The
church-bells were ringing as I rode into Quetta, for it was Sunday,
and, unfortunately, a bright, fine morning.
Had it been otherwise,
I might have been spared the ordeal of riding, on a very dirty and
attenuated camel, past a crowd of well-dressed women and frock-coated
men on their way to church. As we passed a neat victoria, glistening
with varnish, and drawn by a pair of good-looking, high-stepping
ponies, containing a general in full uniform and a pretty, smartly
dressed lady, I cast a glance behind me. Gerome, who brought up the
rear of the caravan, had (for coolness) divested himself of boots and
socks, and, sublimely unconscious, was refreshing himself from the
contents of a large wicker flask. One cannot, unfortunately, urge on
a camel or quicken his pace at these awkward moments, and I passed
a very uncomfortable quarter of an hour before reaching the Dak
bungalow. But a glance at a looking-glass reassured me. No one would
ever have taken the brick-coloured, ragged-looking ruffians we had
become for Europeans.
I accepted a kind and courteous invitation from Mr. L - - , of the
Indo-European Telegraph, with pleasure, for the Dak bungalow was dirty
and comfortless. Although my host and charming hostess would have made
any place agreeable, Quetta is, from everything but a strategical
point of view, dull and uninteresting. It is an English garrison town,
and all is said. The usual nucleus of scandal, surrounded by dances,
theatricals, polo, flirtation, drink, and - divorce. Are they not all
alike from Gibraltar to Hong Kong?
Under the guidance of my host, however, a pleasant trip was made to
the Khojak tunnel. When one considers the comparatively short time
it has been in hand, it is almost incredible that, with so many
difficulties (water, hard rock, etc.), this work should have
progressed as it has. The tunnel, which runs due east and west, is,
or will be, two miles and a half in length and three hundred and
sixty-five feet in depth at the deepest part from the earth's surface.
From the eastern end only sixty-five miles over a firm and level plain
separates it from Kandahar. Even when I was there, [D] a light line
could have been laid to that city in six weeks without difficulty. The
plant, rails, and sleepers were on the spot, having been carried over
the hill, and a railway-carriage could then run from Calcutta to the
eastern extremity of the tunnel without break of gauge. The tunnel,
when completed, will be thirty-four feet broad, and twenty-five feet
in height.
A curious incident happened at one of the railway-stations between
Quetta and Karachi. At the buffet of the one in question, I found
Gerome conversing volubly in Russian with a total stranger, a native.
On inquiry I found he was a very old friend, a Russian subject and
native of Samarcand. "He has just come through from Cabul," said my
companion.
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