k deep in the sand, and
could not travel fast here, which I suppose was the reason why this spot
had been selected. The man fired as I passed only a few paces from him;
but, as luck would have it, this second attempt also left me untouched.

Getting clear of the soft sand, and finding harder ground, we resumed our
headlong career. Several arrows were shot at me from behind; but, though
some passed very near, not one struck me; and thus, after an interminable
ride full of incident and excitement, we arrived, towards sunset, at our
destination.

On the crown of a hill stood a fortress and large lamasery, and at its
foot, in front of another large structure, the Pombo's gaudy tent had
been pitched. The name of this place, as far as I could afterwards
ascertain, was Namj Lacce Galshio or Gyatsho.

CHAPTER LXXXIV

Intense pain--Hustled to the execution-ground--Stretched and
tied--Thirsting for blood--A parade of torturing appliances--The
music--The _Taram_.

[Illustration: A DISPLAY OF VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE]

TWO or three men tore me roughly off the saddle. The pain in my spine
caused by the spikes was intense. I asked for a moment's rest. My
captors, however, refused, and, roughly thrusting me forward, said that I
would be beheaded in an instant. All the people round jeered and made
signs to me that my head would be cut off, and insults of all kinds were
showered upon me by the crowd of Lamas and soldiers. I was hustled to
the execution-ground, which lay to the left front of the tent. On the
ground was a long log of wood in the shape of a prism. Upon the sharp
edge of this I was made to stand, and several men held me by the body
while four or five others, using their combined strength, stretched my
legs as wide apart as they could go. Fixed in this painful position, the
brutes securely tied me by my feet to the log of wood with cords of
yak-hair. Several men were made to pull these cords, and they were so
tight that they cut grooves into my skin and flesh in several places
round my ankles and on my feet, many of the cuts[35] being as much as
three inches long.

[Illustration: LAMA MUSICIANS]

When I was thus firmly bound, one ruffian, the man Nerba, whom I have
mentioned before as having fired a shot at me, came forward and seized me
from behind by the hair of my head. My hair was long, as it had not been
cut for over five months.

[Illustration: THE HOT IRON TORTURE]

The specta