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2S8 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
men only made fun of him. Now Khodai Kullu was a peace-
ful and phlegmatic man, both clownish and jovial, the
expression of his countenance being very comical ; but
as a servant he was faithful, and worth his weight in gold.
One morning before sunrise he disappeared silently from
camp, and as nothing was heard of him all day, we wondered
where he had gone to ; and it did strike one or two of us
as suspicious that his former weapon had disappeared also.
At dusk he came waddling back, and even at a distance his
proud and self-satisfied bearing at once attracted attention.
Anybody that liked might, he said, go with him to the spring
and see the skeleton of the camel he had shot the vear
before. That year the spring had indeed dried up, but the
-skeleton remained. Moreover, he had discovered a second
spring, where he had surprised four magnificent camels, and
had shot one of them. Khodai Kullu now assumed great
airs of bonhomie and condescension, and he rose very con-
siderably in the eyes of the other men, who were somewhat
ashamed of the suspicion they had shown. I must confess
that I, too, had shared their opinion ; but I encouraged the
injured innocent with a small silver gratuity over and above
his usual monthly wages. When on the ist March we pro-
ceeded to Khodai Kullu’s spring, the great discoverer him-
self marched at our head, very conscious of his importance,
whistling and singing, and carrying himself as though he
were the sole monarch of all those deserts and oases, and
of all the wild camels that roam to and fro in them, while
the rest of us followed meekly and silently at his heels.
The discovery of this spring was so far important, that
it lay nearer to the ruins in the desert, and was, therefore,
more convenient as a base. Accordingly I left behind
there three tired camels and the three horses, with Khodai
Vardi to look after them, bidding him content himself there
until he received further orders. The only stores we gave
him out of our own scant}/ supplies consisted of a matchbox
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