nwelcome intruders before morning,
as a neighbouring fort was hostile to that of Shukkur Durrah; and
moreover, that the inhabitants of the fort itself were in the utmost
dread of a band of desperadoes who infested the adjacent hills and
occasionally paid them a nocturnal visit. Luckily for us they were in
hourly expectation of such an intrusion, for their fears kept them
on the alert, and they had a watchman on each of the towers, whose
sonorous voices proclaimed every hour of the night. Our guard was
now reduced to six, the remainder being employed to escort Sturt's
instruments into Cabul, so that I really did not much like the
appearance of things; when about midnight my servant reported to me
that the sentry saw a great many lights moving about us.

I instantly rose and distinctly observed the lighted slow matches of
firearms; there might have been forty or fifty. The sentry challenged,
but the ruffians returned no answer, and decamped, finding us on the
alert, and probably not knowing our weakness; for had we come to blows
our party must have got the worst of it, though I have not the least
doubt that our Affgh[=a]n guard would have stood by us even against
their own countrymen.

The next morning we proceeded along a very pretty road, flanked by
green hedgerows full of wild flowers, and varied occasionally near the
houses with parterres of roses of exquisite fragrance. My route lay to
B[=a]ber's tomb, but Capt. Westmacott being anxious to reach C[=a]bul
could not accompany me, so we parted, mutually regretting that we had
so short a time to spend in this delicious region. At B[=a]ber's tomb
the Kazi of the adjacent village endeavoured to play off on me a
trick, well known to old campaigners, by assuring me that unless I
took from his hands a guard of at least twelve men (of course paying
them for their services), my life would not be safe during the night.
I refused his guard, and the only annoyance I experienced was from
myriads of musquitoes, who tormented me incessantly throughout the
night. I rode into camp the following day, and was delighted to find
myself once more with my brother officers.

CHAPTER XIX.

On the 24th September I started on another excursion, though under
very different circumstances; our party on this occasion consisting of
Her Majesty's 13th Light Infantry, two companies of the 37th Native
Infantry, two squadrons of the Bengal 2nd Cavalry, a small body of
Affgh[=a]n horsemen und