Book Description

Told in the East is a collection of three intriguing stories about British rule in the east. The first two deal with the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and are adventure tales full of action. The author writes about the battle and the honor of warriors. The third is a humorous story with a ship of the British Navy put in for repairs somewhere along the coast of the Persian Gulf. Hookum Hai means 'It is an order!'. The story is about how orders are interpreted by the troops when a literal sense of such orders would mean sure death. It follows Sergeant William Brown, who trains soldiers and rebukes them for swearing. Together with the clever Juggut Khan, he takes extraordinary measures to ensure a strong defense and save three women and a child. For the Salt He Had Eaten revolves around Mahommed Khan, an aged commander who rescues a British officer's wife with his quick thinking and bravery. MacHassan Ah is the tale of two sailors and their dog Scamp. They cause chaos while on the shore in an Arab village, only to be saved in peculiar style by a black man claiming to be English.