ontier, having in his
possession a number of cartridges that had been stolen from the
lines of a British regiment in Peshawur. A train was just about to
arrive from Kohat, and the officer went down to meet it. All the
passengers seemed quite innocent; some traders returning from market,
a few soldiers going on leave, and some camp followers, appeared to
be all who had arrived. There was, however, a Mullah with a Quran,
which he was carrying rather ostentatiously, and a wallet, which was
less obvious, under the folds of his shawl. Here was his man. He went
up to him. The Mullah was indignant at the supposition--he had merely
been into Kohat to buy a few household trinkets. He was marched off
to the levy post all the same, and, on turning out the contents of
his wallet, eighty-one Lee-Metford cartridges were disclosed. That
night the Mullah spent in the cells reciting passages in the Quran
with a long and monotonous intonation which kept me awake a long time
with its weirdness. I suppose, however, it may have been meant to
procure some indulgence for his offences, or to serve as a proof of
his sanctity; but it certainly did not soften the heart of his captor,
the native officer, himself a Muhammadan and a Pathan; nor, I trow,
did it mitigate his subsequent punishment.

I was once travelling in the garb of a Mullah from Kohat to Peshawur. I
had walked through the Kohat Pass, and reached a village called
Mitanni, about sixteen miles from Peshawur. I was tired, and finding
here a tumtum about to start for Peshawur, I obtained a seat therein
for one rupee. Two other Peshawuris were fellow-passengers, but were
not present when I paid the driver my fare. On the road the driver
stopped at a village, and his place was taken by another man. The first
driver omitted to tell him that I had already paid my fare, so when
we got near Peshawur he demanded it. I told him I had already paid
the other driver, but he would not believe it. Unluckily the other
passengers were unable to corroborate my statement; an altercation
ensued in the bazaar at Peshawur, and he wanted to keep my bedding
in lieu of the fare. As a crowd was collecting, it was decided to
settle the case by driving me to the police-station. The driver began
volubly to tell the police inspector how "this Bannu Mullah has got
into the tumtum at Mitanni, and now refuses to pay his fare." The
inspector asked me a question or two, and took in the situation,
and then told the dri