the march to Gasht and back had been some twenty-two miles, and
information had been obtained of the position in which we might expect
opposition from the enemy. On getting into camp, Borradaile's party
found Colonel Kelly and myself waiting their arrival, eager to hear
their news.

CHAPTER IV

FROM LASPUR TO GASHT

That night we had beef for dinner. This may appear a trivial fact, but
it meant a great and blessed change from the eternal mutton we had been
living on, none of us having tasted beef for quite six months, except in
its condensed or tinned state, which does not count. Gilgit is a
dependency of Kashmir, whose ruling family, being Hindus, strongly
object to cow-killing, and therefore the law runs that no cows are to be
slaughtered; hence none of us since crossing the bridge at Kohalla had
tasted fresh beef. But now we were in Chitral territory, and a Mussulman
country, so we were free to kill cows, but did so unostentatiously, as
nearly all our force were Hindus. The dark deed was accomplished thus:
on the houses being searched on the arrival of the first party at
Laspur, an innocent little calf was found in one of the houses, and
quick as thought then and there despatched. I will not reveal the
murderer's name, because I do not know it. All traces were removed, and
for the next few days we enjoyed hot roast beef.

We were a merry party, but what a set of ruffians we looked! Stewart and
Gough were both suffering from snow blindness, owing to their generous
action in giving their goggles to sepoys, and passed most of their spare
time with their heads over a basin of hot water, dabbing their aching
eyes; none of us had much skin on our faces, and what little remained
was of a patchwork description; none of us had shaved for days--we
couldn't have stood the torture; and our clothes, too, were showing
signs of wear and tear. We all now slept in our clothes, partly for the
sake of warmth, and also to be in readiness in case of emergency. There
we were, sitting or lying on our bedding, which was spread on the floor
round the room, the latter divided, like all Chitrali houses, into loose
stalls by low partitions, a small fire burning in the centre of the
room, from which a thick pillar of smoke rose and hung like a cloud from
the roof, through a hole in which part of it escaped. Our swords and
revolvers were hanging on the walls or from pegs in the beams, the whole
scene dimly lit by one or two candles.