UP THE ALAI VALLEY 145 
It was unusually late that night before we got to bed — 
fully an hour after midnight before all sounds were hushed 
in camp. At that time the thermometer registered — 25°6 
Fahr. ( — 32° C.). It was my usual practice to sleep alone 
in the tent, as it was not altogether pleasant to have the 
Kirghiz too close ; they are seldom the sole occupants of 
their furs or felts. But intense cold is a pretty effective 
safeguard against the inconvenience I am alluding to. 
With such a low temperature I had not the conscience 
to let the men lie under the open sky. Accordingly as 
many of them crowded into the tent, and stowed them- 
selves away on the carpets, as could possibly squeeze in, 
till we lay as tightly packed as herrings in a barrel. Not- 
withstanding this, the temperature inside the tent sank to 
— i 2°6 Fahr. ( — 24°8 C.). The minimum during the night 
was —30°! Fahr. ( — 34°5 C.). The next morning when 
we woke a shower of ice flowers and icicles fell over us 
from the tent-roof. But I never saw the stars glitter with 
such matchless brilliancy as they did that night. 
I. -10 
