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A Romance of Adventure
TALBOT MUNEY
CHAPTER XIX Continued.
12
Ring nodded ngnln, for a nod Is less
committal tlinn a word; and the nod
was enough to stnrt tho mullnh off
again.
"I snw tho Sleeper nnd his brldo be
fore she knew cf either I It was I who
let her Into KhlnJntU It was I who
told the men alio Is tho 'Heart of tho
Hills come to life Sho tricked me!
But this Is no hour for bearing grudges.
She has a plan und I am tnluded to
help."
King lay still and looked up nt-hlm,
sure that treachery was tho ultimate
end of nny plan the mullah Muham
mad Anlm had. India has been saved
by the treachery of her enemies more
often tlinn ruined by false friends. So
has the world, for that matter.
"A Jihad when tho right hour comes
will raise tho tribes," tho mullah
growled. "Sho and thou, as tho Sleep
er nnd his mate, could work wonders.
But who can trust her? Sho stole that
head I Sho stole all tho ammunition I
Does she surely love thee?"
King nodded again, for modesty
could not help him at that Juncture.
Love and boastfulncss go together In
tho "Hills."
"She shall have theo back, then, at a
price 1"
King did cat answer. His brown eyes
watched the. mullah's, and he drew his
brenth !n llttlo Jerks, lest by breath
tag aloud ho should miss one word of
what was coming.
"Sho shall have thee back against
Khlnjan and the ammunition 1 She
and thou shall havo India, but I shall
be tho power behind you 1 I havo men
In Khlnjan I I havo as many as she!
On the day I march thero will be a re
volt within. She would better agree
to terms 1"
King lay looking nt him, like a pris
oner on the rack undergoing examina
tion. Ho did not answer.
"Write thou n letter. Slnco she loves
thee, state thine own caso to her. Tell
her that I hold thee hostage, and that
Khlnjan Is mine already for a little
fighting. In a month she cannot pick
out my men from among her own. Her
position Is undermined. Tell her thnt.
Toll her that If she obeys she shall
have India and bo queen. If she dis
obeys, Rhe shall die In the Cavern of
Earth's Drink I"
"She is n proud woman, mullah," an
swered King. -Threats to such as
he 7"
The mullah mumbled and strode
back and forth three times between
King's bed und tho tire, with his lists
knotted together behind him and his
head bent, as Napoleon used to walk.
When ho stood beside the bed again at
last it was with his mind made up, as
his clenched lists and his eyes Indi
cated. "Make thino own terms with hcrl"
he growled. "Write tho k-tter und
send It I I hold theo; she holds Khln
jan und the ammunition. I am between
her nnd India. So bo It. She shall
starve In there I Sho shall lie In thero
until tho war Is over and take what
terms nro offered her in tho end I Wrlto
thino own letter I Stato tho case, nnd
bid her answer I"
"Very well," said King, ne began
to see now definitely how India was to
be saved. It wus nono of his business
to plan yet, but to help others' plans
destroy themselves and to sow such
seed In tho broken ground us might
bear fruit In time.
Tho tuulluh left him, to squnt nnd
gaze Into tho Are, nnd mutter, ami King
lay still. After a while the mullah went
to tho mouth of tho cave, to stand nnd
sturo out at the camp where tho thou
sand fires were dying fitfully and wood
smoke purged the air of human misti
ness. The stars looked down on htm,
and he seemed to try to read thorn,
standing with fists knotted together nt
his back.
And ai ho stood so, sis other mul
lahs camo to him und begun to nrguo
with him In low tones, ho browbeating
them ull with furious words hissed be
tween half-closed teeth. They wero
whispering still when King fell asleep.
It was courage, not carelessness, that
lot him sleep courage and a great
bopo born of the mullah's perplexity.
CHAPTER XX.
Next morning tho Orakzal Pathan
sat and sunned himself In tho cave
south, emitting wordly wisdom un
adulterated with divinity. As King
went toward him to see to whom he
spoke ho grinned end pointed with his
thumb, and King looked down on somo
sick and wounded men who sat In a
crowd together on the ramp, ten feet
or so below the cave.
They seemed stout soldierly fellows.
lien of another type wero being kept
at a distance by dint of argument und
threats. Away in the distance was Mu
hammad Anlm with his broad back
turned to the cave, In altercation with
a dozen other mullahs. For tho time
fee was out of the reckoning.
"Some of these are wounded," the
Pathan --(plained. "Some have sores.
Some have the bellyache. Then again,
some are sick of words, hot and cold by
iajr and night All have served In tho
army. All have medals. All are de
Mrtara, aosxs for one reason, some for
HIE
MFLE5
J coy
tornntmer
mtpeeoi-"
Mttta ctnmirr
another and somo for no reason at ull.
Hull-wlth-n-bcard looks tho other way.
Speak thou to them about ttio pardon
that Is offered t"
So King went down among them,
taking some of tho tools of his (.up
posed trndo with him and trying to
crowd down the triumph thnt would
well up. The seed ho had sown hud
multiplied by fifty In n night. He want
ed to shout, as men once did before
the walls of Jericho, Possibility of par
don nnd reinstatement, though only
heard of at second hand, had brought
unity Into being. And unity brought
eagerness.
"Let us start tonight 1" urged one
man. -
"Nay I" tho Pathnn objected nt
once. "Many of you can hnrdly march.
Best yc here and let the hakim treat
your bellyaches. Bull-wlth-a-bcard
bado me wait hero for a letter that
must go to Khlnjan today. Good. I
will take his letter. And In Khlnjan 1
will spread news about pardons. It Is
likely thero are fifty there who will
daro follow me back, and then we
shall march down the Khyber like a
full company of the old duys i"
King got busy with his lancet, but
the mullah canu back and called htm
off nnd drove the crowd away to a dis
tance; then ho drove King Into the
enve In front of him, his mouth work
ing as If ho' wero biting bits of ven
geance off for future use.
"Write thy letter, thou I Write thy
letter 1 Here is paper. There is a pen
TiAVTOA
VfilMillMb
8o King Began to Write In Urdu.
take It l Sit I Yonder Is Ink ttutt
ttutt ! write, now, write I"
King sat nt a box nnd waited, as If
to take dictation, but the mullah, tug
ging at his beard, grew furious.
"Wrlto thine own letter I Invent
thine own argument I Persuade her, or
die In a new way I I will Invent n now
way for thee I"
SoJKIng began to write, In Urdu, for
reasons of his own. Ho had spoken
once or twice In Urdu to the mullah
und had received no answer. It was a
fair guess that Muhammad was Ignor
ant of tho scholars' language.
"Qrcetlntr." h urnn 'tn tti mnt ,..
tlful ana very wise Princess Ynsmlnl, In
ner palace In tho caves In Khlnjan. from
nor servant Kiirram Khan tho lialcim, In
tho camp of tho mullah Muhammad Anlm
In tho "Hills."
"Tho mullah Muhammad Anlm demands
surrender of Khlnjan Caves nnd of nil Ills
ammunition. Further, ho demands full
control of you and of mo and of all your
men.
"He threatens as a preliminary to btoclr
ndo Khlnjan caves, unless the answer to
!.,.. rm.vo favorMo. lotting1 nono enter,
Ti.ta"" '""F, bis own men out to Join him.
This would suit tho Indian government,
&uAu.wh,.,. th0 ',I,,ta' flBht nmonK
Ji.mac.lvci!.tllcy cannot raid India, and
w lo ho blockades Khlnjan caves thero
win bo time to movo against him.
Knowing that ho dares begin nnd can
accomplish what ho threatens, I am sor
rj . becnuso I know It Is said how many
sen-lets you have rendered of old to tho
government I servo. Wo who servo one
raj nro one ono to romember ono to for-Eof-ono
to holp each other In good time.
It may bO that vcmrimncn nsrnlnmf m
would seem sw color to you than return
to your former allegiance. In that caso,
Princess, you only need betiay mo to the
mulluli, and bo sure my death would leave
nothing to be desired by the spectators.
nuireannt no uoes not suspect mo.
Uo assured, however, that not to bo
tray me to him la to leave mo f reo to serve
my government and well able to do so.
I Invito you to return to India with
me, bearing news that tho mullah Mu
hammad Anlm and his men are bottled In
Khlnjan caves, und to plan with me to
that end.
"If you will, then wrlto an answer to
Muhammad Anlm, not In Urdu, but In a
language he can .understand; seem to sur
render to him. But to mo cend a verbal
message, either by the bearer of this or by
some trustier messenger.
India win profit yet by your service If
you will. And In that case I pledge my
word to direct the government's attention
only to your good service In the matter.
It Is not yet too late to choose. It la not
Impertinent In me to urge you.
"Nor can I say how gladly I wouU
subscribe tnyaolf your grateful and loyal
servant."
Tho mullah pounced on the finished
letter, pretended to read It, and
watched him seal It up, smudging the
hot wax with his own great guarded
thumb. Then he shouted for the Oruk
zal Pathan, who camo striding In, all
grins nnd swagger,
"Thore take It I Make speed 1" he
flittered, and with his rllio at tno
"ready" and the letter tucked Inside
his shirt, the Pathan favored King
with a farewell grin and obeyed.
"Oct out I" the mullah snarled then
Immediately. "Seo to the sick. Tell
them I sent thee. Bid them bo grate
ful 1"
King went. Ho recognized the al
most mndncss that constituted the mul
lah's driving power. It Is contagious,
that madness, until It destroys Itself.
It had made several thousand men fol
low him nnd believe In him, but it had
once given Ynsmlnl u chunco to fool
him and defeut him, and now It gave
King his chance. He let the mullah
think himself obeyed implicitly.
He becume the busiest man In all the
"Hills." While the mullah glowered
over the camp from tho cave mouth or
fulminated from tho Quran or fought
with other mullahs with words for
weapons and abuse for argument, he
bandaged and lanced nnd poulticed nnd
physicked until his heud swam with
weariness.
The sick swarmed so around him
thnt ho had to havo n bodyguard to
keep them at bay ; so ho chose twenty
of the lenst sick from among those
who had talked with the Pathan after
sunrise.
And because each of those men had
friends, and it is only human to wish
one's friend in the somo bout, especial
ly when the sen, so to speak, Is rough,
the progress through the camp became
n current of missionary zeal -and the
virtues of tho Anglo-Indian raj were
better spoken of than tho "Hills" had
heard for years.
Not that there was any effort made
to concert the camp en masse. Fur
from It But the likely few wero
pounced on and were told of a chance
to enlist for a bounty In India. And
what with winter not so far ahead,
and what with experience of former
fighting against the British army, the
choosing wns none so difficult. From
the day when tho lad first feels soft
down upon his face until the old man's
beard turns white and his teeth shnko
outthe hlllman would rather fight
than eat ; but he prefers to fight on tho
winning side If he may, and bo likes
good treatment
Before It was dark that night thero
wero thirty men sworn to hold their
tongues nnd to wait for the word to
hurry down the Khyber for the pur
pose of enlisting in some Brltlsh-In-dlan
regiment. Somo even began to
urge the hakim not to wait for the
Orakzal Pathan, but to start with what
he had.
"Shall I leave my brother In the
lurch?" the hakim asked them; and
though they murmured, they thought
better of him for It.
Well for him thnt he had plenty of
Epsom salts in his kit, for In the
"Hills" physic should taste evil and
show very quick results to be believed
In. ne found a dozen diseases of
which ho did not so much as know
tho nnmc, but half of tho sufferers
swore they were cured after the first
dose. They would havo dubbed him
faquir and hnve foisted him to a'plllar
of holiness had ho cared to let them.
Muhammad Anlm slept most of the
day, like n great nnlmnl that scorns
to live by rule. But nt evening he
came to tho cave mouth and fulmi
nated such a sermon as set the whole
camp to roaring. He showed his
power then. The Jlhnd ho preached
would havo tempted dead men from
their graves to come nnd share tho
plunder, nnd the curses ho cnlled down
on cowards and laggards nnd unbe
lievers were enougl. to have fright
ened tho dead away again.
In twenty minutes ho hnd undone nil
King's missionary work. And then In
ten more, feeling his power and their
response, nnd being nt henrt a fool
ns nil rogues arc, he built it up again.
no begnn to make promises too defi
nite. Ho wanted Khlnjnn caves. More,
ho needed them. So he promised them
they Bhould nil be free of Khlnjan
caves within a day or two, to come
and go and live thero nt their pleasure.
He promised them they should leave
their wives nnd children and belong
ings safo in tho caves whilo they them
selves went down to plunder India. Ho
overlooked the fact that Khlnjan enves
for centuries had been n secret to be
spoken of In whispers, and that pros
pect of Its violation camo to tlicm us
a shock.
nnlf of them did not believe him.
Such n thing wns Impossible, and If
ho wero lying ns to one point, why
not as to ull the others, too?
And tho nrmy veterans, who hnd
been converted by King's talk of par
dons, nnd almost reconverted by the
sermon, shook their heads nt tho talk
of taking Khlnjnn. Why waste time
trying to do whnt never had been done,
with her to reckon m-nlast. when n
place In the sun wns waiting for them
down In India, to sny nothlnc of the
hope of pnrdons nnd clenn living for
n while? They shook their hends nnd
combed their beards and eyed ono
another sidewlse In a way tho "Hills"
understand.
Thnt night, while tho raullnh glow
ered over tho camp llko n great old
owl, with leaping firelight reflected In
his eyes, the thousands under tho skin
tents argued, so that tho night wns
alt noise. But King slept
All of another dny and part of an
other night ho tolled among the sick,
wondering when a message would
come back. It wns nearly midnight
when ho bnnduged his last putlcnt nnd
came out Into the starlight to bend
his back straight nnd yawn and pick
his wny reeling with weariness back
to tho mullah's cave. He had given
his bag of medicines and Implements
to n man to carry ahead of him and
hnd gone perhaps ten pnecs Into the
dark when n strong hand gripped him
by the wrist
"Hush I" snid n volco that seemed fa
miliar. Ho turned swiftly and looked
straight tnto tho eyes of tho Hangar
Rewn Qungnl
"How did you get here?" he asked
In English.
"Any fool could Icnrn tho password
Into this cnmpl Come over here, sa
hib. I bring word from her."
Tho ground wns criss-crossed llko a
man's pnlra by the shadows of tent
ropes. The Itangnr led him to where
the tents wero forty feet apart nnd
none wns likely to overhear them.
There he turned like a flash.
"Sho sends you this I" he hissed.
In thnt sarao Instant King was light
ing for his life. In another second
they were down together nmong the
tent-pegs, King holding tho Hangar's
wrist with both hands nnd struggling
to break It and tho Rnngnr striving
for nnother stroke. The dagger he
held hhd missed King's ribs by so
little that his skin yet tingled from
its touch. It wns n dagger with bronze
blnde nnd n gold hllt her dagger. It
was her perfume In tho air.
They rolled over nnd over, breathing
Iinrd. King wanted to think before
be gavo nn nlnrm, nnd he could not
think with that Bcent In his nostrils
nnd creeping Into his lungs. Even In
the stress of fighting ho wondered how
tho Ilnngnr's clothes nnd turban hnd
come to be drenched In It Ho admit
ted to himself nfterwnrd that It was
nothing else tlinn Jealousy that sug
gested to him to mnko the Hangar
prisoner nnd hand him over to tho
miillnh.
That would have been a ridiculous
thing to do, for It would hnve forced
his own betrayal to the mullah. But
as if the Rangar hnd read his mind,
he suddenly redoubled his efforts nnd
King, weary to the point of sickness,
hnd to redouble his own or die. Per
haps the Jealousy helped put venom In
his effort, for his strength came back
to him as a madman's docs. The Ran
gar gave a moan nnd let the knife fall.
And because Jealousy Is poison King
did tho wrong thing then. He pounced
on tho knife Instead of on the Rangar.
He could have questioned him knelt
on him nnd perhaps forced explana
tions from him. But with a sudden
swlf1 effort like a snake's the Rangar
freed himself and was up and gone be
fore King could struggle to his feet
gone like n shadow nmong shadows.
King got up and felt himself all over,
for they had fought on stony ground
nnd he was bruised. But bruises faded
Into nothing, nnd weariness ns well, ns
his mind begnn to dwell on the new
complication to 1.1s problem.
It wns plain that tho moment he
had returned from his message to tho
Khyber the Rangar had been sent on
tills new murderous mission. Tnsmlnl
hnd never believed her letter would bo
treated seriously by the authorities,
and hnd only sent It In the hope of
fooling him and undermining his de
termination. Perhaps she saw her
own peril. Perhaps she contemplated
gosh I whnt a contingency I perhaps
she contemplated bolting Into Indln
with a story of her own, nnd leaving
tho mullah to his own devices 1 Would
she dare escape Into India and leave
himself alive behind her?
There wns nn alternative, the very
thought of which made him fearfully
uneasy, nnd yet brought a thrill with
It In all Eastern lands, love scorned
takes to the dagger. Ho had half be
lieved her when sho swore she loved
him I Tho man who could Imagine
himself loved by Ynsmlnl nnd not be
thrilled to his core would be Inhuman,
whatever reason nnd caution nnd caste
nnd creed might whisper In Imagina
tion's wake.
Reeling from fatigue (he felt like n
mnn who hnd been racked, for the Han
gar's strength was neurly unbellev
nblo), he started toward where tho
mullah sat glowering In the cave
mouth, ne found the mun who hod
carried his bag asleep at tho foot of
tho ramp, nnd taking the bag away
from him, let him lie there. And It
took him five minutes to drag his hurt,
weary bones up tho rnmp, for the fight
had taken more out of him than bo
hud guessed at first
The mullah glared at him but let him
by without n word. It wns by the fire
nt tlto back of the cave, where he
stopped to dip water from the niul
luh's enormous crock, that the next
"Hmhl"
Said a Voice
Familiar.
That Seemed
disturbing factor came to light He
kicked a brand Into the fire and the
flame leaped. Its light shone on a
yard and a half of exquisitely fine
hnlr, like spun gold, that caressed his
shoulder nnd descended down ono arm.
One thread of hair that conjured up
n million thoughts, nnd In a second
upsot every argument I
Tf Rewc Gungn had been near
enough to her nnd Intimate enough
& uw jysVBsii I BBBbbbbI
with her not only to become scented
with 'her unmistakable perfume but
even to get her hair on his person,
then gone was nil Imagination of her
love for himself I Then she had lied
from first to last I Then she had tried
to make him love her that sho might
use him, nnd finding she hnd failed, she
had sent her true love with tho dagger
to make nn end I
In n moment ho Imagined a whole
picture, ns It might hnvo been In n
crystal, of himself trapped nnd mnde
to don the Roman's armor and forced
to pose to tho savage "Hills" or
fooled Into posing to thctri ns her
lover, while Hewn Gunga lurked be
hind tho scenes and waited for the
harvest In the end. And whnt kind of
harvest?
And what kind of man must Rewn
Gungn be who could lightly let go all
the prejudices of the East nnd submit
to whnt only tho West hns endured
hitherto with nny complncency a
"tcrtlum quid?"
Yet whnt n fool he, King, had been
not to appreciate at once that Rewn
Gunga must be her lover. Why should
ho not be? Were they not alike as
cousins? And the East docs not love
Its contrary, but its complement, being
older In love than tho West, and wiser
In Its wnys In nil but the material.
He had been blind. He hnd overlooked
tho obvious that from first to last her
plan hnd been to set herself nnd this
Rewn Gungn on tho throno of Indln I
Ho washed nnd went through the
mummery of Muslim prayers for the
watchful mullah's sake, nnd climbed
on to his bed. But sleep seemed out
of tho question. Ho lay nnd tossed for
nn hour, his mind ns busy ns n terrier
In liny. And when ho did fall asleep
at last It was so to dream and mutter
thnt the mullah came nnd shook him
nnd prenched him a hnlf-hour sermon
ngnlnst tho mortal sins that rob men
of peaceful slumber by giving them a
foretaste of the punishment to come.
All that seemed kinder nnd more re
freshing than King's own thoughts hnd
been, for when the mullah had done
at last nnd had gone striding back to
the cave mouth, he really did fall
sound asleep, and It wns after dawn
when he awoke. The mullah's voice,
not untuncful, wns rousing nil the val
ley echoes In the call to prayer.
CHAPTER XXI.
And while King knelt behind the
mullah nnd the whole camp faced Mec
ca In forehead-ln-the-dust abasement
there came a strange man down the
midst not strange to tho "Hills,"
where such sights are common, but
strange to that camp tind hour. Some
body rose nnd struck htm, nnd he knelt
like the rest; but when prayer was
over and cooking had begun nnd the
camp became n place of savory smell,
he camo on ngnln a blind man. He
was clean shnven, nnd he looked ns
If he had not been blind long, for his
physical health was good.
"Oh, the hakim the good hakim I"
ho walled. "Where Is tho famous ha
kim? Show me tho way to him I Oh,
the famous, great, good hakim who can
hcnl men's eyes I"
"I nm he," said King, nnd ho stepped
down townrd him. Tho blind mnn's
face looked strangely familiar, though
It was pnrtly disguised by somo gummy
stuff stuck nil about tho eyes. He
stnrcd nt tho fnco again.
"Ismail 1" ho said . "You?"
"Aye! Father oi cleverness 1 Make
play of healing my eyes J" ,
So King mnde a great show of rub
bing on ointment In n minute Ismail,
looking almost like a young man with
out his great beard, was dancing like
n lunatic with both fists In the air, and
yelling ns If wasps hnd stung him.
"Aiece-nleee-nlece I" ho yelled. "I
see agnln I I seel My eyes hnve light
In them I Allah I Oh, Allah heap
riches on the great, wise hakim who
can heal men's eyes I Allah regard
him richly; for I nm a beggar nnd
have no goods I"
Tho whole camp begnn to surge
toward him to seo tho miracle, and his
Chosen bodyguard rushed up to drive
them back. And ns they went a tnll
Afridl came striding down tho camp
with n letter for the mullnh held out
In n cleft stick In front of him.
"Her iinswerl" sold Ismail with a
wicked grin.
"What Is her word? Where is tho
Orakzal Pathan?"
But Ismail laughed nnd would not
nnswer him. It seemed to King that
ho scented climax. Also ho chose In
thnt instant to forco tho mullah's hnnd,
on the principle that hurried buffuloes
will blunder.
To Khlnjnn I" ho shouted to tho
henrcst mnn. "Tho mullah will march
on Khlnjnn I"
They murmured nnd wondered nnd
bncked away from him to glvo him
room. Ismnll watched him with
dropped Jaw and wild eye.
"Spread it through tho camp that
wo march on Khlnjan I Shout It I Bid
them strike tho tents 1"
Somebody behind took up the shout
and It went ncross tho camp In lenps,
as men toss n ball. Thero was a surge
toward tho tents, but King cnlled to
bis deserters nnd they clustered back
to him. Ho had to cement their alle
giance now or fall altogether, and he
would not be able to do It by ordinary
argument or by pleading, ho hnd to
nro their Imagination. And ho did.
"Sho Is on our Bide I" That was a
sheer guess. "She has kept our man
and sent nnother as hostage for him In
token of good faith I Listen I Yo saw
this man's eyes healed. Let that bo
a token I Bo yo the men with new
eyes I Glvo It out I Claim tho title
and bo true to It and see me guldo
you down the Khyber In good timo like
a regiment, many more than a hundred
strong l"
They Jumped at the Idea. The
IHlls" the whole East, for that mat
terare ever ready to form a new sect
or Join a new band or a mw blood-
feud. Witness the Nlkalseyna, whe
worship a tung-slnce-dead Englishman.
"Wo setl" yelled one of them.
"We K-ol" they chorused, and the
Idea took charge. From that minute
they were n now band, with a war-cry
of their own.
"We seel" they howled, scattering
through the enmp, and the mullnh
came out to glnro at them and tug
his beard and wonder whnt possessed
them.
"To Khlnjan 1' they roared. "Lead
us to Khlnjan I"
To Khlnjan, then!" ho thundered,
throwing up both arms In a sort of
""'OaAkXTJH
"Khlnjan la Mlnel" He Growled. "It
dla Is Mlnel"
double apostolic blessing, and then me
tlonlng as if he threw them the reins
nnd leave to gallop. They roared back
at him llko the sea under the whip of
a gaining wind. And Ismnll disap
peared among them, leaving King
alone. Then the mullnh beckoned him
nnd showed him a letter he had crum
pled In his fist. There wero only a
few lines, written In Arabic, which all
mullahs are supposed to be able to
read, and they were signed with a
strange scrawl that might have meant
anything. But the paper smelt strong
ly of her perfume.
Come, then. Bring- all your men, and I
will let you and them enter Khlnjan
caves. We will strike a bargain In th
Cavern of Earth's Drink. ,
Thnt was all, but the fire In the rani
lah's eyes showed that he thought II
was enough. He did not doubt that
onco he should hnve his extra four
thousand In the enves Khlnjan would
be his; nnd he snld so.
"Khlnjnn is mine P he growled. "In
dia Is mlnel"
King did not answer him. He could
only be' still and be glad he had set the
camp moving nnd so hnd forced the
mullah's hand. "The old fatalist would
have suspected her answer other
wise I" he told himself, for ho knew
thnt he himself suspected It
While he and the mullah watched
the tents begnn to fall and the women
labored to roll them. Tho men began
firing their rifles, nnd "within the hour
enough ammunition hnd been squnn
dcrcd to have fought n good-sized skir
mish; but the mullah did not mind,
for he hnd Khlnjan caves In view, nnd
none knew better thnn he whnt vast
storo of cartridges and dynamite was
plied in there. He let them waste.
Watching his opportunity, King
slipped down the rnmp nnd Into the
crowd, while the mullah wns busy with
pcrsonnl belongings In the cave. King
left his own belongings to the' fates, or
to any thief who should care to steal
them. He was safe from the mullah
In tho midst of his nearly eighty men,
who half believed him a sending front
the skies.
"Wo seel We see 1" they yelled and
danced nround him.
Before ever the mullnh gave an order-
they got under wny and stnrted
climbing the steep vnlley wall. The
mullah on his brown mulo thrust for
ward, trying to get In the lead, and &
King nnd his men hung bnck, to keep--"
nt n distance from him. Two or three
miles nlong tho top of the escarpment
tho mullah sent back word that he
wanted the hakim to be beside him.
But King's men treated the messenger
to open scorn and sent him packing.
"Bid tho mullah hunt himself nn
other hakim I Be thou his hakim I
Stay, wo will give thee n lesson In
how to uso a knife I"
The man ran, lest they carry out
their threat, for men Joke grimly In the
"Hills."
Ismail camo and held King's stirrup,
striding beside him with tho easy hlll
man gait
"Art thou my man at last?" Kins
asked him, but Ismail laughed und
shook his head.
"I am her man."
"Where is she?" King asked.
"Nay, who am I thnt I should know!"
"But "Bho sent thee?"
"Aye, she sent me."
"To what purpose?"
"To her purpose I" the Afridl an
swered, and King could not get another
word out of him. Ho fell behind.
(TO BE CONTINUED,)
Superiority.
"Women are queer."
"Yes?"
"Mrs. Twobble has Just returned
from a trip to New York and merely
because she stayed at a hotel with
mora dining rooms than the hotel usu
ally patronized by Mrs. Jlbway on her
eastern trips can boast of she's In
clined to look down on Mrs. Jlbway,"
Only when a man Is getting the best
besti
tUn4
of It will be admit that ha la gttt
in worse oi it.
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