urbar building opposite his residence, among whom
was the Afghan, who left the room before Mir-Abbas and went to conceal
himself in the darkness at the entrance. When the Kalantar was joyfully
descending the steps after the pleasant night assembly, the treacherous
Afghan attacked him and, placing his rifle to Mir-Abbas' head, shot him
dead. The assassin then endeavoured to enter the Andarun to kill his
sister, but the lady, having her suspicions, had barricaded herself in,
and an alarm being given he had to make his escape across the Afghan
frontier only a few miles distant from Iskil.

It was rumoured that the murderer had been sheltered by the Afghan
Governor of the Chikansur district, who goes by the grand name of
_Akhunzada_, or "The great man of a high family." The Governor of Sistan,
angered at the infamous deed, demanded the extradition of the assassin,
but it was refused, with the result that the Afghan official was next
accused of screening the murderer. There was much interchange of furious
correspondence and threats between the Persian and Afghan Governors, and
their relations became so strained that a fight seemed imminent.

The shrewd Afghan then offered to allow five Persian soldiers,
accompanied by twenty Afghans, to search his district--an offer which was
very prudently declined. Persian and Afghan soldiers were posted in some
force on both sides of the river--forming the frontier--and devoted their
time to insulting one another; but when I left Sistan in January, 1902,
although the relations were still much strained, the affair of the
Kalantar, which seemed at one time likely to turn into a national
quarrel, was gradually being settled on somewhat less martial lines.

The death of such a good, honest man has been much regretted in Sistan,
and great hopes are now built on his son and successor, a young fellow
much resembling his father both in personal appearance and kindliness
towards his neighbours.

We next came to a second and smaller village four miles further on--after
having waded through numberless water-channels, ponds and pools and our
horses having performed some feats of balancing on bridges two feet wide
or even less. Some of these structures were so shaky that the horses were
not inclined to go over them except after considerable urging.

The country between was flat and uninteresting, except that here and
there some low mounds had formed where the sand blown by the N.N.W. wind
had been