Then as we advanced I sketched in the country on either side, taking bearings of the more important objects only. When we altered our course, I calculated the distance we had come, made an entry of it in my note-book, and took fresh bearings for the new direction. This was sometimes difficult to determine when we had no guide; in such case I took several bearings, and afterwards underlined the bearing that proved to be the one followed. It often happened that I was prevented making an entry at any given place owing to our being watched by Chinese or Mongols: in such case I deferred it to a more suitable opportunity, reckoning the distance we had come backwards to the point of deviation. When travelling in a thickly populated district, some one or other of the inhabitants would be constantly with us. To avoid observation I would then ride in advance or remain behind the caravan; if a guide[1] were with us, we had figuratively to 'throw dust in his eyes,' which we usually managed in the following way. On first making the acquaintance of the new travelling companion I would show him my field-glass, explaining to him that I was in the habit of looking for game with it. The unsophisticated Mongol did not distinguish between the field-glass and the compass, and as we often shot antelope and birds he was fully convinced that I could discover their presence by looking into 'the artful machine.' In this way, time after time, I
- ↑ Every guide we had was of course a spy, with whom we had to be more on our guard than with the local population.
