Page:Kennedy, Robert John - A Journey in Khorassan (1890).djvu/26

 afternoon tea was being prepared one of the party enjoyed a bathe in a small neighbouring muddy stream, and his dressing gown, which he wore as he passed down the street of the little village, attracted the attention of the villagers, who, he fondly hoped, took it for a 'kelat' or robe of honour. At eight p.m. we lay down upon our mattresses, and enjoyed the sound sleep to which we were entitled by our forty-nine mile ride, in spite of being twice disturbed — once by the uproarious singing of an irrepressible dervish, and afterwards by the invasion of a large cat making a raid on the milk.

On Saturday, the 8th of March, we started at our normal hour of 7.15, the two previous hours having been, as usual, employed in dressing, breakfasting, shaking the straw out of our mattresses, and re-packing into the saddle-bags our clothes, blankets, provisions, and cooking utensils. Our road lay east and north-east, through a plain rich in cultivation and pasturage. We passed many well-watered villages, two of which, built upon artificial mounds, are especially remarkable. After a ten-mile gallop, which we accomplished in an hour and a quarter, during