THE RAINS. 353 



owls on our little platform in the bell-tent, and 

 smoke away the time until the rain should cease. 

 My wretched men had no change of garments, so 

 that for the two days they had to sit and sleep in 

 their sodden clothes, and nothing but constant 

 application to their beloved vodka-bottle could 

 have saved the poor devils from fever. During 

 that last night the rage of the storm increased, 

 and, though our tent was in a wonderfully 

 sheltered place, it rocked and tugged at its moor- 

 ings in an alarming manner, whilst at last it ceased 

 to be waterproof, and our roof resembled nothing 

 so much as the rose of an immense watering-pot. 

 I think on Saturday night 1 must have gone to 

 sleep in spite of the streams from above and the 

 howling wolves outside, for in the morning I was 

 quite startled by a gleam of sunshine, and, roused, 

 I fancy, by the cessation of that perpetual patter- 

 ing of rain -drops which had lulled me to sleep. 

 As I moved my stiff limbs my clothes cracked with 

 the frost that had followed the rain, and our tent 

 itself was hard frozen, while outside the sun was 

 shining through a heavy snow-storm going on in 

 the second range of mountains behind and giving 

 but a very cheerless light to the miserable scene 

 around. Still, it was sunshine, and as such stirred 

 us to fresh endeavour, as nothing but sunshine 



o 



can stir a human being. By dint of drainage and 

 a few sticks we had kept moderately dry, we 



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