The Washington times., 1911-08-04
CHAPTER XII (Continued).

properly disposed of before
entering the building. 1t was eViden
that we had stirred the curiosity of th'
lamas to the very limit. What did ou
luggage contain? Where were we from
and where were we gong? we entered
a great hall with pillars of rough stone
placed at irregular intervals. In th'
center, upon a raised hearth, was {
fire of 10 which we found most COM
forting after our ride in the chill o.
early evening. Half a dozen butter
lamps were burning about the room
which with the ruddy glow of the mr.
combined to make strangely weird
yet cheerful light. There were SOM
large, uncouth chairs, entirely covered
with sheepskin-tanned with the WOO
on. They made comfortable seats, anC
Gwynne and l pulled up couple anC
settled ourselves in the recesSes OF thell
padded luxury.
In a few minutes we were Joined by
the monk, and by means Of signs anc
such words as could be understood,
fair exchange of ideas was established
Yes, he had heard of Tad-sa-fuh' bu'
had never been there, and when GWynht
mentioned the name / thought L de-
tected a quick look of suspicion, but II
a minute this had given way to one ,oi o.
sought, he declared to be the most re-
mote and inaccessible in all OF tibet
He knew of no way to reach lit was
in the moon-tO attempt the river pas
sage was certain death. -
The outlook is not cheerful, salu
Gwynne. turning toward me. But We
been there once, and can go asaln.
He asked how the lamas got there;
The priest shrugged his shoulders am am
seemed to say he didn't know; al an
events that IL was none OF his business
1t was evident that he took no lnie[eSo 81
In the brotherhood, save. possibly, "
keep its locality hid from prylng eyes,
Presently tea was brought nus
saddle of mutton, ana some CaheS "
harley 1t was a feast after the HloIOt-
pny Of camp fare, and we set 10 Win
We had only been eating a few min l.
utes when we heard some loud voices IN
another room. ! caught Gwynne eye.
He had evidently noticed Mnat l Iau' nav
and for a minute we sat still ana Ilst-
ened Yes, there was no mlStdkiHs IL
the words we heard were EnghSh.
Another instant the great sheepSklmi KIN
curtain at the farther end OF the nan
was pulled aside and two gentlemen ell
tered our surprise was mutual, anu
for a minute the strangers stoou Stdi
ing at us while we paused IN tAe @ dCt VI
eating, to return the look. Ineh Wv Eiie
got IN and a general introduction I"l-
lowed They were two EngiShmen traF-
LING through Tlbet-Fcnchurch ahG
Chumley by name-and we sathered
around the table as If we had pee"
friends of a lfetlne. ,
'Strange how meeting one $ own
peopIe in such foreign land Will pro-
duce at once the strongest feeling OF
1riendship." Gwynne was saying as
he reseated himself at the ia
mot strange t,ta1 at all, mI fGi6s near in SHE the
world. After ALL Tibet isn't IN the
world. is it?" ,is chair
therefore those that are from II
have the more reason 10 con Gia,.o
themselves upon meeting. bGlltNe
5hc deadliest enemies would embrace
under suCh conditions. See! MY lTlenu
ard may be a couple of bank rob-
bers-murdeTers-e IRON jug
lice But what difference does ~
,noLar I'm sure YOU Americans would
help US get away, even If you khe"
IL for a faCt-eh? ,. ;r.o
Cthtunlev laughed as he dipped INTO
his tea. ,s, ,oro may
he a member of the Black Hand. ana
an unDretentlOus highwayman lak-
Ing a summer vacation in th' mis-.
But what matters it? We SPEAK tLIc
same tongue. have breatheu lIlS eaI
neIIuCid air of London and, dotsh
The Bible say something about oloou
Sefnr thicker than water?' l asked.
ITS a great thing to know that you
know there is a Bible, my deaI 81:
yoIir knowledge of the fact is marx
of the profoundest erudition, for,
after all. wisdom is geographlcalIy,
disCerned. What we should regarg
as such in the wilds of Bhotan, W0uld
be simple ignorance eisewHere' May
/ trouble you for the tea -,,
We chatted along pleasantly enough:
II was a relief, II was positive JOY
to hear ones own language spoken
again, and by men who appeared III
every respect to be gGntiemth; 90
After dinner we pulled chairs TO
the fire and flied our pipes. The Eng
iIshmen smoked also. The old monk
sat at a little distance and lStened'
II is doubtful If he UNDERSTOOD
word but the mystery OF 1t all seemed
to charm him. -,
II transpired in the course of the
evening that Chumley was much the
Younger of the two, being twenty
eight; while Fenchurch was nearly
FORTY and an officer in the Englsh
army, whose regiment was stationed
in india. From Srinagar these men
had watched the sn0W-hllls or tne
EImalayas and been smitten with me
sense Of mystery that enshrouos
look behind the veil, they said, and
we're completely satisfied. -,
"a pleasant summer vacation! l
ShnmIev nodded. Neither seemed in
clined to give an account of his eX-
perIence, though there could be no
doubt that they had gone through
much. from the mere fact that we
had found them at this remote ana
fEolated monastery. 1t is true that
they spoke of having had trouble with
their guides, and of being lost on one
occasion for three DAYS
1t was another bond OF sympathy
between us, and led to some further
details OF adventure; but there was
the usual English reserve when we
EXPRESSED interest regarding their fu-
ture course. They seemed quite unde-
cided as to whether they should pene-
trate farther into the Wllds OF 1lpet
or return to India
Later in the evening we discussed
the strange habits of the people, the
customs, and peculiarities of the Fib-
etans We were able to do this win
impunity in the presence OF the lama,
as ne knew practically nothing OF
English This led me to speak OF some
of the prevailing superstitions; the
peoples faith in demons and powers
OF evil; their strange, reliance on in
carnations, charms. sorCery, magic,
witchcraft. FenChurch looked up and
Chumley warmed to the subject.
"As for example of their belief in
these things" began the younger
man. 'let me give you a case. There's
an old Tibetan story about a female
apparitiOn that haunts the country
and ascends to the tops of the high
est mountains, where she recuperates
her powers only to strike death and
terror to the souls of all who chance
70 see her: at all events to those who
fix their eyes upon her for more than
a minute So firm is the faith in this
creature that men have been known
10 drop dead with the mere suspicion
that they have seen her. 1t is looked
upon as the very worst of omens. OF
course no one ever has seen her, for