6o6 
THROUGH ASIA 
a yoke over my right shoulder, hastened back with a 
buoyant step along the track by which I came. 
The boots were filled to the brim with the precious 
liquid that was going to give fresh life to Kasim. Some 
of it was spilled owing to the haste I was in ; but not 
a drop came through the leather. Master Stjernstrom 
in Stockholm never made a pair of boots before which 
not only saved a man’s life, but also travelled right across 
Asia and back again. In consequence of this my boots 
afterwards became in their way famous. 
The moon still poured her soft mellow light along the 
river-bed, so that I had no difficulty m following" my own 
footmarks through the sand. Besides, it was no longer 
heavy walking, my weariness had disappeared, and I 
almost flew towards the forest that lined the left bank. 
In the forest it was not so easy to get along. My socks 
were thin, and my feet were continually getting" pricked by 
thorns and splinters. But a worse evil was a thick veil 
of cloud, caused no doubt by the rising mist, which came 
between the moon and me, so that the forest became pitch 
dark, and I lost the trail. I lighted matches, and vainly 
tried to rediscover it. I had recourse to my compass. 
I shouted “Kasim”; but my voice died away among the 
thousands of poplars without eliciting an answer. For 
a while I went on at hapliazard, constantly shouting my 
attendant s name with all the strength of my lungs. But 
at last I grew' tired of that aimless wandering ; I was only 
getting lost deeper and deeper in the silent forest. I 
resolved therefore to stop and w'ait for daylight. I chose 
out an impenetrable thicket in which lumber, dead 
branches, and shrivelled tree-trunks lay heaped together 
in wild confusion, and set fire to them. In a trice the 
flames were leaping up fiercely; the dry branches crackled, 
spluttered, exploded. The draught from the bottom was 
so strong, that it w’histled and sizzled, and a tall column 
of fire licked the trunks of the poplars standing near. It 
vas as hj^ht as noontide : the forest, lately so black, was 
lit up with a reddish yellow glare. Kasim could hardly 
help seeing such a fire as that, or hearing its loud 
