Four pickets of his own regular army should
watch the camp, that our slumbers might not be disturbed, and when
challenged by the sentries, they would reply, "chokidar" (watchman).
This all seemed very satisfactory, but we entrenched ourselves as usual,
not, as we explained, because we doubted our protector's powers or
inclinations, buy merely as a matter of form.
At midnight precisely, the camp was awakened by a dozen shots in rapid
succession. The khan's pickets could be heard expostulating with the
enemy, who replied by jeers and bitter remarks.
The firing continued for an hour, when the "snipers," having satisfied
their honour, relieved their feelings and expended their cartridges,
went away rejoicing. The troops throughout remained silent, and
vouchsafed no reply.
It may seem difficult to believe that fifty bullets could fall in a
camp, only 100 yards square--crowded with animals and men--without any
other result than to hit a single mule in the tail. Such was, however,
the fact.
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