DIFFICULTY WITH OUR HORSES. 149 



of sight of Latali, and brought us to the hast 

 rivulet we were likely to see for several hours, 

 so here we sat down, loosed our horses, and 

 breakfasted. Alas ! that Svans consider 

 whiskey is as suitable for breakfast as for 

 supper. They did not drink much of it, but 

 what they did bore very unpleasant fruit 

 before long. 



Horses were really more trouble to us than 

 help after breakfast, and only Platon — who 

 hated to use his own legs and had no mercy 

 on his beast — attempted to keep his seat. 

 Frank, who always thought of his horse as 

 soon as he did of himself, walked the whole 

 way, though no one loathed that long climb 

 as he did. Weary, and heartily sick of the 

 whole expedition, he kept plodding mechani- 

 cally up hill, so that when we all sat down to 

 light our pipes and get our breath on a huge 

 fir which barred our progress up hill, he, not 

 noticing the halt, kept on and was lost to 



