FROM TONKIN TO INDIA 



reached a welcome hamlet. These emergency Lissous were a light- 

 hearted set. After all their exertions they sat round the fire at the 

 end of their long pipes, laughing and chatting, with no sign of 

 exhaustion. They took what we gave them cheerfully, and made 



=---~:7^ 



Lissous at Lamcti. 



their way back to their villages at once, haunted only by the fear 



of having left their women and children at the mercy of marauders. 



Our hosts at Lameti consented to perform a dance for our 



benefit, and a threshing-floor having been turned into the ball- 



room, the orchestra tuned up. It consisted of four musicians — a 



flageolet, a violin with two strings, a guitar with four, and an 



196 



