en. -viii. PERILOUS NIGHT TEA YELLING. 205 



train being brought up by the soldiers of our escort. For 

 a while, by moving slo-wly and cautiously, nothing serious 

 happened. The beasts seemed to understand the difficulty 

 of the case, and as one or another of us rode against a 

 branch, with head bent down to lessen the risk of mischief, 

 they stopped at once, and even backed a step or two. 

 Before long the cavalcade was separated by long gaps. A 

 loud cry of pain, followed by the vociferations of the 

 natives, brought the foremost to a full stop, and after a 

 while we were once more near together. It was not alto- 

 gether reassuring to be told by Ambak, when we asked the 

 cause of the row, that one of the soldier's eyes had been 

 torn out. On this Ball determined to proceed on foot ; 

 but Hooker and Maw, after a few steps over the very 

 broken ground, thought it better to remount, and rely on 

 the sagacity of their four-footed companions. 



In our awkward position the time seemed long ; but at 

 last we got through the olive grove, and foTmd when we 

 emerged from it that the night was even darker than before. 

 It is well known to those who have made night excursions 

 in mountain countries, that anything approaching absolute 

 darkness, in places not overshadowed by trees or rocks, is 

 very unusual. It may be impossible to distinguish one 

 object from another ; but the outline of opaque bodies 

 against the sky is almost always traceable, and it rarely 

 happens that a path is not in some degree distinguishable 

 by its lighter hue from the surrounding rocks or vegeta- 

 tion. On this night, however, nothing whatever could be 

 seen ; and as we knew that the narrow track was carried 

 for the next three or four miles along a very steep slope, 

 precipitous in places, we felt that om- difficulties were not 

 yet over. The horses and mules, however, sliowed them- 

 selves deserving of the confidence placed in them. Ball, 

 who led the way on foot, feeling liis way with an alpen- 

 stock, had a narrow escape, as, misplacing his foot, he fell 

 over the edge, but was luckily stopped by a dense mass 

 of thorny bushes, from which he was rescued with a little 



