into camp after dark, when the coolie simply put down his load and
walked off; but as our supplies diminished, we naturally required fewer
coolies--at any rate, we managed to get all our baggage into Chitral.

Moberly now handed over the company of Kashmir troops to my tender
charge and departed back to Mastuj, so now I had the command of the
Levies and one company added to my numerous other duties, so generally
I was pretty well on the hop.

By dark the baggage had come in, the dead either buried or burnt
according to their religion, and the wounded attended to and made as
comfortable as we could make them under the circumstances.

Oldham and some fifty Levies who had been reconnoitring down the left
bank of the river had returned, and by nine we got some dinner.

Just as we were turning in, the picket on the road over the nullah first
let drive a volley, and Oldham, who was on duty, took some men and
doubled out to see what was the matter. On his return, he reported the
picket had heard someone moving in the nullah, and as the sentry's
challenge had not been answered, they had let drive at it.




CHAPTER VIII


THE MARCH RESUMED THROUGH KILLA DRASAN