A Chamber of Horrors. 



abandonment, which must have occurred many years before, 

 judging from appearances. 



Soon after, as the wind blew with renewed vigour, I was 

 glad to take refuge in a filthy Chinese inn at the little village 

 of Sari Khulsin, where I had at any rate the satisfac- 

 tion of being sheltered from the fury of the elements and the 

 driving snow. 



The inn consisted of a central courtyard with rooms along 

 the four sides, evil-smelling dens fit only to be compared to the 

 Black Hole of Calcutta. My room was on the northern face 

 of the courtyard, entrance to it being gained by a door of 

 ancient make on creaky hinges, and through a narrow central 

 hall. The interior of the room was in complete darkness, as 

 the one opening in the wall had been covered with paper to 

 prevent the snow blowing in. A few holes thrust through 

 this improvised shutter admitted a limited quantity of light, 

 enabling me to see across the room. On one side was the 

 '' kang," or raised sleeping place, built of mud and stones, with 

 the upper surface smoothed off and the interior hollow to admit 

 of a fire. From its appearance the room had not been occupied 

 for months, and needed the attentions of a broom to divest it of 

 some of its undesirable accumulation of filth. I tried lighting 

 a fire but it was not a success, for the fumes from the damp 

 wood created dense volumes of smoke which put even Giyani's 

 lungs to a severe test. 



I trekked again the next day away from this Chamber of 

 Horrors, across the plain to the north-west, not following the 

 direct road running to Kurte and Durbuljin but striking across 

 country to Chuguchak by way of the Emil River. 



The country here is a vast depression in the surrounding 

 mountain ranges, and lies at a low elevation. Sari Khulsin being 

 about 1,200 feet above sea level. To the north stretch the 

 snowy range of the Tarbagatai, whilst to the east the broad 

 valley continues, being shut in on the south by the Urkashar 

 Range, which joins the outlying spurs of the Saur Mountains. 



335 



