MILITA RY AD VENTURES. 1 63 



staring at me with their soft, startled 

 eyes; but this was only for a moment, 

 and then they bounded off at their best 

 pace. They had evidently been asleep, 

 and it took them a few seconds to wake 

 up sufficiently to understand that I was 

 not one of themselves. What an oppor- 

 tunity this would have been to secure 

 some venison if I had had the good for- 

 tune to have my gun in my hand ! But it 

 was, unfortunately, packed in its case, 

 and stowed away in the hackery, which 

 was creaking along some two or three 

 miles in the rear, 



Towards the end of our march I over- 

 took an old baniyd (shopkeeper), mounted 

 on a miserable, little, half starved tattu ; it 

 was a regular bag of bones, but it still 

 appeared to carry him safely and well. 

 To judge by the size and stoutness of its 



