'THIM DAYS IS GONE' [‎90r] (179/248)

the world record for this animal
That night was an eventful one.
Turkoman a 1 eman (raiding party)
well discover our bivouac
whether we should bed
consensus was "No",
s urrounding heights
broke), or whether we
(again "No", because we
line, and easy targets
opinion that we should
skyline. and this we did
A rumour had reached
was on the war path
and an anxious
down in the bottom
because the Turkomans
and be able to
should ensonce
should be
us that a
and might
debate ensued as to
of the valley (the
would occupy the
fire down on us when dawn
-- ourselves on the crest
silhouetted against the sky
for the Turkomans)! I
sleep on the heights
posting two men on the
gave it as my
but below the
top as sentries.
^hl a < de „f a fi ,7 co " cea,ed 1n a hollow and began to roast our
a^inn ,f h ^ tt0n ' when one of th e sentries called down
asking if he could come and have some. We decided to let them
come in by turns, but when the first went back the second sentry
general opinion was that
h i m
was
i n
nowhere
The
to be found. Panic!
the Turkomans must have captured him and silently spirited
away. The B.B. was distraught because he had lent the man
rifle (priceless because the bore was only
(!) different from that of the Persian army issue
ammunition for it was readily obtainable),
transpired that the youth, finding himself alone
priceless
mil 1 i m e t r e
th erefore
event ual1y
a valuable
b andit ry
rifle.
However
had abscond ed
I was able to
and ample ammunition from my stores
to take
console
h i s
0.1
and
It
with
up the profess ion of
the B.B. with a rifle
hese excursions apart, it was necessary to go to India to learn
how to use plastic explosives, anti-personnel mines, and such
like horrors, and to visit the head-guarters of S.O.E. in India,
located at Meerut. There I found that they were all looking in
e opposite direction; for the Japanese were advancing through
Burma and it seemed that they might soon be in occupation of
parts of Eastern India. My superiors could hardly be less
concerned about my activities in Khorasan.
Meanwhile feeling grew tenser as the Germans approached the
Caucasus, and it seemed inevitable that they would soon be
standing on Persian soil. The Russian Consul-General drew me on
one side : "Of course, we will all come with you into the
mount a! ns and join the resistance", (So much for my cover!)
and an American whom I had not previously suspected of having
C.I.A. connections made a similar offer. I wanted none of this,
tor the effectiveness of an untrained, unfit, and ill-eguipped
assortment of Russian bureaucrats would be negligible
particularly in view of the Persian dislike and mistrust of
Kussians. In fact, I rated my own chances of
surviv a 1 as very
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