Pcshawur and the Khybcr Pass 45 



a furnace later on. A dense yellow haze envelops 

 the place through the summer months underneath 

 this pall Peshawur gradually stokes up to white heat ; 

 but through the winter it is one of the very best stations 

 to be in. 



Of course we inspected the kennels of the Peshawur 

 Vale Hunt, and pronounced them excellent in fact, 

 superior to some English ones ! And when offered a 

 mount apiece for a hunt that week, we most gladly 

 accepted. 



The evening before found M. and myself, our host 

 and hostess, all, as the hands of " the enemy " neared 

 the hour of eleven, intimating our wish to retire ; 

 for we hunt to please, and there is no pleasure in 

 hunting with " a head " at 6 a.m. We were getting 

 quite accustomed to the unrest of an Indian night 

 and the barkings of the pariah dogs ; the incessant 

 chatter of the servants and the stamping of horses 

 no longer kept us awake and annoyed. 



It seemed as though we had just put our heads 

 on the pillow, when, at a miserably early hour, 

 4.30 a.m., a dusky figure salaaming by the bedside 

 gradually separated itself from our dreams, and 

 assumed the fat and unwelcome form of our ayah. 

 Sleepily we tumble into our habits and buckle the 

 chin-strap of our sun-helmets. 



Breakfast is ready in the dining-room, and we soon 

 find ourselves on the spot, with hot coffee, eggs, 

 and hump (a really good Punjab hump is bad to 

 beat). 



