A Narrow Escape. 



out with the pungent fumes inseparable from damp wood. The 

 last coolie arrived at nine o'clock, and, after depositing his load 

 inside the hut, joined his comrades, who had found accommoda- 

 tion in a tiny village below. The wind blew a regular nor'- 

 easter, so that we were compelled to have the door shut, which 

 made matters worse, for Giyani blew vigorously at the fire and 

 raised enough smoke and dust to bury the expedition. He 

 however, seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, shaking with subdued 

 laughter at my attempts to avoid the dense fumes by burrow- 

 ing beneath the blankets. Dinner that night was a smoky 

 performance, but I was too elated at being well on the way to 

 happy hunting grounds to grumble at trifles. 



I was off again the next morning at six o'clock, halting 

 for a brief meal at Pachwari, some miles up the valley. The 

 going was particularly bad, through deep, soft snow, into 

 which one sank to the knees at every step, making progress as 

 slow as it was exhausting. The track, a mere footpath worn by 

 the post runners, led us over steep slopes and beneath towering 

 heights covered with a thick layer of snow ever ready to descend 

 and swallow up all within its pitiless grasp. Over this ticklish 

 bit of ground we slowly wended our way, myself and Giyani 

 leading, the coolies following in single file. We had reached 

 a point in the valley where the ground sloped up to our left 

 at an alarming angle. Beneath us to our right flowed the river, 

 its banks encrusted with snow and ice, forming in places arched 

 bridges over which one could cross to the opposite side. It was late 

 in the day, the sun had been shining for several hours through a 

 cloudless sky, loosening the upper layers of snow and causing 

 intermittent avalanches, the noise of which reverberated through- 

 out the valley. Suddenly a huge avalanche came thundering down 

 just as we were passing, cutting off myself and the orderly from 

 the coolies following behind. It was a great rush for safety as the 

 immense white mass came hurtling on in one irresistible sweep, 

 bringing in its wake rocks, trees, and debris of all descriptions. 

 Luckily the coolies were able to take shelter under the lee of a 



25 



