44 S/VA'S PROMISE. 



. I 



courtyard of the house with the intention of follow- ^ 

 ing. Before we had proceeded a hundred paces, 

 Siya rode up and assured me that the Dungans had 

 been again heard of, and that, although it had started, 

 the caravan would be turned back ; the young prince 

 ended by entreating us to remain till the whole affair 

 was satisfactorily explained. Siya's companion, the 

 lama chief of the Tangutans, who had been so 

 anxious hitherto that we should travel together, now 

 repeated the words of the prince, and urged us to 

 defer our departure. 



His appearance and his sudden change of manner 

 had more weight with us than all the warnings of 

 the prince. We could no longer count on him as a 

 friend, but must regard our future travelling com- 

 panion as an enemy ; how, then, could we place con- 

 fidence in him ? As a last resource, but one which 

 I knew could not lead to much, I asked Siya if he 

 would give me his word of honour that we should 

 not be cheated, and that the caravan would not 

 leave without us ? * I give it willingly ! I answer 

 for it,' he joyfully exclaimed, caring very little how 

 he attained his object of detaining us. The lama 

 chief also assured me that they would not start with- 

 out us. Accordingly, we turned into the prince's 

 suburban garden and pitched our tent, awaiting 

 further events. 



How can I describe our disappointnient, particu- 

 larly at first ? It was certainly too bad. The long- 

 cherished object of our desires, to gain which we 

 had suffered so much, the prize which we had seemed 



