The Moghul

you don't use them now?"
    "We prefer muskets."
    He seemed to ponder the answer as he led them back into his carpeted reception area. He took his place beneath the canopy, then turned to Hawksworth.
    "We use muskets too. But frankly they're often more trouble than they're worth. They're cumbersome and inaccurate, and while you're reloading and priming your matchlock a Rajput archer will put half a dozen arrows through you. Infantry here normally is one-third matchlock men and two-thirds archers. If you're going to be any help to us, Captain, you'll need to learn to use a bow."
    Jadar stopped and turned to look at Shirin. Her eyes were fluttering with fatigue. "But I forget my manners. You must have some rest while we teach the feringhi how to fight. Perhaps the best thing would be to clear a tent for you at the rear of the gulal bar , near the workshops. And the English captain can stay there too," Jadar laughed. "So I can watch him practice his bow." He glanced back at Hawksworth and his eyes froze on the pearl earring. "I see you're a khan now, as well as an ambassador. Congratulations. If Arangbar can make you a khan , I can surely make you an archer."
    Jadar motioned to the eunuchs, who came forward and escorted Shirin through the rear doorway of the compound. Hawksworth was watching her leave, praying for sleep himself, when Jadar's voice brought him back.
    "Let me begin by explaining our Indian bow to you, Captain. I think it's probably quite different from the English bow you described." Jadar turned to Vasant Rao and motioned toward his quiver, a flat leather case hanging from a strap over one shoulder. It was covered with gold embossing and held both his bow and his arrows. "You know we have a proverb: the sword is better than the katar, the spear is better than the sword; the arrow better than the spear. I've heard Muslims claim the bow and arrow were first given to Adam by the archangel Gabriel." Jadar paused while Vasant Rao took out his bow and passed it over. "Now, the first thing you need to learn is how to string this. It's more difficult than you might suppose, since a bow is reflexed, curved back around the opposite way when unstrung. It's stressed against the strung position to give it more weight on the pull." Jadar examined the bow for a moment. "In fact, you can tell how much use a bow has had by the way it's bent when unstrung. The original curve in this bow is almost gone, which means it's had a lot of use. Here hold it for a moment."
    Hawksworth grasped the bow in his hand. It was some four feet long, shaped in a wide curve with the ends bent back. The grip was velvet, with a gold-embossed design on the inner side.
    "You say your English bows are made of wood, but I find that difficult to believe. This one is a composite, a mango-wood core with strips of buffalo horn glued over the outside. And the outer curve is lined with catgut to give it even more force. That's why this bow had to be sealed on the outside with leather. We use leather or lacquer to protect the glue from the dampness of the monsoon. The string, by the way, is a silk skein with a crisscross binding at the center."
    "How do you string it?"

Jadar grinned as he took back the bow. "It's not easy. If you have to string a bow while riding, you hook one end between the stirrup and the instep of your foot and brace it backward against your knee. But usually we bend it over our back." He took the string in his hand and slipped the bow around his waist. Then he flipped it against his back and pulled its free end over his left shoulder, inverting the curve and hooking the string in a single motion. It was done in an instant.
    "There. But I've made it look easier than it is. You should practice. And it would also be well if you could learn to string a bow and shoot from horseback."
    "Horseback!"
    "All horsemen use a bow."
    "How can you possibly hit anything from horseback?"
    "Practice. A good Rajput archer can shoot as well from horseback as standing. The Uzbeks shoot better." As Jadar spoke he was extracting a heavy ring from inside his cloak. One side of the ring was a green emerald, flat and square and half an inch wide.
    "This is a zihgir , a bow ring, to protect your thumb when you draw. It also increases your range."
    He pushed the emerald ring over his thumb, notched an arrow into the string, and drew it back effortlessly, holding the thin bamboo arrow in position with a touch of his forefinger. The whole sequence had taken less