ddened by the sight of
our camp, dripping away peacefully in the midst of the weeping forest.

The rain, as usual, ceased in the evening. A great camp-fire was lit, and
the neighbouring buffaloes of Gujar-Kote having kindly supplied us with
milk, we dined wisely and well and dropped off to sleep, lulled by the
roaring of the Kolahoi River, which raced through the darkness close by.

_Tuesday, June 27_.--Being still hopeful of achieving the pass over into
the Sind, we struck camp early yesterday and marched down to Lidarwat,
only to find that the party which we knew had camped there with a view to
crossing, had given up the idea and retreated down the valley; so I sent a
swift messenger to countermand the three days' supply of "rassad" which I
had ordered from Pahlgam for my men, and we marched on to Aru. Upon the
spur which overlooks Aru we found Dr. Neve encamped, and proceeded to
discuss the possibility of crossing into the Sind Valley _via_ Sekwas,
Khem Sar, and Koolan. The Doctor, who is an enterprising mountaineer, was
himself about to cross, but he did not encourage Jane to go and do
likewise, as he said it would be very difficult owing to the late spring,
and would probably entail a good deal of work with ropes and ice-axes.

This absolutely decided us, our valour being greatly tempered by
discretion, and we camped quietly at Aru, and came on into Pahlgam this
forenoon. The river, for some reason best known to itself, was so low that
we got dry-shod past the corner which had worried us so much on the way up.

[1] This is incorrect, the European Residents having frequently attempted,
but hitherto vainly, to induce the native authorities to curb Kashmiri
cruelty.

CHAPTER XI

GANGABAL

Friday, _June_ 30.--The last few days have been somewhat uneventful. We
left Pahlgam at early dawn on Wednesday, just as the first lemon-coloured
light was spreading in the east over the pine-serrated heights above the
camp.

The rapids below Colonel Ward's bungalow, which had been fierce and
swollen as we passed them on our upward way, were now reduced to roaring
after the subdued fashion of the sucking dove; so we hardly paused to
contemplate either them or the big boulder, red-stained and holy, at
Ganesbal, but hastened on to the point where, just before turning a high
bluff which shuts him from sight for the last time, we got the view of
Kolahoi, with the newly-risen sun glowing on his upper slopes. An hour