About this place I met three
lonely travellers, laden with meal, who had come along the entire
path, but had seen no sign of a human creature anywhere. I now gave
up our man as lost, but still held on, in a pouring mixture of sleet
and snow, which added considerably to the gloom of the scene. Every
now and then the old mate, who was in very low spirits, would raise
a lugubrious wail at the top of his voice of "Ai Khansaman Jee! Ai
Khansaman Jee?" "Oh, cook of my soul! oh, cook of my soul, where
art thou?" at the same time apparently apostrophizing the deepest
whirlpools of the torrent, while the roar of the waters effectually
prevented his magnificent voice from reaching more than a dozen
yards from the spot where he stood. Arriving at the snow-bridge,
we examined it closely for signs of footmarks; it was, however,
so hard that it baffled all our efforts.
At the other side I explored the path which I myself had followed
in the first instance. It, however, only led to a small shelter
among the rocks and trees, where the natives had evidently been in
the habit of lighting their fires and halting for the night.
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