A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



side of the valley were plunged in the deepest 

 shadow, while, in spite of the moonlight, the stars 

 shone out with the strange brilliance that is only 

 to be seen in a rarefied atmosphere such as this 

 was. Not a sound broke the intense stillness save 

 our own footsteps and the trickle of water and 

 occasional fall of some stone into the abysmal 

 crevasses of the glacier on our left ; the whole 

 scene produced an impression of stupendous gran- 

 deur that seemed almost supernatural. Before 

 starting I had made a hasty meal of hot cocoa and 

 two boiled eggs, or perhaps I should say of one 

 of the latter, as the second, on inspection, proved 

 to be, to say the least of it, "advanced," and this 

 at 2 A.M. ! As we were making our way along the 

 edge of the glacier the moon set and the day began 

 to dawn behind the peaks on our right hand. At 

 this time we had to do a rather awkward bit of 

 scrambling over the loose stones of a side glacier 

 that comes down from the east. Jumping from one 

 rock to another in the dark, especially when, as 

 often as not, the one upon which you are for the 

 moment poised, like a performing goat on its ball, 

 shows a decided inclination to topple over, is riot 

 the pleasantest mode of progression. Many and 

 frequent were the tumbles, and many would also, 

 doubtless, have been the objurgations, had we not 

 felt that we might now be close upon the ibex ; so 

 we suffered in silence, and finally reached the foot 



of the slope upon which we had seen them the 



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