As a mark of regard or from excess of politeness, Lady Adela had provided me with a guard of four horsemen, two stalwart fellows of her tribe under a little wiry man, one Rasul Ahmad, who was noted in Halabja for his bravery and integrity. His three underlings were big, well-set-up men, typical Kurdish horsemen of the south, with long tunics, which, as they sat their horses, shaded their bare ankles from the sun. Rasul Ahmad alone wore the scarlet riding-boots of these parts. I noticed that one of them had a very poverty-stricken appearance. His horse was a veritable Rosinante, and he matched it. A great hole was worn in his tunic where the butt of his rifle had rubbed as he carried it over his shoulder, the leather of his saddle-peak was sadly damaged by the gun, from long carriage across his knees. These are the two positions in which a Kurd usually carries the arm: the first when it is known that it will not be necessary at short notice; the second preparatory to carrying it almost upright, the stock resting upon the saddle. His bare feet, innocent of shoes, were thrust into rusty old shovel-stirrups. His rifle was an old Snider, not the smart Martini carbine as carried by the others, and his melancholy face seemed to reflect the seediness and unfortunate appearance of his gear. He had the heavy, square jaw and small blue eyes of the Kurds of the Shuan and Hamavand, and spoke little to any of his fellows. Once, however, one of them made a joke at his expense, and the sorrowful cavalier charged down at him with rifle aimed, but as he fired, Rasul Ahmad knocked the gun up, and as no harm was done, the incident was regarded in their rough manner as a joke. Finding him riding alongside, I asked him concerning himself, when he informed me that he was of the Hamavand and not of the Jaf, though he had taken service with them, and he explained the reason. It appeared that after several raids upon caravans with his tribe, he had attempted to hold up some travellers unassisted. In this he had been unsuccessful, and a bullet through his horse’s shoulder had brought him to earth, to be caught. To make matters worse, he discovered that his victims were themselves Hamavands, and relations of his chief. Stung by their ridicule, for the affair was regarded as a joke, and urged by the fear of ultimate retribution, he fled on foot to the Jaf country, and took service as a mounted messenger and guard. [Sidenote: AN EXILED HAMAVAND]