ons and ponies, to cross over this pass and proceed towards the
Sacred City, following a course on the northern side of the mountain
range. Besides, the highway to Lhassa was getting so thickly populated
that I thought it advisable to travel through less inhabited regions. I
intended proceeding, dressed as a European, until within a few miles of
Lhassa. Then I would leave my two men concealed in some secluded spot,
and assuming a disguise, I would penetrate alone during the night into
the city. This would have been easy enough, as Lhassa has no gates, and
only a ruined wall round it.

I succeeded in purchasing some clothing and boots from the Tibetans, and
the pigtail that I needed to make me pass for a Tibetan I intended to
make myself, out of the silky hair of my yaks. To avoid betraying myself
by my inability to speak Tibetan fluently, I thought of pretending to be
deaf and dumb.

A good meal brought hope and high spirits, and when I retired to sleep I
saw myself already inside the sacred walls.

[Illustration: TIBETAN BELLOWS]

CHAPTER LXXIII

Strange noises--Ando the traitor--Purchasing provisions and
ponies--A handsome pony--Decoyed away from my tent and
rifles--Pounced upon--The fight--A prisoner.

[Illustration: A DISTAFF]

DURING the night I was aroused several times by noises, and I went out of
my tent to look for the disturbers, but failed to discover any one. This
had become my nightly experience, and I attached very little importance
to these sounds.

In the morning, Ando and two or three Tibetans came to sell us provisions
and ponies, and, while my two servants and I were engaged in purchasing
what we required, I saw a number of villagers coming up in groups. Some
spun their wool, others carried bags of _tsamba_ and flour, while others
still arrived leading a number of fine ponies. Having purchased
provisions to last us a couple of months, we now began the selection of
mounts, and naturally my servants and myself were overjoyed at our
unexpected piece of luck in finding ourselves, after untold sufferings
and privations of all kinds, confronted with abundance of everything we
could possibly desire. The demeanour of the Tibetans was so friendly, and
they seemed so guileless, that I never thought of suspecting them.
Chanden Sing and Mansing, who at bottom were sportsmen of the very first
order, delighted at the prospect of getting animals, rode first one pony
and then another