they ran, but it was not through fear. It was because
they did not wish to hurt you." Upon which I answered that, if that were
the case, they need not have run so fast.

The Rupun was amused, and laughed at my sarcasm. He patted me on the
back, and said I was right. He professed to be grieved to see me tied
up. He had received strict orders not to give me food or unloose my
bonds.

The soldiers, who had been harsh and rough, listened open-mouthed to the
friendly talk between the Rupun and myself, a practice not common in
Tibet between captor and prisoner. Following their chief's example
they, too, became quite kind and respectful. They placed a cushion under
me and tried to make me a little more comfortable.

Toward the evening the Rupun was summoned before the Pombo. The guard
was relieved by a fresh lot of men. This was a change for the worse. The
new-comers were extremely rough. They dragged me away from the dignified
seat I had occupied in the place of honor in the tent, and knocked me
violently down on a heap of dung which was there to be used as fuel.

"That is the place for _Plenkis!_" shouted one of the men, "not in the
best part of the tent."

They pounced upon me, and though I made no resistance whatever, they
again tied my feet together. An additional rope was fastened round my
knees. The ends of these ropes were left long, and each was given in
charge of a soldier.

No part of a Tibetan tent was ever clean. The spot where I was to rest
for the night was the dirtiest. Bound so tightly that the ropes cut
grooves in my flesh, it was out of the question to sleep. Worse than
this was the disgusting fact that I soon got covered with vermin, which
swarmed in the tent. From this time till the end of my captivity, or
twenty-five days later, I suffered unspeakable tortures from this pest.
The soldiers, with their swords drawn, were all round me inside the
tent. More soldiers were posted outside.

The night was full of strange events. Shouts could be heard at intervals
from a distance outside, and were answered by some one of the guard
inside the tent. They were to keep the men awake and make sure that I
was still there.

In the middle of the night the Rupun returned. I noticed that he seemed
much upset. He sat by my side. By the light of the flickering fire and a
wick burning in a brass bowl filled with butter, I could see on his face
an expression of great anxiety. I felt, by the kind way in which he
looked