But we could stay no longer; we returned by the way we had come; and though I longed to have roamed over the ruined and deserted palaces, and explored their recesses, it was too late; dismissing our guide, therefore, with a small present for his civility, we retraced our steps to our encampment. From Beeder, Sahib, we had no adventures worth relating till we reached Ellichpoor, by which town we directed our route homewards; however, we did not travel by the same road as we had done in coming down, which would have led us by Mungrool and Oomraotee, and we had good reasons for avoiding both places; the remembrance of the fate of the sahoukar would necessarily be fresh in the memory of the inhabitants of the latter place, and our appearance was too remarkable to be easily forgotten; so we struck off from Nandair on the Godavery towards Boorhanpoor, and when we reached Akola, in the Berar valley, we turned again towards Ellichpoor, and reached it in safety. You must not think, however, that during this long journey we were idle; on the contrary, we pursued our avocation with the same spirit and success with which we had commenced and continued our fortunate expedition; and no traveller, however humble, who joined our party, or was decoyed among us, escaped: and by this means, though our booty was not materially increased, yet we collected sufficient to support us, without taking aught from the general stock, which was to be divided when we reached our home. At Ellichpoor we encamped under some large tamarind trees, close to the durgah of Rhyman Shah Doolah. It was a quiet, lovely spot. Below the durgah ran a small river, which had its rise in the neighbouring mountains; and over its stream the hallowed buildings of the saint, embowered in thick trees, seemed to be the abode of peace and repose. Thither Azima and myself, attended by some of our men, went, as soon as we had rested ourselves a little and changed our road-soiled garments, to present our offerings at the shrine, and to offer up our thanksgivings for the continued care and protection of Alla. This done, I sent her back to our camp, and entered into general conversation with the Moolas, as was my wont, in order to gather information to guide us in our enterprises; and from so large a city as Ellichpoor, I had some hope that we should gain a valuable booty. We conversed upon many topics of every-day occurrence; at last, one of the Moolas asked me where I had come from, and whither I was going. I said I was a horse-dealer, who had been down to Hyderabad with horses from Hindostan, and was now returning, having disposed of them. "And the men who accompany you, who are they?" asked the Moola. "My father, who is a merchant, is one," said I; "besides him, there are the grooms and attendants who accompanied us, and several travellers who have joined us from time to time as we journeyed hither." "Then you are a kafila?" said the Moola.