The Bujnurd Sheep 183 



" Whose dog is this that our Ilkhani has sent 

 to hunt in our hills ? What sort of a mad- 

 man is he anyhow that wishes to toil about hills, 

 when he might be at home with his wives ? He 

 is shaven like a Kizil-bash, and his appearance is 

 as if every day he went to the liamam. He is 

 certainly soft, and will be half-dead before he gets 

 to the top of the hill ; then perhaps we shall sleep 

 for the rest of the day. However, the Tlkhani's 

 orders are upon our eyes, but, God willing, we shall 

 take a year's revenue from the Kafir. Allah ! 

 what a rifle he has ! Will he use it himself, or 

 shall we shoot for him ? We will in any case take 

 our own guns, and inshallah will shoot a red beast 

 or two for food." 



With some difficulty I persuaded one of them 

 to carry my lunch bag, and he slung it across his 

 shoulder in addition to his own rifle, which he flatly 

 refused to leave behind "for fear of Turkoman." 

 Ibrahim, as usual, took my rifle, and so we started. 

 We descended the precipitous side of a steep 

 ravine in the dark of the morning, followed the 

 stream that cascaded at the bottom, pushed our 

 way through some dense forest, and then up the 

 opposite side of the valley, emerging on to a 

 bare shoulder about sunrise. Then, for a stiffish 

 ascent of a thousand feet or so, the shikaris put 

 on the pace a little test of the Faranghi's wind 



