until I heard from him. In the meantime I received news of the
murder of the Envoy, and I am still in the hills.'

The thought of what might be in store for those who were now aiding me
troubled me a good deal. No doubt their help was not disinterested,
but they were 'friends in need,' and I could not be quite indifferent
to their future.

I had several interesting conversations with Yakub Khan, and in
discussing with him Sher Ali's reasons for breaking with us, he dwelt
on the fact that his father, although he did not get all he wished out
of Lord Mayo, was fairly satisfied and content with what had been done
for him, but when Saiyad Nur Mahomed returned from Simla in 1873,
he became thoroughly disgusted, and at once made overtures to the
Russians, with whom constant intercourse had since been kept up.

Yakub Khan's statements were verified by the fact that we found Kabul
much more Russian than English. The Afghan Sirdars and officers were
arrayed in Russian pattern uniforms, Russian money was found in the
treasury, Russian wares were sold in the bazaars, and although the
roads leading to Central Asia were certainly no better than those
leading to India, Russia had taken more advantage of them than we had
to carry on commercial dealings with Afghanistan.[2]

When I inquired of Yakub Khan what had become of the correspondence
which must have been carried on between his father and the Russians,
he declared that he had destroyed it all when on his way to Gandamak;
nevertheless, a certain number of letters[3] from Generals Kauffmann
and Stoliatoff came into my possession, and a draft of the treaty the
latter officer brought from Tashkent was made for me from memory by
the man who had copied it for Sher Ali, aided by the Afghan official
who was told off to be in attendance on Stoliatoff, and who had
frequently read the treaty.

In one of my last conversations with Yakub Khan, he advised me 'not to
lose sight of Herat and Turkestan.' On my asking him whether he had
any reason to suppose that his representatives in those places meant
to give trouble, he replied: 'I cannot say what they may do; but,
remember, I have warned you.' He, no doubt, knew more than he told
me, and I think it quite possible that he had some inkling of his
brother's[4] (Ayub Khan's) intentions, in regard to Kandahar, and he
probably foresaw that Abdur Rahman Khan would appear on the scene from
the direction of Turkestan.

I duly receive