the summit of the hill
above camp, and with my telescope scoured the plain. The two animals
were some distance off, being led away by ten or twelve men on
horseback, who drove in front of them a flock of about five hundred
sheep. By their clothing I recognized the strangers to be robbers.
Naturally I started at once to recover my property, leaving Chanden Sing
and Mansing in charge of our camp. I caught them up as they were
marching slowly, though, when they perceived me, they hastened on,
trying to get away. I shouted three times to them to stop, but they paid
no heed to my words. I unslung my rifle, and would have fired at them
had the threat alone not been sufficient to make them reflect. They
halted. When I got near enough I claimed my two yaks back. They refused
to give them up. They said they were twelve men, and were not afraid of
one. Dismounted from their ponies, they seemed ready to attack me.

As I saw them take out flint and steel in order to light the fusees of
their matchlocks, I thought I might as well have my innings first.
Before they could guess my intention, I applied a violent blow with the
muzzle of my rifle on the stomach of the man nearest to me. He
collapsed, while I administered another blow in the right temple of
another man who held his matchlock between his legs, and was on the
point of striking his flint and steel in order to set the tinder on
fire. He, too, staggered and fell clumsily.

"_Chakzal, chakzal! Chakzal wortzie!_" (We salute you, we salute you!
Please listen!) exclaimed a third brigand, with an expression of dismay,
and holding up his thumbs with his fist closed in sign of surrender.

"_Chakzal!_" (I salute you!) I replied, inserting a cartridge into the
Mannlicher rifle.

"_Middu, middu!_" (No, no!) they entreated, promptly laying down their
weapons.

I purchased from these men about thirty pounds of _tsamba_ and eight
pounds of butter. I got one of them to carry the stuff to my camp, while
I, without further trouble, recovered my yaks and drove them back to
where Chanden Sing and Mansing were busy lighting a fire to make some
tea.

Toward noon, when our things had got almost dry in the warm sun, the sky
became clouded, and again it began to rain heavily. I was rather
doubtful as to whether I should go over a pass some miles off to the
east, or should follow the course of the river and skirt the foot of the
mountains. We saw a large number of Tibetans travelling in the op