'  Thou  art  pretty  sure  of  one/  said  the  Khan  to  him ;  '  I  wish
I  could  shoot  as  well  as  thou.'

'  A  steady  hand  and  aim,  Khan  Sahib  ; — do  not  hurry ;  if  not
the  man,  at  least  thou  canst  hit  the  horse.  Inshalla  1  we  shall
have  some  sport.'

'  I  had  better  take  one  of  the  jiiyalls ;  the  Feringhees  (may
they  be  accursed  !)  have  sorely  plagued  us  often  by  firing  a  can
non  full  of  balls  at  us ;  so  give  me  a  few,  I  pray.     I  will  ram  them
down  into  the  piece,  and  it  will  be  less  liable  to  miss  than  a
single  bullet,'

'  Mashalla !  a  wise  thought,'  said  Kasim,  handing  him  some
balls  ;  and  a  scattered  fire  of  praises  ran  from  mouth  to  mouth  at
the  Khan's  ingenuity :  '  we  shall  now  see  whether  we  are  to  eat
dirt  or  not'

They  were  now  all  silent  for  awhile.
'  Hark  ! '  said  Kasim  at  length ;  '  what  is  that  ? '

They  all  listened  more  attentively;  the  village  dogs — ^first  one,
then  all — barked  and  howled  fearfiiUy.
