and a daughter. For two days the father had been oppressed by a feeling
of weakness, and then, his body burning with fever, he lay raving in a
corner on the floor of stamped earth. He was indifferent to everything
and wished only to be left in peace. If his wife threw a rug over him he
groaned, for the lymph glands, which swell up in large tumours, are
exceedingly painful. In a couple of days the microbes penetrate from the
tumour into the blood and the unfortunate man dies of blood poisoning.
The vermin under the man's clothes leave the body as soon as the blood
ceases to flow. Then is the danger greatest for the survivors who stand
mourning round the deathbed, for the vermin seek circulating blood and
carry infection from the corpse with them. It is useless to warn the
natives of the danger, for they do not believe a word of it--and so die
in their turn.

A BALUCHI RAID

We were glad to leave a country where the plague had taken up its abode
and to hasten away to the desert tracts of Baluchistan, which still
separated us from India. My old servants had taken their departure, and
a new retinue, all Baluchis, accompanied me.

We rode _jambas_, or swift-footed dromedaries, which for generations
have been trained for speed. Their legs are long and thin, but strong,
with large foot pads which strike the hard ground with a heavy tapping
sound as they run. They carry their heads high and move more quickly
than the majestic caravan camels; but when they run they lower their
heads below the level of the hump and keep it always horizontal.

Two men ride on each _jambas_, and therefore the saddle has two hollows
and two pairs of stirrups. A peg is thrust through the cartilage of the
nose and to its ends a thin cord is attached. By pulling this to one
side or the other the dromedary may be turned in any direction. My
courser had a swinging gait but did not jolt; and I sat comfortably and
firmly in the saddle as we left mile after mile behind.

It is not more than thirty or forty years ago since the Baluchis used to
make raids into Persian territory, and although much better order is
maintained now that the country is under British administration, an
escort is still necessary--I had six men mounted on dromedaries and
armed with modern rifles. This is how a raid is conducted.

One evening Shah Sevar, or the "Riding King," the warlike chieftain of a
tribe in western Baluchistan, sits smoking a pipe by the camp fire in
front