25б А АЧОНТ OF SUSPEXSE. 



But it was midday, and the intense heat obliged us 

 to halt for two or three hours. On resuming our 

 march, with the aid of the compass we steered 

 in the same direction as before, till at length 

 we discerned a small group of hills to our right. 

 These we supposed to be the landmark of the 

 Shangin-dalai, but they were still a long way off, and 

 the dust which pervaded the atmosphere the whole 

 day prevented our seeing their outline distinctly 

 even with a glass. 



Evening fell and we halted for the night, fully 

 confident that these hills were indeed those we were 

 in search of But on projecting our line of march 

 on the map, I became aware how far луе had di- 

 verged to the right of our proper course, and doubts 

 arose as to whether we were really in the right road 

 or not. In the meanwhile, only five gallons of 

 Avater ' were left for the night ; our horses had had 

 none, and were suffering such agonies of thirst that 

 they could hardly move their legs. The question of 

 findino- the well on the morrow became one of life 

 and death. How can I describe our feelings as we 

 lay down to rest ! Fortunately the wind fell and the 

 dust in the air cleared off. In the morning, with the 

 first glimmer of light I climbed on to the top of the 

 pile of boxes containing our collections, and carefully 

 scanned the horizon with a glass. I could see distinctly 

 the group of hills we had remarked the previous day, 



' Water in wooden casks soon evaporates from the heat, so that a 

 cask filled in the morning generally loses what would fill several 

 bottles before evening. 



