s he held a small
roll of Tibetan material, which he used with both hands as a handkerchief
to blow his nose inconsequently every time that he was at a loss to
answer a question. The Tarjum and his men were profuse in their bows, and
there was, as usual, a great display of tongues. These were, I noticed,
of an unhealthy whitish colour, caused throughout Tibet by excessive
tea-drinking, a practice which ruins the digestion, and furs their
tongues. We had rugs placed outside our principal tent, and the doctor
and I sat on one, asking the Tarjum to sit on the one facing us. His
followers squatted around him. It is a well-known fact that in Tibet, if
you are a "somebody," or if you wish people to recognise your importance,
you must have an umbrella spread over your head. Fortunately, the
ever-provident doctor had two in his possession; which two of our men
held over our respective heads. The Tarjum himself was shaded by a
parasol of colossal dimensions, held in position by his secretary.

In spite of the extravagant terms of friendship which fell from the
Tarjum's lips, I was convinced, by close observation of the man's face,
that his words were insincere and that it would be unsafe to trust him.
He never looked us straight in the face; his eyes were fixed on the
ground all the time, and he spoke in a despicably affected manner. I did
not like the man from the very first, and, friend or no friend, I kept my
loaded rifle on my lap.

[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS]

After endless ponderous speeches, clumsy compliments, and tender
inquiries after all relations they could possibly think of; after tiring
parabolic sentences with fine sounds but no meaning; after repeated
blowing of the nose and loud coughing, which always came on opportunely
when we asked whether they had yet come to a conclusion as to what we
should be allowed to do, at last, when my patience was nearly exhausted,
our negotiations of the previous day were reopened. We argued for hours.
We asked to be allowed to go on. They were still uncertain whether they
would let us or not. To simplify matters, and hasten their decision
before other reinforcements arrived, the doctor applied for permission to
let only eight of us proceed to Mansarowar. He (the doctor) himself would
remain at Gyanema with the remainder of the party as a guarantee of
good faith. But even this offer they rejected, not directly, but with
hypocritical excuses and delays, for they