When we raided a town or village we used to tie our Turkish officers hand and foot and cover them up in a cart, for we wished them to be mistaken for Kurds, not Turks.  And in almost the first bazaar we plundered were strange hats such as Kurds wear, that gave us when we wore them in the dark the appearance, perhaps, of Kurds who had stolen strange garments (for the Kurds wear quite distinctive clothes, of which we did not succeed in plundering sufficient to disguise us all).

In more than one town we had to fight for what we took, for there were Turkish soldiers that we did not know about, for all Ranjoor Singh’s good scouting.  Sometimes we beat them off with very little trouble; sometimes we had about enough fighting to warm our hearts and terrify the inhabitants.  But in one town we were caught plundering the bazaar by several hundred Turkish infantry who entered from the far side unexpectedly; and if we had not burned the bazaar I doubt that we should have won clear of that trap.  But the smoke and flame served us for a screen, and we got to the rear of the Turks and killed a number of them before galloping off into the dark.

But who shall tell in a day what took weeks in the doing?  I do not remember the tenth part of it!  We rode, and we skirmished, and we plundered, growing daily more proud of Ranjoor Singh, and most of us forgetting we had ever doubted him.  Once we rode for ten miles side by side in the darkness with a Turkish column that had been sent to hunt for us!  Perhaps they mistook our squeaky old carts for their cannon; that had camped for the night unknown to them!  Next day we told some Kurds where to find the cannon, and doubtless the Kurds made trouble.  We let the column alone, for it was too big for us—­ about two regiments, I think.  They camped at midnight, and we rode on.

We gave our horses all the care we could, but that was none too much, and we had to procure new mounts very frequently.  Often we picked up a dozen at a time in the towns and villages, slaying those we left behind lest they be of use to the enemy.  Once we wrought a miracle, being nearly at a standstill from hard marching, and almost surrounded by regiments sent out to cut us off.  We raided the horse-lines of a Turkish regiment that had camped beside a stream, securing all the horses we needed and stampeding the remainder!  Thus we escaped through the gap that regiment had been supposed to close.  We got away with their baked bread, too, enough to last us at least three days!  That was not far from Diarbekr.

By the time we reached the Tigris and crossed it near Diarbekr we were happy men; for we were not in search of idleness; all most of us asked was a chance to serve our friends, and making trouble for the Turks was surely service!  One way and another we made more trouble than ten times our number could have made in Flanders.  Every one of us but Gooja Singh was happy.