THE DECEITFUL TAGHLIKS 993 
horses we had, they followed the trail over the pass in the 
northern mountains, and rapidly disappeared from sight. 
If the runaways refused to come with them, my men were 
instructed to fire off half-a-dozen shots, but were not on 
any account to injure any of the Taghliks. 
We who remained behind in camp had nothing to do 
but w'ait patiently till the men came back. The da)/^ 
pas.sed. The night passed. No sign of the pursuers’ 
return. I began to fear they had taken the wrong road, 
in which case the second error would be worse than the 
first. But at last, at five o’clock on the next afternoon, 
they turned up, their horses dead beat, with the following 
tale ; — 
At a brisk trot they followed up the trail all ■ day and 
all the next evening. Their horses were tolerably fre.sh, 
and had no loads to carry except their riders. They 
passed our last two camps, Nos. VII. and VI., and a little 
way beyond the second perceived, about midnight, a fire 
burning in the distance. They rode towards it. It had 
been made, as they expected, by our runaways. 1 he two 
horses and the donkeys were grazing close by. Five of 
the Taghliks sat round the fire, warming themselves. 
The others had already gone to bed. The entire company, 
men as well as animals, were dead tired after their long 
forced march. But they had enjoyed the advantages ot 
a rest before starting, and of a downward road after they 
did start. Hence they had pushed on without stopping ; 
but as most of them walked, they were bound to be over- 
taken by our mounted men. 
Parpi Bai and his two companions galloped up to the 
fire. The Taghliks leapt to their feet, and fled in different 
directions. But Parpi Bai went after them and fired his 
rifle in the air, shouting to them to stop instantly, or he 
would shoot them down. Thereupon they flung them- 
selves prone on the ground, crying for mercy, and crept 
back to the fire. Parpi Bai bound them every nw 
and took away all the money they had about them. Then, 
after two or three hours’ sleep, he and his two companions 
started back early in the morning, bringing the Taghliks 
