Before we left Karsimabad I paid Murad some compensation for his straw, for he had had the best intentions. When we reached the main column, which was now agog with curiosity, I once again combed out our prisoners, retaining some forty-three and letting the others go. It must be remembered that we were desperately short of food ourselves and I did not want a single unnecessary mouth to feed. But I was not going back to Khwash without a supply of fodder for our animals. I, therefore, told Jiand that as he had burned the bhusa I had bought, and had refused his own at the generous price offered, I should now take his without payment. So we made a détour by way of Kamalabad, where my men immediately started hunting for straw and wheat. We eventually found that the latter had been carefully hidden by Jiand, and in a highly ingenious way. The wheat had been put into sacks, and buried in the sand dunes. The sand had then been carefully smoothed over, leaving nothing to show that it had been disturbed. But, before our search, I asked the Sarhad-dar, "How on earth will the men find the sacks?" fearful lest, after all, Jiand had foiled me. "They know how to find it," he replied. "Give them the order to search for it and you'll see what they'll do. They know the trick well enough." Accordingly, orders were issued to search for, and carry off, all the sacks of wheat and all bhusa that could be found. In an instant they were at work amongst the sand dunes, prodding in the sand with their cleaning rods. Every now and again a man would shout "Here!" and after a few minutes' digging a sack would be dragged to light. It was immensely interesting to watch this unearthing of plunder, and after a while I called "Give me a cleaning rod and let me try." But I proved a hopeless exponent of the game. Prod as I would, I could find nothing, though the smiling Rekis would prod where I had drawn blank and fish out several sacks. This wheat was a great find, and was loaded on to the camels with the greatest care. From Kamalabad I sent a couple of men ahead with messages to Colonel Claridge--who had remained behind in charge of Khwash--telling him briefly what had happened, and asking him to prepare a barbed wire cage for the prisoners now being brought in. So promptly did he set to work that, when we marched in next day, there was ready as perfect a cage as any commander could wish to have. We were given a great reception by the garrison, delighted at the plunder we had brought. The bhusa meant the saving of our animals, and the wheat was invaluable to ourselves, as our supply of flour had begun to run very short.