THE THIRTY-POUND TENT 



85 



to be brought to me by one of the servants, and placed 

 on the floor by my side, and when I had done, he would 

 fasten down the second flap of my tent with stones. A 

 couple of candles standing on the yakdan to my left gave 

 enough light, and I used to read (when I had anything 

 to read) or write, or do chess problems, for an hour or so 

 after dinner in considerable comfort. 



The Sowar's Pal (30 lbs.) used in Baltistan. 



On the morning of the 19th Abdulla called me 

 before daylight, and in the gray dawn I sat on a stone 

 by a fire outside the tent, and had my chota hazri, 

 shivering with cold. The water in my canteen was 

 frozen when I got up, and of course the ground outside 

 was as hard as rock. 



The evening before, three or four markhor had been 

 seen from the camp going downwards, and it was hoped 

 that they would return the same way. In this expecta- 



