I handed over to my servant the note received from the supervisor of the fifth guard-house.

“Take the note to Tomo-Rinchen-gang,” said I to the servant privately; “you must get two notes there instead; but in Pimbithang, if it requires a long time to get one, go to the wife of the Chinese military officer, and rely on her; she will manage the matter exactly as we want.”

“That he gave it so soon,” said he, somewhat surprised, “was almost like a dream. If you do not go with me, I shall never get consent from Tomo-Rinchen-gang.”

“I thought so too,” said I, “but when I told the supervisor so, he told me that as everything is mentioned in this note, it is certain that the Chief of Tomo-Rinchen-gang will write a note to be sent to Pimbithang. He also said that I need not go there but should send the servant there, and myself wait here.”

The servant then, after receiving from me a note stamped with the seal of the supervisor, went back to Tomo-Rinchen-gang as fast as he could. On arriving there, he presented the note to the chief, and waited for a while. As the special instruction from the supervisor was mentioned on it, he at once made the two copies and gave them to the servant, who took them, and again went back two miles further to Pimbithang, to receive one written in Chinese characters.

As the time was about half past one when the servant arrived there, the keeper declined to give him a note. Consequently, according to my instructions, he went to the house of the Chinese military officer and requested his wife to obtain the immediate delivery of the note he needed. She, without any hesitation, ran to the guard-house to see her husband, and told him to give it at once. When he told her that it was too late to give one and that he must wait till the next day, she lost her temper and exposed the true character of a Tibetan woman. Whereupon, the henpecked husband yielded to her demands and gave a note to the servant, who came back with it about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Rain was falling that day, and though I had thought of stopping a night there, it was better for us to depart if possible. If we left there and walked about half a day we should enter British India.

“To-day is rainy and walking is hard,” said the supervisor, “and furthermore, the distance from here to Nakthang is somewhat great, there being no inn on the way. But if you walk for about eight miles, there is one house; and it would be a good plan for you to stop there to-night. By doing so, to-morrow you may easily go to Nakthang; but if not, even if you start from here at three o’clock in the morning, it would be impossible to get there; I advise you therefore, though it is troublesome, to start from here to-day, since you have very important business to perform.”

“I am very tired to-day,” said I, “so I should like to stop here to-night. Is it possible for me to arrive at Nakthang if I leave to-morrow?”

“It is utterly impossible,” replied the supervisor somewhat gravely.

“How about going there?” asked I of the servant.

“It is almost impossible for me to walk,” replied the servant, who was weary and exhausted.

“As the servant of a master who has urgent business,” said the supervisor, in a somewhat scolding tone of voice, “it is extremely rude and impolite to say it is impossible to go.”

“Pardon me,” replied the servant shrinking almost like a rat among cats, “you are right, Sir.”

Fearing that to stay that night might perhaps become the source of subsequent evils, I bade farewell to the supervisor and departed.

The Nyatong castle, as shown in the picture, is strong and solid in structure, yet also magnificent in appearance. Leaving the post-town Nyatong and descending a little there is a river across which is a bridge two yards in width. After passing the small bridge and going on a little, there is a solitary house near which are stationed a number of Chinese soldiers. I handed over the passport written in Chinese, which I had received at Pimbithang. One of the soldiers examined it carefully and permitted us to pass through. As we gradually ascended the mountain, the rain fell furiously and the ascent became very steep. The road hereabouts is pretty good, though the place forms the boundary of Tibet, and does not belong to the British dominion. Most Englishmen who are at present in Nyatong live on land rented from Tibet.

Ascending about two miles up the steep slope thickly grown with trees, it became dark, and then the servant commenced to complain.

“There are a great many lodging houses,” he grumbled “besides the supervisor’s. Can we not lodge somewhere to get out of such rain? I can’t move a step on account of the heavy luggage.”

“I will carry half of your burden,” said I, somewhat moved by his difficulties. I consoled him with great trouble and made him move on till eight o’clock in the evening; even then the distance to the solitary house was two miles more and he told me that he was unable to move even a step. Just at that point a small tent was pitched, and someone had a fire inside. Around the tent many mules were grazing, for mules are used by the people of Tomo-Rinchen-gang to convey wool to Kalenpong. I stepped into the tent and asked the man inside to lodge us. He declined my request, saying that the five of his party could hardly sleep in the small tent and no space was left for us too. But as my servant sat down on the ground and would not move, we at last succeeded in getting into the small tent.

It was so small in extent that we could not lie down and I was obliged to sit upright the whole night. While thus meditating I was almost overwhelmed by my feelings.

To pass through that succession of five strict and vigilant guard-houses in only three days must have been miraculous. Even a Tibetan merchant accustomed to travel through there many times is obliged to spend at least seven or eight days in passing them. In spite of the rain, too, to pass through them safely in three days and come to that place—it seemed indeed miraculous. No chief of any guard-house had had any suspicion about me; even that shrewd and penetrating supervisor who had lived in India for twenty years of toil and hardship, not only did not suspect my mind and motive, but refrained from argument, bowed his head low, and sent me out the same day I arrived. This must have been entirely owing to the grace of the protection of our Holy Lord Bu??ha; shedding tears of gratitude on account of it, I read the sacred books and passed the whole night without sleeping.