The Washington times., 1911-08-03
CHAPTER K (Continuedl .

~ hOl lullh lNat even at that time
had any real faith in the Ya-t
i ghost, startling and inexplicable al
the thing was. AS look back, from
The standpoint Of greater knowledge,
am glad that can truthfully say this
although l admit that l was very mucl
frightened at the time
Ihc lnaI who would not have heel
triShtened-Tibetan or European-wCuld
In NV .oDini1n, have been a fool Shoult
The Ha-ti woman appear 10 me- now
here. in the very heart and center o
civilization. am sure that l should bt
euIally alarmed
GwNEne stirred the fire into brighteI
glow; and examined the parchment HC
rCred over it for several minutes. theI
mamie II back TO me-, saying: Il caut
make II out, though there's a wUru o!
tMu that looks familiar"
l asked what they Wele.
i don't think the fellow knows how
u write his own lang Lage. though h:
eylGenllN wants to give uS some adViC.
about The best way to reach the lamas
! wouldn't trust him
ITS a bad lookout to 30 alone!'
observed.
Sad. yes; hut there arc worse
things he answered.
l was puzzled. and asked what ht
meant.
Gwynne was staring at the skv and
the moonlit peaks that reached toward
it Again from far down TIL, valley
came The barking Of GOgs-the faint
tinhle of bells-the mulmul of the wiI",
as it sucked through the gorge.
thought he had not heard me.
What is worse? l repeated.
He looked at me quickly as he an
g. cred: Thu Ya-u Woman"'
moved uneasly There was some
thing in RoeIler's maine: that startled
nv., lid he really believe N the thlnK
/ shook the asnes from my pipe, ana
asked what ne intended TO do for 4
guide reminding him of the unknown
sulitudcS. the vast tr1ckIesS reelrn thal
enGIlfed us. and the fact that our un'G :
was li9lIted. He was equally lmFFeSscu
with the lifticulti"s
Haven't quite made uT my mind.
h. replied. For the present ] think
we'd hctter tuln in
We WeI.t over TO the cattle. They
weIe resting quietly GAynne's suG-
FeStion of bed was good one ana.
findina a corner for our sleeping 6aS'
We Crlp'lCd into them. determined 10
let the morrow take care Of itself.
Twice in the night l was startled By
uncanny dreams. Once l thought the
snake charmer had returned and that
he was covered with mass Ut Wrlin-
ing serpentS which were trying TO de-
YOUR him, and from which lie was strug-
Cling TO escape. once l thought the
Ya-ti woman was standing over me and
staring into my face. Both times
woke up. only TO find Gwynne snoring
Next morning, after breakfast. we had
q consultation. Gwynne had sketched
little map of the situation in the ashes.
The lamasery of Tad-sa-fuh is not
far from the lost section of TSanpo," he
6aid-"just to the north of where 1t
first plunges into obsCurity. m sure
we're Oh the wrong trail. Also, that
the fellow Toxic Intentionally led us
Of
.roundings. There is a barriCade of
mountains between us and the river
Impossible 10 scale-and in short, Peter,
were lost!
What about the parcnment?"
Cant understand a word of tab
eolutely meaningless. We know the
snake Charmer TO be a thief, and that
he was driven out OF Rom-te. We no
other. Its a fat caravan we have here,
and worth capture. I've plant may
work, and 1t may not. These fellows
are after us-that's sure. Let's give
them the outfit-the beasts, l mean
expressed surprise. and Gwynne
went on.
, promise to give them both ponies
and the yaks If they'll put US on the
stared. Give whom? The fellows
have gone"
. Yes: but they're not far. and will
be after US again-at least, ! think so.
? i
posing this.
BECAUSE the prize is worth while, and
they have US at their mercy. These
ITibetans are like flies-they have infinite
perseverance and patience.
But why do you suppose they are
Still near u.s."
Didn't you hear those dogs in the
night? There's a gomba, or station of
some kind, below. Depend upon it. they
have taken refuge in it, and will watch
our course"
The proposition seemed innocent
enough, and l asked If he intended to
make over the cattle to a band of ROB-
bers without guarantee of good faith.
How will it be possible for you to
know If they've put you on the road?"
l inquired finally.
Gwynne pulled down his eye'id.
Don't worry I've a scheme. I'm
not quite so easy as that. When l turn
over the cattle I'll know how to get to
Tad-sa-fuh. OF course. my rlans may
fail but Tad-sa-fuh is our destination,
and we shall get there!'
l then said something about the air
ship, asking why he didn't Use it; to
which he replied:
Just two reasons, Peter. The first
one is that I'm holding ner back for
emergency. The stun that runs the
fier costs money, and I don't want to
we'll want it more than we do now.
The second reason is that | shouldn't
know in which direction TO fly If I
was up there. It's a good Idea to know
where you're going before you go, espe-
cially when you're fooling with an air
ship
That he had some plan in the back of
ly clear that he was not inclined to en-
lIEhten me further Just then.