FAIRLY IN THE WILDS 139 



hitting my head hard against the roof of 

 my bedroom. Was I still dreaming ? No ! 

 I could smell ibex; I was gripping wet 

 wool. I ran my hands up to where his 

 horns should be, and I found I had got 

 hold of one of my goats. Poor beast ! it 

 was snowing hard outside, and she had 

 come in wet and miserable for shelter ; so 

 I let her have a corner of my bedding, and 

 we both slept the rest of the night undis- 

 turbed. It's a rum thing to sleep with a 

 wet goat ! 



When I awoke it was fairly late, but 

 quite fine again ; the country looked lovely 

 with its fresh coat of snow, and soon, having 

 had breakfast, we made tracks for our tents, 

 which we reached safely in the afternoon. 

 Then I had a bath and a general clean up, 

 and was hardly dressed again when a coolie 

 arrived from Srinagar with letters and 

 some new books. I speak somewhat lord- 

 lily about ''dressing" and "cleaning up," 

 but I mean no deception : my bath was a 

 hole dug in the ground, with my waterproof 



