The Throne of Solomon
An old man watching his goats on the hillside above con-
sented to guide us, and we were soon joined by villagers from
flan, who showed us a narrow ledge which just gave foothold
to creep round the edge of the boulder and led to a crack where
we could lever ourselves up with both arms against the sides.
A last steep bit of pudding stone destroyed Ismail's moral
completely. At the top of all this inaccessibility are the re-
mains of five small compartments cut in the stone itself, with
a water-tank about 3 by 12 feet, evidently cut out by hand
below: no trace of mortar, no shards of pottery, nor any sign
of habitation. It must have been a look-out and nothing more,
and the village of Ilan, a poor place with but few scanty
trees, is visible in a triangle of rthe'landscape to the north.
Disappointed and very exhausted,'Icarne away and returned
down red ridges to Zavarak, and in fixe late afternoon started
up the valley track of last year, through green glens with fruit
trees and mistletoe, the river on our right hand, and on our
left the precipitous sides of Nevisar Shah. In the dusk we
came to Garmrud, which leans against the cliffs that close
the valley.
'Aziz's wife was out to meet us with many of the village
women, dressed in reds and yellows, a pretty sight among the
poplar trees and boulders of the stream. She ran out to hold
the bridle rein, and led me in triumph, while the people on the
roofs of their houses bade me welcome. There was a general
air of holiday, for three weddings were to be celebrated on the
morrow, one being, so to say, an international affair between
our village and that of Pichiban on the way to the pass.
Under these circumstances, the Throne of Solomon must
again wait, for nothing would drag *Aziz away before the
festivities.
'Aziz's wife was as pretty as ever, but disunion now rent the
little household. 'Aziz had married again, and spent most of
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