se and indulge in uproarious demonstrations at the advent of
the Ferenghi and the bicycle. These people seem as incapable of
controlling their emotions and their voices as so many wild animals; they
shout and gesticulate excitedly, and run about like people bereft of
their senses. The uncivilization crops out of these obscure Harood
villagers far plainer than it does in the tents of the wandering tribes.
They are noisier and more boisterous than the nomads, who, as a matter of
fact, are sober-sided and sedate in their deportment.

No women appear among the crowd on the street, but a carefully covered
head is occasionally caught peeping furtively from behind a chimney on
the roof of a house, or around some corner. A glance from me, and the
head is withdrawn as rapidly as if one were taking hostile aim at it with
a rifle.

Fine large irrigating ditches traverse this partially cultivable area,
and in them are an abundance of fish. In one ditch I catch sight of a
splendid specimen of the speckled trout, that must have been three feet
long. Travelling leisurely next morning, we arrive at Ghalakua in the
middle of the forenoon; quarters are assigned us by Aminulah Khan, the
Chief of the Ghalakua villages and tributary territory. In appearance he
is a typical Oriental official, his fluffy, sensuous countenance bearing
traces of such excesses as voluptuous Easterns are wont to indulge in,
and this morning he is suffering with an attack of "tab" (fever). Wrapped
in a heavy fur-lined over-coat, he is found seated on the front platform
of a inenzil beneath the arched village gateway, smoking cigarettes; in
his hand is a bouquet of roses, and numerous others are scattered about
his feet. Dancing attendance upon him is a smart-looking little fellow in
a sheepskin busby almost as bulky in proportion as his whole body, and
which renders his appearance grotesque in the extreme. His keen black
eyes sparkle brightly through the long wool of his remarkable headgear,
the ends of which dangle over his eyes like an overgrown and wayward
bang. The bravery of his attire is measurably enhanced by a cavalry
sword, long enough and heavy enough for a six-foot dragoon, a green
kammerbund, and top-boots of red leather. This person stands by the side
of Aminulah Khan, watches keenly everything that is being said and done,
receives orders from his master, and transmits them to the various
subordinates lounging about. He looks the soul of honesty and