nglish knew that they
were over bold, and that the Government could account easily for
those down-country dogs. This Hindu stani regiment, therefore, we
treated with fair words, and kept standing in one place till the
redcoats came after them very hot and angry. Then this regiment ran
forward a little more into our hills to avoid the wrath of the
English, and we lay upon their flanks watching from the sides of the
hills till we were well assured that their path was lost behind them.
Then we came down, for we desired their clothes, and their bridles,
and their rifles, and their boots--more especially their boots. That
was a great killing--done slowly.' Here the old man will rub his
nose, and shake his long snaky locks, and lick his bearded lips, and
grin till the yellow tooth-stumps show. 'Yes, we killed them because
we needed their gear, and we knew that their lives had been forfeited
to God on account of their sin--the sin of treachery to the salt
which they had eaten. They rode up and down the valleys, stumbling
and rocking in their saddles, and howling for mercy. We drove them
slowly like cattle till they were all assembled in one place, the
flat wide valley of Sheor Kot. Many had died from want of water, but
there still were many left, and they could not make any stand. We
went among them, pulling them down with our hands two at a time, and
our boys killed them who were new to the sword. My share of the
plunder was such and such--so many guns, and so many saddles. The
guns were good in those days. Now we steal the Government rifles,
and despise smooth barrels. Yes, beyond doubt we wiped that
regiment from off the face of the earth, and even the memory of the
deed is now dying. But men say----'

At this point the tale would stop abruptly, and it was impossible to
find out what men said across the border. The Afghans were always a
secretive race, and vastly preferred doing something wicked to saying
anything at all. They would be quiet and well-behaved for months,
till one night, without word or warning, they would rush a
police-post, cut the throats of a constable or two, dash through a
village, carry away three or four women, and withdraw, in the red
glare of burning thatch, driving the cattle and goats before them to
their own desolate hills. The Indian Government would become almost
tearful on these occasions. First it would say, 'Please be good and
we'll forgive you.' The tribe concerned in the latest depredatio