RUSSIAN INVASION SCARE 37 



only a few here) had their " spread " apart and 

 drank wine, which the others do not touch. They 

 all seem a fine, manly, independent lot of people. 

 Before the party I went to look at the museum. 

 More Buddha relics, and sundry objects of interest. 

 My second expedition has been most interesting, 

 but not quite so successful. On November 2nd 

 we started at 6 a.m. and went to Nowshera Can- 

 tonment. It is the home of a good strong force 

 and is well placed. We did not stop there but 

 went on to the Cavalry Camp, where we break- 

 fasted with General Angelo and his newly married, 

 very attractive Australian wife. Then we went 

 on to Mardan, the headquarters of the Guides, 

 who have their mess in a really beautiful planta- 

 tion. Eventually we reached Dargai Fort (52nd 

 Sikhs) at the foot of the frontier mountains. 

 There the climb began. Solid miles of corkscrew 

 road through the pass into the Swat Valley. We 

 reached the Malakand Fort at last and lunched 

 with the Political Officer, who lives in a small 

 house perched up on the hill-top, where the 

 leopards literally come in to tea. The view 

 towards Chitral over the valley of the Swat 

 River is fine and striking. Again I was impressed 

 by the absurdity of the Russian invasion scare. 

 Personally I much doubt if the Russians ever 

 meant to work into India. They probably meant 

 to keep us occupied while they did as they pleased 

 in Central Asia and Persia. Be that as it may, 

 their advance on India now is an absurdity. The 

 Swat tribes seem quiet and the valley is very 

 fertile. The whole thing was to me intensely 

 interesting. We broke down half-way down the 



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