very little baggage we should have to take with us, then.
Twenty ponies would carry sufficient for the regiment; and if
government did but buy us good mules, we could always rely upon
getting them into camp before dark. See what an advantage that
would be! Ten men would do for the escort; whereas, at present, a
hundred is not sufficient."

"Well, I wish it could be so," Lisle said. "But although some
articles of food might be compressed, I don't think we should ever
be able to compress rice or ghee. A handful of rice, when it is
boiled, makes enough for a meal; and I don't imagine that it could
possibly be condensed more than that."

"Well, it is getting late, and we march at daylight. Fortunately we
have not to undress, but have only to turn in as we are."

Chapter 4: In The Passes

The march after leaving Dahimol was a short one. Here they were met
by the governor of the upper parts of the valley, and he gave them
very useful details of the state of parties in Chitral, and of the
roads they would have to follow. He accompanied the force on the
next day's march, and billeted all the troops in the villages; for
which they were thankful enough, for they were now getting pretty
high up in the hills, and the nights were decidedly cold.

They were now crossing a serious pass, and had reached the snow
line; and the troops put on the goggles they had brought with them
to protect their eyes from the dazzling glare of the snow. At two
o'clock they reached the post at Ghizr, which was held by a body of
Kashmir sappers and miners. The place had been fortified, and
surrounded by a strong zereba. The troops were billeted in the
neighbouring houses, and they halted for a day, in order to allow
the second detachment of the Pioneers and the guns to come up.
Here, also, they were joined by a hundred men of the native levies.

When they prepared for the start, the next morning, they found that
a hundred of the coolies had bolted during the night. Two officers
were despatched to find and fetch them back. Fifty were fortunately
discovered, in a village not far off, and with these and some
country ponies the force started. They passed up the valley and
came upon a narrow plain. Here the snow was waist deep, and the men
were forced to move in single file, the leaders changing places
every hundred yards or so.

At last they came to a stop. The gun mules sank to their girths in
the snow and, even then, were unable to obtain a f