les!" I intervened. "Will you not get off your horses and
have some dinner with me by the light of them?"

"Who in the world is that?" queried one of the riders of the other,
evidently taken aback at being addressed in English in such a queer place
and at such a time of the night.

"My name is Henry Savage Landor."

"What? not Tibet Landor? Our names are Clemenson and Marsh--but what in
the world are you doing here? Have you not some companions?"

"Yes, I have. Here they are: three Persian kittens!"

As Mr. Clemenson had some big dogs with him, the moment the cats were let
out of the box to be introduced there was a chase, but the kittens
climbed in due haste up the side of the cliff and left the disappointed
dogs below to bark. On this high point of vantage they squatted down and
watched our proceedings below with the greatest interest.

It was a real delight to meet countrymen of one's own after so many weeks
of loneliness. These two enterprising English traders had brought over a
very large caravan from Quetta, and were on their way to Meshed, having
done good business in Sistan. They had with them every possible article
they could think of, from tea to phonographs, lamps, razors, music boxes,
magic lanterns, bedsteads, cottons, silks, cloths, chairs, glass-ware,
clocks, watches, and I do not know what else. I believe that it was the
largest caravan of that kind that had ever come over to Persia from
Beluchistan.

After a pleasant interview of an hour or so, and what humble
refreshments I could offer, they were compelled to continue their journey
to the north. The kittens, having anxiously watched the departure of Mr.
Clemenson's dogs, leapt back from rock to rock and down on to my carpet,
all three sitting as usual in a row in front of my plate while I was
having my dinner, with their greedy eyes on the meat, and occasionally
also one of their paws.

We did not make a start till 2.30 a.m., when there was moonlight, as the
way was very bad among stones and boulders. For a short distance we
travelled between high cliffs and boulders, then between low hills much
further apart. On our left we came to a most peculiar formation of rock
which seemed almost like a castle, and from this point we got into a long
and wide plain, most uninteresting and swarming with a troublesome kind
of small fly.

A rugged mountain to the north, being higher and more vividly coloured
than the rest, attracted the eye, as one tried ha