“’It was evening prayer time ere we got from the mouth of the valley, bedtime prayers when we reached the village of Auleng.  The people carried us to their warm houses, brought out fat sheep for us, a superfluity of hay and grain for our horses, with abundance of wood to kindle our fires.  To pass from the cold and snow into such a village with its warm houses, to find plenty of good food as we did after days of hunger is an enjoyment that can only be understood by those who have suffered similar hardship, have endured such heavy distress.’”

Old Faithful paused and sighed.  “That is so like Firdoos Gita Makani,” he said.  “When danger was over he would sit down and write beautiful things about it; but when it was there he never seemed to think of anything but trampling it down.”

“That is like all Kings,” said Roy proudly, “and brave men are always Kings in danger.”

But Foster-father was looking at the fire.  “Abundance of fuel,” he murmured, “that is what we have not.”

“We shall not need it here, friend,” replied the old trooper.  “Meroo, remove that log; ’tis too hot as it is, and if the snow continues to drift as it was doing a while agone—­” he moved to the door, which opened inward and set it wide.  A great white wall reaching almost to the eaves showed filling up the doorway!  “It is as I thought,” he said; “we are prisoned here till the storm passes.  Thank God we have provision enough for some days.”

“And thanks to others also,” put in Foster-father heartily; “but for thee and Meroo, old friend——­”

“As Firdoos Gita Makani used to say,” remarked the old man with an air of great virtue, “‘Gratitude comes when danger has gone,’ so she must wait a bit yet.”

CHAPTER XIII

OVER THE PASS

Gratitude had longer to wait than even Foster-father, who always took a gloomy view of things, had thought for, since the next morning found the shed almost hidden beneath a snowdrift.  Still, as Old Faithful remarked, it was not altogether to be regretted since the covering kept out the cold and allowed them to save their small store of firewood for cooking.  The lack of light was, however, terrible until Old Faithful, whose experience with Babar the brave made him full of expedients, hit on the plan of setting Tumbu to work to dig out a hole through the drift, for they had nothing with them to use as a spade.  What he did was to set the door wide, cut a narrow tunnel with his sword as far as he could reach in the banked-up snow, and thrust a bit of food in its farther end.  Then Roy brought Tumbu and said: 

“Fetch it out, good dog! fetch it out!” while Mirak and Bija looked on delightedly, calling, “Good dog!  Dig it out! dig it out!” Tumbu, the most playful of animals, soon entered into the fun, and set to work shovelling out the snow till he found the food.  Then another bit was thrust in, always in an upward direction.