THE HOT SPRING 75 



a few stretches of sand here and there. On the opposite 

 side of the stream rose, almost straight up from its edge, 

 the precipitous. crags which here form the north-eastern 

 face of the Burme Range. To the north-west lay the 

 barren rocks which led to Sarsal, amongst which the 

 Indus had carved itself a path. To the east lay the 

 Garmpani gorge, its upper end thickly clothed with pines 

 and cedars almost to the tops of the ridges, where the 

 snow lay thick and deep. 



The loads were a long way behind, so I sat down on 

 a rock and amused myself writing and doing a chess 

 problem for some time. Then rain came down, and we 

 curled ourselves up under rocks. About 4.30 p.m. the 

 coolies turned up. Bond's tent was soon pitched, and he 

 kindly lent me his small spare one, with a single fly and 

 ridge pole, and about 6 feet square. With difficulty I 

 found a piece of sand large enough to pitch the tent on, 

 and scooping a hollow made my bed therein. 



Then as the rain had stopped, I went off to the 

 hot spring and washed my feet, while one of the coolies 

 operated on my soiled clothes. The water was just hot 

 enough to prevent one from keeping one's feet in it for 

 more than a dip in and out. This was very refreshing, 

 and the prospect of a clean shirt and handkerchief and 

 socks was most cheering. As I was pretty tired and 

 sleepy I did not dine with Bond, but went back to my 

 tent, got into bed, and called for dinner at once. In a 

 short time afterwards I was fast asleep. 



