The Hunt for Shambhala

Начало книги

In the safety of his tent, Captain James Langley of the British Army fumbled with a box of ammunition and spilled some of the bullets onto the floor. He took a deep breath and mumbled a prayer as his trembling fingers reloaded the heavy Webley Mk IV in his hand. This gun had already saved his life twice in South Africa — first during the Battle of Elandslaagte and the second when he fought Boer commandos in the Western Transvaal. With the six rounds safely in the service pistol, he weighed it in his hand and hoped it would save his life one more time.

Stepping outside the tent he almost collided with a man running fast toward the front line. “Mr Stanhope!”

Arthur Stanhope came to a sudden stop and apologized. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “Just wanted to get a look from a better perspective.”

Rifles crackled in the air a few hundred yards away as the British and Tibetan forces fired on each other once again. The British expedition to Tibet was sent here by Lord Curzon to push back against Russian plans to expand into the east, and today they were paying a high price for that push.

Читать дальше →