As evening approached we shot an antelope and made our camp--for
we had brought the yak and a tent with us--among some tamarisk scrub, of
which the dry stems furnished us with fuel. Nor did we lack for water,
since by scraping in the sand soaked with melted snow, we found plenty
of fair quality. So that night we supped in luxury upon tea and antelope
meat, which indeed we were glad to have, as it spared our little store
of dried provisions.
The next morning we ascertained our position as well as we could, and
estimated that we had crossed about a quarter of the desert, a guess
which proved very accurate, for on the evening of the fourth day of our
journey we reached the bottom slopes of the opposing mountains, without
having experienced either accident or fatigue. As Leo said, things were
"going like clockwork," but I reminded him that a good start often meant
a bad finish. Nor was I wrong, for now came our hardships. To begin
with, the mountains proved to be exceeding high; it took us two days
to climb their lower slopes. Also the heat of the sun had softened the
snow, which made walking through it laborious, whilst, accustomed
though we were to such conditions through long years of travelling, its
continual glitter affected our eyes.
The morning of the seventh day found us in the mouth of a defile which
wound away into the heart of the mountains.
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