THE COLD INTENSE 161 



straight to camp with our well-earned quarry. As 

 for ourselves, we started up a small river in the 

 direction of home, and crossing a pass reached the 

 tents at 6 p.m. without having seen any more game 

 that day. Littledale, as I expected, had found nothing 

 but young rams and arkhar, i.e. ewes. 



Taking advantage of the weather, the ladies had 

 been busy washing and drying linen the whole 

 morning. In the afternoon they had gathered 

 flowers round camp, pressing them in the numerous 

 halfpenny novels we had brought out with us for 

 the journey. June 28th was an off-day for me. 

 There had been a hard frost during the night, and 

 a bitterly cold north wind was blowing when Cristo 

 came in to wake me up at 6 a.m. Feeling very 

 tired from the previous day's exertions, I decided 

 to remain in bed, especially as the new ground 

 eastward did not promise to yield sport. More- 

 over, we intended to send Joseph to fetch more 

 stores from Kosh-Aoatch, and I thought I might 

 usefully spend the afternoon in writing letters. 

 Littledale had started off at an early hour. No 

 news had come from the Chinese post, and we 

 eagerly expected our messenger with the guide he 

 was to bring back with him. All day the cold 

 was intense. Our Kalmuks were constantly ordered 



M 



