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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1918)
"f"7""f-" T r WHr4 1 f RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF By Talbot Mundy Ccvrrictit r & BofeU MftiaCfwiip y 0 A Story That Combines the Thrill of Modern Detective Fiction With the Romance of Arabian Nights Tales .a Kimig of the Khybar Rifles to e .1 CHAPTER XVII Continued. 11 Morning looks down Into Khlnjan hours of tor the sun has risen, because tho precipices shut It out. But the peakB on every si do nro very beacons of the range at tho cnrllcst peep of dawn. In silence they watched day's herald touch tho peaks with rosy Jow eled Angers she waiting us If she ex pected tho marvel of It all to mnko King speak. It was cold. She catne and snug gled closo to him, nnd It was so they watched tho sparkle of dawn's Jewels dlo nnd the peaks grow gray again, sho with tn arm on his shoulder and Btrnnds of her golden hulr blown past his face. "Of what arc you thinking)" she lsked him at Inst. "Of India, princess." "What of ludla?" "Sho lies helpless." "Ah I You lovo India?" ' "Yes." "You shall love me better I You shall lovo me better than your life I Then, for love of me, you shall own tho India you think you love I This letter shall got" She tapped her bosom. "It Is best to cut you off from India first. You shall lose thut you may win I" She got up nnd stood In tho gap, railing mockingly, framed In the dark ness of the cave behind. "I understand 1" sho said. "You think you ure my enemy. Lovo and hato never lived sldo by side. You hall see I" Her hands slipped Into his, soft and warm; her eyes fastened on his and held them. And as they did so King sank, like a sack half-empty nnd top pled over sldewlsc on the floor asleep. Ho neither dreamed nor was con scious of anything, but slept like a dead man, having fought agulnst her mesmerism harder than he knew. Statesmen, gcncrnls, outlaws, all mako their big mistakes and manage to recover. Very nearly always It Is an apparently little mistake that does most damago In the end, something unnotlceablo at tho time, that grows In geometrical proportion, minus In stead of plus. Yasmlnt mado her little mlstuke that mlnuto In believing King was utterly mesmerized at last and utterly In her power. Whereas In truth ho was only weary. It may bo that sho gavo him orders In his sleep, after tho accepted manner of mesmerists; but If she did, they never reached him; ho was far too fast asleep. Ho Blcpt so deep and long that ho was not conscious of men's voices, nor of being carried, nor of time, nor of anxiety, nor of anything. CHAPTER XVIII. When King nwoko ho lay on n com fortable bed In a cavo ho had never yet seen, but thero was no trnco of Yus mini, nor of tho men who must hnvo carried him to It. Ho bad no Idea how long ho had slept. It did not matter. Ho had probed Khlnjan caves, and knew tho whole purpose for which tho lawless thousands had been gathering and were gathering still. Ilcmalncd, to thwart that purpose. Ho began at tho beginning, whero ho stood. Behind him In a corner nt tho back of the cavo was a uarrow fissure, hung with n leather curtain, that was doubt less tho door Into Khlnjan's heart ; but tho only way to tho outer air was along a ledge above n dizzying precipice, so high Hint tho hugo waterfall looked like a little stream below. Ho was In n very eagle's ntrlo; tho upper rim of Khlnjan's gorgo teenjed not more tluin a quarter of a milo abovo him. - Bound the corner, ten feet from tho entrance, stood n guard, armed-to tho teeth, with n rifle, a sword, two pistols and a long curved Khyher knife stuck hundy in 1 is girdle. As he looked, n llttlo procession of women, led by a man, came up the lodge. Tho man was armed, but tho women wero burdened with his own belongings the medlclno chest his saddlo nnd bridle his un rifled mule-pack. They came past tho dumb man on guard and laid them all nt King's feet Just inside tho cave. Ho smiled, with that genial, fnce trnnsfortnlng smile of his that has so often melted n road for him through sullen crowds. But tho man In charge of tho women did not grin, lie wn Buffering, no growled at the women. and they went away llko obedient ani mals, to sit half-way down tho ledge and await further orders. Ho himself mado ua if to follow them, and the dumb man on guard did not pay much attention ; ho let women nnd man pass behind him, stepping one paco forward toward tho edge to mako more room. That was his Inst entirely voluntary act In this world. With a suddenness that disarmed all opposition the other humped himself Bgalust tho wall and bucked Into tho dumb man's back, sending hlm, weapons and all, hurtling over tho preclplco to tho enverns Into which tho water tumbled thousands of feot away. Tho other ruffian spat after him, and then walked back to whero King stood. "Now heal mo my boils 1" ho said, grinning at last, doubtless from pleas- tiro fit tho prospect. Ho was tho snino man who had stood on guard at the "guest-cave" when Ismail led King out to see the Cuvern of Earth's Drink. Tho temptation was to fling the bruto after his victim. The tempta tion always Is to do tho wrong thing tccap wrath with wrath, Injustice with vengeance. That way wars begin nnd are never ended. King beckoned him Into tho cave, and bent over tho chest of medical supplies. Then, finding the light better for his purpose at the en trance, ho called tho man back and made him sit down on tho box. The business of lancing bolls Is not especially edifying In Itself; but that particular minor operation probably saved India. But for hopo of It tho man with tho bolls would never have stood two turns on guard hand run ning and let tho relief sleep on; so he VlALtiOt CtfM-eNlVMr- "Thou Llestl It was My Men Who Got the Head That Let Thee Inl Else Why Are Thou Here?" would not have been on duty when tho message camo to carry King's belong ings to his new cave of residence. Thero would hnvo been no object In killing tho dumb man, and so there would have been an expert with a load ed rifle to keep Muhammad Anlm lurk ing down tho trail. Muhammad Anlm came llko the devil, to scotch King's faith. Ho bad followed the women with tho loads. He stood now, llko a big bear on a mountain track, swaying his head from sldo to sldo six feet away. King Jumped, nearly driving tho lanco Into a new plnco In his patient's neck. "Let him go!" growled Muhammad Anlm. "Go, thou I Stand guard over tho women until I como 1" Tho mullah turned a rlflo this wny and that In his paws, llko a great bear dancing. Tho very Ornkzal Pathan who had sat next King In tho Cavern of Earth's Drink, was creeping up be hind tho women and already had his rlllo leveled at tho man with bolls. "Ayol" said tho mullah, watching King's eyes. "He has done well, and tho road Is clear 1" The man with bolls offered no fight. no dropped his rlllo and threw his hands up. In a moment the Orakzai Pathan was in command of two rifles, holding King from among tho women, whom ho seemed to regard as his plun der too. Tho women appeared su premely Indifferent In any event. King nodded back to hlm. A friend Is a friend In tho "nills," and raro Is the man who spares his enemy. "Nono comes to earn n living In the 'Hills,' " growled tho mullah, awaylng his head slowly and devouring King with cruel calculating eyes. "Why art thou hero?" "I slew a man," said King. "Thou Host I It was my men who gdt tho head that let theo Inl Speak I Why art thou here?" But King did not answer. Tho mul lah resumed. "Ho who brought mo tho message yesterday says ho has It from another, who had It from a third, that thou art hero because sho plans a simultaneous rising In India, and thou art from tho Punjab whero tho Sikhs all wait to rise. Is that truo?" "Thy man said it," answered King. "Then hear mop said tho mullah. "Listen, thou." But ho did not begin to speak yet. He tried to seo past King Into tho cavo and to peer about Into tho shadows. "Whero Is she?" ho asked, "ner man Bewa Gunga went yesterday, with three men and a letter to carry down tho Khyber. But whero Is she?" So ho had slept tho clock round I King did not answer. Ho blocked tho wny Into tho cavo and looked past tho mullah. Tho Orakzai Pathnn crouched among tho women, and tho women grinned. Tho mullah stared Into King's face, with tho scrutiny of n trader appraising loot. Flro lenped up behind his calculating eyes. And with out n word passing between them, King knew that this man as well as Yas mini was In possession of tho secrot of tho Sleeper. Perhaps ho knew It first; pcrtiaps Bho snatched tho keep ing of tho secret from him. At all eent8 ho knew It and recognized King's likeness to.tho Sleeper, for his eyes betrayed him, Ho began to stroke his beard monotonously with ono hand. Tho rifle, thnt he pretended to be hold ing, really leaned against his bnck nnd with the frco hand ho was making sig nals. King knew well he wns making sig nals. But he knew too thnt In Yas mini's power, her prisoner, ho had no chance at all of Interfering with her plans. Having grounded on tho bot tom of Impotence, bo to speak, any tide thnt would take him off must be a good tide. Ho pretended to be aware of nothing, nnd to be particularly un aware that the Pathan, with a rifle In each hand, wns pretending to como casually up the path. In a minute ho was covered by a rifle. In another minute the mullah had lashed his hands. In Ave minutes more tho women wero loaded again with his belongings and they were all half-way down the trnck In single file, the mullah bringing up tho renr, de scending backward with rifle ready against surprise, as if ho expected Yas mlnt and her men to pounce out any minute to tho rescue. They entered a tunnel nnd wound along It, stepping nt short Intervals over the bodies of three stabbed sen tries. Tho Pathan spurned them with his heel as ho passed. In tho glare at the tunnel's mouth King tripped over tho body of a fourth man and fell with his chin beyond the edge of n sheer precipice, They were on a ledge above the wa terfall again, having come through a projection on the cliffs side, for Khln jan Is nil rat-runs nnd projections, like n sponge or a hornet's nest on a titanic scale. They soon reached another cave, at which tho mullah stopped. It was a dark Ill-smelling hole, but he ordered KInc Into It nnd tho Pathnn after him I on guard, after first seeing the women I nlln nil fliolr Inn da Innliln. Thpn tin took the women away and went oft muttering to himself, swaggering, swinging his right arm as he strode, In a way few natives do. "Let us hopo ho has forgotten these 1" tho Pathan grinned, touching tho pile of rifles. "Weight for weight In silver they will bring mo a lino price I Ho may forget Ho dreams. For a mullah ho cares less for meat and money than any I ever saw. He Is mad, I think. It Is my opinion Allah touched him." ,"What Is that, under thy shirt?" King asked. The Pathan grinned, and undid the button. There wns a second shirt un derneath, and to that on the left breast were pinned two British medals. "Oh, yes 1" ho laughed. "I served the raj t I was In tho army eleven years." "Why did you leavo It?" King asked, remembering that this man loved to hear his own voice. "Oh, I had furlough. I knifed a man this sldo of the border. It wns no af fair of the British. But I was seen, nnd I entered this place. It Is a devil of n place." Now tho art of ruling India consists not In trending bnrcfootcd on scorpions not in virtuous Indignation at men who know no better but In seeking for nnd making much of the gold thnt lies ever amid tho dross. Thero Is gold In the chnrncter of any man who JVAiiba VALCAUwt' "What Under Thy Shirt?" Klnn Asked. onco passed tho grilling tests beforo eullstment in a Brltish-Indlau regi ment. It may need experience to lay a linger on It, but it Is surely there. "I heard," said King, "as I camo to ward tho Khyber In great hasto (for tho police wero at my heels) " "Ah, tho pollco l" tho Pathan grinned plcnsnntly. The inferenco was that at some tlmo or other ho had left his mark on the police. "I heard," said King, "that tho slrknr has offered pardons to all deserters who return." "Hnh I But thou art a hakim, not a soldier I" "Truo I" anld King. "In Indln I enrned my salt. I obeyed I tne law. Tuero is no law hero In tho bbbbbbbbbVmAiKbbbm1ibisbbbbbbbVVi A mTnasssM;Vl&if,VNA BBBYlBBBBrKTtfli S W )1 v Is 'HIIIb.' I am minded to go back and seek that pardon I It would feel good to stand In the ranks again, with a Btlff-backcd snhlh out In front of me, nnd the thunder of the gun-wheels go ing by. The salt was good I Come thou with me!" "Tho pardon Is for deserters," King objected, "not for political offenders." "Haugh l" said tho Pathan, bringing down his flat hand hard on the hnklm's thigh. "I will nttend to thnt for thee, t will obtain my pardon first. Then will I lead Uice by tho hand to the knrnal sahib and Ho to him and say, 'This Is the ono who persuaded me against my will to como back to the regiment 1' " "Thou art n dreamer 1" said King. "Untie my 'hands ; the thong cuts me." Tho Pnthon obeyed. "Drenmer, am I? It lsgood to dream such dreams. By Allah, I'vo a mind to see thnt dream como truo I I never slew a man on Indian soil, only In theso 'Hills.' I will go to them and say, 'ncro I am I I am a deserter. 1 seek that pardon 1 Truly I will got Come thou with me, little hakim I" "Nay," said King. "I have another thought. You who wero seen to slny a man, nnd I who am a political offend er, do not win pardons so easily as that. They would hang us unless we camo bearing gifts." "Gifts? Has Allah touched theo? What gifts should we bring? A dozen stolen rifles? A bag of silver? And 1 nm tho dreamer, am I?" "Nay," said King. "I nm tho dream er. Thero are others In these 'Hills' others In Khlnjan who wear British medals?" Tho Pathan nodded. "Hundreds. Men fight first on one side, then on tho other, being true to cither side while the contract lasts. In all there must bo the makings of many regiments among the 'Hills.' " King nodded. He himself had seen tho chieftains come to parley after the Tlrah war. Most of them had worn British medals nnd had worn them proudly. "If wo two," he said, speaking bIow ly, "could speak with some of those men and stir the spirit In them and persuado them to feel as thou dost, mentioning tho pardon for deserters and the probability of bonuses to the .time-expired for re-enlistment; If we could march down the Khyber with a hundred such, or even with fifty or with twenty-five or with n dozen men we would receive our pardon for tho sake of service rendered." "Good!" The Pathan thumped him on tho back so hard that his eyes watered. "Wo would have to use much cau tion," King advised him, when ho was able to speak again. "Aye I If Bull-wlth-a-beard got wind of It ho would hnvo us crucified. And if Bho heard of It" Ho was silent. Appnrcntly thero wero no words In his tonguo that could compass his dread of her revenge. Ho was silent for ten minutes, nnd King sat still beside him, letting memory of other days do Its work memory of tho long, clean regimental lines, and of order nnd decency nnd of justice hand ed out to all and sundry by gentlemen who did not think themselves too good to wear a native regiment's uniform. "In two days I could do tho drill again as well as ever," he said at last. Then there was silence ngnln for fif teen minutes more. "I could always shoot," ho murmured ; "I could always shoot." When Muhammad Anlm camo back they had both forgotten to rcplaco tho lashing on King s wrists, but tho mul lah seemed not to notice It. "Come 1" he ordered, with a sldewlso Jerk of his great ugly head, and then stood muttering impatiently whllo they obeyed. They innrchcd downward through Intermlnnblo tunnels nnd along ledges poised between enrth and heaven, un til they camo at last to tho tunnel lend ing to tho ono cntrnnco Into Khlnjan caves. Just beforo they entered It two moro of tho mullah's men came up with them, leading horses. Ono horso wns for the mullnh, nnd they helped King mount tho other, showing him moro respect than la usually shown a prisoner in tho "mils." Then tho mullah led tho way Into the tunnel, nnd ho seemed In deadly fear. Tho echo of tho hoof-beats Irritated him. no eyed each liolo In tho roof as If Yasmlnl might bo expected to shoot down at him or drench him with boil ing oil nnd hurried pas', each of them at a trot, only to draw rein immediate ly afterward becauso tho uolso was too great. It became evident that his men had been nt work hero too, for nt Intervals along tho passago lay dead bodies. Yas mlnl must hnvo posted tho men there, but whero wns sho? Each of them lay dead with n knlfo wound In his back, nnd tho mullah's men possessed them selves of rifles and knives and car tridges, wiping off blood that had scarcely cooled yet. When they camo to tho end of tho tunnel It was to llnd tho door Into the mosque open In front of them, and twenty moro of Muhammad Anlm's men standing guard over tht eyelash inss mullah. TUey had bound and gagged him. At a word from Muham mad Anlm they loosed hlm ; and at a threat tho hairless ono gavo a signal that brought tho great stone door slid ing forward on Its oiled bronze grooves. Then, with a dozen jests thrown to tho hairless ono for consolation, nnd an utter lndiffcrcnco to the sacrcdness of tho mosque floor, they Bought outer air, and Muhammad Aulm led them up the Street of the Dwellings toward Khlnjan's outer ramparts. They reached tho outer gate without Inci dent and hurried Into tho great dry valley beyond It. As they rode across the valley the mullah thumbed a long string of beads. Unlike Yasmlnl, he was praying to one god ; hut he seemed to have many prayers. His back was a plcturo of determined treachery the backs of his men were expressions of the creed thnt "he shnll keep who can 1" King rode nil but Insf now nnd had n good view of their unconsciously vnuntcd blackguardism. Thero was not a hint of honor or tenderness among tho lot, man, woman or mullah. Yet his heart sang within him as If ho were riding to his own mnrrlage feast I Last of all, closo behind him, mnrched his friend, the Ornkzal Pa than, nnd ns they picked their way among tho bowlders across tho mile wide moat the two contrived to fall a little to tho renr. The Pathan began speaking In a whisper and King, riding with lowered head as If he were study ing the dangerous trnck, listened. "Sho sent her man Rewa Gunga to ward the Khyber with n message," he whispered. "He took n few men with him, nnd ho Is to send them with tho message when they reach tho Khyber, but he, Is to come back. All ho went for Is to mnko sure the messngo Is not Intercepted, for Bull-wlth-n-bcard Is growing reckless theso dnys. Ho knew what was doing nnd said nt onco thnt sho Is trentlng with tho British, but thero wero few who believed thnt. There nre moro who wonder whero she hides while the message Is on Its way. Nono has seen her. Men have swarmed Into tho Cavern of Earth's Drink nnd howled for her, but sho did not come. Then the mullah went to look for his ammunition that he stored and sealed In a cave. And It was gone. It wns all gone. And there was no proof of who had taken It I "Hakim, there be some who say and Bull-wlth-n-bcard Is one of them that 6he Is afraid and hides. "His men say he Is desperate. His own are losing faith In him. He snntched thee to bo a bait for her, hav ing It In mind thnt a man whom she hides In her private part of Khlnjan must be of grent valuo to her. He has sworn to have thee skinned alive on a hot rock should she fall to come to terms I" CHAPTER XIX. Tho march went on In single Die un til tho sun died down in splendid fury. Then thero began to bo a wind thnt they hnd to lenn against, but tho wom en were nllowcd no rest. At Inst nt a plnco where the trnll be gnn to widen, tho mullnh beckoned King to rldo beside him. It wns not that ho wished to be communicative, but thero wero things King knew thnt ho did not know, nnd ho had his own wny of nsking questions. "D hakim I" ho growled, "Pill man I Poulticerl Thnt Is a sweeper's trado of thine I Thou shalt apply It at my camp 1 I .have some wounded and some sick." King did not answer, but buttoned his coat cloqpr against tho keen wind. Tho mullnh mistook tho shudder for ono of another kind. "Did she chooso thee only for thy face?" ho asked. "Did sho not con sider thy courage? Does sho lovo theo well enough to ransom thee?" Again King did not answer, but ho watched tho mullah's faco keenly in tho dark and missed nothing of Its ex pression. Ho decided tho man was in doubt oven racked by Indecision. "Should she not ransom thee, hakim, thou shalt havo n chnnco to show my men how a mnn out of Indln can dlo I By and by I will lend thee n messenger to send to her. Better inako tho mes sngo clear and urgent! Thou shalt stato my terms to her and plead thlno own cnuso In tho samo letter. My camp lies yonder." Ho motioned with ono sweep of his urra toward a valley that lay In shadow far below them. As they approached It tho rock clovo In two and becamo two great pillars, with a man on nnrli. And between tho plllnrs they looked down Into n valley lit by fires that burned beforo a thousand hide tents, with shadows by tho hundred flitting back and forth between them. A dull roar, like tho volco of an army, roso out of tho gorge. "Moro than four thousand men!" said tho mullah proudly. "What nro four thousand for n raid Into India?" sneered King, greatly daring. "Walt nnd boo!" growled tho mullnh; but ho seemed depressed. no led tho vay downward, getting off his horso and giving tho reins to a man. King copied him, and partway sliding, part stumbling down they found their way along tho dry bed of a water-courso between two spurs of a hillside, until the stood at lost In the midst of a cluster of a dozea'sentrles, closo to a tamarisk to which a man's body hung spiked. That the man had been spiked to It alive was suggested by the body's attitude. Without a word to the Bcutrtea the mullnh led on down a lane through the midst of tho camp, toward a great open cavo at the far side, In which a bonfire cast fitful light and shadow. Watchers sitting by the thousand tenta yawned at them, but took no particular notice. The mouth of the cave was like lion's, fringed with teeth. There were men In it, ten or eleven of them, all armed, squatting round the fire. "Get out!" growled tho mullah. Bnt they did not obey. They sat and stared at him. I ' "Have yo tents?" the mullah asked. In n voice like thunder. "Ayo 1" But they did not go yet One of the men, he nenrest the mul lah, got on his feet, but he had to step back a pace, for tho mullah would not glvo ground and their breath was in each other's faces. "Where are the bombs? And the rifles? And the many cartridges?" he demanded. "Wo have waited long, Mu hammad Anlm. Where are they now?" The others got up, to lend the first pmnn encouragement. They leaned on rifles nnd surrounded the mullnh, so that King could only get a glimpse of him between them. They seemed In no mood to bo treated cnvallerly in no mood to bo argued with. And the mul lah did not argue. "Ye dogs l" ho growled nt them, nnd he strode through them to the fire nnd choso himself a good, thick burning brnnd. "Yo sons of nnmeless mothers I" Then he charged them suddenly, bentlng them over head and face and shoulders, driving them In front of him, utterly reckless of their rifles. v?MCtwe "So Thou Art to Ape the Sleeper In His Bronze Mall, Ehl" nis own rlflo lay on tho ground behind him, nnd King kicked its stock clear of tho fire. "Oh, I thall pray for. you this night l" Muhammad Anlm snarled. "What n curso I shall beg for you! Oh, what a burning of tho bowels ye shall have! What a sickness! What running of tho eyes I What sores 1 What bolls I What sleepless nights and faithless women shall bo yours 1 What n prayer I will pray to Allah 1" They scattered Into outer gloom Dc foro his rage, nnd tlicn camo back to kneel to' him and beg him withdraw bis curse, no kicked them ns they knelt nnd drove them away again. Then, silhouetted In tho cavo mouth, with tho glow of tho flro beforo him, ho stood, with folded arms and dnred them shoot. After five minutes of nngry contem plation of tho camp ho turned on a contemptuous heel nnd camo back to tho fire, throwing on moro fuel from a grent pllo In a corner. Thero wns an iron pot in tho embers. Ho seized a stick nnd stirred tho contents furious ly, then set the pot between his knees and nto llko nn animal, no pnssed tho pot to King when ho hnd finished, but flngero hnd passed too many times through what was left In It and tho very thought of eating tho mess mado his gorgo rlso; so King thanked him and set tho pot aside. Off " fltp Then, "Thnt Is thy plnco I" Muham mad Anlm growled, pointing over his shoulder to n ledgo of rock, llko a shelf In tho far wall. But though ho was al lowed to climb up and Ho down, ho was not allowed to sleep nor did ho want to sleep for moro thnn nn hour to como. Tho mullah camo over from tho flro ngaln nnd stood besldo him, glaring llko a grent animal and grumbling In his beard. "Does Bho surely love theo?" he nsked at last, and King nodded, be cause ho knew ho wns on tho.4rall of Information. "So thou art to apo tlo Sleeper In his bronze mall, eh? Thou art to come to life, as sho was said to conio to life, and the two of you are to plundy India? Is that It?" WBH CONTINUED. X I ft