Nebraska Newspapers

    THE 8EMI.WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
King
The Most Picturesque
CHAPTER XlVContlnued.
9
Rewa Gunga spoko truth In Delhi
when ho assured King he should eomo
day wonder at Yusmlnl's dancing.
Sho becamo Joy and bravery and
youth I Sho danced a story for them
of the things they knew. Sho was tho
dawn light, touching tho distant peaks.
Sho wob tho wind that follows It,
sweeping among the Junipers and kiss
lng each as Bho came. Sho was laugh
ter, as tho little children laugh when
tho cattlo nro loosed from tho byres at
last to feed In tho valleys. Sho was
the scent of spring uprising. Sho was
blossom. Sho was fruit 1 "Very daugh
ter of tho sparklo of warm sun on
enow, sho was tho "Heart of tho Hills"
herself I
Nover was such dnnclngl Never
such an audience 1 Never such mad
applause I Sho danced until tho great
rough guards had to run round tho
arena with clubbed butts and tent
buck trespasser? troflc? have
mobbed Imv. And nrcry movement
overr ariclous wondcr-curvo and step
with which sho told her tulo was as
purely Greek as tho handle on King's
kntfo and tho figures on tho lump-howls
And us tho bracelets on her urra.
Greek 1
And sho half-modern Russian, ex-Klrl-wlfo
of a seml-clvillzcd hill ru'Jnh t
Who taught her? Thcro Is nothing
mvr, evon In Khlnjan, In tho "Hills 1"
And when tho crowd defeated tho
lurena guards at last and burst through
too swinging butts to selzo licr and
fling her high nnd worship her with
eand barbaric rite, sho ran toward tho
shield. Tho four men raised It shoul
dcr high again. Sho went to It Uko
a leaf In tho wind sprang on It ns If
wings had lifted her, scarce touching
It with naked toes and leapt to tbo
Bridge with a laugh.
Sho went over tho brldgo on tiptoes,
like nothing clso under heuven but
Yasmlnl at her bowltchlngcst And
without pausing on tho far sldo sho
ganccd up tho hewn stono stairs, dived
Into tho dark holo and wqb gono I
"Oomo 1" yelled Ismail In King's ear.
could havo heard notlilng less, for
he cavorn was llko to burst apart
from the tumult
"Whither?" the Afrldl shouted lu
disgust. "Docs the wind ask whither?
Come llko tho wind and seol Thoy
MH rcmombor next tliat they havo a
fcoae to pick with tlico 1 Oomo nway I"
" That Boomed good enough advice. 116
Sallowed as fast as Ismail could shoul
or a way out between tho frantic hill
loon, deafened, stupefied, numbed, al
most cowed by tho ovation they wore
jiving tbo "Heart of their Hills."
CHAPTER XV.
As thoy disappeared after n scramblo
through tho mouth of tho samo tun
sol thoy had entered by, n roar went
hp behind tlicra llko tho birth of earth
tunkes. Looking back over his shoul
fler, King saw Yasmlnl como back Into
the bolo'B mouth, to stand framed In It
m& bow acknowledgment For tho
space of flvo minutes sho stood In tho
Never Was tuch Danclno.
"V
i . . . & i a
i aJkAar nnia un iimir ami nrnrniimrr win
, erowd below. Then sho went, nnd the
faards began to loose random volleys
at the roof and brought down hun
dredweights of splintered stalactite
Within a minute there wcro n hun
dred men busy sweeping up tho splin
ters. Is another minute twenty Zakka
fchels bad begun a eword danco, yell
ing like demons. A hundred Joined
them. In three minutes moro the
wholo arena was a dlnsing whirlpool,
and the river voice was drowned In
shouting and th stamping of naked
feet on stoae.
"Cornel" urged IeraalL and led the
way.
King's last Impression was of earth's
of the Khyber
By TALBOT MUNDY
Copyright by Th Dobbt-Mertlll Company
womb on flro nnd of hellions brewing
wrath. Tho stalactites and tho hurry
ing river multiplied tho dancing lights
Into n million, nnd tho great roof
hurled the din down again to make
confusion with the no7 din coming up.
Ismail went llko n rat down a run,
nnd It becamo so dark that King had
to follow by cor. Ho Imagined they
wcro running back toward tho Icdgo
under tho waterfall ; yet, when Ismail
called a halt at last, panting, groped
behind a great rock for n lamp and lit
tho wick with a common safety match,
they wcro In a envo ho had nover Been
before.
"Whero nro wo?" King asked.
"Whcro nono dure seek us. Art
thou afraid?" asked Ismail, holding
tho lamp to King's face.
"Kuch clnr iialiln hul 1" ho answered.
"There l no such thing ns fenrl"
Suddenly tho Afrldl blew tho lamp
out, and then tho darkness became
"riii '.Thought itself left off less thun
a yard nway.
"Ismnll 1" ho whispered. But Ismail
did not answer him.
no faced about, leaning against tho
rock, with tho flat of both hands
pressed tight against it for tho sake
of Its company; nnd almost at onco he
suw a llttlo bright red light glowing
In tho distance. It might havo been
below him ; It was perfectly impossible
to Judgo, for tho darkness was not
measurable.
"Flowers. turn to tho light I" droned
Ismail's volco nbovo sentcntlously, nnd
turning, ho thought ho could sco red
eyes peering over tho rock, no Jumped,
and mado a grab for tho flowing heard
that surely must bo below them, but
ho missed.
"Llttlo fish swim to tho light I"
droned Ismail. "Moths fly to tho
light I Who is a man that ho should
know less than they?"
Ho turned again and stnred at tho
light Dimly, very vaguely ho could
mako out that a causeway led down
ward from nlmost whcro ho stood. Ho
was convinced that should ho try too
climb back Ismail would mcroly reach
out a hand nnd shovo him down again,
and there wns no scuso in being put
to that indignity. Ho decided to go
forward, for there was oven less sonso
in stnndlng still. So ho stooped to
feel tho floor with his hand beforo
deciding to go forward. Thcro wns
no mistaking tho finish given by tho
trend of countless feet Ho wns on a
highway, and thcro nro not often pit
falls whoro so many foot havo been.
For all that ho went forward as a
cortaln Agag onco did, and It was
many minutes beforo ho could seo n
certain glowing blood-red In tho light
behind two lamps, at tho top of n flight
of ten stono steps. When ho went
qulto closo ho Baw carpet down tho
mlddlo of tho steps, so ancient that
tho stono showed through in places;
nil tho pattern, supposing It over hnd
any, wns worn or faded away. Carpet
nnd 'steps glowed red too. His own
fnco, nnd tho hands ho hold in front
of him wero red-hot-poker color. Yet
outsldo tho llttlo clllpso of light tho
durkness looked llko a thing to lean
ngalnst, nnd tho stlcnco was so intenso
that ho. could hear tho artorlos Blng
Ing by his cars.
Ho saw tho curtains movo slightly,
apparently In n llttlo puff of wind that
mado tho lamps waver. Then ho walked
up tho steps and at tho top ho stooped
to oxnmlno tho lamps.
Thoy wcro bronze, cost, polished and
graved. All round tho clrcuraferenco
of each bowl wero figures in half-
relief, representing n woman dancing.
Sho wns tho womnn nf thn Imtfn.MU
and of tho lamps In tho nrenn I But no
two figures of tho danco wcro alike.
It was tho Bamo woman dancing, but
tho artist hnd chosen twenty differ
ent poses with which to lmmortallzo
his skill, and hers. Both lnmps burned
sweet oil with a wick, nnd each had
a chimney of horn, not ut all uullko
a modern lump chimney. Tho horn
wns stnlncd red.
As ho set tho sccoud Inmn down ho
becamo nwaro of a subtle, Interesting
smell, and memory took him bnck at
onco to Ynsmlnl's room In tho Ohnndnl
Chowk in Dolhl whoro ho hnd smelted
It first It was tho peculiar scent ho
hnd been told wns Yasmlnl's own n
blend of scents, llko a chord of music,
in which musk uia not predominate.
Ho took three strides and touched
tho curtains, discovering now for tho
first time that thero wero two of them,
divided down tho middle. They wero
of leather, and though thoy looked old
ns tho "Hills" themselves, tho leather
was supplo as good cloth,
"Kurrara Khan ha! I" ho announced.
But tho cchb wns tho only nnswor.
There was no sound beyond tho cur-
tnlns. With his heart In his mouth ho
parted them with both hands, startled
by tho sharp Janglo of metal rings on
n rod.
So ho stood, with arms outstretched,
staring staring staring with eyes
skilled Bwlftly to tako in dotalls, but
with a brain that tried to explain
formed a hundred wild suggestions
nnd then reeled, Ho wna faco to faco
with tho unexplnlnable tho rlddlo of
Khlnjnn caves.
Tho leather curtains slipped through
his fingers and closed behind him with
Romance of the
the clash of rings on n rod. But ho
was beyond being Btartled. Ho was
not really sure ho was In tho world.
Ho wns not certain whether It was tho
twentieth century, or 55 B. 0., or ear
lier yet ; or whether time had ceased.
The place whero ho was did not
look llko n cave, but a palace chamber,
for tho rock walls hud been trimmed
Bquaro nnd polished smooth ; then they
hud been painted puro white, except
for n wldo Dluo frieze, with n line of
gold leaf drawn underneath It. And
on tho frieze, done In gold-leaf too,
was the Grecian lady of tho lamps,
always dancing. Thero wcro fifty or
sixty figures of her, no two nllke.
A dozen lumps were burning, set In
niches cut In tho walls at measured
Intervnls. They wcro exactly llko tho
two outsldo, except that their horn
chimneys wcro Btnlned yellow instead
of red, suffusing everything In n golden
glow.
Opposite him was u curtain, rather
llko that through which ho hnd en
tered. Near to tho curtain was n bed,
wnoso great woouen posts were
cracked with age. In splto of Its age
It was spread with flnenew linen.
VtAvnx
(AlrVM
On It, Above the Linen, a Man and a
Woman Lay Hand In Hand.
Richly embroidered, not very ancient
Indian draperies hung down from it
to tho floor on clthor Bide. On It,
nbovo tho linen, a man nnd a woman
lay hand In hand, and tho woman was
so exactly llko Ynsmlnl, oven to her
clothing und her naked foot, that It
was not posslblo for n mnn to bo self
possessed. They both seemed asleep. It was
minutes beforo ho satisfied himself
that tho man's breast did not rlso and
fnll under tho bronzo Roman armor
and that tho woman's Jeweled gauzy
stuff was still. Imnatnntlon nlnved
such tricks with him that In the still
ness ho Imagined ho heard breathing.
After ho wus suro thov wero hoth
dead, ho Went neurcr, but it wns n
mmuto yet beforo ho know tho woman
wns not sho. At first n wild thought
possessed him that sho had killed her-
BOlf.
Tho only thing to show who bo hnd
been wero tbo letters S. P. Q. It. on fl
great plumed helmet, on n llttlo tablo
by tbo bed. But sho was tbo womnn
of the lamp-bowlB and tho frieze. A
ure-Bizo stono stntno in a corner was
so llko her. nnd llko Ynsmlnl too. thnt
It wns dlfllcult to decldo which of tho
two It represented.
Sho hnd lived when ho did. for hop
fingers wcro locked In his. And ho
hud lived two thousand years ago, be
cuuso his armor was about as old as
that, and for proof that ho hnd died
In it pnrt of bis breast bad turned to
powder Ineldo tho brcnstnluto. Tim
rest of his body was wholo and per
fectly preserved.
Stern, hnndsomo In n hiph.iinni.-pri
Ilomnu way, gray on tbo temples, firm
lipped, ho lay llko an emperor In hnr
ness. But tho prldo nnd resolution on
his fnco wcro outdono by tho serenity
of hers. Very surely those two hnd
been lovcr.
Both of them looked voumr nnd
healthy tho woman younger than
tmrty twenty-uvo at n guess and
tho man perhaps forty, perhaps forty
five. Every stitch of tho man's cloth
ing hud decuyed, so that his armor
rested on tho naked skin, extent for n
dressed leather kilt about his middle.
Tho leather was as old as tho curtains
at tho entranco, nnd ns well prosorved.
But tho woman's silked clothing was
ns now as tho beddlug. Yet, they both
died about tho snmo time, or how could
their Angers havo been Interlaced?
And Bomo of tho Jewelry on tho wom
an's clothes was very ancient ns well
ns priceless.
no looked closer at tho finuom tar
signs of forco nnd suddenly cntieht his
breath. Under the woman's Almsy
sleovo was n wrought gold bracelet,
smaller thnn that ono ho himself hnd
worn In Delhi and up tho Khyber. Ho
raised tho loose slccvo to look moro
closely at It, and 'tho movement laid
V TV v
Rifles
Decade
bare another bracelet, on tho man's
right wrist. Size for size, this wns tho
snmo 08 tho ono that had been stolen
from himself.
Memory nromntcd him. no folt itn
outer edge with a Anger nail. Thero
wns tno nttio nick that ho had mado
in the soft cold when ho struck It
ngalnst tho cell bars In tho Jail at tho
Mir Man palace I lie touched tho
gold. It was warm. Do repeated tho
test on tho woman's wrists. Hers wns
warm, too. Both bracelets had been
worn by a living being within nn
nour "
Ho muttered nnd frowned In thought
nnd then suddcnlv iumncri hnokwnrd
Tho leather curtain nenr tho bed hud
moved on Its bronze rod.
"Ari't thoy denrs?" n volco said In
English behind him. "Aren't they
sweet?"
Yasmlnl stood not two arms' lengths
away, 'lovelier than tho ilnnd womnn
because of the merry life In her, young
unu warm, aglow, but looking llko the
dead woman und tho womnn of tho
frieze the woman of the lump-bowls
tho statue como to life, speaking to
him In English more sweetly than If
It hnd been her mother tongue. The
Jiingnsii nbuse their lnneunce. Yns
mini caressed It und mado it do its
work twice over.
Being dressed ns a native, ho
sninnmeu lew. Knowing him for what
ho was, sho cave him tho Ronnn-
stained tips of her warm Angers to
kiss, nnu no thought sho trembled
when he touched them. But a second
inter Bho had snatched them away and
wns treating him to raillery.
"Man of pills nnd blisters I" sho said,
"tell mo how thoso bodies nrn nro-
served 1 Spill knowledge from that
icarnea skuii or thine I"
Ho did not nnswer. IIo iipvpp simnn
In conversation nt any time, having
mnuo ns many friends ns enemies by
snylng nothing until tho spirit moves
him. But sho did not know thnt yet.
"If I knew for ccrtuln why those
two am not turn to worms," sho went
on, "nlmost I would choose to die now,
whllo I am benutlfull What would
they sny, think you, King sahib, If
thoy found us two dead beside thoso
two apeak, man, speak I Has Khln
Jun struck you dumb?"
But ho did not sneak. Ho wns stnr.
lng at her arm, where two whitish
marus on tho skin betrayed that brace
lets nnu been.
"Oh, thoso I They nro theirs. I
would not rob tho dead, or tho gods
wouiu turn on me. I robbed von. in
stead, whllo you slept Flo, King sa
mo, wuiio you sleptr
But her steel did not Btrlko on flint
It was her oves thnt flnshod. Ho wnnld
havo dono better to havo seemed
ashamed, for then ho might have
fooled her. at least for a while. Rnt
having Judged himself, ho did not care
a ug ror ncr Judgment of him. Sho
realized that Instantly nnd hnvlncr
found n tool that would not work,
discarded It for a better one. Sho
grow coufldentlnl.
"I borrow them," sho cxplulned,
"but I put them back. I tako them
for so many days, and when tho dny
comes tho gods llko U3 to ho rnrt!
You wero near death when I took tlio
bracelet last night Tho tlmo wus up.
I would havo stabbed you if you hnd
tried to prevent mel"
NOW ho SDOko at Inst nnd pnvn hop
n Arst gllmpso of an undo of his mind
sho had not suspected.
"Princess." ho Bald. Ho nsod tho
word with tho deference, noma men pnn
combine with effrontery, so thnt very
icnuerncss nns barbs, ''xou might
hnvo hnd that tiling back if you had
sent n messenger for It nt any time.
A word by a servant would huvo been
enough."
"You could nover hnvo reached
Khlnjnn then I" sho retorted. Her eyes
uasncu again, but His did not waver.
"Princess." ho snld. "whv snonk of
what you don't know?"
Ho thought sho would strike llko a
snnke, but sho smiled at him Instead.
Aim wuen Yasmlnl has smiled on n
mnn ho has never been lust thn nnmn
man afterward, ne knows more, for
ono thing. Ho has had a lesson In
ono of tho finer arts.
"I will sneak of what I do know."
sho said. "No, thcro Is no need. Look I
Look I"
Sho Pointed nt tho bed nt thn mnn
on tho bed flncers locked in thoso of
a womnn who looked bo llko herself.
Ho looked, knowinc well thero wns
something to bo understood, thnt
stared hlra In tho face. But for the
llfo of him ho could not determlno
question or answer.
"What Is In your bosom?" eho
asked him.
Ho put his hand to his shirt.
"Draw it out 1" she said, as a teacher
drills a child.
Ho drew out tho cold-hllted kntfn
with tho bronzo blnde, with which a
man hnd meant to murder him. He let
It llo on tbo palm of bis bund nnd
looked from It to her nnd bnek nirnln.
Tho hilt might havo been a portrait of
Her modeled from tho life.
"Hero Is another Uko It." sho mild
stepping to the bedside. Sho drow back
tbo woman's dress at tho bosom and
showed a knlfo exactly llko that in
King's hand. "Ono lay on her bosom
and ono on his when I found them I"
sho snld. "Now, think ngnlnl"
Ho did think, of thirty thousand pos
sibilities, nnd of one Impossible Idea
that stood up prominent among them
nil nnd Insisted on seeming the only
likely one.
"I saw tho knife In your bosom last
night," sho said, "nnd laughed so that
I nearly wakened you."
"Why didn't you take It with the
bracelet?" King asked her, holding it
out. "Tako It now. I doii'Uwnnt It."
Sho ncccpted It nnd laid It on the
mun's bronzo armor. Then, however,
she resumed It and played with It.
"Look aguln 1" sho snld. "Think and
look ngnlnl"
Ho looked, nnd he knew now. But
ho still preferred thnt sho should tell
him, und his lips shut tight
"Cnn you guess why I changed my
mind about you wise man?"
Sho looked from him to the man on
tho bed and buck to him ugaln. Hav
ing solved the riddle, King had leisure
to bo Interested in her eyes, nnd
watched them analytically, llko a Jew
eler appraising diamonds. They were
Btrnngely reminiscent, but much moro
changcnblo and colorful thun any he
had ever seen. They had tho burning
trick of changing whllo ho watched
them.
"Having sent u man to kill you, why
did I ceaso to want to kill you? In
stead of losing you on the wuy to Khln
jnn, why did 1 run risks to protect
you nfter you reached here? .Why did
I suvo your llfo In tho Cavern of
Earth's Drink tonight? You do not
know yet? Then I will tell you some
thing else you do not know. I wns in
Delhi when you were I I watched and
listened while you and Itcwa Gunga
talked In my house I I wus In Rewu
Gunga's currlago on the train that ho
took und you did not I I huvo learned
nt first bund that you are not a fool.
But that was not enough I You had to
bo three things clover nnd brnvo and
ono other. The ono other you nrel
Bravo you hnvo proved yourself to
be I Clever you must be, to trick your
way Into Khlnjan caves, even with
Ismail at your elbow 1 That Is why
I saved your life because you aro
thoso two things nnd nnd ono
other I"
Sho snatched a mirror from a llttlo
Ivory table a modern mirror bad
glass, bad art, bad workmanship, but
silver warranted.
"Look In it and then nt him I" she
ordered.
But ho did not need to look. Tho
man on tho bed was not so much like
himself as tho woman was llko her,
but tho resemblanco seemed to grow
under his eyes. King wns tho taller
nnd tho younger by several years, but
tho noses wero the same, and tho
wrinkled foreheads ; both men had the
samo firm mouth; both looked llko
Romans.
CHAPTER XVI.
"Athelstan!"
Sho pronounced his given namo as
If sho loved tho word, standing straight
again nnd looking into his eyes. There,,
wero high lights In hers that out
gleamed tho diamonds on her dress.
"Your gods nnd mlno have dono tills,
Athelstan. When tho gods comblno
thoy lay plans well indeed 1"
"I only know ono God," ho answered
simply, as n man speaks of tho deep
things In his heart.
"I know of many I They lovo mo I
They shall love you, tool Many are
better than onol You shall learn to
know my gods, for wo nro to bo part
ners, you and 1 1"
Sho took his hand again, her eyes
burning with excitement nnd mysti
cism nnd ambition llko a fever. Sho
seemed to tako moro than physical pos
session of him.
"What brought them hero? Tell mo
that!" sho demanded, pointing to tho
bed. "You think bo brought her?
VAUrtrrAJC-
"Can You Guess Why 1 Chanaed My
Mind About You Wise Man?"
tell you sho was tho spur that drove
him ! Is It a wonder thnt men called
her tho 'Henrt of tho Hills?' I found
them ten years ago and clothed her
and put new linen on their bed, for the
old was all rags and dust Thero havo
always been hundreds nnd sometimes
thousands who knew tho secret of
khlnjan enves, but this has been a
secret within n secret. Someone, who
knew the secret beforo I, sawed those
bracelets through und fitted hinges
nnd clasps. Tho men you saw in tho
Cnvcraj, of Earth's Drink havo no
doubt I am tbo 'Heart of tbo Hills'
como to llfo I They shall know thee
us him within a llttlo while!"
She held his hand a llttlo tighter and
pressed closer to him, laughing softly.
He stood as If mado of Iron, nnd that
only mndo her laugh the more.
"Tales of tho 'Henrt of tho Hills'
havo puzzled the raj, haven't they,
these many years? They sent me to
find tho sourco of them. Mo I They
choso well I Thcro nro not many llko
me t I hnvo found this ono dead wom
an who was like me. And In ten years,
until you came, I hnvo found no man
llko hlml"
She tried to look into his eyeo, bat
he frowned straight in front of aim.
Ills native costumo and Rangar turbaa
did not mako him seem any less a
man. His Jowl, thnt wns beginning to
need shaving, wns as grim and as sat
isfying as tbo dead Roman's. She
stroked his left hand with BOft fingers.
"I used to think I know how to
dnncol" sho laughed. "For ten years
I have taken thoso pictures of hor for
my model nnd have striven to learn
what sho knew. I hnvo surpassed her I
I used to think I knew how to amuse
myself with men's dreams until I
found this 1 Then I dreamed on my,
own account 1 My dream was true, my
warrior I You havo come! Our hour
has como I"
Sho tugged at his hand. Ho was
hers, bouI and harness, if outward
signs could prove It
"Cornel" she said. "Is this my hos
pitality? You nro weary nnd hungry.
Como 1"
Sho led him by tho hand, for it
would havo needed brute forco to pry
her fingerc loose. Sho drew aside tho
leather curtain that hung on n bronzo
rod near the bed, led him through It,
nnd let It clash to again behind them.
Now they wero In the dark together,
nnd It wns not comprehended In her
scheme of things to lot circumstance
llo fallow. She prpssed his hand, and
sighed, nnd then hurried, whispering
tender words he could scarcely catch.
When they burst together through a
curtain at the other end of a passago
in tho rock, his skin was red under
the tnn nnd for the first time her eyes
refused to meet hlo.
"Why did they choose thnt cave to
sleep in?" sho asked him. "Is not this
n better one? Who laid them there?"
Ho stared about Thoy were in a
great room far moro splendid than the
first There was a great fountain in
the center splashing In the midst ol
flowers. They were cut fiowers. The
"Hills" must havo been scoured for
them within a day.
Thero wero great cushioned couches
nil nbout and two thrones made of
Ivory and gold. Between two couches
was n table, laden with golden plates
and n golden Jug, on pure whlto linen.
Thero wero two goblets of beaten gold
and knives with golden handles and
bronzo blades. Tho wholo room
seemed to bo drenched In tbo scent
Ynsmlnl favored, and thero wns the
samo frieze running round nil foui
walls, with tbo woman depicted on II
dancing.
"Come, we shall eat I" sho said, leadi
lng him by the hand to a couch. She
took tbo ono facing him, nnd they las
llko two Romans of tho emplro with
tbo tablo In between.
Sho struck a golden gong then, and'
a natlvo womnn camo In, who stare,'
at King as if she had seen him boforq
and did not like him. Yasmlnl nodded
to tho servant, who clappe.d her hands,
At onco camo n stream of hlllmen,
robed in white, who carried sherbet In
bottles cooled in snow and dishes fra
grant with hot food. "Ho recognized
his own prisoners from tho Mir Khan
Palace Jail, and nodded to them as
they set tho things down under the
maid's direction. When thoy had fln
ished eating Ynsmlnl drove tho mnld
nwny with a sharp word; ho brought
an Ivory footstool nnd set it about a
yard awny from her waxen toes. And
she, watching him with burning eyes,
wound tresses of her hair around the
golden dagger handle, making her Jew
els glitter with each movement
"Tho gods of India, who aro the only
real gods, what do they think of it all 1
They havo been good to tho English,
but they havo had no thanks. They
will stand asldo now and watch a
greater Jihad than tbo world has over
seen I I love them, and they lovo me
as you Bhall lovo me, too I If they did
not love both of us, we would not both
bo here I We must oboy theml"
Nono of the East's amazing ways of
courtship nro over tedious. Lovo
springs into being on an Instant hnd
lives a thousand years insldo an hour.
Sho left no doubt as to her meaning.
Sho nnd King wero to lovo, as tho East
knows love, and then tho world might
havo Just what they two did not euro
to tako from It
His only possible course as yet wns
the defensive, nnd there Is no defense
llko silence. He was still.
"Tho slrkar," sho went on, "tho silly
slrkar fears that perhaps Turkey may
enter tho war. Perhaps a Jihad may
bo proclaimed. So much for fear I I
know I I hnvo known for a very long
tlmo 1 And I havo not let fear trouble
me at all I"
Her eyes wero on his steadily, and
sho read no fear In his, either, for nono
was there. In hers he saw nmhitinn
trlumph already excitement the
gamblers lovo of all tho hugest risks.
Behind them burned genius nnd th
devilry that would stop nt nothing. As
tho general had told him In Peshnwm.
she would daro open hades gate and
nuo mo uevu uown the Khyber for
me tun oi it.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Crushed Possibilities.
Jones, the cub reporter.
ho looked as melancholy ns a fat man
can wnen ue entered tho city editor's
ofllcc.
"Why was my Btorv idiir.,n
- v f x v Uv
asked gloomily.
"An act of mercy." snld tho odi
- Si
'1
13 i M',
"You fell down on it first"
"1