122 JOURNEY TO YARKAXD. 



It was a very small apartment, but clean, and 

 spread with mundas. There was a nice wood- 

 fire blazing in an open hearth, which, rough as it 

 looked, worked capitally, and did not smoke at 

 all. On one side of the fireplace was a sort of 

 platform, about a foot or so above the ground : 

 on this imindas were also spread. This was the 

 sleeping - place affected by the Turkis, and it 

 made a capital lounge. 



In a very short time, after a cup of tea and a 

 toast at the fire, we felt like giants refreshed so 

 much so, that Bower said he would go and shoot 

 some ducks, of which we had seen a good many 

 on the canal. Feeling lazy in front of the good 

 fire, and not at all bloodthirsty, I remained where 

 I was. After resting a while I took a look round 

 the inside of the fort, and had a talk with the 

 Karaolchee, as the man in charge is called. He 

 said that since the days of Yakub Beg these 

 karaols had all been neglected, and some even 

 destroyed by the Chinese. This one, for in- 

 stance, whose interior area was 7000 square 

 yards, only contained half-a-dozen huts similar 

 to the one in which we were ; the rest were in 

 ruins. They seem to consider these forts of no 

 value ; and this road had very little traffic, only 



