As Shah Sowar had foretold, the first serious pitfall was the question
of language. When persons of some rank are travelling it is customary
for the headman, or chief, to come and pay his respects to them, when
they are encamped near his village or domain. It was after one such
visit that the chief, as he came out, called Shah Sowar to him and said:
"Who did you say that your master is?"
"Commander of the Faithful, his name is Sheikh Abdul Qadir, a relative
of the Amir of Kabul and a refugee," glibly replied Shah Sowar, but
inwardly considerably perturbed.
"Well, with all respect," replied the chief, "I never heard anyone talk
such bad Persian; he talks just like an Englishman"; and with that he
departed.
Shah Sowar at once grasped what a narrow escape they had had, for an
Englishman found in that region in disguise was a dead man. So soon
therefore as it was dark he persuaded his master to saddle and move on a
few miles, lest further reflection might shed a light on the dim
suspicions of the chief. One bargain Shah Sowar made during that night
march, and that was that Sheikh Abdul Qadir was henceforth to remain
speechless, and leave the rest to his own ingenuity and knowledge of his
countrymen.
A few days afterwards an occasion offered for testing the new
arrangement. Arrived at a somewhat important town, a servant of the
local chief came to make enquiries about the new arrivals, in order that
the etiquette of visiting might be observed, this etiquette ruling that
the inferior should pay the first visit.
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