Trans-Himalaya; discoveries and adventures in Tibet . thrust us down ! —he puts forth all hisstrength and the wave passes us. It is irregular andreminds us of the pyramidal summit of Kubi-gangri;two such crests tower up in front of us, and their edgesare shattered into spray by the wind. They are as trans-parent as glass, and through one of them the image ofGurla Mandattas bright white snowfields is refracted asin a magnifying glass. We have a watery portal in frontof us and the tips of the waves are gilded with the faintreflexion of the sun in the south. We struggle bravely and I sit on the b
Trans-Himalaya; discoveries and adventures in Tibet . thrust us down ! —he puts forth all hisstrength and the wave passes us. It is irregular andreminds us of the pyramidal summit of Kubi-gangri;two such crests tower up in front of us, and their edgesare shattered into spray by the wind. They are as trans-parent as glass, and through one of them the image ofGurla Mandattas bright white snowfields is refracted asin a magnifying glass. We have a watery portal in frontof us and the tips of the waves are gilded with the faintreflexion of the sun in the south. We struggle bravely and I sit on the bottom of theboat pushing the rudder with all my strength to keep theboat in the right direction, while the spray, lashed by thewind, spurts over us as from a fire-hose. Frequently abroken crest slips over the gunwale, but we have not ahand free to bale out the water. We see the boat fillingslowly—shall we reach the bank before it sinks ? Themast and sail lie with two reserve oars tied fast acrossthe middle of the boat. If we could set a sail the. — (LI< ^ A STORMY VOYAGE 139 boat would be easier to handle, but it is not to be thoughtof now, when we can hardly keep our balance sitting downand stiffening ourselves with our feet, with the heavyblows and the unexpected positions the boat assumesaccording to the form of the waves, their slopes, curvesand curls. And, besides, in such a storm the mast wouldbreak like glass. We had turned at right angles to our line of soundingsfor now we thought only of saving our lives, if that werepossible—to reach the land before the boat sank. Then,in the most critical moment, when an irregular wavethreatened the boat, I called on Tundup Sonam to putforth all his strength, and he did it too well, so that theoar broke with a crack. Now all hung by a hair, wecould not manage the boat and it must inevitablycapsize and be swamped under this foaming crest. ButTundup Sonam realized the danger, and with a quickgrasp tore loose a reserve oar, w
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