t better of it. Ko had been cordial, but he had shown little
interest in the American "hunting" party and Rick thought he probably
preferred to travel at his own speed and in his own way.

Sing called that lunch was ready and they took mess kits to the fire and
loaded them up with rice covered with a savory sauce, canned beef, and
hot, crisp water chestnuts. As Rick sighed with gratitude over the first
tasty mouthful, Scotty looked at the vanishing Ko party and mused,
"Wonder how come he speaks English so perfectly?"

Sing overheard. He grinned. "No reason for surprise. Many Chinese are
educated in American and English colleges both in China and in other
countries. Like myself. I am a graduate of Oberlin."

"Guess that's right," Scotty admitted.

"Worthington is a rather strange name for a Chinese, Sing," Rick
remarked.

The guide nodded. "It is. But I don't think it is his real one. Many
Chinese take western first names, especially those who trade with
westerners. That is because our own names are often too hard to say or
remember."

"Have you ever met Ko before?" Zircon asked. "Since you've traveled
widely in this region, I thought you might have come across him before."

"I don't think so," Sing replied. "But this is a very big country and
there are many travelers like him."

Sing was certainly right in saying that there were many travelers,
although the merchants like Ko were a minority. There were families of
Tibetans walking along the trail, laden with their possessions, heading
for goodness knew where. There were groups of horsemen, dressed in the
quilted clothes of the mountain country and with peaked felt hats. Such
men usually were armed with old-fashioned muskets and carried forked
rests in which to lay the musket barrels for support while firing. There
were parties of Chinese, sometimes on foot and sometimes with trains of
mules or yaks, the oxlike Tibetan beasts of burden.

Frequently, especially in valley country, small villages lay near the
trail. Often there were herders with their large flocks of sheep.

Although the trail slanted up and down, from valley to mountain pass and
back down again, the way led constantly higher toward the white-capped
peaks that have been called "The Backbone of the World." Beyond them,
many hundreds of miles away, lay Nepal and India.

It was always cool now, and the Americans and Sing wore windbreakers and
woolen sweaters. The bearers donned padded long coats. A