, the cocks of which are 
 ready to each one's hand. In the steel tubes is liquid 
 oxygen, reduced to this state by twelve atmospheres' 
 pressure. The valve projects the oxygen into the interior 
 of the air chamber placed on the left side of the breath- 
 ing tube in such a way that the gas does not reach the 
 lips entirely pure, which fact regulates its expenditure and 
 also spares the lungs which breathe it. At the same 
 time, the bi-oxide of manganese, until the quantity in- 
 closed in the bag is completely exhausted, permits the 
 oxygen consumed to be replaced by a fresh supply. 
 
 "The apparatus that we have here contains the supply 
 requisite for ten days' breathing. Let us then be sparing 
 of it, and finish our ascent within that period." 
 

 ^ "'/'^^y^^fff^'^ 
 
 THEY WERE LYING IN THE SHADE OF THE PINE TREES. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 FAILURE OF AIR. 
 
 Before definitely setting out for the summits the trav- 
 elers prepared their itinerary, and made all their arrange- 
 ments with the scrupulous care demanded by prudence. 
 
 Their position determined, they decided that they 
 were eighty-four degrees, twenty-six minutes, nineteen 
 seconds, east longitude, and twenty-seven degrees, 
 thirty-two minutes, nfty-lour seconds, north latitude, 
 to the east of the peak supposed to be Gaurisankar, 
 to the southwest of Mi-la pass, to the northwest of 
 Ouallangchun. A wide valley, opening at their right, 
 showed them in the distance the course of the Arun, a 
 gorge at their feet, and beyond that of the Barun. 
 
 The column at once divided itself into three groups. 
 
 The first consisted of Merrien, Plumptre, and Miss Weldon ; 
 
 the second of Dr. MacGregor, Goulab, and Morley ; the 
 
 226 
 
FAILURE OF AIR.. 227 
 
 third, of Euzen Graec'h, Christi, Salem-Bun, and his 
 Hindu comrade. 
 
 It was decided that the ascent should be acjomplished 
 under the following conditions : 
 
 The first group should begin to climb, taking the lead 
 by an hour's march from the second, which should start 
 according to the same regulations, after having received 
 and transmitted to the third, the telegraphic advices sent 
 back by the first. This communication was to be estab- 
 lished by means of an electric wire inclosed in a cable, and 
 surrounded by gutta-percha, about six kilometers in length, 
 which the travelers unrolled behind them as they went. 
 
 The ascent became very laborious. At each step they 
 were checked by unforeseen obstacles. They were 
 obliged to climb perpendicular rocks, enter veritable 
 plains of snow in which they sank up to the waist, 
 avoid speaking aloud for fear of provoking a disturb- 
 ance of air sufficient to bring on a landslide. The lack 
 of provisions was greatly felt, and, whatever their energy 
 might be, the travelers felt their strength was decreasing 
 from hour to hour. 
 
 The morning of the twelfth day Merrien, on exami- 
 ning the needle, was able to estimate the altitude by aid 
 of the barometric pressure. 
 
 'M believe," said he to Cicely and the major, ''that 
 we have reached the highest point that human foot has 
 ever pressed." 
 
 ''What is the height?" asked the officer. 
 
 "Seven thousand five hundred meters." 
 
 "That is an error : the Hindus of Gangotri affirm that 
 the Pundit of Milam climbed to the summit of Ibi-Gamin, 
 which is seven thousand nine hundred and thirty-two 
 meters. So one could go higher than this." 
 
228 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''We will do so," said Miss Weldon resolutely. 
 They persevered two hundred meters further, but at 
 the cost of what suffering ! 
 
 At the first halt that they made the travelers took 
 off their helmets in order to economize, so far as pos- 
 sible, their air reserve. No sooner was the mucous 
 membrane brought into contact with this extraordinarily 
 rarefied air than the characteristic troubles appeared with 
 their usual violence. A sharp cough racked the bron- 
 chial tubes, the blood spouted from Cicely's nostrils, 
 and the poor child fell nearly fainting on the ground. 
 
 Merrien and Plumptre hastened to replace the ap- 
 paratus upon her head, but the incident had seriously 
 impressed them all. They asked themselves if it would 
 not be impossible henceforth to pursue an enterprise to 
 which nature opposed such insurmountable barriers. 
 Furthermore, they could no longer subsist on biscuit, and 
 inflammation of the gums announced the danger of 
 scurvy. 
 
 It was indispensable that they should find fresh veg- 
 etables somewhere, and, if possible, a little meat, in order 
 to restore to the blood the red globules wasted by 
 anagmia. 
 
 Suddenly Plumptre, whose eyes swept the horizon of 
 the peaks, gesticulated with both arms, and without 
 waiting for the others, let himself slide rapidly down the 
 talus which they had just climbed. Without trying to 
 comprehend him, Merrien and Cicely Weldon followed 
 him upon his hazardous path. The next instant all three 
 had taken off their air helmets, and lying in the shade 
 of the pines and cypress clumps, breathed luxuriously the 
 air filled with resinous odors that played under the 
 dark branches. 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 229^ 
 
 ''Truly, Plumptre/' cried Merrien gayly, ''this is a 
 priceless discovery which you have just made." 
 
 "Zounds! my dear friend," replied the Scotchman, 
 "we have just lost the seven hundred meters we had 
 gained, but it was urgently necessary to refresh our lungs. 
 We will make up our distance this evening or to-morrow 
 morning. Meanwhile, let us notify our friends to join us 
 as soon as possible." 
 
 They immediately established telegraphic communica- 
 tion, and minutely indicated to the rest of the company 
 the road they must follow to reach the Valley of Health. 
 For thus it was that the three in their enthusiasm styled 
 the unknown Tempe which they had just discovered at 
 an altitude that usually destroys all efforts at vegetation. 
 
 Two hours later the column was reunited, and a little 
 joy played upon the faces clouded by suffering and pri- 
 vation. 
 
 "Sahib," said Salem-Bun to Plumptre, with a loud 
 laugh, "would you feel disposed to eat a good curry?" 
 
 "Ten, if you say so, my boy," replied the officer, 
 " if you have the wherewithal to make them." 
 
 "Very well," replied the baburji ; " 1 have the powder, 
 the rice, the wood, the matches, and casseroles, nothing- 
 is lacking but the meat." 
 
 "Naturally," grumbled the major, "and you think 
 it is funny to serve up this joke to us in place of a 
 dinner." 
 
 Goulab interrupted them. He had had time to ex- 
 plore a part of the valley ; he returned, saying : 
 
 "Major, this gorge certainly contains game— game the 
 easier to chase since it cannot escape from here, except 
 to descend lower. All that is required is that it should 
 not be too abundant or too large." 
 
230 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 "We will take it as it comes, Goulab," said Mer- 
 rien gayly. "Just now the important thing is to have 
 fresh meat. What do you think, mademoiselle ? " 
 
 "I am entirely of your opinion, M. Jean, and as I 
 shall not require much urging to take my part of the 
 feast, 1 ask to Join in the hunt." 
 
 "Bravo! bravo!" applauded her companions, while 
 Goulab, somewhat more serious, said in a low tone : 
 
 " Perhaps that is imprudent, mademoiselle. We do 
 not know what animals we are going to run across." 
 
 "Very well, Goulab. It is as dangerous for you as 
 for me," and then she added, somewhat maliciously, 
 "perhaps you doubt my talent as a marksman?" 
 
 "Certainly not, Miss Cicely, 1 have much too keen 
 a remembrance of your good shots to doubt your 
 skill. Very well ; since you are determined to be one 
 of us, 1 ask nothing better, for my part ; you will bring 
 us good luck. Now," he added, turning to the hunt- 
 ers already grouped: "forward, march!" 
 
 " Forward, march !" repeated the young girl joyously, 
 while she slung to her shoulder the fine carbine re- 
 served for her personal use. 
 
 After having explored the neighborhood of the camp, 
 which the Hindus had already set up and were scru- 
 pulously guarding, the little company descended some- 
 what lower toward the bottom of the valley. Not 
 until then did they think of inspecting their surround- 
 ings. On every side there were only fresh verdure 
 and straight and vigorous trees to be seen, while over 
 their heads rose the gigantic summits that seemed to 
 overarch the valley, their peaks uniting in a colossal dome. 
 
 At their feet sported a little stream, winding like a 
 silver ribbon upon green velvet. 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 231 
 
 '* Come, come, the chef awaits the meat, that he 
 may serve us with a perfect curry, and meanwhile you 
 stand there mute with ecstasy, like any poet. You poor 
 amateurs !" cried MacGregor, in a pathetic tone. 
 
 A general laugh greeted this sensible reflection, and 
 their slumbering appetites suddenly awoke with incred- 
 ible ferocity. 
 
 They at once made the necessary arrangements, and 
 after agreeing upon a cry for help, and a place of 
 rendezvous, they disbanded in groups of three, just as 
 they had done several days before, but for an entirely 
 different purpose. 
 
 The hunters had been separated hardly a quarter of 
 an hour when a guttural cry, prolonged, repeated by 
 all the echoes of the mountain, reached the ears of 
 Cicely Weldon, Merrien, and the major. 
 
 ''Did you hear that, gentlemen?" asked Cicely, 
 startled. 
 
 "Yes," responded Merrien, while Plumptre nodded in 
 the affirmative. "It is the signal agreed upon, and if 1 
 can judge from the sound of the voice, it comes from 
 Goulab." 
 
 So speaking, they turned back upon their path. They 
 came out upon a sort of cross-road, where the other 
 hunters were already assembled. Facing the group, by 
 the side of a thicket from out of which he had been 
 driven by Christi, a yak of the very finest species was 
 pawing the earth with his cloven foot. 
 
 The yak of the Himalayas, or rather of Tibet, is a sort 
 of long-haired ox, with great horns pointed at the ends. 
 A prominent hump follows the line of the shoulders and 
 gives this curious ruminant the appearance of. great 
 strength. 
 
232 THE LAND Ot TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 Suddenly the animal, lowering its head, butted with 
 its horns against the earth it had turned up, and then 
 straightening itself with an abrupt, proud movement, fixed 
 its eyes for a moment upon its enemies, and, without 
 further warning, charged upon them. The latter, who 
 had followed all its movements attentively, and divined 
 its intention, separated with one accord into two groups, 
 between which the yak passed like a streak of 
 lightning. 
 
 The animal, furious at having missed his aim, stopped 
 after a few paces, and turning square around, prepared to 
 renew his attack. Major Plumptre had advanced in 
 front of his companions, in order to aim the moment 
 the assailant passed them again. But, surprised by the 
 yak's sudden stop, disturbed by its abrupt tacking, he 
 lost the impassibility and sang-froid that made him so 
 remarkable a marksman. 
 
 The shot was fired, but only wounded the animal, 
 who rushed upon him. He could not completely avoid 
 it, and being struck in the side by the yak's shoulder, he 
 was upset. The brute, forgetting the hunters, stopped as 
 soon as it could, carried away as it was by its im- 
 petus and the rather steep incline at this place. Just 
 as it prepared to return to a fresh charge upon the 
 unfortunate Englishman, a report rang out. 
 
 The wild ox fell, biting the dust with its smoking 
 muzzle. The animal was not dead ; Cicely's ball, for it 
 was she who had fired, had struck the center of the knee 
 with perfect accuracy, breaking the cap. But before any- 
 one had budged, except the major, who had risen and 
 shaken the earth from his clothing with scrupulous 
 care. Miss Weldon had fired a second time, and struck 
 the animal just at the shoulder-joint. A quiver ran 
 
THE YAK PASSED LIKE A STREAK OF LIGHT. 
 
234 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 through its entire frame, and it moved no more. Then 
 they vied with each other in complimenting the young 
 American. Major Piumptre came forward, much moved, 
 and, bowing before Cicely, he said : 
 
 '' 1 owe my life to you, Miss Cicely. 1 shall never 
 forget it." 
 
 ''Major, one good turn deserves another. You have 
 already saved mine. Henceforth we are quits." 
 
 And turning to Goulab, she added laughingly : 
 
 " Do you always find, shikari, that it is imprudent 
 to take me along ? " 
 
 '' Did 1 not say also that you brought us good luck ? " 
 the Hindu replied gravely. 
 
 " We now have a choice morsel, thanks to Miss 
 Cicely. We had better profit by it at once. We must 
 notify Salem-Bun," cried MacGregor, who had not been 
 made oblivious to his hunger by these incidents. 
 
 " 1 will go," said Christi. And in less than a mo- 
 ment he had climbed the slope. 
 
 Some moments later he reappeared, accompanied by 
 the two Hindus, who set to work to cut up the prey 
 with the utmost possible care. 
 
 Choice bits are not lacking in the yak. It is, in 
 fact, game of the first quality, whose extraordinarily 
 savory flesh partakes both of the nature of butcher's 
 meat and of venison. Independently of the • parts that 
 one usually prefers in its European cousin, the yak 
 furnishes cuts peculiar to itself. Such are the hump, 
 which the gourmets of India and Nepal consider fit for 
 a king, and the tail, which is prepared with sauces, 
 and in ragouts of all kinds. 
 
 The baburdji and his assistant declared that they 
 had never been at such a feast before, and they im- 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 235 
 
 plored Miss Weldon to be hencefortli purveyor for their 
 larder. 
 
 Put into good humor by this success, which insured 
 the little company supplies for some time to come, 
 the young girl proposed a fresh ''battue" in the thick- 
 ets of the valley. 
 
 '' Miss," said Goulab, smiling, " although 1 hold a good 
 enough rank among hunters, I am a little humiliated not 
 to have better deserved, thus far, my title of shikari. If 
 you wish, 1 will try to restore my good name, for 1 have 
 just now seen numerous traces of four-footed and feath- 
 ered game. It is only a pity that none of us thought of 
 bringing a dog. it would have been a great aid to us 
 in pointing for rabbits and pheasants. But since we have 
 none we will try to do without one." 
 
 *M am with you, Goulab," cried the indef^itigable 
 major, who never wanted to be left out of any sport. 
 
 "And I also," added the Breton, and Morley the 
 American, who were anxious to hear the rifle's 
 voice. 
 
 Meanwhile Cicely, Merrien, and the doctor had 
 returned to the camp, where they found the little 
 Madrasi occupied with gathering wood for the dinner. 
 
 Salem-Bun had already cut a beefsteak big enough 
 to feed a caravan four times the size of theirs, and 
 put the rest of the meat in pickle in the salted oil in 
 order to have it in readiness for future repasts. 
 
 The young girl and ' her two companions seated 
 themselves under the shade of a little pine wood, and 
 commenced to indulge in all sorts of fancijes. 
 
 '' Truly," cried the enthusiastic Cicely, ''this valley 
 is an Eden. The temperature that reigns here is perpetual 
 spring, and just now, on the banks of the stream, I 
 
236 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 noticed magnificent trees like those of the temperate 
 zones, such as poplars, beeches, the ash, the chestnut, 
 plane and maple trees. 1 am not even certain that I 
 did not see oaks." 
 
 "It would have been nothing astonishing if you had 
 seen them," said MacGregor. "The Himalaya region, as 
 1 believe I have already told you, is a world apart, which 
 possesses all the zones and all the latitudes of the 
 globe. The Tarai has given us" the climate of the tropics, 
 and we have recently been able, and to-morrow shall 
 be still better able, to judge of the tremendous cold of 
 the peaks." 
 
 "But, doctor," resumed Miss Weldon, "how do you 
 explain the abnormal temperature of this valley at this 
 altitude?" 
 
 "1 can't more than half explain it, and 1 confess to 
 not being entirely satisfied with even that explanation. 
 Poor as it is, it may nevertheless be right, but we have 
 neither the means nor the leisure to verify it." 
 
 "Speak it out, doctor," insisted Merrien, who was 
 greatly interested in the physician's words. 
 
 "Such as it is, my theory is justifiable. I imagine 
 that we must face the south, and we may be certain 
 in that particular when the twilight shows us in which 
 direction the shadows fall ; for 1 fancy that here we shall 
 be free from those optical illusions that, when we were 
 up above, showed us the sun continually in the same 
 place. We face the south, then, and in all probability 
 the mountain mass will be opened its entire length by 
 a ladder of valleys which receive the wind from the same 
 direction as ourselves. Now, this wind, observe, comes 
 to us directly from Bengal, over the Sunderbunds, 
 Calcutta, Darjiling, etc. It thus brings us both humidity 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 237 
 
 tind warmth, seeds from the lowlands and the fertile 
 growth of the marshes. It is in this way that I explain 
 the presence of this paradise." 
 
 ''Nothing could be more logical than this hypoth- 
 esis, doctor," said Jean Merrien, '' and as for me 1 tlnd 
 it quite sufficient." 
 
 "There is, however, a 'but.' Damp winds are usu- 
 ally very low ones. Now for the south winds to attain 
 such an altitude, there ought to be, it seems to me, 
 at the other end of the valley, a sort of flue." 
 
 "That is what we must verify." 
 
 Just then a succession of reports, borne upon the 
 •echoes of the valley, interrupted their conversation. 
 
 " Goulab and Plumptre are having their heart's de- 
 sire," said Cicely Weldon gayly. " We shall soon know 
 if they have been lucky." 
 
 They knew in half an hour, the friends returning with 
 that air of proud beatitude that characterizes triumphant 
 hunters. Plumptre brought back three pheasants and 
 four hares ; Goulab, six partridges, two pheasants, and two 
 grouse of the couroucou family. Euzen Graec'h, the 
 least fortunate of all, had, nevertheless, brought down his 
 three hares. In the presence of these additional supplies, 
 the enthusiasm of the company knew no bounds. 
 
 "Decidedly," said the doctor, "this place is good, 
 and we might do as did the Apostles on the day of 
 the Transfiguration — erect here our tents. Suppose we 
 stop our ascent here ? Aren't we on Gaurisankar, after all ?" 
 
 "Suppose, then, that we found a colony," joked Mer- 
 rien. "At least we shall be sure of having no intru- 
 sive neighbors." 
 
 Goulab shook his head, and when asked the meaning 
 of that doubting gesture, he replied : 
 
238 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Snhibs, nothing could be less certain than your 
 security in this place. I have, in fact, discovered proof 
 that this valley is known to travelers. It furnishes one 
 of the passages between the Ouallangchun pass and that 
 of Ni-la, as is demonstrated by the existence of a path 
 over the nearest buttress." 
 
 He pointed to the eastern crest overhanging the 
 valley. 
 
 ''That absolutely disenchants me!" declared Miss 
 Weldon, with a gesture of irritation. 'Ms there not a 
 corner of the globe that has not been profaned by 
 man ? " 
 
 Merrien commenced to laugh at this, and gayly 
 bantered the young girl. 
 
 " What would you say, mademoiselle, if you should 
 chance to hear that remark from the lips of the man 
 who shall climb Gaurisankar after us ? " 
 
 " I should say that he was right, my dear sir," 
 replied Cicely, who had the courage of her convictions. 
 
 The day ended in the midst of a multiplicity of occu- 
 pations. The dinner, carefully prepared by Salem-Bun, 
 was found delicious. It was also plentiful. 
 
 Then, as the Hindu cook knew his art to its founda- 
 tion, having added to his natural gifts the education he 
 had received from the divers English masters whom he 
 had served, he was able to lay aside important stores of 
 cold meat for the rest of the trip. 
 
 The next morning they had the satisfaction at last 
 of seeing the sun rise normally, and they were able 
 by its light to explore the depths of the valley. The 
 fog which lay like a fleece over the levels did not 
 prevent the travelers from sweeping the landscape with 
 their glance. But they only commenced to enjoy a 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 239 
 
 comprehensive view after having climbed the opposite 
 ledge. In order better to arrange the plan of their route, 
 they decided that Goulab, Plumptre, and the doctor should 
 follow the path of the caravans, while the rest of the 
 company should go up the valley as far as the rocky 
 mass which made of it a sort of impasse. 
 
 The result of this strategy was to bring them all 
 to a point of junction forming a terrace. A fresh 
 wall, analogous to those that they had so frequently 
 encountered, closed all egress toward the center of the 
 mountain. 
 
 "There is no further doubt of it, "cried Merrien, strik- 
 ing the wall with the end of his iron staff. "The peak 
 is concealed there behind this rampart." 
 
 "Then we shall not see it," declared MacGregor, in 
 discouragement. 
 
 "We shall see it!" exclaimed the Frenchman, with 
 emphasis. "I have vowed to scale Gaurisankar: I shall 
 do so." 
 
 "Have you wings?" asked the doctor mockingly. 
 
 "No, but 1 have my hands, my spurs, and my 
 ropes. Besides, at first sight, this wall does not appear 
 to me to be more than one hundred meters high, and 
 if, instead of descending into the valley we had con- 
 tinued our route along the ledge, we should certainly 
 have come out at this terrace." 
 
 A very animated discussion then ensued between 
 the different members of the column. MacGregor, for 
 the first time, expressed the opinion that they already 
 had done enough, that to attempt new adventures would 
 be to tempt Providence. He supported this sentiment 
 with very conclusive reasons. 
 
 "My dear Merrien," he said, "it is folly. You have 
 
-240 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 already satisfied yourself as to the impossibility of ap- 
 proaching the highest levels without the aid of our 
 tubes of oxygen. Even here it has taken a veritable 
 caprice of nature to inclose in this fissure of the moun- 
 tain mass air that can be breathed. 1 cannot otherwise 
 explain this anomaly. How do you hope to overcome 
 the obstacles born of the interdict of creation itself?" 
 
 ''Doctor," replied Merrien, " if I only wished to do 
 what everyone can do, I should not have come as far 
 as Gaurisankar." 
 
 It was of no use for MacGregor to say anything ; 
 he vainly produced his best arguments one after an- 
 other. Jean Merrien was intractable, and such was the 
 force of his resolution that he won over Plumptre and 
 Cicely Weldon. Each of these declared that nothing 
 should be conceded to a rival. 
 
 "Where France goes, there can England go!" cried 
 the Englishman, with spirit. 
 
 "And young America will not be behind them !" ex- 
 claimed Miss Weldon with the same enthusiasm. They 
 were thus far in the debate, when they saw Christi 
 running rapidly, making almost incomprehensible signs. 
 
 When the little Madrasi, breathless with his run, 
 had at last recovered sufficient calm, he explained him- 
 self He had just discovered, in turning the wall, an 
 excavation from which escaped boiling water and vapor, 
 the sulphurous odor of which indicated the presence of a 
 mineral spring. Guided by him the explorers entered a 
 sort of tunnel, the vault of which, at first loM'-arched, 
 rose into a sort of half-circular hall, terminated by a 
 narrow flue through which the clear blue sky could 
 be seen. 
 
 "This conduit must come out upon the upper 
 
FAILURE OF AIR. 
 
 241 
 
 platform," said Merrien. ''Perhaps we miglit get out 
 this way and reach it ? " 
 
 The hypothesis was admissible. It was yet to be 
 verified. 
 
 In order not to involve the entire company in this 
 difficult passage, they made an examination of it, and 
 as the temperature of the crypt, in spite of the vapor 
 that filled it, was not insupportable, the doctor, Goulab, 
 and their companions entered it at the furthest possible 
 distance from the hot spring. If necessary, should the 
 heat become too great for them, they would only 
 have to regain the cool grassy slopes of the valley 
 itself. 
 
 The three who were going to attempt this ascent, 
 the most difficult that they had yet undertaken, set 
 out with the assistance nature had provided, aided by 
 their own industry. 
 
 hi the twinkling of an eye hooks and ropes were 
 ready. Euzen Graec'h and Merrien commenced to climb 
 the first loose rocks. 
 
THE COMPANIONS EMERGED, ONE AFTER THE OTHER. 
 
 XV. 
 
 THE CRATER. 
 
 It was a veritable chimney, caused by the gases of the 
 earth piercing through the enormous rock which rose 
 perpendicularly from the vault of the grotto to the level 
 of the open air a hundred meters higher up, so that 
 Merrien said laughingly to his companions : 
 
 "We are to fill the position of chimney sweeps, and 
 we must climb like them. 1 hope that we shall find 
 foothold." This mode of ascent, though offering consid- 
 erable difficulties to an ordinary man, was of truly ele- 
 mentary simplicity for the gymnasts accustomed to that 
 sort of exercise. 
 
 It was a question of raising one's self after the man- 
 ner of the little Savoyards, bringing hands and feet, back 
 and knees to one's aid wherever the narrow opening 
 would permit such gymnastics. But as nothing could be 
 
THE CRATER. 243 
 
 more irregular than this tubular conduit, as it now 
 contracted, now widened ; it presented enormous varia- 
 tions in diameter, and other methods were necessary to 
 the overcoming of these formidable difficulties, in order 
 to avoid a fatal fall. 
 
 Merrien was provided with several hooks and a 
 hammer. The operation, slow as it was difficult, con- 
 sisted in driving these hooks one after another in the 
 rocky wall, and mounting by their aid, adding one 
 more at each step. Relieved by the Breton and the 
 major in turn, the Frenchman finished this arduous task 
 in less than an hour. And in order to spare the oth- 
 ers the fatigue of continually mounting and descending, 
 they slipped a cord through the hooks thus planted, and 
 by the aid of this cord raised the necessary materials after 
 the fashion of masons and painters upon their scaffold- 
 ings. 
 
 By good luck the wall, in spite of its inequality, 
 was made of a homogeneous limestone, which retained 
 the iron once driven into it. They thus had no breaks 
 to fear, no giving way under the weight of the heavy 
 bodies that would be suspended from the hooks. 
 
 These were of very superior temper, and could be 
 firmly inserted in the stone which formed the circum- 
 ference of the flue. At the end of the seventieth, 
 Merrien, entirely satisfied as to the resistance of the 
 steel and the solidity of the wall, cried from above to 
 his companions that they might in their turn commence 
 the ascent. 
 
 He had already reached a sort of entablature form- 
 ing a cornice, when they perceived that from this cornice 
 started a second flue, cut through obliquely ; the gentle 
 slope of which was made still easier by the presence 
 
244 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 of regulnr steps of rock, placed there by a caprice of 
 nature. It might be said that some prehistoric giant 
 had made this cavern his chosen retreat, and had cut this 
 strange subterranean stairway for his own use. Positive, 
 now, of being able to reach the upper level, the young 
 man renewed his invitation to his friends to join him, and 
 extended to them a rope previously fastened to the end 
 hook, which he took pains to fasten upon the little ledge 
 that he had reached. 
 
 Miss Weldon was the first to venture upon the peril- 
 ous ladder. 
 
 The brave young girl had not been boasting when, at 
 Srinagar, she had enumerated her previous exploits on the 
 banks of Niagara and the Zambesi. Supple and vigor- 
 ous, she gave proof of extraordinary boldness and strength 
 in hanging to the floating balustrade furnished by the 
 rope, and ten minutes later she was by Merrien's side, 
 followed almost immediately by Plumptre. 
 
 The good major, although he was the third to ar- 
 rive, was proud of the tour de force that he had just 
 accomplished. 
 
 The cry that burst spontaneously from his lips was 
 an altogether surprising bit of homage from an English- 
 man. 
 
 " My dear Merrien, the qualities of your race are justly 
 boasted of. Only a Frenchman can set other peoples the 
 example of conceiving such extravagant feats, and of 
 carrying them out." 
 
 To which the Frenchman replied with gay courtesy : 
 
 ''Bah, my dear major! do not congratulate me. 
 There is every reason to suppose that, if 1 had had no 
 competitors, 1 should not have done what 1 have done. 
 But do not let us delay for compliments," he added. 
 
THE CRATER. 245 
 
 ''We shall have time enough to congratulate each 
 other when we come down from Gaurisankar." And all 
 three, fired with fresh enthusiasm, commenced to climb 
 the Cyclopean stairway. 
 
 Merrrien was again the first to reach the upper plat- 
 form. A great cry of joy burst from his lips, followed 
 immediately by a clapping of hands from Cicely, and 
 the enthusiastic hurrahs of the Scotchman. Certainly 
 it had never before been given to human eye to behold 
 so marvelous a spectacle. 
 
 The three travelers found themselves on the brink of 
 a gigantic pit, and the panorama which stretched before 
 them embraced an area as great as a third of all France. 
 
 The great circular platform surrounded Chingo-pa-mari 
 like a collar, the snowy brow of the mountain rising as 
 much as fifteen hundred meters above the level at 
 which the travelers had arrived. 
 
 Below them, as far as the eye could reach, the entire 
 mass of the Mayanama accented itself like a map in 
 relief, and the Himalaya range with its imposing strata, 
 its powerful buttresses, the thousand folds of its arms, 
 extended in all directions before their vision. To the north 
 the continuation of the masses, connected by their passes, 
 maintained an abrupt slope toward the banks of a stream 
 that could be seen shining like a silver ribbon in the 
 narrow Tingri Mdidan plain, the stream called the Tingri- 
 Chu. Beyond, the great line of the Trans-Himalaya 
 rivaled the true Himalaya in elevation, and revealed 
 peaks of prodigious height that human activity has. 
 never been able to approach. To the east Kinchinjinga, 
 the rival of Everest, seemed close at hand, and its-^ 
 well-defined contours, its powerfully accented outlines, 
 made it appear like an isolated pyramid, while after it 
 
246 THE LAND OF TA[VNY BEASTS. 
 
 came the mighty masses of the Singalila, Gnarim, and 
 DoLikiah Mountains. To the westward rose the succes- 
 sion of heights already scaled by the column — the Thiang- 
 Loang pass, the Gossainthan mass— and away in the back- 
 ground, sparkling through the violet mists, was that 
 Dhaulagiri that the travelers had vainly tried to climb. 
 Finally, to the southward unfurled the valley of Arun, 
 and the eye could easily follow, with a sense of color 
 perspective, the marvelous gradation of gorges of which 
 the valley they had reached the day before was only 
 the highest step. 
 
 The three travelers paused, filled with a sentiment 
 of pious admiration. Cicely Weldon in particular mani- 
 fested profound emotion. 
 
 *' Heavens ! how beautiful it is ! " she exclaimed at 
 intervals. 
 
 "Do you regret the ascent, major?" asked Merrien, 
 laughing. 
 
 ''No, by Jove ! " replied the officer, ''and 1 under- 
 stand why nature should put a high price upon such 
 scenes." 
 
 They could not satisfy their gaze, and words failed 
 them to interpret the multitudinous sentiments that 
 agitated them. 
 
 " If we could only get our comrades thus far? Eh! 
 What do you think, Plumptre?" 
 
 "1 think," replied the Scotchman, "that we ought at 
 least to let them know about it. They will come then, 
 if they wish to." 
 
 Merrien tore a leaf from his notebook, scribbled some 
 lines upon it, folded this brief epistle in a square of 
 paper, which he fastened to a pebble ; then leaning over 
 the edge of the flue, he dropped the stone. This fell 
 
THE CRATER. 247 
 
 with a noise comparable to that of a succession of fire- 
 works, exploding one after the other, and the Frenchman 
 had the satisfaction of seeing it picked up by their 
 comrades, who ran up, attracted by the noise. 
 
 The proposition must have given rise to some discus- 
 sion, for the echoes of the flue, acting as a means of 
 communication, brought some of the fragments of con- 
 versation to Merrien's ears, some shreds of sentences 
 that had to be pieced together to make sense. Jean 
 Merrien interpreted them to his friends. 
 
 ''There will certainly not be more than three who will 
 make the ascent : the doctor, Goulab, and Euzen. Salem- 
 Bun prefers to remain below. Wide horizons do not 
 tempt him. He is decidedly a pot-au-feu man." 
 
 This joke had no further success than to elicit from 
 Miss Weldon the following scathing remark : 
 
 "Do not mock, M. Merrien; he has chosen the 
 better part. You may soon have occasion to regret that 
 you did not remain with him." 
 
 At this moment the expected comrades emerged one 
 after the other from the oblique conduit, and the first 
 comers received them with lively congratulations. The 
 doctor, after vigorously rubbing his legs and back, ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 ''What a road, my friends, what a road! It is true 
 that, when one is fairly on the ledge, one doesn't lack for 
 air." 
 
 "Humph!" sneered Plumptre, "we had better not 
 flatter ourselves too soon. We have no assurance that 
 we shall long possess that happiness." 
 
 "What do you mean, major?" they all asked, 
 alarmed by this speech. 
 
 "1 mean that it would be very possible to have 
 
248 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 the counterpart of the avalanche here. But in place of 
 being too cold, and smothered with snow, we shall 
 be too hot, perhaps. Either 1 am much mistaken or 
 we are now over the mouth of a gigantic crater, 
 forming a circle about the principal peak. You can fur- 
 ther assure yourselves of the truth of this by your own 
 examination." 
 
 So speaking, the officer pointed to a kind of basin 
 hollowed out upon the other side of the rim of this, 
 prodigious pit. They all concentrated their attention 
 upon it, and at once shared the officer's apprehen- 
 sions. 
 
 There was about a mile between where the trav- 
 elers stood and the snow-clad rocks which served as a 
 support to the central peak. By a marvelous effort of 
 Plutonic forces, these rocks rested one on top of the 
 other after the fashion of an enormous staircase, and 
 it was easy to see that these Titanic steps rendered 
 it possible to climb up to the upper cone. 
 
 Merrien kept silence before this picture. As to Cicely 
 Weldon, she could not repress a picturesque exclama- 
 tion : 
 
 ''Truly, might it not be said that God had transported 
 the materials of the Tower of Babel to this mountain ? " 
 
 This comparison expressed exactly the impression 
 made by this phenomenon of the grouping of the 
 rocks. 
 
 The granite blocks had been placed there not in the 
 pell-mell chaos of an upheaval, but with astonishing 
 symmetry, with artistic proportions and lines giving them 
 the aspect of a ladder affording access to higher and 
 higher levels. 
 
 The snow heaped up upon their surfaces, and uporr 
 
THE CRATER. 249 
 
 their aretes, concealed the joints and the lines of division 
 of this unparalleled scaftblding. Exposed to the south 
 winds, this face of the pyramid, in spite of its great 
 height, had felt the beneficent effects of the warmth ; and 
 the continuous action of the solar rays, when the glacial 
 north winds did not blow from the direction of Tibet, had 
 sufficed to maintain at this point a constant evaporation, 
 which was still another argument in favor of Dr. Mac- 
 Gregor's hypothesis. The abnormal vegetation of this 
 slope was thus explained, as well as the presence of an 
 atmosphere dense enough to be easily breathed. 
 
 But another cause doubtless intervened to increase the 
 production of oxygen. By stooping, the travelers were 
 able to gather up minerals of argentiferous lead that were 
 scattered in innumerable beds. Manganese was there, a 
 product of the soil, and the heat, arising from invisible 
 chemical action upon the metal, restored to the air the 
 gases necessary to combustion and to life. All these 
 things were in themselves very reassuring. Other things 
 it is true, offered menacing warnings. 
 
 The basin was of a hundred meters' continuous depth, 
 which, spread over an extent of less than a mile, gave 
 only a very gentle, hardly perceptible slope. On obser- 
 vation, the bottom of it seemed to be covered with a 
 short growth, of such perfect homogeneity that it re- 
 sembled an immense velvet carpet — passing through the 
 greatest variation of tint, from apple green to yellow- 
 ish white, with a light undulating movement something 
 like the soft tremors that, under the summer breezes, 
 curve and lift the downy ends of the greensward on 
 carefully weeded and mown lawns. 
 
 "Singular, certainly ! " said MacGregor. ''The bottom 
 of this circular valley must be covered with mosses and 
 
250 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 rare lichens. I shall not go away from this place without 
 largely increasing my plant collection." 
 
 GoLilab, who had taken some steps into the interior 
 of the crater, heard these words, and responded ironi- 
 cally : 
 
 'M hardly think, doctor, that that moss will enrich 
 your collection, for the excellent reason that it will go 
 off in smoke." 
 
 ''Come, now!" retorted the physician. ''You are 
 making fun of me, Goulab ? " 
 
 'M am not making fun," replied the shikari gravely, 
 ''and if you care to follow my example, you will ar- 
 rive at the same conclusion, sahib." 
 
 He stretched out his hands to the doctor. The bronzed 
 skin was covered with a yellowish coating, discolored in 
 the way that the petals of flowers are when exposed 
 to the blue flame of a chemical match. On the sleeves 
 of the Hindu's white garment, on his red leather boots, 
 and his wide linen pajama, there had been deposited in 
 thin, evenly staining layers an extremely fine dust, oily 
 to the touch and giving out a characteristic odor. 
 There was no longer room for doubt. 
 
 "Sulphur ! " cried the doctor. " What we have taken 
 for moss is only solid sulphuric acid ; what we have 
 seen undulating are sulphuric vapors exhaled by the 
 earth. We are standing on a solfatara.'' 
 
 He spoke the truth. 
 
 That whole immense basin, lying like a collar around 
 the central peak, was nothing but an upturned proiivette, 
 at the bottom of which great natural analyses were 
 elaborated. Thence came that escape of deleterious gas 
 with which was, doubtless, mingled a large amount of 
 carbonic acid ; thence also came the extraordinary heat 
 
GOCLAB STRETCHED OUT HIS HANDS TO THE DOCTOR. 
 
252 THE LAND OF TAiVNY BEASTS. 
 
 which at seven thousand meters' altitude preserved the 
 valley from glacial influences. 
 
 "Well," said Merrien, '' we must once more acknowl- 
 edge that God is the greatest of scientists. I do not know 
 of any inventor who has ever conceived the idea or 
 draughted the plan of an air stove of such dimensions." 
 
 They had now all gathered together at the edge of 
 the pit. They deliberated as to v/hat they should do. 
 It was certain that if there should be nothing but a 
 simple escape of vapors, these, by reason of their 
 specific gravity, would not rise very high, and conse- 
 quently would hardly inconvenience the travelers. But 
 if the enormous mass of rock were nothing but a 
 prodigious laboratory, if its sides concealed some super- 
 natural alembic, wns it not to be feared that the 
 compressed gases might, with tremendous force, break 
 through suddenly, which would mean overwhelming as- 
 phyxia for the unfortunates, whether it proceeded from 
 instantaneous absorption of oxygen by the greedy 
 metalloids, or was the result of a general poisoning of 
 the atmosphere? The prospect was not reassuring. 
 
 ''The wisest way is to beat a retreat," said the 
 doctor, ''and regain the crypt, and from there the 
 valley." 
 
 "And the peak is there, there — under our hand!" 
 groaned Merrien, tearing his hair. 
 
 Suddenly seized with a violent resolution, he 
 cried : 
 
 "No matter! Whatever happens, it shall not be said 
 that 1 have retreated ; that 1 have missed my goal by 
 a mile." 
 
 And before they could restrain him, the bold French- 
 man had commenced to run down into the basin. Miss 
 
THE CRATER. 253 
 
 Weldon and the major rushed after liim, carried away 
 by the same fervor, spurred on by the spirit of emulation. 
 
 The doctor stood in astonishment upon the brink. 
 He. called loudly after them, believing it to be only a 
 joke. But they continued to run. And those who re- 
 mained on the edge of the pit could see with amazement 
 the gases displaced by their running visibly increase, 
 ri?e about the three rash creatures, envelop them up to 
 the knees and then to the body. Finally, wlien they 
 had reached the base of the central rocks, the blue and 
 yellow smoke was floating as high as their arm-pits. 
 
 Merrien turned, and cried in a voice which took on 
 frightful sonority from the mountain echoes : 
 
 "Go down again, doctor; go down again! We are 
 safe. We will rejoin you to-morrow." 
 
 It was the only thing to do. Heart breaking as it was 
 to him, the physician gathered his people together, called 
 the Breton, who had wanted to take his turn in cross- 
 ing the basin, but who had faltered at the first contact 
 with the pestilential miasma ; and they all re-entered the 
 path through the flue to the grotto. 
 
 Jean Merrien and his two companions had already 
 climbed the lowest grades of the peak. 
 
 ''Mademoiselle," he cried, "and you also, major, here 
 we are at the last stage of the journey. Henceforth we 
 are each for himself, save in the case of danger for one or 
 the other of us. The question now is, which will be the 
 first to arrive." 
 
 And he, passing ahead of his friends, leaped from 
 grade to grade the sooner to reach the top. Below him 
 the major had found a more practicable path than that 
 which Cicely Weldon was following ; the young girl 
 seemed distraught. Suddenly Merrien stopped. 
 
254 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 In front of him the superposed terraces were cut 
 across by a glacier some sixty meters in breadth. It was 
 necessary, to cross it, to follow the Cyclopean strata 
 by which the giant stairway was prolonged. 
 
 But this was not the obstacle that had interrupted 
 the ascent of the invincible champion. He felt the air 
 to breathe failing him. Vertigo seized him. Everything 
 under his feet swam around him. He could not mistake 
 the cause of this difficulty. It was nature itself which 
 pronounced the interdict, which cried to the desecraters 
 in the voice of command : 
 
 ''Thou shalt go no further!" 
 
 Without losing a second the young man unhooked 
 the helmet that hung upon his back, fastened it upon 
 his head, and put it into communication with the reser- 
 voir of oxygen. Then, seizing his staff, he ventured a 
 couple of steps upon the blue and virgin ice. 
 
 But short as the pause had been, it had given 
 Plumptre a chance to catch up to his rival. Warned 
 by this example, the Scotchman had already put on his 
 breathing apparatus. Cicely came third, her head ap- 
 peared over the edge of the grade ; she had also made 
 up the lost time. 
 
 Crossing the glacier might offer dangerous surprises. 
 Merrien therefore retraced his steps to meet his fellow- 
 travelers. He expressed his idea by means of gestures ; 
 they approved it. 
 
 Tying together the ropes that they carried at their 
 belts, they bound themselves one to another, and pur- 
 sued the ascent in single file. 
 
 At the end of a few steps, they were assured of 
 the glacier's resistance. 
 
 This rested on the hard rock, between two firm walls. 
 
THE CRATER. 255 
 
 If it concealed crevasses, they could not be very deep 
 ones. 
 
 The trip was accomplished without great peril, but 
 not without falls and slips that a steeper slope would 
 have rendered fatal. 
 
 Arrived at the opposite brink of the fissure, and 
 suffering no longer from lack of air, the three coura- 
 geous companions recommenced the ascent of the Cyclo- 
 pean ladder. 
 
 It brought them to a sharp peak terminating in a 
 plateau of forty or fifty square meters. Merrien inves- 
 tigated the barometer. It marked an altitude of eight 
 thousand and six meters, the pressure not surpassing 
 seven hundred and thirty-five millimeters. At their left 
 the summit of Gaurisankar shot up solitary and alone 
 from this point, offering neither path nor steps. They 
 were within eight hundred and fifty meters of the central 
 peak. But a hundred feet more permitted the travelers to 
 command a view of the peak on which they paused. 
 It is true that, in order to climb to this furthest point, 
 it was necessary to employ all the resources of art which 
 the gymnasium puts at the disposition of a naturally 
 vigorous man. 
 
 Merrien did not hesitate. With the aid of hands 
 and feet over this flying surface, stripped of everything 
 that could offer a hold, over stones that gave way and 
 rolled from under the feet, he succeeded, bleeding and 
 bruised, after incredible efforts in reaching the top. 
 
 Then, standing erect upon a pedestal hardly three 
 square meters in area, on the highest point of the globe 
 that human foot had ever trod, he unfurled the French 
 colors at the end of his iron staff, and this improvised 
 flag waved in the mountain breeze, or, to speak more 
 
256 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 truly, hung almost inert, hardly stirred by the exhausted 
 breath of this exhausted atmosphere. 
 
 The traveler had reason to be proud. He had ac- 
 complished what no other had accomplished before 
 him. He had climbed three thousand meters 
 higher than Bailey, than Montgomery, than the Schla- 
 ginweit brothers ; than Reuillier, Cunningham, Moorcroft, 
 Webb, Vigne, Johnson, Kooker, and many others ; he had 
 seen— seen with his own eyes— the kernel of that Maya- 
 nama chain that the bandits themselves had not been 
 able to discover. 
 
 And the panorama at that moment before his eyes 
 was the most marvelous in the world, rendered yet 
 more strange by the extraordinary phenomenon that 
 took place at his feet. 
 
 The gas which they had just now taken for a car- 
 pet of moss, which they had seen increase and rise in 
 clouds about them, was actually in full ebullition. No 
 other word, indeed, could so well render the expand- 
 ing of the sulphurous and carbonic vapors of the crater. 
 The immense basin resembled those flanged coffee-pots 
 in which the fragrant drink is brewed by the heat of 
 the alcohol lighted around it. It was full of blue and 
 green smoke, across which lines of very pale tlame 
 occasionally ran. Suddenly the Frenchman was seized 
 with a fear. Forgetting the magic spectacle, abandoning 
 his improvised standard upon the peak which Major 
 Plumptre was climbing in his turn, he let himself slide 
 or rather fall a dozen meters upon the edge of a rock 
 overhanging the abyss. He had just perceived Cicely 
 Weldon prostrate upon that rock, and giving no sign of 
 life. Torn and bleeding, Merrien flung himself to his 
 companion's aid, and raised her with anguish. 
 
THE CRATER. 257 
 
 He knew then what had happened. The young 
 American, overcome by vertigo perhaps, or slipping 
 on the round stones of the slope, had met with a ter- 
 rible fall. It was by a miracle that her clothing caught 
 on the arete of the gulf, and kept her from crush- 
 ing herself some hundred meters further down against 
 the granite steps of the Cyclopean stairway. The 
 shock alone would have sufficed to explain her 
 swoon. But this swoon had another cause. In her 
 f^ill the young girl had struck against the projections 
 of the rock. Her head had hit against a sharp point 
 which had partly broken the brass helmet, and torn 
 the india-rubber tube that served for the inhalation of 
 the oxygen. 
 
 Jean Merrien came just in time ; an instant later, and 
 he would have found only a corpse : Cicely Weldon 
 would have died from lack of air to breathe. 
 
 Without losing an instant, at the peril of his own life, 
 the young man unfastened the straps that fixed the hel- 
 met upon Miss Weldon's shoulders, and adjusted his own 
 there instead. 
 
 Then taking the torn tube between his teeth, he set 
 about repairing the damage so far as was possible. 
 
 Coming to her senses. Cicely appreciated the danger 
 she had run. But at the same time realizing her com- 
 panion's peril, she wished to return to him the apparatus 
 of which he had deprived himself for her sake. There 
 was a struggle of generosity between the two young 
 people. 
 
 Finally Merrien made the brave creature understand 
 that this conflict of devotion would be injurious to them 
 both. She then resigned herself to keeping her metal 
 head-dress, and aided the Frenchman as well as she 
 
258 
 
 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 could in repairing the broken helmet nnd readjusting the 
 ruptured india-rubber tube. Their efforts, fortunately, were 
 crowned with success, and Merrien, who was bleedmg at 
 every pore, could at last resume his life-preserving mask, 
 mended and botched though it were. 
 
THK FLAME ROSE, CLEAR AND BRIGHT. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 RIVALRY BETWEEN HEROES. 
 
 The dangers that confront mountain explorers are 
 formidable ones, and the joys of triumph must needs 
 be great to compensate for the anxieties with which mind 
 and heart are constantly oppressed. 
 
 in the midst of these occurrences night came on. 
 The three friends had enjoyed a sunset that equaled the 
 dawn in splendor. They had been obliged to descend 
 to the lower grade of the peak, in anticipation of the 
 advancing night. Already the cold was increasing in 
 severity, and the travelers knew that at such an alti- 
 tude it might easily become fatal. The necessity of 
 fortifying themselves against its attacks was therefore 
 urgent, all the more that they had no heat other than 
 that of the body to hope for, and the rarefaction of 
 the air would not permit a fire to be started on these 
 
 barren crests. 
 
 259 
 
26o THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 What, then, was Plumptre's astonishment, when, 
 mchanically striking a match, he saw the (lame rise bright 
 and clear among the shadows. The Himalaya had given 
 them one more of those surprises which had marked each 
 stage of their ascent. For the match to burn thus freely, 
 there must of necessity be some respirable air upon the 
 peak. 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye Merrien had unfastened the 
 copper helmet, an example that his companions hastened 
 to follow ; and after taking a long breath of the cool, 
 delicious evening air, all three exchanged their impressions 
 on the singularity of the phenomenon. 
 
 "Truly," said Cicely, '' we go from marvel to marvel, 
 it is now certain that the Himalayas resemble no other 
 mountains. All scientists agree in stating that after 
 passing seven thousand meters' altitude, life on the peaks 
 is an impossibility." 
 
 '' Doubtless," affirmed Merrien, ''and the scientists are 
 right. It is an absolute rule. But every rule has its ex- 
 ceptions. It is a possibility ; and what makes it possible 
 for us is that a local elaboration of gas renews the oxygen 
 in the air over a limited space, and prevents its waste 
 in the ambient layers. If the doctor were here, he 
 could explain it to us better." 
 
 ''We have no need of the doctor to see that you 
 must be right, my dear Merrien," said Plumptre. 
 "We must be in the neighborhood of a great natural 
 pot bubbling under its cover, the steam of which forms 
 a sort of cylindrical tube which preserves us from the 
 surrounding rarefaction. That is my explanation, and 
 I take it to be clear and luminous." 
 
 The officer laughed as he spoke, pointing to a sort 
 of milky mist which formed a cylinder about the platform^ 
 
RIVALRY BETWEEN HEROES. , 261 
 
 like a vast well at the opening of which a round dark 
 blue spot, picked out with stars, testified to the pres- 
 ence of the firmament. 
 
 *'Parbleu!" cried the Frenchman gayly, ''you are 
 right, my dear Plumptre ; we are on a boiler. It is to be 
 hoped now that this boiler has safety valves, and will 
 not explode under our feet." He ran to the edge of 
 the platform and called loudly to his friends : 
 
 '' Oh ! " said the major, who had most decidedly a gift 
 for exact metaphors. '' Sugar in a punch ! " 
 
 The sight was at once magnificent and terrifying. 
 5ix hundred meters below them the entire basin was 
 in flames. The flames, visibly fed by a subterranean 
 reservoir, rose in delicate spirals to a height of two 
 hundred or three hundred feet, licking the sides of the 
 peak with their bluish tongues, and sending their strange 
 light, which had so struck Plumptre, into the cloud of 
 smoke. 
 
 The snow of the rocks melted at their contact, but 
 the water, vaporizing immediately, gave to the atmos- 
 phere its proper proportion of oxygen. Enormous 
 paleocrystic blocks were worn away on the upper 
 strata, and from this perpetual exchange of forces arose 
 the soft humid temperature by which the travelers were 
 blessed on their fairy observatory. 
 
 Meanwhile they had returned to the center of the 
 platform and kept silence for a long time, not daring 
 to communicate their fears to each other. Merrien spoke 
 first : 
 
 "The picture is magnificent," he said, ''but it is 
 not reassuring. 1 no longer fear an explosion, to tell 
 the truth ; but 1 dread now one of two equally serious 
 calamities." 
 
262 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 ''Explain yourself?" asked the major and Miss 
 Weldon simultaneously. 
 
 "Alas!" said Merrien sadly, ''one hypothesis is as 
 good as the other : either the phenomenon will quickly 
 come to an end, and without taking into account the 
 lack of air which will again distress us, we shall suffer 
 from terrible cold without the shadow of a hope of 
 succor ; or else it will be prolonged, and then we 
 may die of hunger on the summit, for we cannot think 
 for a moment of going down again into that Gehenna." 
 
 Silence fell upon the group again more heavily than 
 ever, for everyone comprehended that the situation was 
 critical. 
 
 "At least," said the Scotchman, with a nervous 
 gayety, "we shall have the satisfaction of being present 
 at an incomparable sunrise." 
 
 "Meanwhile," replied Merrien, "we shall do wisely 
 to utilize such hours of respite as are granted us. 
 Sleep will do us much good, and, if the volcano does 
 break out, we shall be spared the pangs of death." 
 
 The advice was approved. They unpacked their 
 knapsacks, wrapped themselves in blankets, and, a 
 little later, were sleeping with their hands gripping the 
 hard and naked rock, protected by the wall of vapor 
 that enveloped them. It might have been three in the 
 morning when they were wakened by the severe cold. 
 
 The first of Merrien's hypotheses was realized. The 
 column of mist had been dissipated. The stars were 
 shining in the fathomless depths of the still dusky 
 heavens. 
 
 On the southeastern horizon, behind the enormous 
 screen of Kinchinjinga, a growing spot of white an- 
 nounced the distant daybreak. 
 
RIl^ALRY BETIVEEN HEROES. 26 
 
 J 
 
 " B-r-r ! " said Cicely, shivering. "Tiiis cold is mortal ! 
 What will become of us ? '* 
 
 Merrieii had already consulted the thermometer. The 
 temperature was falling with frightful rapidity. The 
 column of mercury descended moment by moment ; it 
 presently indicated twenty-six degrees below zero. 
 
 At the same time oppression and vertigo exercised 
 their demoralizing influence. They were obliged to don 
 their metal helmets in haste. 
 
 " We must descend at once," said Plumptre. 
 
 This was the last word spoken. And as the two 
 men beheld their young companion almost sinking un- 
 der the intolerable cold, a common impulse of devotion 
 sent them toward her. Merrien reached her first, and 
 threw his cloak over Cicely's shoulders. She was 
 trembling, and unable to support herself. 
 
 in every ascent, the dangers multiply in the descent. 
 It seems as though the guardian spirits of these sum- 
 mits, forced from their seclusion, wished to take a 
 malicious revenge, and, ashamed of having been unable 
 to guard the places committed to thejr care, determine 
 to multiply obstacles and dangers in the pathway of 
 their conquerors. 
 
 The three daring pioneers had been two hours in 
 climbing the peak. It took four hours for them to 
 reach, through a thousand difficulties, the rocks at the 
 base, and the first grade of the basin. 
 
 Ten times Merrien and Plumptre were obliged to go 
 to the aid of the young American. The poor child had 
 too greatly presumed upon her strength. At last she 
 swooned, and the two friends, filled with anxiety, were 
 obliged to carry their helpless companion across the 
 low ground already filled with rising vapor. On the 
 
264 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 margin Cicely revived for a moment, nnd as the use of 
 tiie breathing tube was no longer indispensable, she 
 could respond to the eager questions of her friends. 
 
 Upon seeing the anxiety betrayed in their faces she 
 gave a pale smile, and stretched out her hands to- 
 them. 
 
 '' Oh, my friends ! " she said, in a voice full of emotion, 
 "how can I ever express my gratitude to you?" 
 
 " By never speaking of it," said the major gayly. 
 ''Now that you are out of danger we are satisfied. But 
 are you strong enough to finish the descent by way 
 of the flue?" 
 
 Cicely tried to rise. Her strength failed, and a fresh 
 attack of faintness caused her to drop back into the arms, 
 of her alarmed companions. 
 
 What were they going to do ? What could they do 
 before such a grave complication ? 
 
 While they had only to descend the rocky steps, 
 or cross the glaciers or deep valleys, it had been pos- 
 sible for them to carry their young companion, relieving 
 each other and allowing themselves necessary periods 
 of rest ; this task, fatiguing though it was, was not over- 
 powering. But now the difficulty changed its aspect. It 
 became in a way insurmountable. 
 
 How could they indeed try to carry the young girl 
 through this narrow passage, so contracted, duriig a 
 portion of its length, that there was only room for one 
 person to go through? Doubtless the oblique neck of 
 the flue would render it possible for the travelers to 
 enter the crypt. But that was only the first sttp. 
 How could they afterward descend the vertical flue 
 for a distance of fiftv or sixty meters ? 
 
 For a moment the two men faltered under the dis- 
 
RIJ/ALRY BETIVEEN HEROES. 265 
 
 coLiraging circumstances. Tears rose to their eyes and 
 ran down their cheeks. Were they then condemned to 
 die upon that inaccessible platform, forsaken by God and 
 man ? 
 
 Fortunately this failure of energy was of short dura- 
 tion. Merrien rose and ran to the orifice of the first 
 flue. 
 
 He lay on the ground and called with all his strength ; 
 but, strange to say, instead of noisily vibrating in the in- 
 terior of the narrow conduit, his voice was driven back 
 as if by a vast current of air. 
 
 Jean Merrien rose in considerable surprise, and sought 
 the second opening. Then the singular fact was ex- 
 plained. The vertical flue no longer existed. In its place 
 a frightful gap had appeared. The vault of the crypt had 
 caved in along its entire length, and an enormous heap 
 of stones and earth had formed before the entrance of the 
 cavern. Doubtless the explanation of the vapor which 
 they had beheld from the top of the peak had been coin- 
 cident with an earthquake which they had not perceived 
 during their sleep. Some great outburst of gas under 
 considerable pressure had staved in the rocky wall of 
 mica schist and limestone, which offered little resistance. 
 The young Frenchman returned in despair to his com- 
 panions. Cicely had recovered consciousness ; the pure 
 air of the mountains, entering her lungs, had dissipated 
 the giddiness of the first hour or two, and she com- 
 menced to shake off the deadly torpor which had taken 
 possession of her. She heard and spoke without effort, 
 but at the news that Merrien brought she was over- 
 come by violent emotion, and wept profusely at the 
 thouQfht of the fate of their companions. 
 
 " Oh, the poor people ! " she groaned. " Perhaps they 
 
266 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 have been surprised by the catastrophe, and buried under 
 the wall of the vault." 
 
 Fortunately their fears were not to be prolonged. 
 While, at the height of their grief, the three friends 
 were lamenting the horrible accident, a cry from the 
 still intact orifice of the second flue caused them all to 
 turn simultaneously. 
 
 Dr. MacGregor was standing on the brink, with a 
 hilarious expression, his hands outstretched. It was he 
 who had called. Behind him the rest of the company, 
 safe and sound, emerged, one by one, from the tunnel. 
 Goulab, the Breton, Christi, and the two Hindus ad- 
 vanced in turn. 
 
 ''You are not dead, then !" cried Plumptre, embracing 
 all the newcomers with delight. 
 
 ''Dead! And why, if you please?" inquired the as- 
 tonished physician. 
 
 " Heavens ! " said Merrien, laughing, " when we saw the 
 caving in of the flue we were mightily troubled about you." 
 
 "As we were troubled about you, by Jove ! " 
 
 "That proves that we heartily love each other, 
 blessed be God ! " 
 
 " But since the vertical flue has fallen in, how did you 
 get up ? By aid of the new hooks ? " 
 
 It was Euzen Graec'h who replied, with the energy of 
 the true sailor : 
 
 "Ah! ouiche ! They are under at least two thou- 
 sand meters of earth. It will be a smart fellow who 
 finds them. No, we were luckier than that. Gauri- 
 sankar himself cut our road for us, making a stairway 
 for us as far as the second landing. We have had 
 only to mount, putting one foot before the other, and 
 that is all you will have to do to descend." 
 
EUZEN GRAEC'H PLACKU THE YOUNG GIRL ON HIS SHOULUKK. 
 
268 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 After mutual congratulations, and narrating on both 
 sides the various phases of the cataclysm, they set out 
 to regain the valley as soon as possible. And as Cicely 
 could walk only with extreme difficulty, Euzen Graec'h 
 approached her respectfully : 
 
 "Will you permit me?" he asked. ''You weigh 
 hardly more than my knapsack." The giant lightly 
 caught up the supple form of the young girl, and 
 with a couple of movements, placed her on his left 
 shoulder. 
 
 "When the tunnel becomes too narrow for two," 
 he added gayly, " why, m'amselle, we'll try to find 
 some way to let you slide gently down." 
 
 Cicely lent herself laughingly to this mode of trans- 
 portation, and the Breton got along so well that she 
 arrived without mishap at the entrance of the valley, 
 at the same time as the rest of the column. Once 
 there they resumed the recital of their experiences, and 
 each took his share in dispute or narration. Their 
 appetites were keenly sharpened, and now that they 
 knew that they were safe, they hastened to revive 
 their famished stomachs. Salem-Bun dashed their en- 
 thusiasm. 
 
 "Sahibs, the dinner will not be all that it ought. 
 Siva has taken the best of our provisions for himself." 
 
 The Mohammedan laughed, pointing to the crumbling 
 wall under which the venison of the day before was 
 buried forever. 
 
 "No matter, Salem," cried Plumptre, "we will break- 
 fast on what there is. Afterward we'll see to replenish- 
 ing your larder." 
 
 This meal was the last they took in the high valley 
 In the afternoon Miss Weldon pronounced herself suffi- 
 
RIVALRY BETWEEN HEROES. 269 
 
 ciently restored to take up the march again. It was 
 now the 20th of May. The monsoon of June would 
 bring a great change in the temperature, and it would 
 not be well to be on the mountain under much colder 
 winds. It was urgently necessary, then, to get down to 
 the valleys as soon as possible. By the Ouallangchun 
 pass they could quickly reach the base of Kinchinjinga 
 or of the Singalila mountains. They would then have 
 crossed the Nepal frontier to find themselves in Sikhim, 
 from whence a fortnight's march would suffice to bring 
 the travelers to Darjiling. That is to say, at the head 
 of the railway to Calcutta. The descent of the valleys 
 was made without much difficulty, but not without some 
 regret for those charming regions where they had found 
 repose after incredible f^itigue. The explorers' last look, 
 when they reached the lowest terrace, embraced the 
 entire central mass of Everest, and there upon the peak 
 which they had scaled the day before, Merrien, PI ump- 
 ire, and Cicely Weldon could proudly contemplate the 
 three flags which they had planted upon a crest up 
 to that moment believed to be inaccessible. The colors 
 of France floated upon the highest rock. Merrien, 
 Graec'h, and Goulab saluted it with shouts. 
 
 " Alas !" exclaimed the Frenchman, '' we only reached 
 a height of eight thousand and eighty meters. We were 
 within seven hundred and sixty-five of treading the virgin 
 ice of Chingo-pa-mari." 
 
 " Well ! " cried the major, '' let someone else do better, 
 if he can. For my part, I shall only return when the 
 English Government has established an improved eleva- 
 tor, with inhaling rooms for ascensionists." 
 
 They broke out in laughter at this idea. When they 
 <: ime to a narrow gorge at the bottom of which roared 
 
2 70 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 the raging waters of the Barun, the doctor pointed out 
 to his companions the path of a gigantic land-slide, where 
 uprooted trees, and hanging rocks and earth still men- 
 aced disaster, while the base and devastated face of 
 the mountain was still bleeding from the recent wound. 
 All eyes filled with tears at this picture, and the cruel 
 remembrance haunted the minds of all. 
 
 "\i is there that poor Knebel is sleeping his last 
 sleep," murmured Cicely, kneeling in prayer, while her 
 companions reverently bared their heads before the 
 vast tomb made by the avalanche for the unfortunate 
 American. 
 
 Hardly a week had passed since the catastrophe, 
 but looking back over the exciting events of their 
 course, it seemed to the travelers that years had rolled 
 by since the tragedy. 
 
 Their trials were not yet at an tnd. 
 
 While the courageous comrades, now satisfied with 
 their experiment, were regaining the level of the val- 
 leys, the fanatical hatred of the worshipers of Siva 
 was preparing new snares for them. Ramu had not 
 yet laid aside his rage, and some thirty fanatics, who 
 had sworn to pursue with him his work of ferocious 
 vengeance, had accompanied him in his course across 
 the Mayanama mountains. 
 
 Since the fruitless attack at Pangmo, and their dis- 
 persal by the sudden intervention of the wild dogs, 
 the devotees of the Fire-God had lost track of the ex- 
 plorers. Obliged to flee before the dholes, they had 
 been forced to let the travelers get much the start ot 
 them, and in spite of their promptness in recovering 
 the scent, the assassins had found them again for the first 
 
RIVALRY BETWEEN HEROES. 271 
 
 time at the foot of the Thung-lung pnss. This was st 11 at 
 too high a level for the Hindus to endure the rigors of the 
 icy nights. 
 
 Many of them had already succumbed among tlie 
 precipices of these dizzy regions. Others had been killed 
 by cold and hunger. 
 
 But the implacable Ramu held to his promises. This 
 man had the tenacity and the patience of his race. Capa- 
 ble of dissimulating his plans to any extent, he encouraged 
 his savage accomplices in the pursuit of his sanguinary 
 projects by inflammatory utterances and promises of hap- 
 piness in another life. A truly infernal energy sustained 
 him, and with the scent of a bloodhound tracking his 
 prey, he guided his little troop of bandits to the places 
 where they believed the travelers would be apt to find 
 the best road. 
 
 it was useless for the bandits to undertake the climb- 
 ing of the peak. Now that the sacred mass had been 
 violated by sacrilegious feet, now that Siva and Parvati 
 had received the crudest insult and inexpiable offense, it 
 mattered little that the desecraters should mount to a 
 greater or less height. The essential thing was to punish 
 them for their abominable crime. 
 
 Thus, after having taken all the precautions necessary 
 to avoid missing the chance of meeting again with the 
 odious white men, Ramu finally led his companions 
 toward the Singalila passes, that is to say, into the zones 
 where the average height of the chain permits inhabitants 
 of warmer regions to sojourn without too greatly feeling 
 the difference in the temperature. 
 
 He consequently entered one of the narrowest of the 
 gorges that overlooked Darjiling. It was a bold experi- 
 ment. So near an English town, almost entirely occupied 
 
272 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 by a white population, it was truly dangerous presump- 
 tion to attempt an attack against the explorers. But it 
 was the last chance that remained to the fanatics. Their 
 number was considerably reduced. There were not more 
 than a dozen left, and that was few against the num- 
 ber of their adversaries. They were obliged to move 
 by strategy to attack the Europeans singly, and to 
 mark each march of the column by a murder. 
 
 When he was very sure of being on the right track, 
 when his emissaries had notified him that the explorers, 
 after crossing the Ouallangchun pass and the Kanki 
 road, were proceeding by way of the gorges which fur- 
 nished them with quite an easy road to Darjiling, Ramu 
 addressed his accomplices in a harangue more inflam- 
 matory in proportion to the greater amount of resolu- 
 tion and skill required by the circumstances. 
 
 The moment was come to give the Mahadeva the 
 most striking proof of their fidelity. Since they had 
 not been able to prevent accursed foreigners from vio- 
 lating the natural sanctuary of Death and of Renewing, it 
 was a sign that Siva had preserved the culprits for a 
 more complete expiation. The secret of their abominable 
 desecration must die with them, and after having ex- 
 perienced the criminal joy of penetrating to the inac- 
 cessible recesses ot the mountain, they would have the 
 disappointment of an obscure end, without having 
 shared their discoveries with their fellow-countrymen. 
 
 ''As for me," cried the fanatic, "I am resolved to 
 undertake anything to give to the divine flame the 
 satisfaction it demands, and 1 will lay down my life 
 joyfully in this holy enterprise. But nothing will be 
 gained by dying without having perfected our task, and 
 Siva will be the better pleased with our death, if we 
 
RIVALRY BETIVEEN HEROES. 273 
 
 offer him first the souls of the victims he has himself 
 chosen." 
 
 ^ Having uttered these words, he gave his orders and 
 sent out his satellites into all the passages by which 
 he could anticipate and await the coming of the ex- 
 plorers. Hidden behind rocks, concealed by the trunks 
 of trees and high grasses, the bandits armed with noose 
 and poniard, some even with rifles, crouched like 
 wild beasts on the watch for patiently expected prey. 
 Ramu had warned them. 
 
 If the enemy appeared in full force, they were not to 
 hesitate to use firearms. It would suffice to the Maha- 
 deva of Death if the leaders of the troop were offered up 
 to him according to the most acceptable rite, that is to 
 say by strangling. The others might be put to death in 
 the quickest way. Things stood thus when one of the 
 followers, posted on a very high rock, perceived the col- 
 umn advancing through the narrow valley. He went at 
 once to notify Ramu, who hastened to gather his men 
 together in preparation for an immediate attack. The 
 bandits dispersed for sharpshooting to get the advantage 
 of a surprise and the first shots. 
 
 " Glory to our gods!" murmured Ramu, who was 
 giving the rifles to the best marksmen of the band. 
 " Glory to our gods who deliver the enemy into our 
 hands without defense ! How the mountains profaned by 
 them will be cleansed by the sacrifice that we are about 
 to offer up ! Glory be to Siva the Renewer, glory be 
 to Kali, goddess of strength and beauty, queen of all 
 worlds ! " 
 


 
 x^s'v^\>^-,--^#;-,^ 
 
 PLUMPTRE GOT RID OF THE MAN. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE DEATH OF A HERO. 
 
 At this very moinent the travelers, almost at their 
 journey's end, were rejoicing over the fortunate outcome 
 of their expedition. Henceforth they had no further ob- 
 stacles to fear. They were about to receive their re- 
 ward for their labors, their sufferings, and their losses. 
 And the recompense came to them first in the form 
 of congratulations from their fellow-men, all the English 
 and the foreigners assembled in the Darjiling sanitarium ; 
 then the multitudinous voice of fame, extending over the 
 entire globe, would hear their names, forever glorious 
 upon the four winds of heaven. 
 
 To insure their return under the most favorable con- 
 ditions Dr. MacGregor had made the prudent suggestion 
 that they should notify the English posts of Sikhim. 
 
 Consequently, as soon as the frontier was crossed the 
 
 275 
 
276 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 travelers hnd sent one of the Lepcha mountaineers from 
 the Banks of Tista with a message to the commanding 
 officer of the first detachment that he should come to. 
 hi order not to miss a chance of encounter, the little 
 troop resolved to separate into three groups, as it had 
 frequently done before, and to follow along parallel 
 lines the most frequented roads in which they would 
 have the best chance of meeting English soldiers. It 
 was agreed that they should keep as short a distance 
 apart as possible, in order to warn each other by the 
 firing of a gun, either on the hoped for meeting or on 
 the presence of any danger. This last hypothesis was 
 indeed very probable in a region more savage than 
 Nepal itself, the enormous thickets of which might con- 
 ceal not only bandits, but also dangerous beasts. Sik- 
 him may, in this regard, be likened to the thickest 
 jungles or most somber forests of Tarai, of which Ma- 
 hanadi, Kanki, and the Tista, are only the gradually 
 rising prolongation. Fortunately the descent of the 
 Singalila offered no insurmountable difficulties, and the 
 gorges of Kanki and the Roman had none of those 
 frightful cluses which confine and strangle the torrents 
 of the high Himalayas. In proportion as the levels be- 
 came lower, the chains of buttresses dominating each 
 other, it became relatively easy to keep up communi- 
 cation between the three groups. Moreover, a rule from 
 which they would not depart was to draw together 
 each time that they came to a wood or thicket of any 
 extent. In that way they would always be numerous 
 enough to meet an unexpected danger. 
 
 They had marched two days, observing this same order, 
 when Ramu's spy notified his brigand brothers of the 
 approach of the troop. He had not taken time to as- 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. ^-jj 
 
 certain the number. It chnnced that the advancing group 
 was composed of Major Plumptre and the two Hindus. 
 
 At a turn in the road the assistant cook stopped 
 with a gesture of alarm. He had just noticed an un- 
 usual noise, something like a modulated whistle in a 
 peculiar rhythm. The ear of an Indian cannot be de- 
 ceived. That was not a noise born in the throat of 
 any animal whatsoever. It was certainly a signal sent to 
 some band of dacoits ambushed among the rocks and 
 undergrowth. 
 
 ''Did you hear that?" asked the domestic of Major 
 Plumptre. 
 
 ''No," said Plumptre, who had suspected nothing, but 
 who, at his servant's warning, put himself at once upon 
 the defensive. 
 
 He halted and raised his carbine to his shoulder. 
 Salem-Bun and the assistant cook imitated him. 
 
 Another whistle, which was heard this time by all 
 three, sounded a very short distance away, and suddenly 
 the cook gave a cry which was echoed by a report. At 
 the same moment the Hindu reeled, while a stream of 
 blood streaked the brown skin of his left leg. Poor 
 Salem seemed to be suffering cruelly. 
 
 " 1 am wounded, sahib," he said, with difficujty. 
 
 The major supported him in his arms and drew him 
 quickly under the shelter of a high rock. There he made 
 him sit down while he glanced rapidly at the wound. 
 The ball had plowed a deep furrow in the flesh, but 
 having struck obliquely was not buried therein. Plump- 
 tre tore up his handkerchief, and hastily bound up the 
 wound. 
 
 A second report rang out— a second ball rebounded 
 from the rock. 
 
278 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 But a fleck of smoke rising above the path showed 
 the officer from which side the attack came. 
 
 Crouching close to the wall, he advanced to the outer 
 corner, and surveyed the opposite line of rocks. 
 
 They had reached a sort of crossroads of a wild 
 beauty, in the center foamed a torrent, a tributary of the 
 Roman or the Ranjit with shallow but icy waters. Up- 
 turned rocks, enormous bowlders rounded and polished 
 by the centuries, and the long and frequent rains of that 
 humid country, served as arches to a rustic bridge 
 made of an uprooted tree, so worm-eaten that no one 
 would dare to set foot upon it. Trees of all species — 
 oaks, chestnuts, poplars— bordered the impetuous stream, 
 and giant rhododendrons, geraniums four or five yards 
 in breadth, extended their thick full-sapped vegetation 
 in all directions. Heath, ferns of innumerable varieties, 
 saxifrage and giant begonias, and orchids of all kinds 
 and shapes decorated the earth like a flower bed with 
 all the colors of an exuberant flora. 
 
 It was plain that they were approaching the low 
 and warm countries ; the Tarai was not far off now. 
 
 Plumptre made a sign to the assistant cook, who 
 approached. 
 
 "Listen," said he, ''we do not know the number 
 of our adversaries. We must hold out to the point of 
 death in order to permit our companions to gain the 
 English cantonments as soon as possible. Furthermore, 
 we have been able to send word ahead, and this is 
 certainly not the route that the soldiers have followed." 
 
 The Hindu nodded affirmatively. It was not his 
 business to fight, nor was he engaged for such ser- 
 vice, but since necessity imposed it, and they were 
 obliged to defend themselves, he would do his best.- 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. 279 
 
 Oriental fatalism kept him, moreover, from rebelling 
 against the decrees of destiny. He put his rifle to his 
 shoulder and waited. 
 
 Suddenly, on the point of a rock a dark head ap- 
 peared, soon followed by a bronzed body. The man 
 was naked. He slid like a serpent over the slippery rock, 
 and his manifest intention was to let himself fall into 
 the bed of the stream, the more easily to turn the 
 enemy's flank. 
 
 The enemy, represented now by the major himself, 
 covered him with his rifle, watching his every move- 
 ment. 
 
 The Thug looked in all directions. He went on his 
 hands and knees, a poniard between his teeth, a noose 
 thrown around his neck, his head, in the position that 
 he occupied, was lower than his shoulders. He overhung 
 the stream. 
 
 Plumptre had only to press the trigger. The target 
 was too beautiful to resist. His ball struck the Indian 
 between the shoulder blades, breaking the vertebras of 
 the neck. The bandit tumbled over into the foaming 
 waters which covered him. He was dead indeed. 
 
 "That makes one," said the major, quickly reload- 
 ing his gun. 
 
 The major had a prejudice in favor of single-ball 
 rifles, and held repeating rifles in but moderate esteem. 
 They were only good, he affirmed, for shooting beasts, 
 whose rapid and irregular movements often failed to give 
 the hunter a chance to reload. 
 
 "But," he added, "in all other cases the mere act of 
 removing and replacing the cartridge relaxes the arms 
 sufficiently for the marksman to take a more careful 
 aim." 
 
28o THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 The death of their comrade exasperated the fanatics. 
 Forgetful of prudence, or perhaps aware of the inferior 
 number of their adversaries, they leaped simultaneously 
 from the crannies and hollows of the road, and rushed 
 to the assault with cries of fury. 
 
 In an instant they crowned the crests of the rocks 
 which inclosed both path and river, and looking down 
 upon the little group, fired into it. 
 
 "Ah!" said the major, "1 am hit." 
 
 A ball had just struck his thigh, causing him hor- 
 rible suffering. He could keep up only by the greatest 
 effort. 
 
 Meanwhile Salem-Bun, who had bound up his own 
 wound, was ready, together with his companion, to re- 
 turn the enemy's fire. 
 
 "Let us," commanded the officer, "aim first at 
 those who have rifles." 
 
 Unfortunately the reverses the Hindus had sustained 
 in their previous engagements had rendered them cau- 
 tious. They had learned to mistrust the terrible Euro- 
 pean rifles. The besieged could nowhere behold a head 
 or an arm which could serve as a target. 
 
 Absorbed by the surveillance that they exercised 
 over the opposite bank of the stream, the Scotchman 
 and his companions paid little regard to the rocks 
 which surrounded them, thinking them too difficult and 
 too high for the assailants to dare risk an assault from 
 that side. 
 
 Suddenly the officer gave a cry. An arm had just 
 seized him by the body, and with lightning rapidity a 
 running noose had encircled his neck. 
 
 But Plumptre's strength served him well. With a 
 blow from the shoulder he got rid of the man who hung 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. 281 
 
 upon his back, while, kicking backward, he half staved in 
 the stomach of a second assailant. 
 
 The latter did not live long. Salem-Bun dealt him a 
 blow back of the ear with his gun-stock and shattered 
 his skull. 
 
 But the other one, before falling under a blow from the 
 butt end of the assistant cook's rifle, had time to plunge 
 his kriss between the majors ribs, and even to strike the 
 baburdji between his shoulders. 
 
 " Well," said the brave officer, with an effort, " I believe 
 that I have had my last campaign. 1 shall not come out 
 of this alive." 
 
 He added, with emotion, " If only our friends have 
 not fared as badly." 
 
 And, taking no further thought for himself, he sprang 
 out from the hiding place which was now nothing but a 
 trap, followed by the uninjured Hindu. 
 
 Four of the adversaries attacked him at the same time. 
 The sight of blood running from the officer's wounds en- 
 couraged them in this aggression. Behind the first group 
 of bandits, Plumptre could discern a second, and among 
 them he recognized Ramu. 
 
 ''Ah, demon !" he roared, '' it is you, then, who are 
 continually tracking us." 
 
 ''Yes," sneered the leader of the assassins, "it is I. 
 You see that 1 am persevering, Major Plumptre. You 
 belong to Siva, whom you have outraged. The hour has 
 come to pay the price of your crimes." 
 
 He spoke in very bad English, but his gesture, and 
 the expression of his face rendered the meaning of his 
 words only too clear. 
 
 "Very well," replied the Scotchman. "We will go 
 before God together, my boy." 
 
282 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 And, quickly aiming at the Dogra, he fired. 
 
 Ramu threw himself to one side. The ball struck a 
 rock behind him. Ferocious cries greeted this awkward- 
 ness on the part of the marksman, who was too badly 
 wounded to aim correctly. The bandits rushed en masse 
 upon their two opponents. 
 
 Plumptre, using his carbine as a club, repulsed the 
 first assault. Then, seizing his revolver, he fired into 
 the group. One man fell, while the assistant cook broke 
 the arm of another. 
 
 But the brave Englishman had received two fresh 
 stabs in the struggle. He lost quantities of blood. He 
 was obliged to lean back against a rock to keep from 
 falling. Profiting by this weakening of the enemy, the 
 Thugs threw themselves upon the Hindu. The latter 
 gave a hoarse cry, and fell foaming at the mouth, with 
 eyes fixed in death. Two nervous hands had just tight- 
 ened the silk noose, devoted to religious murder, about his 
 neck. 
 
 The officer was left alone confronting eight oppo- 
 nents. By a prodigious effort of will, he overcame his 
 increasing weakness. He did not wish the bandits to 
 have the satisfaction of taking him alive, for he knew 
 their joy would be at its height, if they could sub- 
 ject him to the same fate as that of his unfortunate 
 domestic. 
 
 With his revolver still smoking in his hand, he 
 awaited the near approach of a fresh assault, so that 
 his benumbed hand might aim more truly. 
 
 It was Ramu himself who sprang to the attack. 
 
 Climbing treacherously along the rocks he fianked 
 the enemy, and while Plumptre with clouded eyes, 
 beheld only the group directly in front of him, the 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. 283 
 
 Dogrn leaped suddenly upon him, struck his rifle arm 
 helpless, and took him by the throat with lingers of 
 steel. 
 
 The major was lost this time, unless some miracle 
 occurred. 
 
 At the same moment an angry shout rang out 
 above everyone's head. Two men who seemed to have 
 fallen from the clouds bounded among the startled 
 Thugs. 
 
 With two saber-strokes, Jean Merrien had cleaved a 
 skull in two, and cut off an arm. Euzen, for his part, 
 had run to the major, gripping the shoulder of the 
 Dogra, who gave a howl of rage and pain. 
 
 "This time, my lad," said the Breton, ''you are 
 going to settle your account." 
 
 To liend him across his herculean knee, and bind his 
 arms with the very cord which he employed in his mur- 
 derous rites, was a matter of a few seconds for Graec'h. 
 Then leaving his captive, whom he kicked into a hollow 
 of the rock, he returned to the swooning major, but al- 
 ready the doctor and Goulab had carried him some dis- 
 tance away, and with the aid of Cicely Weldon, who 
 had become a woman again in this role of Sister of 
 Charity, had examined the officers injuries and dressed 
 his wounds. 
 
 The six surviving fanatics had tried to flee. They 
 had not been able to get far, A line of English sol- 
 diers had barred their way, and two among them had 
 been killed just as they reached the clumps of rho- 
 dodendrons. The four others, carefully bound, were 
 reserved for the more inglorious death of the gallows. 
 
 What had taken place is easy of explanation. While 
 Major Plumptre and the two Indians entered the narrow 
 
284 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 defile which had developed into a snare for them, the 
 two other columns pursued their parallel marches, and 
 soon encountered the English detachment which was sent 
 from Darjiling to serve as an escort of honor. They at 
 once endeavored to rejoin their comrades. Guided by 
 the noise of firing, they had hastened their course, ar- 
 riving too late, unfortunately, to prevent the catastrophe. 
 The assistant cook was dead, the major dying, and 
 Salem-Bun, who was picked up in the hollow of the 
 rocks, was hardly better off. The poor baburdji had 
 been stabbed under the left shoulder blade by a Malay 
 kriss. After examining the wound, the doctor con- 
 cluded that none of the vital organs were involved, 
 and that the wounded man would recover, though 
 but slowly. 
 
 They laid both the wounded upon hastily con- 
 structed litters of branches, and the troop started sadly 
 on. It was a funeral train. 
 
 But before quitting the scene of the drama, the 
 soldiers demanded the just punishment of the criminals. 
 
 "No," replied the officer in command of the detach- 
 ment; ''these scoundrels belong to the judges. The 
 gallows await them." 
 
 Ramu, now standing in chains among his four accom- 
 plices, wore a smile of ironical disdain. 
 
 "You will deliver me to the Mahadeva, the Renewer. 
 1 have fulfilled my destiny in this world. I shall be 
 taken again to the bosom of the gods. I thank you." 
 
 The officer stopped, and cast upon the fanatic a 
 glance that made him tremble. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "you do not fear death. But how 
 will Siva receive the dishonored follower who was not 
 able to escape disgrace ? " 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. 285 
 
 The five captives had comprehended these terrible 
 words. They lowered their heads, and commenced all 
 at once to tremble. 
 
 The officer had made a sign. Five men of the escort 
 approached and made four of the wretches kneel down. 
 One of the soldiers carried upon his person one of 
 the short round razors used by Hindu barbers. He pol- 
 ished the blade. 
 
 " Observe what is about to take place/' said the 
 Englishman to Ramu. ''You will suffer the same dis- 
 grace." 
 
 The leader of the Thugs turned away, shuddering. 
 It was evident that the punishment in preparation was 
 the most horrible one that such men could conceive 
 of. Their groans and prayers spoke their moral dis- 
 tress. 
 
 ''Do your duty!" commanded the officer, addressing 
 the soldier. 
 
 The latter was a Mohammedan. While two of his com- 
 rades held the head of each Thug motionless, he drew 
 the razor from the nape of the neck to the top of the 
 skull, shaving the thick hair in a longitudinal band. Then 
 approaching the corpse of the assistant before depositing 
 it in the grave, he dipped a cloth in the coagulated blood 
 of the wounds and rubbed it over the shaven heads and 
 faces of the four fanatics. 
 
 The officer regarded the bandits ironically, murmur- 
 ing : 
 
 " He who appears before Siva with blood upon his 
 face is banished forever from Kailas. If some days of life 
 are granted him, he must climb the Kedarnath road upon 
 his knees, and fast thirty days upon the snows of Nanda- 
 Devi." 
 
286 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 And with a burst of terrible laughter : 
 
 "You will ask the judge at Darjiliug to allow you 
 time to purify yourself." 
 
 Then turning toward Ramu, who was raving like a 
 maniac, he said, grinding his teeth : 
 
 ''Your turn, Dogra. You are a Rajput. For you it is 
 still more serious. You will lose your rank and your 
 caste." 
 
 The bandit gave a desperate leap and overturned one 
 of the soldiers who held him, but his foot slipped and he 
 fell into the stream without doing himself any harm. 
 
 It was the iron hand of Euzen Graec'h that drew him 
 out. The Breton addressed the English officer : 
 
 "Saving your presence, lieutenant, 1 beg to attend to 
 this pretty scoundrel myself." 
 
 And in less than no time he had shaved the wretch, 
 not without pretty well scratching the leathery scalp. 
 
 Then, as Ramu writhed in the fierce grasp of the 
 Breton sailor, with hoarse cries trying to escape the 
 ignominy, the colossus subjected him to the same humil- 
 iation as the other fanatics. 
 
 "Now," exclaimed the Breton, "1 have sworn to my- 
 self to break this brute's back. 1 am sorry for the judge 
 and the executioner. They will have to content them- 
 selves with the other four." 
 
 In less time than it takes to tell it, before the offi- 
 cer and soldiers could interfere, Euzen had seized the 
 Thug by such hair as he had left, and drawing him 
 violently backward broke his spine over his knee. 
 
 Then raising the gasping body at arms' length before 
 the eyes of the company, fascinated and stupefied by 
 this Samson feat, he threw him violently into the waters 
 of the torrent. 
 
EUZEN HUKLKD RAMU INTO THE WATERS OF THE TORRENT. 
 
288 THE LAND OF TAIVNY BEASTS. 
 
 '*Go and die as you have lived, among your brothers, 
 the tigers ! " 
 
 Such was the funeral oration of the Dogra Rajput 
 Ramu, worshiper of the Fire-God, and friend of the 
 Hindu doctor, Madar-Goun. 
 
 The return of the explorers was not the triumph 
 they had hoped for. They came back with heavy hearts 
 and tearful eyes. 
 
 Their noble comrade Plumptre re-entered Darjiling 
 only to die there. 
 
 He had at least the satisfaction of living long enough 
 to see around his bed the representatives of all that 
 England and Europe counted as illustrious and worthy. 
 
 The Lord Governor came in person to visit him, 
 and to confer upon him in the name of the Queen the 
 title and insignia of knight. 
 
 The major, at the very last, called Merrien to him. 
 
 ''My dear friend," he said, pressing his hand, "you 
 are the most loyal man in the world, and I regret not 
 having known you earlier. Pardon my ill-temper on the 
 journey. I have for Miss Weldon the same feeling as 
 yourself. Marry her ! You are worthy of one another, 
 and you will be a perfect couple." 
 
 The dying man said the same to Cicely, weeping 
 as he spoke. Then joining the hands of the two young 
 people, he added : 
 
 'M hope you will take my poor Salem into your 
 service when he is recovered. MacGregor gives me hope 
 that that will be soon. He well deserves it. As to 
 myself, will you make me one promise ? " 
 
 ''Whatever you desire, my friend, we will do," de- 
 clared Jean Merrien through his sobs. 
 
 A pale smile played about the lips of the dying man. 
 
THE DEATH OF A HERO. 289 
 
 '' It will be very difficult, but you are not people 
 to stop at difficulties. 1 have carried with me a de- 
 lightful memory of the valley that we discovered on 
 the bank^ of the Bdrun. 1 have left you in my will 
 the sum of two thousand pounds, with the request 
 that you will bear my remains to that enchanting spot. 
 If necessary, you can buy the valley of the Mahardjd- 
 of Nepal, and found there some benevolent institution for 
 the poor Englishmen who do not know where to find 
 shelter." 
 
 "We promise it, my friend," responded Merrien and 
 Cicely solemnly. 
 
 These were the last words of Major Plumptre. 
 
 At Ddrjiling, then at Calcutta, they giWQ him an im- 
 posing funeral. Then the same company which had fol- 
 lowed the brave officer to his last dwelling place went 
 to congratulate Jean Merrien and Cicely Weldon, whose 
 marriage was celebrated in the Catholic church of the 
 capital of India. 
 
 Euzen Graec'h was Merrien's best man, and Morley, 
 the faithful companion of the American, filled the same 
 office for her. 
 
 Dr. MacGregor led her to the altar. Little Christi 
 figured as a choir boy. While belonging to the sect of 
 Vishnu, Goulab bore himself with much composure in 
 the church, and Salem-Bun, who, fortunately, had re- 
 covered, forgot that he was a Mussulman in admiring in 
 bridal dress, and with long fair hair almost grown out 
 again, her whom he had so long beheld in the mascu- 
 line costume that she had worn with so much ease 
 and jauntiness. 
 
 Finally, the evening before the explorers with their 
 attendants took passage for Europe on one of the 
 
290 
 
 THE LAND OF TAWNY BEASTS. 
 
 steamers of the Messageries Maritimes, the Lord Gov- 
 ernor gave a dinner for them. 
 
 'Ms this the last campaign you wish to make, 
 madame?" he asked gayly of Cicely. 
 
 ''Milord," replied the young v^oman, laughing, 
 "Scripture teaches that the wife must follow her hus- 
 band. Now my husband intends to visit, next year, 
 the Trans-Himalayas, to reach the source of the Tsang- 
 bo, and penetrate as far as Lhassa into the cavern of 
 mysteries." 
 
 "Then I may bid you au-revoirf' responded the 
 viceroy, gallantly kissing the hand of the brave woman. 
 
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