12 JOURNEY TO THE SHOOTING GROUND 



fill, so in more determined language addressed himself to 

 the Bai Makadam (Mrs. Makadam), the best-looking of 

 the lot. This harangue took time to deliver, but was 

 evidently convincing, for the lady went to the entrance 

 of the huts and shouted, " Kirim Khan, come out," — and 

 in a second out came Kirim Khan, a stalwart youth with 

 rather a sheepish look, and clothed in woollen rags. 

 Amazement and satisfaction minoied in the smile that 

 illumined the features of the postman — he had just that 

 moment searched the three huts and found no one. Hope 

 now rose in the breasts of the tired porters, but no more 

 men emerged from the cavernous depths below us. 



Kirim Khan was a big-boned young fellow, with reddish 

 hair and honest brown eyes — in appearance a thorough- 

 bred Dard. He enjoyed the situation as much as any of 

 us, and took up his task of a beast of burden with great 

 good-humour ; he had been an actor in this sort of play 

 many times before, I suspect. As no more men could be 

 drawn from the huts, Mrs. Makadam was persuaded to 

 despatch Kirim to bring her husband from the next village, 

 while we rested on the housetops, about four feet above 

 the level of the ground. The coolies were talking to the 

 women, when suddenly a whisper went round that men 

 were still concealed below. A general rush was made into 

 the huts, and another man brought out. He resigned 

 himself to his fate, and fell to mending his leather 

 stockings at once. Shortly afterwards there was more 

 whispering among the women, another rush down, and 

 another man was revealed to the light of day, blinking 

 like an owl. It was now rumoured that the Makadam 

 himself was concealed below. This was too much for me. 

 I lighted the lantern, and myself went down to explore 

 the nether regions ; but there were no more discoveries — 

 the human mine was exhausted. 



