The deep gorge of Karola Pass starts at Womthang, a postal relay station, and ends at Srinlag, a village consisting of eight of nine households. At the end of the gorge,a sharp turn to the left gives a broad view with Srinlag close up,Nankartse Dzong,like a fort perched on a hill in the distance,and Lake Yamdrok Tso beyond.

The postal relay station here was even closer to the track than the village,and I drew the mules into its narrow yard,ad I thought saving even a few feet could only help matters.

"Please Nemo,do boil some milk for this sick man,and tea for me,"I said in haste as I removed the wounded man from the mule and laid him in a sunny corner in the yard.

"Girl,get me the milk pail at once," ordered the inn hostess to a filthy little girl,herself being occupied at a tub of fodder for milking, then hurrying towards a couple of cows tethered to pegs in the yard.

"Now,get some kindles from the roof and cook a kettle of tea for this brother muleteer,"the Nemo ordered,herself busy at milking. Smoke rose from the kitchen,and the little girl came over me for my tea and salt bag. But at the sight of the wounded man,the little girl was startled,"Isn't this he who geve me money yesterday?"

The Nemo,pushing the milk pail aside,hurried towards me for a look. She knitted her eyebrows in deep consideration, then asked me,"How did you come to know him ?" I said I'd never seen him before,then gave a full account of my "adventure" at Zara.

"What's your intention,next?"

" Nothing ! But to hand him over to
Nankartse Dzong and go my way to Lhasa."

"No,"she argued. "If you go on today he won't survive. You must stay here for today,and go tomorrow to Nankartse."

"NO,I can't delay ! Bacause I'm on an urgent errand," I answered. Then continued, "My purpose of coming here is to get something to feed him and try to find some men to carry him on a stretcher to cause him less shaking than on the mule back. While I feed him the milk,could you kindly run into the village to look for some men and a wooden board for a stretcher?"

But sho answered "No men,"and the wooden board was"Impossible."

"If I pay for the men? And for the wooden board? In fact a door will do,"I insisted. But she rejected with more "Nos" and "Impossibles."

As my insistence grew stronger she suggested impatiently,"Why don't you go yourself,then?In the mean time I'll do the feeding." But I disagreed once again. How could I possibly go out leaving a wounded man,half dead,and a caravan of mules with loads in the hands of an unknown? I had no alternative but to climb onto the roof and try to call somebody for a hand,as the village was within calling distance.

Vacantly, I shouted several calls of "Kiu," towards the village. After a considerable lapse of time a man slowly came out from a corner and echoed back a "Kiu" to show he had heard my call.

"Please,hire me five men and one door,for a stretcher,from your village to carry a sick man to Nankartse," I shouted.

The man echoed back another "Kiu",his palm to his ear, waist half bent, face at a slanting posture——obviously asking for a repeat.

I repeated the call,but the man repeated his gesture.

"Kiu! Then,will you come here at once?" I shouted with repeated waves of the hand,whereupon the man advanced, but slowly, his hands busy stitching a shoe-sole.

In the meantime from the yard a terrifying shriek-"Help !"-came from the little girl. As I turned round, I saw the girl trembling in her shoes, fingers pressed to her open mouth, watching the Nemo somothering my wounded man, both hands brutally pressed against his nose and mouth. I jumped headlong into the yard, saving even the time to go down the flight of stairs,and grabbing her by the neck throwing her aside.

She had entirely changed——she wasn't the humble woman of a moment earlier,but glared at through her long bristled eyelashes. She then abruptly turned to the kitchen as though having been called by someone.

I bent down over the wounded man and placing my finger at his nose tried to feel his breath. Overwhelmed with excitement and the panting of my own breath I thought I felt nothing;then,opening his shirt wide,kneeling myself by him,I put my ear against the man's bare chest to further examine his heart throbbing,when another terrifying shriek-"Help!"-came from the little girl. As I turned in a flash,there was the Nemo, looking determined, very determined, very determined, to kill me——her hand already in the air, holding a glistening dagger,just about to fall a strike over me.

I ran into the mules, but she chased after, with no thought of sparing me. The mules,still loaded, shied wildly into the yard, almost stampeding the wounded man.

I swung the rifle to my front from my shoulder, intending to injure one of her limbs, hastened to the trigger,and "Bang," to my utter dismay,she fell to the ground in a gush of blood.

"He's killed my Ama," screamed the little girl in an insane panic. She threw herself upon her mother who remained motionless. The girl struck her head wildly against the ground attempting her own death. I took her under my armpit and bound her to a pillar with the straps that were used for binding the wounded man on the mule earlier.

Nevertheless,I felt guilty now. I thought I had become a killer. Hoping for an immediate death for myself to be freed from this terrible mental pain,I placed the butt of my rifle against a wall,the barrel pointing to my heart,my finger tip on the trigger,and asked myself:"Are you going to die or live?"

The man walking slowly from the village then arrived into the yard,and this was what he saw:then Nemo lay dead in a pool of blood;the Ne-mo's young daughter was tied to a pillar; a sick man—— half dead—— lay in a corner; and another, looking like a Khampa,tall and ruggedly built,stood by a wall,the barrel of his rifle fixed to his heart,and the butt against a wall,his finger tip on the trigger,as though to shoot himself. The man was struck dumb and could only stare,mouth wide open,heedless of dropping his shoe-sole onto the ground——then,as though awakened from a deep slumber, he ran headlong into the village forgetting even to pick up his shoe-sole.

A moment later village folks came pouring into the yard. All stood stupefied. Then whispers broke the silence,"Here comes Powo Pasang." As the crowd made way, out came an elderly man seemingly in his fifties and studied the unfortunate scene,picking the shoe-sole from the ground and passing it to the man next to him."He's killed my Ama," the little girl made a terrifying cry. The crowd made a desperate frown and took a step back from me in hated fear.

"Is that true?" the elderly man, so named Powo Pasang,questioned me in fury.

"Yes." I answered with a stare round, the crowd frowned and withdrew another step.

"Put that rifle down," he ordered,and I laid it down to the ground with reluctance.

"Now,put down the sword,"he ordered,and I did as told.

"Put down the dagger at the waist," he said,and I undid my waist-band,freed the dagger and laid it to the ground,then fastened the waist-band again.

"Anymore?" he asked.

"Here's a revolver. It's the wounded man's," I said as I took it out from the fold of my cloak and laid it to the ground.

"Anymore now?"

"A needle! For mending saddles,want that too?" I asked in sarcasm as I tried to pinch it out from the collar of my cloak.

"Here you! None of these trickings again,eh! A needle can't kill a man,you know. I want you to speak the truth. How did you kill the Nemo?"

Then I gave a narration to the events of the day. The crowd held their breath. Powo Pasang now turning his attention to the little girl, "Where's your Apa?"

"He's gone to Taklung." (A big village under another Dzong some ten miles to the south-east of Srinlag.)

"When?"

"Yesterday."

"At what time?"

"Afternoon."

"Isn't he back yet?"

"No."

Then, the village headman, taking out his huge snuff horn, shiny from long years of use, from the fold of his cloak,poured out a dose onto his left thumb- nail from the pointy hole of the horn,as he struck it against his knee to give it a thorough shake. Again taking a pinch from it,he did take a deep sniff.

"Folks, let's do it this way now!" he announced at last. "Here you, Bhuchung and Penchung,step out." Two youths came to the fore from the crowd.

"You two will pack your beddings,barley flour,tea and butter,sufficient for three days, and leave for Zara at once to guard the scene of the crime there. Leave everything as it is till the inspection from the Dzong arrives. Don't let a single traveller in. One of you will go out for grazing the sheep there,and the other will remain home——you can do it alternately if you like."

"And step out you five: Chougthak,Nyima, Pu-Kalsang,Bhudun and Lhakpa."Five stalwarts stepped forward from the crowd.

"You get ready right now for Nankartse. You will carry this wounded man on a stretcher. Pack enough barley flour for tonight and tomorrow morning. If there is no further order from the Dzongpon you can start home in the dark tonight, if you like."

"Chungthak,"he said to one of the five."The door of the cowshed in your home is the biggest in the village, pull it from its hinges and bring it here, right now. If your Ama asks where to ,tell her I'm asking for it for a moment. But for goodness'sake never tell her it's to be taken to Nankartse,eh!"

"Nyina," he said to another one of the five.

"You go to my home. You will find some pieces of wood there lying near the manure pile. Choose two longer poles and bring them right here.

They'll be bound to either end of the door for shouldering as a stretcher. But never tell my wife they are to be taken to Nankartse, eh! Otherwise she would say,'Nothing left now,lest you want to carry the whole house away.' How can I possibly carry the home! One more,you beg my wife to pack my some barley flour, tea and butter,enough for three days. Say it with a smile, eh!"

The five stretcher carriers set off to make arrangements once the headman's instructions were over.

"Now come out you,Mowo Shilok."

Out came an elderly woman whose missing front teeth could be seen as a black opening from afar.

"You will take charge of this home till the post-runner comes back,and leave these evidences as they are till the inspection by the Dzong arrives. Right now,you will go into the larder and pack some barley flour,tea and butter,if any,for the little girl——enough for three days, eh! She is to Nankartse too."

Powo Pasang's major arrangements seemed to be finished. Then,taking another pinch of snuff from his thumb-nail,inhaling a deep sniff,"What else is there left to dl now, let me see?" he murmured to himself,sinking in thought as his eyes trailed after a cloud of snuff dust released from his mouth.

"Oh,exactly!Phutsering,come here. Pick up these weapons. Sling the rifle over your shoulder, stick the revolver into your girdle,stick the sword across your waist, and hang the dagger at your bottom,and get yourself ready to drive the mules to Nankartse. Bring sufficient barley flour,tea and butter,for tonight only."

"But Powo,isn't this muleteer himself going to Nankartse?" asked the man named Phutsering, puzzled.

"Surely he will. But not as a muleteer! He'll be led by you with a piece of rope tied to his wrists. So far as we know of him today he is a red-handed killer. But tomorrow will he remain a killer ?—— all depends on his purse whether it's fat ofr not,or on his Master,whether he's powerful or not. Apoor village headman like me would have no say but to keep myself busy at my barley beer." Then the rest of the snuff on his thumb-nail he finished with successive sniffs.

"How about a feed for this wounded man, now,"the village headman turned his attention to the man lying senseless on the ground. "Come here you,Bhuty. Boil the milk in the pail and feed the wounded man with a spoon. Make haste. eh!"

I took a step forward, and put my finger under his nose.

"How is the breathing ?" asked the headman.

"Same as on the way," I answered with a heavy sigh as my future largely depoended upon this wounded man's recovery.

The wounded man drank all the milk given to him by the girl named Bhuty. My heavy heart brightened by a fraction.

"Anymore milk?" the village headman asked, also brightened.

"It looks like the milking is not finished.Should be more," Bhuty said.

"Then you feed the cows again with fodder and do the milking yourself." As encouraged by Powo Pasang,the girl milked again,the wounded man drank again,and I felt brighter again.

Powo Pasang didn't forget the mules. Straw was produced for them.

In due time the five stretcher bearers headed by Chungthak were back with one door,ropes,and two long poles. Under the directions of Powo Pasang the stretcher was formed by binding or nailing wherever was necessary.

"Here you! Here you! Get going! Get going! The sun has already moved beyond the noon. Phutsering, are you ready?" Mowo Shilok, have you packed the barley flour,tea and butter,for the little girl?

The wounded man was now placed on the stretcher,the little girl mounted on my riding mule, the rope which once was used for binding the little girl to a pillar was now on my wrists. Powo Pasang went on foot, but hands busy twisting wool with a stick.

Among the five stretcher carriers, one went free for occasional changes. As the stretcher was shouldered upon the four,in order step in unison, as Chungthak gave a call of "Right!" the four moved their right feet first, and then went along singing to keep the burden lighter, and steps in rhythm.