140 Tibet and Turkestan
Achbar, who must hasten over the Gilgit route to Kashgar. Lassoo had compounded in some way with his Ladaki wife and no longer talked of spending the winter in Leh. In parting with these faithful servants we were definitely closing a short, eventful act in our life's drama, an act in which both of them had nobly played their allotted parts. So, it was with a yearning back to the Chang, the great, desolate, high plains, and to the humble companions who had shared our toils, that we jumped into the impatient tong-a and were swept down the royal road to the Outside. And the Outside is, first, Rawal Pindi, which is on the railway, then all India lying before us. It is in the guide-books and in Kipling. You may drink it as beer from the guide-books or sip it as nectar from Kipling.
IIIF Color HighRes
