seemed to
crush me. I gave a violent plunge. Then everything vanished ... the
frozen Kachi, the doctor, the transparent tomb....

I opened my eyes. They ached as if needles had been stuck into them. It
was snowing hard. I had temporarily lost the use of my legs and fingers.
They were almost frozen. In waking up from the ghastly nightmare, I
realized instantly that I must get down at once to a lower level. I was
already covered with a layer of snow. It was snowing hard when I woke,
and I suppose it was the cold snow on my forehead that caused my
nightmare. It is quite probable that, had it not been for the sudden
shudder which shook me free, I should never have awakened.

I sat up with difficulty, and slowly regained the use of my lower limbs
by rubbing and beating them. I roused the Rongba, rubbed him, and shook
him till he was able to move. We began our descent.

Undoubtedly the satisfaction of going up high mountains is great, but
can it ever be compared to the delight of coming down again?

The incline being extremely steep, we took long strides on the snow.
When we came to patches of debris we slid down at a great pace amid a
deafening roar from the huge mass of loose stones set in motion by our
descent. It was still snowing.

"Hark!" I said to the Rongba. "What is that?"

With hands up to our ears we listened attentively.

"_Ao, ao, ao! Jaldi ao! Tumka hatte?_" (Come, come, come! Come quickly!
Where are you?) cried a faint, distressed voice from far down below.

We quickened our pace. With hardly any control over our legs our descent
was precipitous. The snow-fall ceased, and we became enveloped in a
freezing thick mist which pierced into our very bones.

Guided by the anxious cries of the doctor, we continued our breakneck
journey downward. The cries became more and more distinct, and at last
we came face to face with Wilson, still helpless.

He had been uneasy about us, and during our long absence had quite given
us up for lost.

We looked for and found Kachi. He had slept like a top, curled up in his
warm blanket and my waterproof coat. He was now quite refreshed. All
together we continued our race downward with no serious mishaps. Life
and strength gradually came back to us when we descended to lower
heights.

Over the same trying stony valley we reached camp in the morning. The
anxiety of my men in camp was intense. They had lost all hope of seeing
us again.

CHAPTER IV

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