ay against the strong current forcing him out into
midstream.

About the middle of the afternoon we forerunners of the caravan reached
Chang-ho-pa, the night's stop. The whole village turned out to greet us,
and their interest was not to be wondered at, as few Europeans and
perhaps no European woman had ever before come this way. The interpreter
did not arrive until two hours later, and what stories my two companions
made up about me to satisfy the curiosity of the villagers, I can only
imagine. As a rule, one stands to lose nothing in the mouths of one's
followers in the East Whatever reflected glory they may earn by exalting
their masters is generally theirs. Years afterward I learned that on a
journey I once made in Kashmir and Baltistan I travelled in the guise of
King Edward's sister. How much I profited by the dignity thus thrust
upon me I do not know, but I have often thought that my servants must
have been hard put to it sometimes to account for the simplicity of my
outfit.

The rest of the caravan straggled in toward the end of the afternoon,
wet and tired, but all in good spirits over the successful day, no loads
drenched, no one hurt. The great room of the rough little inn was noisy
and gay with the men drying their clothes and cooking their dinner, the
centre of an interested throng of village folk. I sat among them on a
low bench by the fire, watching the fun. Every one was heedful of my
comfort, poking the fire, bringing a fan to screen my face from the
heat, drying my shoes, rubbing Jack. The thoughtfulness and good will
of my men during all the journey were unfailing, and I never found that
friendliness on my part diminished in any way my authority over them.

After dinner the chair-bearers gathered round and with the aid of the
interpreter I took down as best I could some of their calls and
responses, a sort of antiphonal chorus handed down from generation to
generation of coolies. Thus the men in front cry, "Lao di!"--"Something
in the road!"--and those behind call back, "Ti chi!"--"Lift higher!" or
maybe it is "Chiao kao!"--"Something overhead!"--and then the answer
comes, "Keo yao!"--"Stoop lower!" When the way is very uneven, you hear
"Leo puh ping!"--"The road is not level!"--to which is replied, "Mon
tien hsin!"--"There are stones like stars!"--followed by "Tien shan hsin
To!"--"Many stars in the sky!"--with the response, "Ti hsia ken
to!"--"Many holes in the ground." Or perhaps at a bridge, "Hs