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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1917)
THE SEMlAVEEKLV TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE. NEBRA8KA. 2WSRHKS3ESt arjEHBsVsnHM A Thrilling Story of German Intrigue Among the Fierce Hillmen of India During the War KING FACES THE BIGGEST ADVENTURE OF HIS CAREER SO FAR WHEN HE COMES TO THE ENTRANCE OF KHINJAN CAVES AND PROVES HIM SELF A MURDERER. Synopsis.-At tlio beginning of tho world wur dipt. AthclRtan King of the British Indian urmy mid of Its secret service, Is ordered to Delhi to meet Ynsmlnl, a dancer, and go with her to Klnjan to meet tho outlaws thcro who are snld by spies to he preparing for u Jlhnd or holy war. On his way to Delhi KlnR quietly foils n plan to assassinate him nnd gets evidence that Yasmlnl Is after him. He me'ets Itewa Oungn, Yusmlnl's man, who says she linn already gone north, and nt her town house witnesses queer dances. Ismail, an Afrldl, be comes his body servant and protector, lie rescues some of Yjismlnl'M hillmen nnd takes them north with him, tricking the Hangar Into going ahead. The Itangar deserts him at a dangerous time. He meets hit) brother nt All Mnsjld fort. The disguise he assumes thcro fools even tho sharp-eyed cutthroats composing his guard. CHAPTER X. G 5vcn with tho man with tho stom ach ache mounted on tho sparo horse for the sake of extra speed (and ho was not suffering one-flfth so much as bo pretended) ; with Ismail to urge, and King to coax, and tho fear of mountain death on every Hide of them, they were tho part of a night nnd n Say and a night and n pnrt of another day In reaching Klilnjnn. At night nnd nt noon they slept fit fully nt the chance-met shrine of somo holy mnn. Tho "Hills' nro full of them, marked by fluttering rags that can bo seen for miles nwny; nnd though tho Quran's meaning must be stretched to find excuse, nnd hillmen ire adept nt stretching things and hold those shrines as sacred as tho book It olf. Men who would almost rnther fut throats than gamblo regard them as sanctuaries. So n man mny rest In temporary pence even on tho road to Khlnjan, although Klilnjnn nnd pence have nothing wlmtovcr In com tonn. It was at such n shrine, surrounded by tattered rags tied to sticks, that fluttered In tho wind thrco or four thousand feet nhovo Khyhcr level, that King drew Ismail Into conversation, nd deftly forced on him tho rolo of tncstloncr. "How enn'st thou sco tho caves I" ho eked, for King had hinted nt his In tention ; and for nnswer King gnvo him glimpse of tho gold bracelet. "Aye I Well and good I Rut even she dnro not disobey tho rolo. Khlnjan wo thero before sho enme, nnd tho rule was thero from tho beginning, when tho first men found tho caves 1 Home hundreds hnvo gained admis sion, lacking tho right. But who ever ww them ngnln? Allah I I, for one, would not chnnco It 1" "Thou nnd I uro two men 1" answered King. "I shnll sco tho caves." "Aye I But llatcnl How many In Ulan servants of tho British Raj hnvo ct out to sco tho caves? Many, ninny -nye, very many! Some, having got by Khinjnn, entered tho caves. Nono rer came out ngnln 1" "Then, what Is my enso to thee?" &lng nsked him. "IT I canuot cotno out "Who Are Youf Howled a Human Selng, Whose Voice Was 8o Like A Wolf's That tho Words at First Had "Ho Meaning. pnln nnd thcro la n secret, then the utcret will bo kept, and what Is tho trouble?" "I Jovo theo," tho Afrldl nuswercd Imply. "Thou art n mnn after mine mi heart. Tumi Go buck before It is too Into!" King shook hln head. "I was In Khinjnn onco before, my friend l I know tho rulol I failed to teach tho caves that other timo be; fcnuso I had no witnesses to swear they kud Fecn me slay n mnn In the teeth of written law. I know 1" "Who saw theo this time?" Ianmll sited, nnd began to cackle with tho cruel humor of the "mils," that sees Kniuscment In.n man's undoing, or in Hie destruction of his plans, "ne warned nnd go bnckl" of the "Come with me, then." "Nay, I am her man. Sho waits for mel" 'T lmnglno sho wnlts for mel" laughed King. "Forward I Wo have rested In this place long enough I" It was ten of u blazing forenoon, nnd tho sun had heated up tho rocks until It was pnln to walk on them and agony to sit, when they topped tho Inst es carpment and camo In sight of Khln Jan's walls, across n mlle-wido, rock ravine Khinjnn tho unregencrate, that has no other human habitation within n march becnuso none dnro build. It was midday when nt Inst they stood on bottom nnd swnyed like men In n dream fingering their bruises nnd scarcely able for tho heat hazo to bco tho tangled mass of stone towers nnd mud-nnd-stono walls that faced them, u mllo away. They were nearly across tho valley, hunting for shadow where nono was io bo found, when n shotted saluto brought them up all-standing In n cluster. Six or eight nickel-coated bullets spattered on the rocks close by, nnd ono so narrowly missed King that ho could feel Its wind. Up went nil their hands together, nnd they held them so until they ached. Nothing whntevcr happened Their urms ceased uchlng and grew numb. They advanced another two hundred ynrds nnd another volley rattled among tho rocks on cither hand, frightening ono of tho mules so thnt it stumbled nnd fell nnd hnd to be helped up ngnln. When thnt wns done, and tho mulo stood trembling, they nil fuccd tho wnll. But they wcro too weary to hold their hands up cny more. Thirst hnd begun to cxcrclso Its sway. Ono of the men was half delirious. "Who nro ye?" howled n humnn be ing, whoso volco wus so like a wolf's that tho words nt first hnd no meaning. Ho peered over tho pnrapct, a hundred feet above, with his head so swathed In dirty linen that ho looked Uko a bandaged corpse. What will yo? Who comes unin vited Into Khinjnn?" King bethought him of Ynslmlnl's tnllsman. lie held it up, and the gold band glinted in tho sun. Yet, although a Hlllmnn's eyes nro keener thnn nn englo's, ho did not bellevo tho thing could bo recognized at that angle, and from thnt distance. Another thought suggested Itself to him. Ho turned his hend nnd cnught Ismnil in tho net of slgnnllng with both hands. "Yo may comol" howled tho wntch- man on' tho parapet, disappearing in stnntly. King trembled perhaps ns a race horse trembles at tho stnrtlng gnte, though ho was wenry enough to trem ble from fntlgue. But that pnsscd. no was nil In hand when ho led his men up over n rough stono causeway to n door In tho bottom of n high bnttlo- mented wnll nnd waited for somebody to open The great teak door looked as l It had been stolen from somo Hindu tern pie, nnd ho wondered how mil when they could hnvo brought It thero across those savngo Intervening miles. High nhovo the door wns n ledgo of rock thnt crossed Uko n brldgo from wnll to wnll, with n pmnpot of stono built upon It, pierced for rlllr-flre. As they approached n Rnngur tur ban, not unlike King's own, nppenrcd abovo tho parapet on tho ledgo and n volco ho recognized hailed him good' humoredly. "Snhuun nlclkouml" , "And upon theo bo ponco I" King nn Bworcd in the Pnshtu tongue, for the "Hills" aro polite, whutover tho other principles. Rown Guugn's foco beamed down on him, wreathed In smiles that seemed to lncludo mockery ns well as triumph. Looiclng up nt him nt nn angle thnt mnde his neck uche und dazzled his eyes, King could not bo sure, but It seemed to htm that the smllo snld, "Hero you nre, my man, und aren't you in for it?" Ho moro thnn half sus pected he wn3 Intended to understand thnt. But the llraignr's conversation took niiotliei II r.. "By Jove I" he chuckled. ."Sho ex pected you, Slir tfuesseil you nro u nound who, cm hint voll on a dry went, and sho dared bet you will come J n .splto, of nil odds I But sho didn't Khv HBHHHMBMHBEBBESSaKXi expect you In Itungar dress I No, by Jovo I You Jolly well will tako the wind out of her sails I" King made no nnswer. For one thing, the word "hound," even in English, Is not cssentlully a compliment. But he had ii better reason thnn thnt. "Did you find the way easily?" tho Itangar asked ; but King kept silence. "Is he parched? Hnvo they cut his tongue out on tho road?" That question was In I'nshtu, dlrcet (1 at Ismail and the others, but King answered it. "Oh, ns for that," he said, salnamlng again in the fastidious manner of n nn tlvo gcntlcmnn. "I know no other tongue thnn Pnshtu nnd my own Itn- Jasthnnl. My nnmo Is Kurrnm Khan. I ask admittance." Ho held up his wrist to show the gold bracelet, and high over his head tho Hangar laughed like a bell. "Sfinbnsh 1" ho laughed. "Well done I Knter, Kurrnm Khan, and bo welcome, thou nnd thy men. Bo welcome in her nume!" Somebody pulled n rope and the dooryuwned wide, giving on a kind of courtyard whose high walls allowed no view of anything but not blue sky. Through u gap under an arch In n far corner of tho courtyard came a one eyed, lcnn-looklng villain In Afrldl dress who leaned on a long gun nnd stared at them under his hand. After a leisurely consideration of them he rubbed his nose slowly with one finger, spat contemptuously, nnd then used tho finger to beckon them, crooking It queerly and turning on his heel. He did not sny ono word. King led tho way after him on foot, for even in tho "Hills" where cruelty Is n virtue, a mnn mny be excused, on economic grounds, for showing mercy to his benst. His men tugged the wenry nnlmnls along behind him, through tho gnp under tho arch nnd nlong nn almost Interminable, smelly maze of alleys whose sides were tho walls of square stono towers, or some times of mud-nnd-stone-wnlled com pounds, nnd hero nnd thero of sheer, slab-sided cliff. Like Old Jerusalem. tho plnco could hnvo contained n civil wnr of n hundred factions, nnd Btlll hnvo opposed stout resistance to an outside army. 1 Alley gavo on to courtyard, and filthy squnro to alloy, until unexpectedly ut last n seemingly blind pnssuge turned shnrply nnd opened on n straight street, of fnlr width, nnd moro thnn half n mllo long. It Is mnrked "Street of tho Dwellings" on tho secret nrmy mnps, nnd It has been burned so often by Khinjnn rioters, ns well ns by expe ditions out of Indln, thnt n mnn who goes on n long Journey never expects to And It tho same on his return. It was lined on either hnnd with motley dwellings, out of which a mot her crowd of people swnrraed to stnro nt KIng.nnd his men. Thero were Hin dussycophants, keepers of accounts una writers to tho chiefs (slnco lit eracy Is at n premium In theso pnrts). In proof of Khlnjnn's catholic tusto and Indlscrlmlnnto vlllnlny, thero were women of nenrly every Indlnn breed and caste, many of them stolen Into shameful slnvcry, but somo of them thcro from choice. And thcro wcro lit tle children Uttlo naked brats with round drum tummies, who squealed and shrilled nnd stnredwith bold eyes. Perhnps n thousnnd souls came out to wntch, nil told. Not nn eyo of them nil missed tho government marks on King's trappings, or tho govern ment brand on tho mules, nnd after n mlnuto or two, when tho procession was half-way down 'tho street, n man reproved a child who had thrown a stone, and he was backed up by tho others. They classified King correct ly, exnetly as he meant they should. As n hakim n mnn of medicine ho could fill n long-felt want; but by tho brand on Ills accoutrements ho walked nn openly avowed rebber, nnd that made him a brother in crime. Somebody cuffed tho next child who picked up a stone. ' Ho knew tho street of old, nlthough It had chnnged perhnps n dozen times slnco ho had seen It. It was n cul-de- sac, nnd nt tho end of it, Just ns on Ids previous visit, tliero stood n stono mo$.que, whoso roof lenned back nt n steep angle against tho mountainside. It was n famous mosque In Its wuy, for tho bed sheet of tho Prophet Is known to hang In It, preserved against tho ravages of time and tho touch of Infidels by priceless Afghan rugs be fore and behind, so that It hnngs like a great thin sandwich hoforo tho rear stone wall. King had seen It. Toward tho mosquo tho one-eyed ritf' flan led the way, with tho long, leisurely-seeming gait of n mountaineer. At tho door, In the middle of tho end of tho street, ho paused and struck on tho lintel thrco times with his gun butt. And that was a strango proceeding, to say tho lenst, In u land whero tho mosquo Is public resting placo for homeless ones, und all tho "faithful' hnvo a right to enter. A mullah, shnven Uko n mummy for somo unnccountablo reason even his eyebrows and eyelashes hud been re movedpushed his hnro.hoad through the door and blinked at them. Thero was somo whispering und inoro star her By Talbot Mundy Copyright by tho Bobbs-Mcrrlll Company Ing, and nt Inst the mullah turned his buck. The door slammed. The one-eyed guide grounded his gun-butt on tho stone, nnd the procession wnlted, watched by the crowd thnt had lost Its Interest sufilclently to talk and Joke. In two minutes the mullnh returned nnd threw a mat over the threshold. It turned out to be the end of n long nar row strip that ho kicked and unrolled In front of him all across the floor of the mosque. After that It was not so astonishing that the horses and mules were nllowcd to enter. "Which proves I wns right nftcr nil 1" murmured King to himself. In a steel box at Slmln Is n mem orandum, made after his former visit to tho place, to the effect that the entrance Into Khinjnn caves might possibly bo Inside tho mosque. No- VACUO TnC "I Slew an Englishman!" body had believed It likely, and ho had not moro thun half favored It himself ; but It is good, even when tho next step may lead Into n death-trap, to soo one's first opinions confirmed. Ho nodded to himself ns the outer door slammed shut behind them, for thnt was another most unusual circum stance. A faint light shono through slltllkc windows, changing darkness Into gloom, nnd little moro than vaguely hinting nt the Prophet's bed sheet. But for a section of white wnll to cither sldo of It, the relic might hnve seemed part of the shadows. The mullnh stood with his back to It and beckoned King nearer. Ho appronched until ho could seo the pattern on tho covering rugs, and tho pink rims round tho mullah's hishless eyes. "Whot is thy desire?" tho mullah asked as a wolf might nsk what u lamb wants. "Audience with her I" King an swered", and showed tho gold bracelet on his wrist. The red eye-rims of tho mullah blinked a time or two, nnd though he did not salute the bracelet, as others hud invariably done, his manner un derwent a perceptlblo change. "That Is proof that sho knows thee. What Is thy name?" "Kurrara Khan, hakim." "Wo need thee In' Khlnjan caves 1 But none enter who havo not earned light to enter I Thero Is but ono key. Nnmo It!" King drew In his breath. Ho had hoped Ynsmlnl's talisman would prove to bo key enough. Tho nulls of his left hand nearly pierced tho palm, but ho smiled pleasantly. "Ho who would enter must slay n man before witnesses In tho teeth of written law I" ho said. "And thou?" "I slow an Englishman I" Tho bonst mado his blood run cold, but his ex pression was one of sinful pride. "Whom? When? Where?" "Athelstun King a British nrrflcer sent qn his way to theso 'Hills' to spy 1" It wns lke having spells cast on himself to order J "Where is his body?" "Ask tho vultures I Ask tho kites I" "And thy witnesses?" Hoping ngnln8t hope, King turned nnd waved his hand. As he did so, being quick-eyed, ho saw Ismull drive nn elbow homo into Darya Khnn's ribs, und cnught a quick lntcrchungo of whispers. "These men nro nil known to me," snld tho mullnh. "They hnvo right to enter here. They havo right to tes tify. Did ye seo him slay his mnn?" "Aye I" Hod Ismail, prompt as friend can be. "AyoP lied Darya Khan, fearful of Ismail's elbow. "Then enter!" snld tho priest re signedly, us one who admits a com uiuulcnut ngnlnst his better Judgment. He turned his buck on them so as to face tlio Prophet's bed shoot and tho rear wall, and in that uiiuuto u 1 ' W hairy hand gripped King's nrm from behind, nnd Ismail's voice hissed hot breathed in his car. "Beady of tongue I Ready of wit I Who told thee I would lie to save thy skin? Bo thy kismet ns thy courage, then but I am hers, not thy mnn! Hers, thou light of life though God knows I love theo!" The mullah seized the Prophet's bed Rhoet nnd Its covering rugs In both hands, with nbout ns much reverence as salesmen show for what they keep In stock. The whole lot slid to one side by menns of noisy rings on n rod. and n wnll lay bare, built of crudely cut but well laid blocks. It appeared to reach unbroken across the whole width of the mosque's Interior. On tho lloor lay u mallet, a pectfllar thing of bronze, cast In one piece, handle and all. The mullah took it In his hand and struck the stone lloor sharply onct then twice ngnln then three times then n dozen times In quick succession. The lloor rang hol low at that spot. After about u mlnuto thero came ono answering hammer stroke from beyond tho wall. Then the mullah laid tho mallet down nnd though King ached to pick It up and examtno It he did not dare. His business wus to at tract as little attention to himself as possible; and to that end ho folded his hands and looked 'reverent, ns If entering some Mecca of his dreams. Through his horn-rlmmed spectacles his eyes looked fur away aud dreamy. But It would huve been a mistake to suppose that a detail was escaping him. The Irregular lines In the masonry begun to be more pronounced. All ut once tho wnll shook and they gaped by an Inch or two, as happens when nn earthquake has shaken buildings without bringing anything down. Then an Irregular section of wall begun to move quite smoothly away from In front of him, leaving a gap through which eight men nbreast could havo marched a tunnel, split In two to right and left. Judging by the nnglo of tho two divisions they becumo one again before going very far. Tho mullah stood aside and mo tioned King to enter. But the one eyed thrust himself between Darya Khan and Ismull, pushed King asldo und took the lead. "Nay I" he said, "I am responsible to her." It wns the first time he had spoken nnd ho nppenred to resent the wnsto of words. Tho tunnel was pierced In twenty places In the roof for rlllo Are ; a score of men with enough ammunition could have held It forever agulnst an army. Tho guide led, and King followed him, filled with curiosity. "Many hnvo entered!" snng the lnshless mullah In a sing-song chant. "More have sought to enter I Somo who remained without were wisest! I count them! I keep count! Many went In! Not nil came out again by this road!" "Lead along, Charon !" King grinned. He needed somo sort of pleasantry to steady his nerves. But, even so, ho wondered what tho nerves of India would be like if her millions knew of this place. CHAPTER XI. The gnp closed up behind them und tho tunnel began to echo weirdly. Over their heads, at irregulnr intervuls, there were holes that if they led as King presumed Into caves above, left not an inch of all the long pnssago that could not hnve been swept by rlllo fire. It was Impregnable; for no nrtlllcry heavy enough to pound the mountain Into pieces could ever he dragged within range. Whatever hiding placo this entrance guarded could bo held forever, given food and cartridges 1 Tho tunnel wound to right and left Uko n snake, growing lighter and light er after each bend ; nnd soon their own din begun to be swallowed In n grenter ono that entered from tho farther end, After two sharp turns they camo out unexpectedly Into tho glaze of blue day, uenrly stunned by light and sound. A roar came up from below Uko that of an ocean In tho grip of a typhoon. When his wits recovered from the shock, King struggled with n wild de sire to yell, for before hliu was whut no servant of British India hud ever seen nnd lived to tell about, und that Is nn experience moro potent thnn un broken rum. They hud emerged from n round mouthed tunnel It looked already Uko a rabbit-hole, so huge wns tho cliff be hind on to n ledgo of rock that formed u sort of road along ono sldo of a mile-wide chasm. Abovo him, It seemed n mllo up, wns blue sky, to which limestone walls ran sheer, with scarcely a foothold that could bo seen. Beneath, so deep thnt eyes could not guess how deep, yawned tho stained gorgo of tho underworld, many-colored, smooth nnd wet. And out of n great, jugged silt In tho sldo of tho cliff, perhaps a thousand feet below them, thero poured down Into thunderous dimness n waterfall whoso breadth seemed not less than half a mile. It spouted seventy or eighty yards before it began to curve, and its din waa like the voice of nil cre ation. Ismail camo and stood by King In silence, taking his hand, as a little child might. Presently he stooped and picked up n stone and tossed It over. "Gone 1" he said simply. "That down there Is Earth's Drink I" "And this Is the 'Heart of tho Hills' men boast about?" "Nay! It Is not!" snapped Ismail. "Then, where" But the one-eyed guide beckoned Im patiently, nnd King led tho way after lilin, staring ns hakim or prisoner or any man had right to do on first nd mlssion to such wonders. Not to hnvo stared would have been to proclulm himself nn Idiot. They soon began to pass the mouths of caves. Some were abovo tho roud, now nnd then nt crazy heights ubovo It, reached by artlfltiut steps hewn out of tho stone. Others were below, reached from the rond by means of lad ders, thnt trembled and swnyed over tho dizzying waterfall. Most of the caves wcro Inhabited, for armed men and sullen women came to their en trances to stare. Ears grow nccustomcd to the sound of water sooner thnn to almost any thing. It wns not long before King's ears could cntch the patter of his men's foot following, nnd tho shod clink of tho mule. Ho could hear when Ismail whispered : "Be brave, little hakim! Sho loves fenrless men 1" At Inst tho guide halted, In the mid dle of a short steep slope where the path was less thnn'slx feet wide and a narrow cave mouth gave directly onto It "Bo content to rest here!" he said, pointing. "Thy cave?" asked King. "Nny. God's! I am the caretaker!" The '"Hills" are very pious and po lite, between tho acts of robbing nnd shedding blood. "AUnh, then, reward thee, brother!" answered King. "Allah give sight to thy blind eye! Allah give theo chil dren! AUnh give theo peace, and to nil thy house!" The guide salaamed, hnlf-mocklngly, half-wondering at such eloquence, paused in the passage to point Into the sldo caves that debouched to either hand, turned on his heel and stalked out of the cavern. It was the last King over saw of him. King turned back and looked Into the other caves saw the weary horso and mule fed, watered and bedded down took note of the running water that rushed out of a rock fissure and gurgled out of sight down another ono examined the servants' cave nnd snw that they had been amply provided with blankets. There wns nothing incit ing thnt the most exacting traveler could have demnnded at such a dis tance from civilization. There was more thnn the most exnctlng would huve dared expect. "Ismnil !" he shouted, and Jumped nt the revolver-crnckllko echo of his voice. Ismnil enme running. "Mnke the men enrry tho mule's packs Into this cave. You and Darya Khan stay here nnd help mo open them. Remember, yo nro both assist ants of Kurrjim Khan, tho hakim 1" "They will laugh ut us! They will laugh at us!" clucked Ismail, but ho hurried to obey, while King wondered who would lnugh. Within an hour a delegation camo from no less a person than Ynsminl herself, benrlng her compliments, nnd hot food snvory enough to mnke a brass Idol's mouth water. By this timo King had his sets of surgical Instru ments und drugs nnd bandages all laid out on ono of the beds nnd covered from view by n blanket. It wns only one more proof of the British army's everlasting luck thnt ono of the men, who set the great brass dish of food on the floor near King, had a swollen cheek, and that ho should touch tho swelling clumsily as "Does It Pain Thee, Brother?" Asked Kurram Khan, the Hakim. ho lifted his hnnd to shnke bnck n lock of greasy hair. There followed an oath Uko fllht struck on steel ten times In rapid succession. "Does It pnln thee, brother?" nsked Kurrnm Khan tho hakim. As a famous medicine man, Klna holds his first clinic among tho suffering natives of the Khln Jan country, and hears some lm portant news. (TO DE CONTINUED.)