respective prices I
had paid for them. Then Sadek was closely examined as to the amount of
food I ate every day, the salary I paid him, and why I had come across
the desert. Was I a Russian or an Englishman? The officer had never seen
either, but heard both well spoken of. He had understood that all
Englishmen had yellow hair; why had I dark hair? London, he, like most
Persians, believed to be a suburb of Bombay, connected with Russia by
means of a "machine road,"--a railway!

Why on earth did the _ferenghi_ want to know how high mountains were? Did
the _ferenghi_ know how to find gold in the earth? and so on, were the
queries which Sadek had to answer.

With repeated salaams, preceded by a thousand other questions, the
official departed; but Sadek, who was much excited, was still bent on a
highly scientific conversation to the following effect:--

"Sahib," he said, "you have travelled in many countries, have you not?"

"Yes."

"Sahib, have you been to the country where the sun 'goes to sleep' in a
hole in the earth every evening?"

That was Sadek's idea of a sunset! His idea of a sunrise was that a
brand-new sun was sent up every day, and this explained how it was that
it rose from the opposite side to that on which it had "gone to sleep."

Ali Murat, looking somewhat washed out and absent minded, came back to
camp at noon, garbed in a very handsome new coat which his wife had woven
and embroidered for him during his absence. He was very proud of it.

We left Fedeshk an hour later, as I was very anxious to reach the city of
Birjand the same day if possible. We were now again in fairly inhabited
country, and on our hurried march passed a great many villages, large and
small, such as Shahzileh, Mazumabad, Tagot, Siaguih, Shamzabad. Further,
at Ossenabad, is to be seen a ruined country-house of the Governor of
Birjand, then the last two villages of Khelatekhan and Khelatehajih.

Ali Murat seemed rather dazzled on this last march, and was so worn out
that he threw himself down upon the ground several times, regardless of
spoiling his smart new coat. In a moment he became fast asleep, and it
took some rousing to make him get up again. His wife had given him a bag
of _keshk_--a kind of cheese, which looked like hardened curdled
milk--and of this he partook freely to try and regain his former
strength. Keshk cheese was very hard stuff to eat and took a lot of
chewing. To prevent it getting too hard it had to be soake