“The Pamir and Turkestan.”

“And west of that?”

“The Caspian Sea, which is navigated by large steamers.”

“And west of the Caspian Sea?”

“The Caucasus.”

“And where do you come to when you continue to travel westwards?”

“To the Black Sea, Turkey, Russia, Austria, Germany, France, and then to England, which lies out in the ocean.”

“And what is there to the west of this ocean?”

“America, and beyond another ocean, and then Japan, China, and Tibet again.”

“The world is immensely large,” he said thoughtfully, and nodded to me with a friendly smile.