AMONG THE AFFGHANS. 265 



men of all arms, including two mountain-guns and 

 some troops of native Lancers, march for Deh Sarak, 

 the scene of the outrage. Again all night we tramped 

 through irrigated fields and over stony slopes, and as 

 the first streaks of dawn enabled us to look round, we 

 saw the offending village still two miles ahead. The 

 General fearing that, as on the last occasion, the real 

 delinquents would again give him the slip, now 

 ordered the cavalry to the front and rapidly went off 

 to surround the two doomed forts. It was a grand 

 sight. The splendid body of Lancers trotting off 

 towards the numerous large mud -forts and towers 

 ahead, lying among fields of waving corn, dotted 

 thickly with fruit-trees of many kinds, hemmed in 

 between two broad water-courses which emerged from 

 a succession of low grassy hillocks, behind which 

 rose the massive mountain-slopes of the Safed-Koh 

 covered with dense forests of giant cedars and pines, 

 these gradually tapering off as they touched on the 

 fields of snow which lay thick up to the mighty crests, 

 crimsoned with the first rays of the rising sun ; while 

 above the lofty pinnacles hung huge masses of dark 

 clouds betokening a coming storm. 



Scarcely a quarter of an hour had elapsed when 

 'the rapid pattering of musketry told the infantry that 

 to-day at least there was work to be done. A mes- 

 senger came galloping back to order tip the infantry 

 and guns ; and we were soon doubling on as fast as 

 the boulders and wet fields would let us. General 



