Uf
RED OLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
I4f
' IV
King of the Khyber
MxiriCS A Romance of Adventure
KING SEES YASMINI FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN SHE
COMES TO DANCE BEFORE THE THOUSANDS OF
WARRIORS ASSEMBLED IN THE CAVERN
8ynopils. At the beginning of the world war dipt. Athelstun
King of tho British Indian urmy and of Its secret Hervlce, Ih ordered
to Delhi to meet Ynsmlnl, a dunccr, and goes with her to Khlnjan to
meet the outluws there who are said by spies to bo preparing for a
jthnd or holy war. On his way to Delhi King quietly foils u plan to.
assassinate him and gets evldenco that Yastnlnl Is after him. He meets
Ilewa Gnngn, Yusmlnl's man, who says she hus ulready gone north,
and at tier town house witnesses queer dances. Ismail, an Afrldl, be
comes his body servant and protector. He rescues somn of Yasmlnl's
hlllmon and takes them north with him, tricking the Itangar Into going
ahead. The Ilungur deserts him nt u dangerous time. He meets his
brother at All MasJId fort. The disguise he assumes there fools even
tho sharp-eyed cutthroats composing his guard. Ho enters Khlnjan
caves, thanks to his lying guides, and at a clinic hears of an Impending
revolt led by Bull-Wlth-n-Bcnrd, and goes to n meeting In the cavern.
CHAPTER XII. Continued.
"Aye I Tho liar says tho Germans
gave It to him. Ho swears they will
lend more. Who aro tho Germans?
vTho la a man who talks of a jihad that
la to be, that he should havo gold coin
ttven htm by unbelievers? I saw a
German once, at Nuklao. Ho nto pig
tneat and washed It down with wine.
Aro such men sons of tho Prophet?
v7alt and watch, sny II"
"Money?" said King. "And should
ao mora money come?"
This was courteous conversation and
received as such many a long league
removed from curiosity.
Who am I to foretell a man's kls
net? I know what I know, and I think
what I think I I know thee, hakim, for
a gentle fellow, who hurt mo almost
aot at all In tho drawing of a bullet
at of my flesh. What knowest thou
about me?"
"That I will dress the wound for
thee again I"
Artless statements aro as useful In
their way aa artless questions. Let
the guile lie deep, that Is all.
"Nay, nay I For she said nay I Shall
I fall foul of her, for the snlco of a new
bandage?"
The temptation was terrific to ask
why she had given that order, but King
resisted It; and presently It occurred
to tho Pathan that his own theories on
the subject might be of Interest
"She will use thee for a reward," ho
aid. "He who shall win and keep her
Dtflcnw
VAtXAHWt-
A Wretched-Looklnu Seluchl Wat
Thrust Forward at a Run, With
Arms Lathed to Hit 8ldea.
favor may have his hurts dressed and
his belly dosed. Her enemies may rot."
"Does aho call tho mullah Muham
mad Anim enemy?" King asked him.
"Nay, she never mentions him by
uune.M
CHAPTER XIII.
Tho dance went on for fifteen min
utes yet, but then qulto unexpectedly
all the arena guards together fired a
volley at tho roof, and tho dnnco
stopped as If every dancer had been
hit Panting foaming at tho mouth,
tome of them the dancers ran to their
teats and set tho crowd surging again,
leaving tho arena empty of all but tho
guards.
Now a man stood up near tho edge
of tho crowd whom King recognized;
and recognition brought no Joy with It.
Tho mullah without hair or eyelashes,
who had admitted him nnd his party
thrcrgh tho mosquo Into tho caves,
strode out to tho mlddlo of tho arena
all nlone, strutting and swnggcrlng. no
recalled tho man's lust words and drow
no consolation from them, cither.
"Many hnvo entered 1 Somo went
out by a different road P
Cold chills went down his back. All
at once Ismail's manner becamo uncn
couraglng. Ho ceased to mako a fuss
over the dancer and began to eye King
eldowlse, until at last ho seemed un
iblo to .contain tho malice that would
well forth. (
"At tho gato there were only words I"
7 xsri A
S 7 IW
I IJ
By TALBOT MUNDY
Copyright by tht Bobb-Mmlll Conipany
he whispered. "Here In this cavern
men wait for proof l"
Ho licked his teeth suggestively, as
n wolf docs when he contemplates a
meal. Then, as an afterthought, as
though ashamed, "I love thee I Thou
art a man after my own heart 1 But I
am her man 1 Walt and see 1"
The mullah In the arena, blinking
with his lashlcs9 eyes, held both arms
up for Bllcnco in the attitude of a
Christian priest blessing a congrega
tion. The great cavern grow still, nnd
only the river could bo heard sucking
hungrily between the smooth stone
banks.
"God Is great 1" the mullah howled.
Tho crowd thundered In echo to him;
and then tho vnult took up the echoes.
"And Muhammad Is his prophet 1"
howled tho mullah. Instantly they an
swered him again. "His prophet Is
his prophet Is his prophet I" said the
stalactites, In loud bnrks then In mur
murs then In awe-struck whispers.
That Beempd to be nil the religious
ritual Khlnjan remembered or could
tolerate. Considering that tho mullah,
too, must havo killed his man In cold
blood before earning tho right to bo
there, pcrhnps It was enough too
much. There were men not far from
King who' shuddered.
"There nre strangers 1" announced
tho mullah, as a man might say, "I
smell n rat 1" But he did not look at
anybody In particular; ho blinked at
tho crowd.
"Bring them t" ho shouted, nnd King
suppressed n shudder for what proof
hid he of right to bo there, beyond Is
mail's verbal corroboration of n lie?
Would Ismail lie for him ngain? he
wondered. And If so, would the lie be
any use?
Not far from where King sat there
was an Immediate disturbance In tho
crowd, and n wretched-looking Baluchi
wts thmst forward nt n run, with arms
lashed to his sides and n pitiful look
of terror on his face. Two more Ba
luchls were hustled along after him,
protesting a little, but looking almost
as hopeless.
Onco in the arena, the guards took
chargo of all three of them and lined
them up facing tho mullah, clubbing
them with their rifle-butts to get quick
er obedience. The crowd began to be
noisy again, but the mullah signed for
silence.
"These are traitors l" he howled, and
his volco was like a wolfs at hunting
time. "Hear, and bo warned 1"
Tho crowd grew very still, but King
saw that somo men licked their lips,
as If they well knew what was coming.
"These thrco men came, and ono was
n now man I" tho mullah howled. "Tho
other two wero his witnesses I All
three sworo that tho first man camo
from slaying an unbeliever In tho teeth
of written law. They Bald ho ran from
tho law. So, as tho custom is, I let all
threo enter 1"
"Good I" said tho crowd. "Goodl"
They might havo been five thousand
Judges, Judging In equity, so grave they
were. Yet they licked their lips.
"But later, word camo to mo saying
they aro liars. So again as tho cus
tom Is I ordered them bound and
held I Does any speak for them?"
"Speak for them?" said tho roof.
There was silence. Then thero was
a murmur of astonishment. Over op
posite to where King sat tho mullah
stood up, who tho Pathan had said
was "Bull-wlth-u-beard" Muhammad
Anim.
"Tho men aro mlnol" ho growled,
nis volco was like a benr's at bay; It
was low, but It carried strangely. And
as ho spoko ho swung his great head
between his shoulders, llko n bear that
means to charge. "Tho proof they
brought has been stolen I They had
good proof I I Bpenk for them I Tho
men aro mlnol"
Tho Pathan nudged King In tho ribs
with an elbow llko a club and tickled
his ear with hot breath.
"Bull-wlth-u-benrd speaks truth 1" ho
grinned. "Truth nnd a llo together I
Good may It do him and them I They
die, they three Baluehlsl"
"Proof l" howled tho mullah who had
no hair or oyulushes.
"Proof I Show us proof l" yelled tho
crowd.
Tho Pathan next King leaned over to
whisper to him again, but stiffened In
the act. There was a great gasp the
samo Instant, as tho whole crojvd
caught Its breath nil together. Tho
mullah In tho mlddlo froze Into Im
mobility. Bull-wlth-a-beard stood
mumbling, swaying his great head from
sldo to side, no longer suggestive of u
bear about to charge, but of one who
hesitates.
The crowd was staring at tho end of
the bridge. King stnred, too, and
caught his own breath. For Yasmlnl
stood there, smiling on them all ns the
new moon smiles down on the Khyber 1
She hud come among them llko a spirit,
all unheralded.
So much more beautiful than the one
likeness King had seen of her that for
n second he doubted who she was, she
stood there, human nnd warm and real,
who had begun to seem a' myth, clad
In guuzy silk transparent stuff, that
mado no secret of sylphltke shapeli
ness and looking nearly light enough to
blow away. Her feet and they were
the most mnrvelously molded things
he had ever seen wero naked and
played restlessly on tho naked stone.
Not ono part of her was still for a
fraction of a second ; yet tho whole ef
fect was of Insolently lazy ease.
Her eyes blazed brighter than the lit
tle jewels stitched to her gossamer
dress, and when a man onco looked at
them he did not find It easy to look
away again. Even mullah Muhammad
Anim seemed transfixed, llko a great
foolish animal.
But King was staring very bard in
deed at something else mentally
cursing the plain glass spectacles he
wore, that had begun to film over and
dim his vision. Thero were two brace
lets on her arm, both barbaric things
of solid gold. The smaller of tho two
was on her wrist and the larger on her
upper arm, but they were bo alike, ex
cept for size, and so exactly like the
one Ilewa Gunga had gtven him In her
name and thnt had been stolen from
him In the night, that he ran the risk
of removing the glasses a moment to
stare with unimpeded eyes. Even then
the distance was too great. He could
not quite see.
But her eyes began to search the
crowd In his direction, and then he
knew two things absolutely. He was
sitting where sho had ordered Ismail
to place him ; for sho picked him out
almost Instantly, nnd laughed as If
somebody had struck a silver bell. And
ono of those bracelets was the one that
he had worn; for she flaunted It nt
him, moving her arm so thnt the light
should make the gold glitter.
Then, perhaps because tho crowd
had begun to whisper, and she wanted
all attention, sho raised both arms to
toss back the golden hair that came
cascading nearly to her knees. And as
If tho crowd knew thnt symptom well,
It drew Its breath In sharply and grew
very still.
"Muhammad Anim!" she said, and
sho might have been wooing him.
"That was a devil's trick 1"
It was rather an astounding state
ment, coming from lovely lips in such
a setting. It was rather suggestive of
a driver's whiplash, flicked through the
air for a beginning. Muhammad Anim
continued glaring and did not answer
nor, so In her own good time, when she
had tossed her golden hair back once
or twlco again, sho developed her
meaning.
"Wo who aro freo of Khlnjan caves
do not send men out to bring recruits.
Wo know better than to bid our men
tell lies for others nt tho gate. Nor,
seeking proof for our new recruit, do
wo send men to hunt a head for him
not even those of us who havo n lash
kar that wo call our own, mullah Mu
hnmmad Anim I Each of us earns his
own way In I"
Tho mullah Muhammad Anim began
to stroke his beard, but ho mado no an
swer. "And mullah Muhammad Anim,
thou wandering man of God when
that lashkar has foolishly been sent
and has failed, is It written In tho Knla
mullah saying wo should pretend thero
was n head, and that tho head was
stolen? A Ho is n He, Muhammad
Anim I Wandering perhaps Is good, if
In search of tho way. Is It good to
lose tho way, and to He, thou true fol
lower of the Prophet?"
Sho smiled, tossing her hair back.
Her eyes challenged, her lips mocked
him and her chin scorned. Tho crowd
breathed hard and watched. Tho mul
lah muttered something In his benrd,
and sat down, and tho crowd began to
roar npplauso at her. But she checked
It with n regal gesture, and a glanco
of contempt nt tho mullah that wus
idono worth n journey across tho
"Hills" to see.
"Guards l" sho said quietly. And
tho crowd's sigh then was like tho night
wind In a forest.
"Away with thoso threo of Muham
mad Anlm's men l"
Twelvo of tho arena guards threw
down their shields with n sudden clat
ter nnd seized tho prlsonors, four to
each. Tho crowd shivered with de
licious anticipation. Tho doomed men
neither struggled nor cried, for fatal-
Ism Is an anodyne oh well as an explo
sive. King set his teeth. Ynsmlnl, with
both blinds behind her head, continued
to smile down on them all as sweetly
as tho stars shine on a battlefield.
She nodded once; and then all was
over In a minute. With u tinging "Ho I"
and a run, the guards lifted their vic
tims shoulder high nnd bore them for
ward. At tho river bunk they paused
for n second to swing them. Then, with
another "Hoi" they threw them like
dead rubbish Into the swift black wa
ter. There was only one wild scream that
went echoing nnd re-echoing to tile
roof, There was scarcely a splash,
and no extra ripple at all. No heads
camo up again to gasp. No fingers
clutched nt the surface. The fearful
speed of tho river sucke'd tlicm under,
to grind nnd churn and pound them
through long caverns underground and
hurl them nt last over the great cata
ract toward the middle of tho world.
"Ah-h-h-h-h 1" Blghcd tho crowd In
ecstasy.
"Is there no other stranger?" asked
Ynsndnl, searching for King ngain with
her amazing eyes. Tho skin nil down
his back turned there and then Into
gooseflesh. And as her eyes met his
she laughed like a bell at him. She
knew I She knew who he was, how he
had entered, and how be felt. Not a
doubt of it I
CHAPTER XIV.
"Kurrntn Khan 1" the lnshless mullah
howled, like n lono wolf In the moon
light, nnd King stood up. In that grim
minute he managed to seem about as
much at case as a native hakim ought
to feci at such an initiation.
"Come forward I" the mullah howled,
and he obeyed, trending gingerly be
tween men who were at no pnlns to let
him by, and silently blessing them, be
cause ho was not renlly In any hurry
at all. Yasmlnl looked lovely from a
distance, and life was sweet.
"Who nre his witnessed?"
"II" shouted Ismail, jumping up.
"II" cracked tho roof. "II II" So
that for a second King almost believed
ho hud a crowd of men to swear for
him nnd did not hear Darya Khan at
all, who rose from n place not very far
behind where he had sat.
Ismail followed him in a hurry, like
n man wading a river with loose
clothes gathered in one arm and the
other nrm rendy in case of falling.
Darya Khan did not go so fast As he
forced his way forward a roan passed
him up the wooden box that King had
used to stand on ; he seized It In both
hnnds with a grin and a Jest and went
to stand behind King nnd Ismail, In
line with the 1 ashless mullah, facing
Yasmlnl. Ynsmlnl smiled at them all
as If they were actors In her comedy,
and she well pleased with them.
"Look ye!" howled the mullah.
"Look ye and look well, for this is to
be one of us!"
King felt' ten thousand eyes burn
holes in his back, but the one pnlr of
eyes that mocked him from the bridge
was more disconcerting.
"Turn, Kurram Khan! Turn that
all may see I"
Feeling like a man on a spit, he re
volved Blowly.' By tho time he hid
turned once completely around he had
decided that Yasmlnl meant he should
be frightened, but not much hurt Just
yet So he ceased altogether to feel
frightened and took care to look more
scared than ever.
"Speak, Kurram Khan I" Yasmlnl
purred, smiling her IoveUest "Tell
them whom you slew."
King turned nnd faced tho crowd,
raising himself on tho balls of his feet
to shout, like a man facing thousands
of troops on parade. He nearly gave
himself away, for habit had him un
awares. A native hakim, given the
stoutest lungs in all India, would not
have shouted In that way.
"Cappltln Attleystnn King!" lie
roared. And he nearly jumped out of
his skin when his own voice came rat
tling back at him from the roof over
head. Yasmlnl chuckled as a little rill will
sometimes chuckle among ferns. It was
devilish. It seemed to say there were
traps not far ahead.
"Where was bo slain?" asked tho
mullah.
"In the Khyber pass," said King.
"Now give proof I" said tho mullah.
"Words at tho gate proof in tho cav
ern! Without good proof, thero is
only ono way out of hero 1"
"Proof!" tho crowd thundered.
"Proof 1" tho roof echoed.
Thero was no need for Darya Khan
to whisper. King's hands wero behind
him, nnd he had seen jrhnt he had seen
nnd guessed what lip had guessed while
ho was turning to let tho crowd look
nt him. His fingers closed on human
hair.
"Nay, It Ib short!" hissed Darya
Khan. "Tako tho two ears, or hold it
by tho jawbone! Hold it high In both
hands I"
King obeyed, without looking nt tho
thing, and Ismail, turning to face tho
crowd, roso on tlptoo nnd filled his
lungs for tho effort of his life.
"Tho head of Cappltln Attleystnn
King Infidel knfflr British arrfl-
cer I" ho howled.
"Goodl" tho crowd bellowed. "Goodl
Throw Itl"
Tho crowd's roar and tho roofs
echoes combined In pandemonium.
"Throw It to them, Kurrnm Khanl"
Yasmlnl purred from tho bridge end,
speaking as softly and ns sweetly as
If sho coaxed a child. "It Is tho cus
tom I"
"Throw Itl Throw Itl" tho crowd
thundered.
no turned tho ghnstly thing until It
lay face-upward in his hands, and so
nt last he saw It. Ho caught his breath,
nnd only tho horn-rlmmed spectacles,
that ho had cursed twice that night,
saved him from self-betrayal. The
cavern seemed to swy as ho looked
Into tho dead faco of his brother
Charles.
If Yasmlnl detected bis nervousness
sho gave no slca.
"Throw It ! Throw It ! Thro it T
The crowd was growing Impatient
Many men wero standing, waving their
nrms to draw nttentlon to themselves.
Catching Yasmlnl's eyes, ho know It
had not entered her head thnt ho might
disobey.
He looked past her toward tho river.
There were no guards near enough to
prevent what he Intended ; but he had
to bear in mind that the guards had
rifles, and If he ncted too suddenly one
of them might shoot nt him unbidden.
Holding the bend before him with both
hnnds, he began to walk toward the
river, edging nil the while a llttlo. to
ward the crowd as If meaning to get
nearer before he threw. He reached tho
river and stood there.
His next move made every savage
who watched him gasp because of its
very unexpectedness. Ho held tho
head In both hands, threw it far out
into tho river and stood to watch It
sink. Then, without visible emotion of
any kind, he wnlkcd back stolidly to
faco Yusmlnl nt the bridge end, with
shoulders n little more stubborn now
than they ought to be, and chin a shade
too high, for thero never was a man
who could act qulto perfectly.
"Thou fool!" Yasmlnl whispered
through lips that did not move. She
mm
mm
TVijW
wla;iV
The Crowd Was Growing Impatient
"Throw Itl Throw It!"
betrayed a flash of temper like a
trapped she-tlgcr's, but followed It In
stantly with her loveliest smile.
"Slay him 1" yelled a lone voice, that
was greeted by an approving murmur.
"This is a darbarl" Yasmlnl an
nounced In a rising, ringing voice. "My
dnrbar, for I summoned it! Did I
invito nny man to speak?"
There was silence, ns a whipped un
willing pack is Blleut.
"Speak, thou Kurram Khan! Tell
them why 1" she Bald, smiling. No man
could hnvo guessed by tbo tone of her
voice whether she was for him or
against him, nnd the crowd, beginning
ngain to whisper, watched to see which
way tho cat would jump.
He bowed low to her threo times
very low indeed nnd very slowly, for he
had to think. Then ho turned his bnck
and repeated the obeisance to the
crowd.
"My brothers." ho said, and his voice
becamo that of a man whose advice
has been asked, and who gives It free
ly. "Yo saw this night how one man
entered here on the strength of an oath
nnd n promise. All he lncked was
proof. And I had proof. Ye saw ! How
easy would It not have been, hnd I
thrown that head to you, for a traitor
to catch It and hide it In his clothes,
nnd mnko away with itl no could
have used It to admit to these caves
why even an Englishman, my broth
ers! If thnt had happened, ye would
hftvo blamed rael"
Yasmlnl smiled. Taking Its cue from
her, tho crowd murmured, scarcely as
sent, but rather recognition of the ha
klm's ndroltness. Tho game was not
won ; thero lacked n touch to tip the
scales In his favor, nnd Yusmlnl sup
plied It with ready genius.
"Tho hnklra speaks tho truth 1" she
laughed.
King turned about instantly to face
her, but ho snlaamcd bo low that sho
could not havo seen his expression had
sho tried.
"If yo wish it, I will order him
tossed Into Earth's Drink after thoso
other three."
Muhammad Anim rose, stroking his
benrd and rocking where ho stood.
"It is tho law!" ho growled, and
King shuddered.
"It Is tho lnw," Yasmlnl nnswered In
n volco thnt rang with prldo and In
solence, "that none interrupt mo while
I speak 1 For such Ill-mannered ones
Earth's Drink hungers! Will you test
my authority, Muhammad Anim? Think
ye! If thnt head had only fallen Into
Muhammad Anlm's lap, tho mullah
might huvo smuggled In another man
with it!"
A ronr of laughter greeted that
thrust. Many men who had not laughed
at tho mullah's first dlscomflturo
Joined In now. Muhammad Anim sat
nnd fidgeted, meeting nobody's eyo nnd
answering nothing.
"So it seems to mo good," Yasmlnl
said, in a volco that did not echo nny
moro but rang very clear nid true (sho
seemed to know tho trick of the roof,
nnd to use tho ccha or not as sho
chose), "to let this hakim live! Ho
shall meditate In his cave a while, and
perhaps ho shnll be beaten, lest ho
dare offend again. He can no more e
cao from Khlnjan caves than the
j m v"
yt u i
women who aro prisoners here. tie
may therefore live I"
There was utter silence. Men looked
at ono another nnd nt her, and her
blazing eyes senrched tho crowd swift
ly. It was plain enough thnt thero
wero nt least two parties there, nnd
that none dnrcd opposo Yasmlnl's will
for fear of the others.
"To thy sent; Kurrnm Khanl" Bhe
ordered, when she had waited a full
minute nnd no man spoke.
Ho wasted no time. He hurried out
of the nrennys fast as the could walk,
with Ismail and Darya Khan closo at
his heels. Ismail overtook htm, seized
him by tho shoulders, hugged him, and
dragged him to the empty scot next to
the Orakzal Pathan. There ho hugged
him until his ribs cracked.
"Iteady o wltl" ho crowed. "Ready
o' tongue! Light o life! Man after
mine own henrt! Hey, I love thcot
Readily I would be thy man, but for be
ing hers ! Turned the joke on Muham
mad Anim! Turned It against her
enemy nnd raised a laugh against him
from his own men! Ready o' wit!
Shnmelcss one! Lucky one! Allah
was surely good to thee I"
"Have they taken AH MasJId fort?"
King whispered.
"Nay, how should I know? Ask her!
She knows more than any man knows 1"
King turned to ask tho same ques
tion of his friend the Orakzal Pnthan ;
but the Pathan would have none of his
questions, he was busy listening for
whispers from the crowd, watching
with both eyes, nnd he shoved King
aside. Q
The crowd was very far from being
satisfied. An angry murmur had be
gun to fill tho cavern or n hive Is filled
with tho song of bees nt swarming
time. But even so, surmise whnt one
might, It was not easy to persuade tho
eyo that Yasmlnl's careless smile and
easy poise were ussumed. If she rec
ognized Indignation am1 fenred It, she
disguised her fear amazingly. Leisure
ly, languidly, she raised both arms un
til she looked like an angel poised for
flight. The little Jewels stitched to her
gauzy dress twinkled llko fireflies as
she moved. The crowd gasped sharp
ly. She had It by the heart-strings.
She called, nnd four guards got un
der one shield, bowing their heads and
resting the great rim on their shoul
ders. They carried it benenth her and
stood still. With a low delicious laugh,
sweet nnd true, she sprang on It and
the shield senrcely trembled; she
seemed lighter than the silk her dress
was woven from !
They carried her so, nnd in tho midst
of the arena before they hnd ceased
moving she began to sing, with her
head thrown back and bosom swelling
like a bird's.
The East would ever rather draw Its
own conclusions from a hint let fall
than he puzzled by what the West be
lieves are facts. And parables are not
good evldenco In courts of law, which
Is always a consideration. So her song
took the form of a parable.
And to say thnt she took hold ol
them nnd played rhapsodies of her
own making on their henrtstrlngs would
bo to undervalue what sho did. They
were dumb while Bhe sang, but they
rose nt her. Not a force In the world
could hnve kept them down, for she
was deftly touching cords that stirred
other forces subtle, mysterious, mes
meric, which the old East understands
which Muhammad the prophet un
derstood when he harnessed evil In the
shnfts with men and wrote rules for
their driving In n book. Thoy rose In
silence and stood tense.
She sang of a wolf-pack gathering
from tho valleys In the winter Bnow
n very hungry wolf-pack. Then of a
stalled ox, grown very fat from being
cared for. Of tho "Heart of the Hills"
that awoke In the worm of the "Hills,"
and that listened and watched.
"Now, Is she the 'Heart of the
Hills?'" King wondered. Tho rumors
men had heard and told ngnln In India,
about tho "Heart of the Hills" In Khln
jan seemed to hnve foundation.
Ho thought of the strange knife,
wrapped in a handkerchief under his
shtrt, with Its bronzo blade and gold
hilt In the shnpo of a woman dancing.
The womnn dancing was astonishingly
like Yasmlnl, standing on tho shield I
Sho sang about tho owners of the
stalled or, who were busy nt bay,
defending themselves and their ox
from another wolf-pack In another di
rection "far beyond."
Sho urged them to wait a llttlo while.
The ox was big enough nnd fat enough
to nourish all tho wolves In tho world
for many seasons. Let them wait,
then, until another, greater wolf-pack
Joined them, thnt they might go hunt
ing all together, overwhelm its pres
ent owners nnd devour tho ox! Sa
urged tho "Heart of tho Hills," speak
Ing to tho mountain wolves, according
to Yasmlnl's song.
The little cubs In the burrows know.
Are ye grown wolves, who hurry to?
Sho pnused, for effect; but thef gave
tonguo then because they cuuld not
help It, and tho cavern shook to their
terrific worship.
"Allah! Allah!"
They summoned God to como and
sco tho height and depth and weight of
their allegiance to her! And because
for their thunder there wns no more
chnnco of being heard, she dropped
from tho shield llko a blossom. . No
sound of falling could hnve been heard
In all that din, but one could see Bhe
made no sound. Tho shield bearers
ran bnck to tho bridge and stood below.
It, eyes agape.
Disguised as he Is, King la
placed on trial for his life. At a
critical moment a human head la
thrust Into his hands. When he
sees tho face, tho shock ib tor
rlble. The victim Is
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
I
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