Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 175 (Color Image)

0175	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. vi.] A DELICIOUS DRINK. 141

as afternoon passed into evening, and as we

slowly climbed the long even slopes of the

Tian-shan.

About ten at night we suddenly found our-

selves passing over turf, with bushes and trees

on either side ; a shrill clear voice hailed us

from out of the darkness. The guide answered,

and a Turki woman then appeared, who led us

through the bushes over some cultivated ground

to a house the first I had seen for nearly a

thousand miles, and the first sign that I had

entered Turkestan the mysterious land which

I had longed for many a day to see.

Flowing by the house was a little stream of

clear, fresh water. It was scarcely a yard

broad, but it was not a mere trickle like the

others we had passed in the Gobi, it was

flowing rapidly, with a delightful gurgling noise,

and was deep enough for me to scoop up

water between my two hands. I gulped down

mouthful after mouthful of the delicious liquid,

and enjoyed such a drink as I had not had for

many a long day, and as I lay down on the

grass on its bank while the water-casks were

being filled, I thought the trials of the desert

journey were nearly over and that some few

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