B884 <=> B886 [BTG XLI The bokharian dervish, p. 885]

“’We then moved here and began to live far from other people and outside of our brotherhood.

“’This friend of mine and I lived here all the time in complete peace and concord, and only recently did I lose forever this never-to-be-forgotten and irreplaceable friend of mine.

“’And I lost him in the following lamentable circumstances:

“’Several weeks ago he went down to the banks of the river Amu Darya to the town X for various materials and instruments.

“’As he was leaving the town to return here, a “stray bullet” from the firing taking place between the Russians and the Anglo-Afghans struck him down on the spot, and I was immediately informed of this calamity by our mutual acquaintance, a Sart, who chanced to be passing there.

“’Several days afterwards I brought his remains here and buried him over there,’ he added, pointing to a corner of the cave where a peculiar form of projection could be seen.

“Having said this, Hadji-Asvatz-Troov stood up and making a gesture of prayer evidently for the repose of the soul of his friend, motioned with his head for us to follow him.

“We went and found ourselves again in the chief passage of the cave where this venerable terrestrial being stopped in front of a projection and pressed something, whereupon the block moved apart and behind it an entrance was formed into another section of the cave.