CHAPTER XX 



THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS 



SULTANA and Samdu report having seen some gorel 

 through the telescope. What will to-morrow bring 

 forth ? 



It is a bright, starry night. Wrapped in a thick 

 coat, I sit before my tent and digest my mutton. 

 All around me fires are glimmering. My men are 

 cooking their evening meal, each according to his 

 caste and faith. Varadara, Ram Sheik, and the 

 chiprassi swear by Brahma at meal-times: their cook- 

 ing therefore goes on behind a screen. Such is the 

 command of this special deity. A wise law when 

 the menu happens to consist of the best bits from 

 the master's stores ! The shikaris are Mahommedans, 

 and do their cooking in public ; they also perform 

 their ablutions and say their prayers before meat in 

 the eyes of all men, as the Koran demands of its 

 adherents. The coolies, too, divided into parties 

 according to their respective religions, turn the spit, 

 i.e. they make a paste of millet, water, and fat, and 

 then bake this so-called chipatti in the form of an 



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