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270 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
he caught sight of a fire and observed the track of camels.
These, he knew, belonged to Faisullah’s section of the
caravan, and, greatly alarmed, he turned about and
plodded on until he perceived our fire, and then made
straight for it. It was a wonder that none of the camels
broke their legs crossing in the dark the endless trenches,
gullies, and pits with which the desert is seamed. For
twelve mortal hours he had been wandering about the
desert, whilst we had travelled in a straight line less than
six miles. He would have done better to have remained
at the ruins of Lou-Ian, the old tower of which was dis-
tinctly visible from the spot where we halted.
Our first care was to get the tea-kettle on, and then
we fixed up my felt tent. After that I sent off Khodai
KuUu in the direction in which Shagdur had disappeared
when he went to look for the camels. I instructed him to
keep firing off his rifle as a signal to the Cossack ; and
we knew he went a pretty long way, for the shots grew
fainter and fainter, and at last died away altogether. But
he failed to find the man he sought. I was not, however,
even for a single moment uneasy with regard to Shagdur ;
he was capable of finding his way anywhere, and more-
over, he was perfectly acquainted with the topography
of the region, for he took the keenest interest in my mapping,
and knew exactly how many versts it was to the Kara-
koshun. He always marched by the compass, and
counted his steps, and knew exactly how long they were.
But when I woke on the following morning and found
a fierce sand-storm blowing, so that we were unable to see
fifty paces ahead, I thought that Shagdur’s position was
anything but an enviable one, and assumed, as a matter
of course, that he would give up looking for us and make
the best of his way due south to the Kara-koshun. Sur-
veying was quite out of the question in such weather
;
there was nothing to be done, therefore, but to stand
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