992 
THROUGH ASIA 
men had slept like logs all night, and had heard no 
suspicious sounds. They believed the Taghliks ran away 
about midnight, no doubt hoping that the long start would 
secure them against pursuit. Besides, they knew that 
in a region so ill provided with grass as that we were 
travelling through, every day was precious. When we 
examined our stores, we discovered that ten donkeys, 
two horses, and a goodly supply of bread, flour, and 
maize were missing. The worst feature was, that the 
Taghliks had drawn half their wages in advance, and 
had taken the money of the other men as well, without 
leaving any written acknowledgments. It was evident 
the flight had been planned beforehand, and they had 
deliberately set themselves to get as much money into 
their possession as possible. But we were all amazed, 
that they had been able to get away without making 
any noise. One of the men recollected hearine the docs 
bark furiously about midnight, but he thought at the time, 
that they were barking at the camels, which were ac- 
customed to stray away from the camp, flitting- about 
like shadows in the darkness. 
But we were not going to be cheated so easily. We 
examined the ground in the neighbourhood of the camp, 
to find out which way the thieves had gone. It seemed 
they had departed in ones and twos in different directions, 
and made for a common rendezvous at the foot of the 
mountains on the north, so as to mislead us at the outset 
if we attempted to pursue after them. Two or three of 
them walked ; a couple rode the horses ; the rest were 
mounted on donkeys. But seeing that several of the 
donkeys were pretty well done up, the runaways would 
scarcely be able to march very fast. I therefore ordered, 
that they should be instantly pursued, and at all costs, by 
fair means or by foul, should be brought back to camp 
No. VIII. They had deceived us so shamefully, that 
they deserved punishment. Parpi Bai, who was a capital 
fellow, took command of the pursuing division, which 
consisted of Hamdan Bai and Islam of Keriya. Armed 
with rifles and revolvers, and mounted on the freshest 
