On the ' ' Roof of the World " 157 



enter that of Central Asia, with streams draining 

 into inland seas or meandering about waste places 

 till lost in the sands ; the land 



Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 

 Through caverns measureless to man, 

 Down to a sunless sea. 



The snow-line was low for the time of year, and 

 we had entered it early that morning, so we spent 

 the night in a cave named after one Gul Kwaja. 

 Towards evening a big herd of ibex had been 

 seen among the high crags above our den, and 

 through the night I heard between my dreams 

 the rattle of stones dislodged by their feet. 

 We started on the climb over the pass, which is 

 picturesquely called Mintaka " the pass of a 

 thousand ibex " about 3 A.M., by the half light 

 of a setting moon. The cold was intense, and furs 

 being far too heavy for climbing in at these alti- 

 tudes, the exertion only just served to keep one 

 from getting numbed. 



An adventure befell us at the outset which 

 might have proved fatal to one of our party. No 

 one having crossed the pass that year, the guide 

 took a wrong line and led us across an ice slope 

 that was concealed by snow. The first I knew 

 of it was seeing his dim figure begin to slide 

 downwards, first slowly, then more rapidly. We 



