| caption: |
Chapter one. The Beginning |
| text: |
But Mr Jeffery ignored all pessimists. We left on the scheduled day, in the worst weather possible, and the station (10) sat back to await our bodies. We climbed into the car, broad-sided our way to the starting-point through a foot of mud, and met our porters in a damp bazaar. The peepul-tree above the cigarette-stalls dripped heavily on the men and baggage; and then we were gone, tramping away up the slope in thick mist, wind-blown drizzle and deepening twilight, on as unpromising a start as ever a trip had. |
