PASS A BAD NIGHT 47 



it — a most horrible place. The hillsides come straight 

 down to the water's edge on both sides, and there was no 

 level space for anything. There was one hut near the 

 bridge, and a large cave higher up. The sepoys have to 

 fish in the river for passing logs to use as fuel. I had to 

 put up here for the night, as there was a bad place just 

 beyond the bridge, and the coolies refused to cross in the 

 dark. My quarters were unsavoury, to say the least ; but 

 I was tired out, so was not altogether sorry to stay. I did 

 not get much sleep ; a hurricane was blowing down the 

 river, and the sand and grit hailed upon me the whole 

 night, like charges of small shot ; it was very hot, too, and 

 alto<Tether I had a disagreeable time of it. 



We started at three o'clock, and, following a very bad 



road, came out upon a plain, sloping down from the range 



on the right to the level of the Indus. The ground is 



very stony, and cut up by narrow channels made by the 



rush of rain-water down to the river. This is the 



famous Biinji plain, where lirin (wild sheep) are so 



numerous during the winter. It is a very ugly bit of 



country, without a tree or blade of grass to relieve its 



monotony. After toiling two hours along this seemingly 



endless desert, we came suddenly to the brink of a deep, 



broad ravine, with a small stream running at the bottom. 



This is the Biinji nala, and on the other side is Biinji 



itself, smothered in green trees. There w^ere green fields, 



too, and lots of running water: what a contrast to 



the country we had just passed through ! We reached 



Biinji at half-past six and, after a rest, visited the post 



office, and made the acquaintance of Commandant Bagh 



Singh, in charge of the fort at Biinji. He was very kind 



and obliging, owing to a happy mistake on his part. 



After making a few inquiries, he suddenly came to the 



conclusion that I was an old friend of his who used to be 



