AMMUNITION 237 



sowing when I came to " drink coffee " in their 

 villages. In the meantime I was going to put the 

 Jehadia through their musketry course, the principal 

 object of the patrol, and would be far too busy to fly 

 about the country after a man who was behaving like 

 a child. Next day brought me a letter from Murad 

 asking for the "Amaan," i.e. unconditional pardon. It 

 was sent him, of course. I went with the officer and 

 a shikari, whom I soon dismissed, as I saw no game, 

 to Duku, where the principal sheikhs lived. I heard 

 later that Murad and fifty bazingers were in one house, 

 and positive that I had come to capture them. Every- 

 where sowing was going on. At a small forge a 

 gunsmith was busy at his trade, surrounded by riflemen 

 waiting their turns to have new screws or springs put 

 into their Remingtons, or to have the back-sight taken 

 off, as they almost invariably do. They think its 

 presence heightens the flight of the bullet ! I had tea 

 in several houses, and started home as it got dark. 

 The sheikhs who wished to form a guard to me on my 

 way I sent back, and very nearly lost my way by not 

 having a guide. 



The ammunition for the course I had sent in 

 driblets in bales of trade goods, so I had plenty. 

 The targets were made of my newspapers on a frame- 

 work of saplings. At practice we always had a great 

 crowd of spectators, to whom the high ant-hills about 

 formed look-out places. Sheikhs were constant spec- 

 tators. Even Sultan Said Baldas turned up to watch. 

 All soon recognised the marking, and would cheer or 

 jeer as "bull" or "miss" was signalled. If I noticed any 



