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diff --git a/6066-h/6066-h.htm b/6066-h/6066-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ef0016d --- /dev/null +++ b/6066-h/6066-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15336 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + King--of the Khyber Rifles, by Talbot Mundy + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING--OF THE KHYBER RIFLES: A ROMANCE OF ADVENTURE ***</div> + <div style="height: 8em;"></div> + <h1> + KING--OF THE KHYBER RIFLES + </h1> + <h3> + A Romance of Adventure + </h3> + <p> + + + </p> + <h2> + By Talbot Mundy + </h2> + <p> + + + + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + + + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + + + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> Chapter I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> Chapter II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> Chapter III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> Chapter IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> Chapter V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> Chapter VI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> Chapter VII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> Chapter VIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> Chapter IX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> Chapter X </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> Chapter XI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> Chapter XII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> Chapter XIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> Chapter XIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> Chapter XV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> Chapter XVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> Chapter XVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> Chapter XVIII </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + + + + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + + + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter I + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Suckled were we in a school unkind + On suddenly snatched deduction + And ever ahead of you (never behind!) + Over the border our tracks you'll find, + Wherever some idiot feels inclined + To scatter the seeds of ruction. + + For eyes we be, of Empire, we! + Skinned and Puckered and quick to see + And nobody guesses how wise we be. + Unwilling to advertise we be. + But, hot on the trail of ties, we be + The pullers of roots of ruction! + + --Son of the Indian Secret Service +</pre> + <p> + The men who govern India--more power to them and her!--are few. + Those who stand in their way and pretend to help them with a flood of + words are a host. And from the host goes up an endless cry that India is + the home of thugs, and of three hundred million hungry ones. + </p> + <p> + The men who know--and Athelstan King might claim to know a little--answer + that she is the original home of chivalry and the modern mistress of as + many decent, gallant, native gentlemen as ever graced a page of history. + </p> + <p> + The charge has seen the light in print that India--well-spring of + plague and sudden death and money-lenders--has sold her soul to + twenty succeeding conquerors in turn. + </p> + <p> + Athelstan King and a hundred like him whom India has picked from British + stock and taught, can answer truly that she has won it back again from + each by very purity of purpose. + </p> + <p> + So when the world war broke the world was destined to be surprised on + India's account. The Red Sea, full of racing transports crowded with + dark-skinned gentlemen, whose one prayer was that the war might not be + over before they should have struck a blow for Britain, was the Indian + army's answer to the press. + </p> + <p> + The rest of India paid its taxes and contributed and muzzled itself and + set to work to make supplies. For they understand in India, almost as + nowhere else, the meaning of such old-fashioned words as gratitude and + honor; and of such platitudes as, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” + </p> + <p> + More than one nation was deeply shocked by India's answer to “practises” + that had extended over years. But there were men in India who learned to + love India long ago with that love that casts out fear, who knew exactly + what was going to happen and could therefore afford to wait for orders + instead of running round in rings. + </p> + <p> + Athelstan King, for instance, nothing yet but a captain unattached, sat in + meagerly furnished quarters with his heels on a table. He is not a doctor, + yet he read a book on surgery, and when he went over to the club he + carried the book under his arm and continued to read it there. He is + considered a rotten conversationalist, and he did nothing at the club to + improve his reputation. + </p> + <p> + “Man alive--get a move on!” gasped a wondering senior, accepting a + cigar. Nobody knows where he gets those long, strong, black cheroots, and + nobody ever refuses one. + </p> + <p> + “Thanks--got a book to read,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “You ass! Wake up and grab the best thing in sight, as a stepping stone to + something better! Wake up and worry!” + </p> + <p> + King grinned. You have to when you don't agree with a senior officer, for + the army is like a school in many more ways than one. + </p> + <p> + “Help yourself, sir! I'll take the job that's left when the scramble's + over. Something good's sure to be overlooked.” + </p> + <p> + “White feather? Laziness? Dark Horse?” the major wondered. Then he hurried + away to write telegrams, because a belief thrives in the early days of any + war that influence can make or break a man's chances. In the other room + where the telegraph blanks were littered in confusion all about the floor, + he ran into a crony whose chief sore point was Athelstan King, loathing + him as some men loathe pickles or sardines, for no real reason whatever, + except that they are what they are. + </p> + <p> + “Saw you talking to King,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. Can't make him out. Rum fellow!” + </p> + <p> + “Rum? Huh! Trouble is he's seventh of his family in succession to serve in + India. She has seeped into him and pickled his heritage. He's a believer + in Kismet crossed on to Opportunity. Not sure he doesn't pray to Allah on + the sly! Hopeless case.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite!” + </p> + <p> + So they all sent telegrams and forgot King who sat and smoked and read + about surgery; and before he had nearly finished one box of cheroots a + general at Peshawur wiped a bald red skull and sent him an urgent + telegram. + </p> + <p> + “Come at once!” it said simply. + </p> + <p> + King was at Lahore, but miles don't matter when the dogs of war are + loosed. The right man goes to the right place at the exact right time + then, and the fool goes to the wall. In that one respect war is better + than some kinds of peace. + </p> + <p> + In the train on the way to Peshawur he did not talk any more volubly, and + a fellow traveler, studying him from the opposite corner of the stifling + compartment, catalogued him as “quite an ordinary man.” But he was of the + Public Works Department, which is sorrowfully underpaid and wears emotions + on its sleeve for policy's sake, believing of course that all the rest of + the world should do the same. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you think we're bound in honor to go to Belgium's aid?” he asked. + “Can you see any way out of it?” + </p> + <p> + “Haven't looked for one,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “But don't you think--” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said King. “I hardly ever think. I'm in the army, don't you know, + and don't have to. What's the use of doing somebody else's work?” + </p> + <p> + “Rotter!” thought the P.W.D. man, almost aloud; but King was not troubled + by any further forced conversation. Consequently he reached Peshawur + comfortable, in spite of the heat. And his genial manner of saluting the + full-general who met him with a dog-cart at Peshawur station was something + scandalous. + </p> + <p> + “Is he a lunatic or a relative of royalty?” the P.W.D. man wondered. + </p> + <p> + Full-generals, particularly in the early days of war, do not drive to the + station to meet captains very often; yet King climbed into the dog-cart + unexcitedly, after keeping the general waiting while he checked a trunk! + </p> + <p> + The general cracked his whip without any other comment than a smile. A + blood mare tore sparks out of the macadam, and a dusty military road began + to ribbon out between the wheels. Sentries in unexpected places announced + themselves with a ring of shaken steel as their rifles came to the + “present,” which courtesies the general noticed with a raised whip. Then a + fox-terrier resumed his chase of squirrels between the planted + shade-trees, and Peshawur became normal, shimmering in light and heat + reflected from the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + (The P.W.D. man, who would have giggled if a general mentioned him by + name, walked because no conveyance could be hired. Judgment was in the + wind.) + </p> + <p> + On the dog-cart's high front seat, staring straight ahead of him between + the horse's ears, King listened. The general did nearly all the talking. + </p> + <p> + “The North's the danger.” + </p> + <p> + King grunted with the lids half-lowered over full dark eyes. He did not + look especially handsome in that attitude. Some men swear he looks like a + Roman, and others liken him to a gargoyle, all of them choosing to ignore + the smile that can transform his whole face instantly. + </p> + <p> + “We're denuding India of troops--not keeping back more than a mere + handful to hold the tribes in check.” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. There has never been peace along the northwest border. It did + not need vision to foresee trouble from that quarter. In fact it must have + been partly on the strength of some of King's reports that the general was + planning now. + </p> + <p> + “That was a very small handful of Sikhs you named as likely to give + trouble. Did you do that job thoroughly?” + </p> + <p> + King grunted. + </p> + <p> + “Well--Delhi's chock-full of spies, all listening to stories made in + Germany for them to take back to the 'Hills' with 'em. The tribes'll know + presently how many men we're sending oversea. There've been rumors about + Khinjan by the hundred lately. They're cooking something. Can you imagine + 'em keeping quiet now?” + </p> + <p> + “That depends, sir. Yes, I can imagine it.” + </p> + <p> + The general laughed. “That's why I sent for you. I need a man with + imagination! There's a woman you've got to work with on this occasion who + can imagine a shade or two too much. What's worse, she's ambitious. So I + chose you to work with her.” + </p> + <p> + King's lips stiffened under his mustache, and the corners of his eyes + wrinkled into crow's-feet to correspond. Eyes are never coal-black, of + course, but his looked it at that minute. + </p> + <p> + “You know we've sent men to Khinjan who are said to have entered the + Caves. Not one of 'em has ever returned.” + </p> + <p> + King frowned. + </p> + <p> + “She claims she can enter the Caves and come out again at pleasure. She + has offered to do it, and I have accepted.” + </p> + <p> + It would not have been polite to look incredulous, so King's expression + changed to one of intense interest a little overdone, as the general did + not fail to notice. + </p> + <p> + “If she hadn't given proof of devotion and ability, I'd have turned her + down. But she has. Only the other day she uncovered a plot in Delhi--about + a million dynamite bombs in a ruined temple in charge of a German agent + for use by mutineers supposed to be ready to rise against us. Fact! Can + you guess who she is?” + </p> + <p> + “Not Yasmini?” King hazarded, and the general nodded and flicked his whip. + The horse mistook it for a signal, and it was two minutes before the speed + was reduced to mere recklessness. + </p> + <p> + The helmet-strap mark, printed indelibly on King's jaw and cheek by the + Indian sun, tightened and grew whiter--as the general noted out of + the corner of his eye. + </p> + <p> + “Know her?” + </p> + <p> + “Know of her, of course, sir. Everybody does. Never met her to my + knowledge.” + </p> + <p> + “Um-m-m! Whose fault was that? Somebody ought to have seen to that. Go to + Delhi now and meet her. I'll send her a wire to say you're coming. She + knows I've chosen you. She tried to insist on full discretion, but I + overruled her. Between us two, she'll have discretion once she gets beyond + Jamrud. The 'Hills' are full of our spies, of course, but none of 'em dare + try Khinjan Caves any more and you'll be the only check we shall have on + her.” + </p> + <p> + King's tongue licked his lips, and his eyes wrinkled. The general's voice + became the least shade more authoritative. + </p> + <p> + “When you see her, get a pass from her that'll take you into Khinjan + Caves! Ask her for it! For the sake of appearances I'll gazette you + Seconded to the Khyber Rifles. For the sake of success, get a pass from + her!” + </p> + <p> + “Very well, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “You've a brother in the Khyber Rifles, haven't you? Was it you or your + brother who visited Khinjan once and sent in a report?” + </p> + <p> + “I did, sir.” + </p> + <p> + He spoke without pride. Even the brigade of British-Indian cavalry that + went to Khinjan on the strength of his report and leveled its defenses + with the ground, had not been able to find the famous Caves. Yet the Caves + themselves are a by-word. + </p> + <p> + “There's talk of a jihad (holy war). There's worse than that! When you + went to Khinjan, what was your chief object?” + </p> + <p> + “To find the source of the everlasting rumors about the so-called 'Heart + of the Hills,' sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes. I remember. I read your report. You didn't find anything, did + you? Well. The story is now that the 'Heart of the Hills' has come to + life. So the spies say.” + </p> + <p> + King whistled softly. + </p> + <p> + “There's no guessing what it means,” said the general. “Go and find out. + Go and work with Yasmini. I shall have enough men here to attack instantly + and smash any small force as soon as it begins to gather anywhere near the + border. But Khinjan is another story. We can't prove anything, but the + spies keep bringing in rumors of ten thousand men in Khinjan Caves, and of + another large lashkar not far away from Khinjan. There must be no jihad, + King! India is all but defenseless! We can tackle sporadic raids. We can + even handle an ordinary raid in force. But this story about a 'Heart of + the Hills' coming to life may presage unity of action and a holy war such + as the world has not seen. Go up there and stop it if you can. At least, + let me know the facts.” + </p> + <p> + King grunted. To stop a holy war single-handed would be rather like + stopping the wind--possibly easy enough, if one knew the way. Yet he + knew no general would throw away a man like himself on a useless venture. + He began to look happy. + </p> + <p> + The general clucked to the mare and the big beast sank an inch between the + shafts. The sais behind set his feet against the drop-board and clung with + both hands to the seat. One wheel ceased to touch the gravel as they + whirled along a semicircular drive. Suddenly the mare drew up on her + haunches, under the porch of a pretentious residence. Sentries saluted. + The sais swung down. In less than sixty seconds King was following the + general through a wide entrance into a crowded hall. The instant the + general's fat figure darkened the doorway twenty men of higher rank than + King, native and English, rose from lined-up chairs and pressed forward. + </p> + <p> + “Sorry--have to keep you all waiting--busy!” He waved them aside + with a little apologetic gesture. “Come in here, King.” + </p> + <p> + King followed him through a door that slammed tight behind them on rubber + jambs. + </p> + <p> + “Sit down!” + </p> + <p> + The general unlocked a steel drawer and began to rummage among the papers + in it. In a minute he produced a package, bound in rubber bands, with a + faded photograph face-upward on the top. + </p> + <p> + “That's the woman! How d'you like the look of her?” + </p> + <p> + King took the package and for a minute stared hard at the likeness of a + woman whose fame has traveled up and down India, until her witchery has + become a proverb. She was dressed as a dancing woman, yet very few dancing + women could afford to be dressed as she was. + </p> + <p> + King's service uses whom it may, and he had met and talked with many + dancing women in the course of duty; but as he stared at Yasmini's + likeness he did not think he had ever met one who so measured up to rumor. + The nautch he knew for a delusion. Yet--! + </p> + <p> + The general watched his face with eyes that missed nothing. + </p> + <p> + “Remember--I said work with her!” + </p> + <p> + King looked up and nodded. + </p> + <p> + “They say she's three parts Russian,” said the general. “To my own + knowledge she speaks Russian like a native, and about twenty other tongues + as well, including English. She speaks English as well as you or I. She + was the girl-widow of a rascally Hill-rajah. There's a story I've heard, + to the effect that Russia arranged her marriage in the day when India was + Russia's objective--and that's how long ago?--seems like weeks, + not years! I've heard she loved her rajah. And I've heard she didn't! + There's another story that she poisoned him. I know she got away with his + money--and that's proof enough of brains! Some say she's a she-devil. + I think that's an exaggeration, but bear in mind she's dangerous!” + </p> + <p> + King grinned. A man who trusts Eastern women over readily does not rise + far in the Secret Service. + </p> + <p> + “If you've got nous enough to keep on her soft side and use her--not + let her use you--you can keep the 'Hills' quiet and the Khyber safe! + If you can contrive that--now--in this pinch--there's no + limit for you! Commander-in-chief shall be your job before you're sixty!” + </p> + <p> + King pocketed the photograph and papers. “I'm well enough content, sir, as + things are,” he said quietly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, remember she's ambitious, even if you're not! I'm not preaching + ambition, mind--I'm warning you! Ambition's bad! Study those papers + on your way down to Delhi and see that I get them back.” + </p> + <p> + The general paced once across the room and once back again, with hands + behind him. Then he stopped in front of King. + </p> + <p> + “No man in India has a stiffer task than you have now! It may encourage + you to know that I realize that! She's the key to the puzzle, and she + happens to be in Delhi. Go to Delhi, then. A jihad launched from the + 'Hills' would mean anarchy in the plains. That would entail sending back + from France an army that can't be spared. There must be no jihad, King!--There + must--not--be--one! Keep that in your head!” + </p> + <p> + “What arrangements have been made with her, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Practically none! She's watching the spies in Delhi, but they're likely + to break for the 'Hills' any minute. Then they'll be arrested. When that + happens the fate of India may be in your hands and hers! Get out of my way + now, until tiffin-time!” + </p> + <p> + In a way that some men never learn, King proceeded to efface himself + entirely among the crowd in the hall, contriving to say nothing of any + account to anybody until the great gong boomed and the general led them + all in to his long dining table. Yet he did not look furtive or secretive. + Nobody noticed him, and he noticed everybody. There is nothing whatever + secretive about that. + </p> + <p> + The fare was plain, and the meal a perfunctory affair. The general and his + guests were there for other reason than to eat food, and only the man who + happened to seat himself next to King--a major by the name of Hyde--spoke + to him at all. + </p> + <p> + “Why aren't you with your regiment?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Because the general asked me to lunch, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you've been pestering him for an appointment!” + </p> + <p> + King, with his mouth full of curry did not answer, but his eyes smiled. + </p> + <p> + “It's astonishing to me,” said the major, “that a captain should leave his + company when war has begun! When I was captain I'd have been driven out of + the service if I'd asked for leave of absence at such a time!” + </p> + <p> + King made no comment, but his expression denoted belief. + </p> + <p> + “Are you bound for the front, sir?” he asked presently. But Hyde did not + answer. They finished the meal in silence. + </p> + <p> + After lunch he was closeted with the general again for twenty minutes. + Then one of the general's carriages took him to the station; and it did + not appear to trouble him at all that the other occupant of the carriage + was the self-same Major Hyde who had sat next him at lunch. In fact, he + smiled so pleasantly that Hyde grew exasperated. Neither of them spoke. At + the station Hyde lost his temper openly, and King left him abusing an + unhappy native servant. + </p> + <p> + The station was crammed to suffocation by a crowd that roared and writhed + and smelt to high heaven. At one end of the platform, in the midst of a + human eddy, a frenzied horse resisted with his teeth and all four feet at + once the efforts of six natives and a British sergeant to force him into a + loose-box. At the back of the same platform the little dark-brown mules of + a mountain battery twitched their flanks in line, jingling chains and + stamping when the flies bit home. + </p> + <p> + Flies buzzed everywhere. Fat native merchants vied with lean and timid + ones in noisy effort to secure accommodation on a train already crowded to + the limit. Twenty British officers hunted up and down for the places + supposed to have been reserved for them, and sweating servants hurried + after them with arms full of heterogeneous baggage, swearing at the crowd + that swore back ungrudgingly. But the general himself had telephoned for + King's reservation, so he took his time. + </p> + <p> + There were din and stink and dust beneath a savage sun, shaken into + reverberations by the scream of an engine's safety valve. It was India in + essence and awake!--India arising out of lethargy!--India as she + is more often nowadays--and it made King, for the time being of the + Khyber Rifles, happier than some other men can be in ballrooms. + </p> + <p> + Any one who watched him--and there was at least one man who did--must + have noticed his strange ability, almost like that of water, to reach the + point he aimed for, through, and not around, the crowd. + </p> + <p> + He neither shoved nor argued. Orders and blows would have been equally + useless, for had it tried the crowd could not have obeyed, and it was in + no mind to try. Without the least apparent effort he arrived--and + there is no other word that quite describes it--he arrived, through + the densest part of the sweating throng of humans, at the door of the + luggage office. + </p> + <p> + There, though a bunnia's sharp elbow nagged his ribs, and the bunnia's + servant dropped a heavy package on his foot, he smiled so genially that he + melted the wrath of the frantic luggage clerk. But not at once. Even the + sun needs seconds to melt ice. + </p> + <p> + “Am I God?” the babu wailed. “Can I do all the-e things in all the-e world + at once if not sooner?” + </p> + <p> + King's smile began to get its work in. The man ceased gesticulating to + wipe sweat from his stubbly jowl with the end of a Punjabi headdress. He + actually smiled back. Who was he, that he should suspect new outrage or + guess he was about to be used in a game he did not understand? He would + have stopped all work to beg for extra pay at the merest suggestion of + such a thing; but as it was he raised both fists and lapsed into his own + tongue to apostrophize the ruffian who dared jostle King. A Northerner who + did not seem to understand Punjabi almost cost King his balance as he + thrust broad shoulders between him and the bunnia. + </p> + <p> + The bunnia chattered like an outraged ape; but King, the person most + entitled to be angry, actually apologized! That being a miracle, the babu + forthwith wrought another one, and within a minute King's one trunk was + checked through to Delhi. + </p> + <p> + “Delhi is right, sahib?” he asked, to make doubly sure; for in India where + the milk of human kindness is not hawked in the market-place, men will pay + over-measure for a smile. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. Delhi is right. Thank you, babuji.” + </p> + <p> + He made more room for the Hillman, beaming amusement at the man's + impatience; but the Hillman had no luggage and turned away, making an + unexpected effort to hide his face with a turban end. He who had forced + his way to the front with so much violence and haste now burst back again + toward the train like a football forward tearing through the thick of his + opponents. He scattered a swath a yard wide, for he had shoulders like a + bull. King saw him leap into third-class carriage. He saw, too, that he + was not wanted in the carriage. There was a storm of protest from + tight-packed native passengers, but the fellow had his way. + </p> + <p> + The swath through the crowd closed up like water in a ship's wake, but it + opened again for King. He smiled so humorously that the angry jostled ones + smiled too and were appeased, forgetting haste and bruises and indignity + merely because understanding looked at them through merry eyes. All crowds + are that way, but an Indian crowd more so than all. + </p> + <p> + Taking his time, and falling foul of nobody, King marked down a native + constable--hot and unhappy, leaning with his back against the train. + He touched him on the shoulder and the fellow jumped. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, sahib! I am only constabeel--I know nothing--I can do + nothing! The teerain goes when it goes, and then perhaps we will beat + these people from the platform and make room again! But there is no + authority--no law any more--they are all gone mad!” + </p> + <p> + King wrote on a pad, tore off a sheet, folded it and gave it to him. + </p> + <p> + “That is for the Superintendent of Police at the office. Carriage number + 1181, eleven doors from here--the one with the shut door and a big + Hillman inside sitting three places from the door facing the engine. Get + the Hillman! No, there is only one Hillman in the carriage. No, the others + are not his friends; they will not help him. He will fight, but he has no + friends in that carriage.” + </p> + <p> + The “constabeel” obeyed, not very cheerfully. King stood to watch him with + a foot on the step of a first-class coach. Another constable passed him, + elbowing a snail's progress between the train and the crowd. He seized the + man's arm. + </p> + <p> + “Go and help that man!” he ordered. “Hurry!” + </p> + <p> + Then he climbed into the carriage and leaned from the window. He grinned + as he saw both constables pounce on a third-class carriage door and, with + the yell of good huntsmen who have viewed, seize the protesting Northerner + by the leg and begin to drag him forth. There was a fight, that lasted + three minutes, in the course of which a long knife flashed. But there were + plenty to help take the knife away, and the Hillman stood handcuffed and + sullen at last, while one of his captors bound a cut forearm. Then they + dragged him away; but not before he had seen King at the window, and had + lipped a silent threat. + </p> + <p> + “I believe you, my son!” King chuckled, half aloud. “I surely believe you! + I'll watch! Ham dekta hai!” + </p> + <p> + “Why was that man arrested?” asked an acid voice behind him; and without + troubling to turn his head, he knew that Major Hyde was to be his carriage + mate again. To be vindictive, on duty or off it, is foolishness; but to + let opportunity slip by one is a crime. He looked glad, not sorry, as he + faced about--pleased, not disappointed--like a man on a desert + island who has found a tool. + </p> + <p> + “Why was that man arrested?” the major asked again. + </p> + <p> + “I ordered it,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “So I imagined. I asked you why.” + </p> + <p> + King stared at him and then turned to watch the prisoner being dragged + away; he was fighting again, striking at his captors' heads with + handcuffed wrists. + </p> + <p> + “Does he look innocent?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Is that your answer?” asked the major. Balked ambition is an ugly horse + to ride. He had tried for a command but had been shelved. + </p> + <p> + “I have sufficient authority,” said King, unruffled. He spoke as if he + were thinking of something entirely different. His eyes were as if they + saw the major from a very long way off and rather approved of him on the + whole. + </p> + <p> + “Show me your authority, please!” + </p> + <p> + King dived into an inner pocket and produced a card that had about ten + words written on its face, above a general's signature. Hyde read it and + passed it back. + </p> + <p> + “So you're one of those, are you!” he said in a tone of voice that would + start a fight in some parts of the world and in some services. But King + nodded cheerfully, and that annoyed the major more than ever; he snorted, + closed his mouth with a snap and turned to rearrange the sheet and pillow + on his berth. + </p> + <p> + Then the train pulled out, amid a din of voices from the left-behind + that nearly drowned the panting of overloaded engine. There was a roar of + joy from the two coaches full of soldiers in the rear--a shriek from + a woman who had missed the train--a babel of farewells tossed back + and forth between the platform and the third-class carriages--and + Peshawur fell away behind. + </p> + <p> + King settled down on his side of the compartment, after a struggle with + the thermantidote that refused to work. There was heat enough below the + roof to have roasted meat, so that the physical atmosphere became as + turgid as the mental after a little while. + </p> + <p> + Hyde all but stripped himself and drew on striped pajamas. King was + content to lie in shirt-sleeves on the other berth, with knees raised, so + that Hyde could not overlook the general's papers. At his ease he studied + them one by one, memorizing a string of names, with details as to their + owners' antecedents and probable present whereabouts. There were several + photographs in the packet, and he studied them very carefully indeed. + </p> + <p> + But much most carefully of all he examined Yasmini's portrait, returning + to it again and again. He reached the conclusion in the end that when it + was taken she had been cunningly disguised. + </p> + <p> + “This was intended for purpose of identification at a given time and + place,” he told himself. + </p> + <p> + “Were you muttering at me?” asked Hyde. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “It looked extremely like it!” + </p> + <p> + “My mistake, sir. Nothing of the sort intended.” + </p> + <p> + “H-rrrrr-ummmmmph!” + </p> + <p> + Hyde turned an indignant back on him, and King studied the back as if he + found it interesting. On the whole he looked sympathetic, so it was as + well that Hyde did not look around. Balked ambition as a rule loathes + sympathy. + </p> + <p> + After many prickly-hot, interminable, jolting hours the train drew up at + Rawal-Pindi station. Instantly King was on his feet with his tunic on, and + he was out on the blazing hot platform before the train's motion had quite + ceased. + </p> + <p> + He began to walk up and down, not elbowing but percolating through the + crowd, missing nothing worth noticing in all the hot kaleidoscope and + seeming to find new amusement at every turn. It was not in the least + astonishing that a well-dressed native should address him presently, for + he looked genial enough to be asked to hold a baby. King himself did not + seem surprised at all. Far from it; he looked pleased. + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, sir,” said the man in glib babu English. “I am seeking Captain + King sahib, for whom my brother is veree anxious to be servant. Can you + kindlee tell me, sir, where I could find Captain King sahib?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” King answered him. He looked glad to be of help. “Are you + traveling on this train?” + </p> + <p> + The question sounded like politeness welling from the lips of unsuspicion. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir. I am traveling from this place where I have spent a few days, + to Bombay, where my business is. + </p> + <p> + “How did you know King sahib is on the train?” King asked him, smiling so + genially that even the police could not have charged him with more than + curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “By telegram, sir. My brother had the misfortune to miss Captain King + sahib at Peshawur and therefore sent a telegram to me asking me to do what + I can at an interview.” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” said King. “I see.” And judging by the sparkle in his eyes as he + looked away he could see a lot. But the native could not see his eyes at + that instant, although he tried to. + </p> + <p> + He looked back at the train, giving the man a good chance to study his + face in profile. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, thank you, sir!” said the native oilily. “You are most kind! I am + your humble servant, sir!” + </p> + <p> + King nodded good-by to him, his dark eyes in the shadow of the khaki + helmet seeming scarcely interested any longer. + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't you find another berth?” Hyde asked him angrily when he stepped + back into the compartment. + </p> + <p> + “What were you out there looking for?” + </p> + <p> + King smiled back at him blandly. + </p> + <p> + “I think there are railway thieves on the train,” he announced without any + effort at relevance. He might not have heard the question. + </p> + <p> + “What makes you think so?” + </p> + <p> + “Observation, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Then if you've seen thieves, why didn't you have 'em arrested? You + were precious free with that authority of yours on Peshawur platform!” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you'd care to take the responsibility, sir? Let me point out one + of them.” + </p> + <p> + Full of grudging curiosity Hyde came to stand by him, and King stepped + back just as the train began to move. + </p> + <p> + “That man, sir--over there--no, beyond him--there!” + </p> + <p> + Hyde thrust head and shoulders through the window, and a well-dressed + native with one foot on the running-board at the back end of the train + took a long steady stare at him before jumping in and slamming the door of + a third-class carriage. + </p> + <p> + “Which one?” demanded Hyde impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “I don't see him now, sir!” + </p> + <p> + Hyde snorted and returned to his seat in the silence of unspeakable scorn. + But presently he opened a suitcase and drew out a repeating pistol which + he cocked carefully and stowed beneath his pillow; not at all a + contemptible move, because the Indian railway thief is the most + resourceful specialist in the world. But King took no overt precautions of + any kind. + </p> + <p> + After more interminable hours night shut down on them, red-hot, + black-dark, mesmerically subdivided into seconds by the thump of carriage + wheels and lit at intervals by showers of sparks from the gasping engine. + The din of Babel rode behind the first-class carriages, for all the + natives in the packed third-class talked all together. (In India, when one + has spent a fortune on a third-class ticket, one proceeds to enjoy the + ride.) The train was a Beast out of Revelation, wallowing in noise. + </p> + <p> + But after other, hotter hours the talking ceased. Then King, strangely + without kicking off his shoes, drew a sheet up over his shoulders. On the + opposite berth Hyde covered his head, to keep dust out of his hair, and + presently King heard him begin to snore gently. Then, very carefully he + adjusted his own position so that his profile lay outlined in the dim + light from the gas lamp in the roof. He might almost have been waiting to + be shaved. + </p> + <p> + The stuffiness increased to a degree that is sometimes preached in + Christian churches as belonging to a sulphurous sphere beyond the grave. + Yet he did not move a muscle. It was long after midnight when his vigil + was rewarded by a slight sound at the door. From that instant his eyes + were on the watch, under dark of closed lashes; but his even breathing was + that of the seventh stage of sleep that knows no dreams. + </p> + <p> + A click of the door-latch heralded the appearance of a hand. With skill, + of the sort that only special training can develop, a man in native dress + insinuated himself into the carriage without making another sound of any + kind. King's ears are part of the equipment for his exacting business, but + he could not hear the door click shut again. + </p> + <p> + For about five minutes, while the train swayed head-long into Indian + darkness, the man stood listening and watching King's face. He stood so + near that King recognized him for the one who had accosted him on + Rawal-Pindi platform. And he could see the outline of the knife-hilt that + the man's fingers clutched underneath his shirt. + </p> + <p> + “He'll either strike first, so as to kill us both and do the looting + afterward--and in that case I think it will be easier to break his + neck than his arm--yes, decidedly his neck; it's long and thin;--or--” + </p> + <p> + His eyes feigned sleep so successfully that the native turned away at + last. + </p> + <p> + “Thought so!” He dared open his eyes a mite wider. “He's pukka--true + to type! Rob first and then kill! Rule number one with his sort, run when + you've stabbed! Not a bad rule either, from their point of view!” + </p> + <p> + As he watched, the thief drew the sheet back from Hyde's face, with + trained fingers that could have taken spectacles from the victims' nose + without his knowledge. Then as fish glide in and out among the reeds + without touching them, swift and soft and unseen, his fingers searched + Hyde's body. They found nothing. So they dived under the pillow and + brought out the pistol and a gold watch. + </p> + <p> + After that he began to search the clothes that hung on a hook beside + Hyde's berth. He brought forth papers and a pocketbook--then money. + Money went into one bag--papers and pocketbook into another. And that + was evidence enough as well as risk enough. The knife would be due in a + minute. + </p> + <p> + King moved in his sleep, rather noisily, and the movement knocked a book + to the floor from the foot of his berth. The noise of that awoke Hyde, and + King pretended to begin to wake, yawning and rolling on his back (that + being much the safest position an unarmed man can take and much the most + awkward for his enemy). + </p> + <p> + “Thieves!” Hyde yelled at the top of his lungs, groping wildly for his + pistol and not finding it. + </p> + <p> + King sat up and rubbed his eyes. The native drew the knife, and--believing + himself in command of the situation--hesitated for one priceless + second. He saw his error and darted for the door too late. With a movement + unbelievably swift King was there ahead of him; and with another movement + not so swift, but much more disconcerting, he threw his sheet as the + retiarius used to throw a net in ancient Rome. It wrapped round the + native's head and arms, and the two went together to the floor in a + twisted stranglehold. + </p> + <p> + In another half-minute the native was groaning, for King had his + knife-wrist in two hands and was bending it backward while he pressed the + man's stomach with his knees. + </p> + <p> + “Get his loot!” he panted between efforts. + </p> + <p> + The knife fell to the floor, and the thief made a gallant effort to + recover it, but King was too strong for him. He seized the knife himself, + slipped it in his own bosom and resumed his hold before the native guessed + what he was after. Then he kept a tight grip while Hyde knelt to grope for + his missing property. The major found both the thief's bags, and held them + up. + </p> + <p> + “I expect that's all,” said King, loosening his grip very gradually. The + native noticed--as Hyde did not--that King had begun to seem + almost absent-minded; the thief lay quite still, looking up, trying to + divine his next intention. Suddenly the brakes went on, but King's grip + did not tighten. The train began to scream itself to a standstill at a + wayside station, and King (the absent-minded)--very nearly grinned. + </p> + <p> + “If I weren't in such an infernal hurry to reach Bombay--” Hyde + grumbled; and King nearly laughed aloud then, for the thief knew English, + and was listening with all his ears, “--may I be damned if I wouldn't + get off at this station and wait to see that scoundrel brought to + justice!” + </p> + <p> + The train jerked itself to a standstill, and a man with a lantern began to + chant the station's name. + </p> + <p> + “Damn it!--I'm going to Bombay to act censor. I can't wait--they + want me there.” + </p> + <p> + The instant the train's motion altogether ceased the heat shut in on them + as if the lid of Tophet had been slammed. The prickly heat burst out all + over Hyde's skin and King's too. + </p> + <p> + “Almighty God!” gasped Hyde, beginning to fan himself. + </p> + <p> + There was plenty of excuse for relaxing hold still further, and King made + full use of it. A second later he gave a very good pretense of pain in his + finger-ends as the thief burst free. The native made a dive at his bosom + for the knife, but he frustrated that. Then he made a prodigious effort, + just too late, to clutch the man again, and he did succeed in tearing + loose a piece of shirt; but the fleeing robber must have wondered, as he + bolted into the blacker shadows of the station building, why such an + iron-fingered, wide-awake sahib should have made such a truly feeble + showing at the end. + </p> + <p> + “Damn it!--couldn't you hold him? Were you afraid of him, or what?” + demanded Hyde, beginning to dress himself. Instead of answering, King + leaned out into the lamp-lit gloom, and in a minute he caught sight of a + sergeant of native infantry passing down the train. He made a sign that + brought the man to him on the run. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see that runaway?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Ha, sahib. I saw one running. Shall I follow?” + </p> + <p> + “No. This piece of his shirt will identify him. Take it. Hide it! When a + man with a torn shirt, into which that piece fits, makes for the telegraph + office after this train has gone on, see that he is allowed to send any + telegrams he wants to! Only, have copies of every one of them wired to + Captain King, care of the station-master, Delhi. Have you understood?” + </p> + <p> + “Ha, sahib.” + </p> + <p> + “Grab him, and lock him up tight afterward--but not until he has sent + his telegrams!' + </p> + <p> + “Atcha, sahib.” + </p> + <p> + “Make yourself scarce, then!” + </p> + <p> + Major Hyde was dressed, having performed that military evolution in + something less than record time. + </p> + <p> + “Who was that you were talking to?” he demanded. But King continued to + look out the door. + </p> + <p> + Hyde came and tapped on his shoulder impatiently, but King did not seem to + understand until the native sergeant had quite vanished into the shadows. + </p> + <p> + “Let me pass, will you!” Hyde demanded. “I'll have that thief caught if + the train has to wait a week while they do it!” + </p> + <p> + He pushed past, but he was scarcely on the step when the station-master + blew his whistle, and his colored minion waved a lantern back and forth. + The engine shrieked forthwith of death and torment; carriage doors slammed + shut in staccato series; the heat relaxed as the engine moved--loosened--let + go--lifted at last, and a trainload of hot passengers sighed thanks + to an unresponsive sky as the train gained speed and wind crept in through + the thermantidotes. + </p> + <p> + Only through the broken thermantidote in King's compartment no wet air + came. Hyde knelt on King's berth and wrestled with it like a caged animal, + but with no result except that the sweat poured out all over him and he + was more uncomfortable than before. + </p> + <p> + “What are you looking at?” he demanded at last, sitting on King's berth. + His head swam. He had to wait a few seconds before he could step across to + his own side. + </p> + <p> + “Only a knife,” said King. He was standing under the dim gas lamp that + helped make the darkness more unbearable. + </p> + <p> + “Not that robber's knife? Did he drop it?” + </p> + <p> + “It's my knife,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Strange time to stand staring at it, if it's yours! Didn't you ever see + it before?” + </p> + <p> + King stowed the knife away in his bosom, and the major crossed to his own + side. + </p> + <p> + “I'm thinking I'll know it again, at all events!” King answered, sitting + down. “Good night, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Good night.” + </p> + <p> + Within ten minutes Hyde was asleep, snoring prodigiously. Then King pulled + out the knife again and studied it for half an hour. The blade was of + bronze, with an edge hammered to the keenness of a razor. The hilt was of + nearly pure gold, in the form of a woman dancing. + </p> + <p> + The whole thing was so exquisitely wrought that age had only softened the + lines, without in the least impairing them. It looked like one of those + Grecian toys with which Roman women of Nero's day stabbed their lovers. + But that was not why he began to whistle very softly to himself. + </p> + <p> + Presently he drew out the general's package of papers, with the photograph + on the top. He stood up, to hold both knife and papers close to the light + in the roof. + </p> + <p> + It needed no great stretch of imagination to suggest a likeness between + the woman of the photograph and the other, of the golden knife-hilt. And + nobody, looking at him then, would have dared suggest he lacked + imagination. + </p> + <p> + If the knife had not been so ancient they might have been portraits of the + same woman, in the same disguise, taken at the same time. + </p> + <p> + “She knew I had been chosen to work with her. The general sent her word + that I am coming,” he muttered to himself. “Man number one had a try for + me, but I had him pinched too soon. There must have been a spy watching at + Peshawur, who wired to Rawal-Pindi for this man to jump the train and go + on with the job. She must have had him planted at Rawal-Pindi in case of + accidents. She seems thorough! Why should she give the man a knife with + her own portrait on it? Is she queen of a secret society? Well--we + shall see!” + </p> + <p> + He sat down on his berth again and sighed, not discontentedly. Then he lit + one of his great black cigars and blew rings for five or six minutes. Then + he lay back with his head on the pillow, and before five minutes more had + gone he was asleep, with the cold cigar still clutched between his + fingers. + </p> + <p> + He looked as interesting in his sleep as when awake. His mobile face in + repose looked Roman, for the sun had tanned his skin and his nose was + aquiline. In museums, where sculptured heads of Roman generals and + emperors stand around the wall on pedestals, it would not be difficult to + pick several that bore more than a faint resemblance to him. He had + breadth and depth of forehead and a jowl that lent itself to smiles as + well as sternness, and a throat that expressed manly determination in + every molded line. + </p> + <p> + He slept like a boy until dawn; and he and Hyde had scarcely exchanged + another dozen words when the train screamed next day into Delhi station. + Then he saluted stiffly and was gone. + </p> + <p> + “Young jackanapes!” Hyde muttered after him. “Lazy young devil! He ought + to be with his regiment, marching and setting a good example to his men! + We'll have our work cut out to win this war, if there are many of his + stamp! And I'm afraid there are--I'm afraid so--far too many of + 'em! Pity! Such a pity! If the right men were at the top the youngsters at + the foot of the ladder would mind their P's and Q's. As it is, I'm afraid + we shall get beaten in this show. Dear, oh, dear!” + </p> + <p> + Being what he was, and consistent before all things, Major Hyde drew out + his writing materials there and then and wrote a report against Athelstan + King, which he signed, addressed to headquarters and mailed at the first + opportunity. There some future historian may find it and draw from it + unkind deductions on the morale of the British army. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter II + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The only things which can not be explained are facts. So, + use 'em. A riddle is proof there is a key to it. Nor is it + a riddle when you've got the key. Life is as simple as all + that.--Cocker +</pre> + <p> + Delhi boasts a round half-dozen railway stations, all of them designed + with regard to war, so that to King there was nothing unexpected in the + fact that the train had brought him to an unexpected station. He plunged + into its crowd much as a man in the mood might plunge into a whirlpool,--laughing + as he plunged, for it was the most intoxicating splurge of color, din and + smell that even India, the many-peopled--even Delhi, mother of + dynasties--ever had evolved. + </p> + <p> + The station echoed--reverberated--hummed. A roar went up of + human voices, babbling in twenty tongues, and above that rose in differing + degrees the ear-splitting shriek of locomotives, the blare of bugles, the + neigh of led horses, the bray of mules, the jingle of gun-chains and the + thundering cadence of drilled feet. + </p> + <p> + At one minute the whole building shook to the thunder of a grinning + regiment; an instant later it clattered to the wrought-steel hammer of a + thousand hoofs, as led troop-horses danced into formation to invade the + waiting trucks. Loaded trucks banged into one another and thunderclapped + their way into the sidings. And soldiers of nearly every Indian military + caste stood about everywhere, in what was picturesque confusion to the + uninitiated, yet like the letters of an index to a man who knew. And King + knew. Down the back of each platform Tommy Atkins stood in long straight + lines, talking or munching great sandwiches or smoking. + </p> + <p> + The heat smelt and felt of another world. The din was from the same + sphere. Yet everywhere was hope and geniality and by-your-leave as if + weddings were in the wind and not the overture to death. + </p> + <p> + Threading his way in and out among the motley swarm with a great black + cheroot between his teeth and sweat running into his eyes from his + helmet-band, Athelstan King strode at ease--at home--intent--amused--awake--and + almost awfully happy. He was not in the least less happy because perfectly + aware that a native was following him at a distance, although he did + wonder how the native had contrived to pass within the lines. + </p> + <p> + The general at Peshawur had compressed about a ton of miscellaneous + information into fifteen hurried minutes, but mostly he had given him + leave and orders to inform himself; so the fun was under way of winning + exact knowledge in spite of officers, not one of whom would not have grown + instantly suspicions at the first asked question. At the end of fifteen + minutes there was not a glib staff-officer there who could have deceived + him as to the numbers and destination of the force entraining. + </p> + <p> + “Kerachi!” he told himself, chewing the butt of his cigar and keeping well + ahead of the shadowing native. Always keep a “shadow” moving until you're + ready to deal with him is one of Cocker's very soundest rules. + </p> + <p> + “Turkey hasn't taken a hand yet--the general said so. No holy war + yet. These'll be held in readiness to cross to Basra in case the Turks + begin. While they wait for that at Kerachi the tribes won't dare begin + anything. One or two spies are sure to break North and tell them what this + force is for--but the tribes won't believe. They'll wait until the + force has moved to Basra before they take chances. Good! That means no + especial hurry for me!” + </p> + <p> + He did not have to return salutes, because he did not look for them. Very + few people noticed him at all, although he was recognized once or twice by + former messmates, and one officer stopped him with an out-stretched hand. + </p> + <p> + “Shake hands, you old tramp! Where are you bound for next? Tibet by any + chance--or is it Samarkand this time?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, hullo, Carmichel!” he answered, beaming instant good-fellowship. + “Where are you bound for?” And the other did not notice that his own + question had not been answered. + </p> + <p> + “Bombay! Bombay--Marseilles--Brussels--Berlin!” + </p> + <p> + “Wish you luck!” laughed King, passing on. Every living man there, with + the exception of a few staff-officers, believed himself en route for + Europe; their faces said as much. Yet King took another look at the piles + of stores and at the kits the men carried. + </p> + <p> + “Who'd take all that stuff to Europe, where they make it?” he reflected. + “And what 'u'd they use camel harness for in France?” + </p> + <p> + At his leisure--in his own way, that was devious and like a string of + miracles--he filtered toward the telegraph office. The native who had + followed him all this time drew closer, but he did not let himself be + troubled by that. + </p> + <p> + He whispered proof of his identity to the telegraph clerk, who was a Royal + Engineer, new to that job that morning, and a sealed telegram was handed + to him at once. The “shadow” came very close indeed, presumably to try and + read over his shoulder from behind, but he side-stepped into a corner and + read the telegram with his back to the wall. + </p> + <p> + It was in English, no doubt to escape suspicion; and because it was + war-time, and the censorship had closed on India like a throttling string, + it was not in code. So the wording, all things considered, had to be + ingenious, for the Mirza Ali, of the Fort, Bombay, to whom it was + addressed, could scarcely be expected to read more than between the lines. + The lines had to be there to read between. + </p> + <p> + “Cattle intended for slaughter,” it ran, “despatched Bombay on Fourteen + down. Meet train. Will be inspected en route, but should be dealt with + carefully, on arrival. Cattle inclined to stampede owing to bad scare + received to North of Delhi. Take all precautions and notify Abdul.” It was + signed “Suliman.” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” he chuckled. “Let's hope we get Abdul too. I wonder who he is!” + </p> + <p> + Still uninterested in the man who shadowed him, he walked back to the + office window and wrote two telegrams; one to Bombay, ordering the arrest + of Ali Mirza of the Fort, with an urgent admonition to discover who his + man Abdul might be, and to seize him as soon as found; the other to the + station in the north, insisting on close confinement for Suliman. + </p> + <p> + “Don't let him out on any terms at all!” he wired. + </p> + <p> + That being all the urgent business, he turned leisurely to face his + shadow, and the native met his eyes with the engaging frankness of an old + friend, coming forward with outstretched hand. They did not shake hands, + for King knew better than to fall into the first trap offered him. But the + man made a signal with his fingers that is known to not more than a dozen + men in all the world, and that changed the situation altogether. + </p> + <p> + “Walk with me,” said King, and the man fell into stride beside him. + </p> + <p> + He was a Rangar,--which is to say a Rajput who, or whose ancestors + had turned Muhammadan. Like many Rajputs he was not a big man, but he + looked fit and wiry; his head scarcely came above the level of King's + chin, although his turban distracted attention from the fact. The turban + was of silk and unusually large. + </p> + <p> + The whitest of well-kept teeth, gleaming regularly under a little black + waxed mustache betrayed no trace of betel-nut or other nastiness, and + neither his fine features nor his eyes suggested vice of the sort that + often undermines the character of Rajput youth. + </p> + <p> + On second thoughts, and at the next opportunity to see them, King was not + so sure that the eyes were brown, and he changed his opinion about their + color a dozen times within the hour. Once he would even have sworn they + were green. + </p> + <p> + The man was well-to-do, for his turban was of costly silk, and he was clad + in expensive jodpur riding breeches and spurred black riding boots, all + perfectly immaculate. The breeches, baggy above and tight, below, + suggested the clean lines of cat-like agility and strength. + </p> + <p> + The upper part of his costume was semi-European. He was a regular Rangar + dandy, of the type that can be seen playing polo almost any day at Mount + Abu--that gets into mischief with a grace due to practise and + heredity--but that does not manage its estates too well, as a rule, + nor pay its debts in a hurry. + </p> + <p> + “My name is Rewa Gunga,” he said in a low voice, looking up sidewise at + King a shade too guilelessly. Between Cape Comorin and the Northern Ice + guile is normal, and its absence makes the wise suspicious. + </p> + <p> + “I am Captain King.” + </p> + <p> + “I have a message for you.” + </p> + <p> + “From whom?” + </p> + <p> + “From her!” said the Rangar, and without exactly knowing why, or being + pleased with himself, King felt excited. + </p> + <p> + They were walking toward the station exit. King had a trunk check in his + hand, but returned it to pocket, not proposing just yet to let this Rangar + over-hear instructions regarding the trunk's destination; he was too + good-looking and too overbrimming with personal charm to be trusted thus + early in the game. Besides, there was that captured knife, that hinted at + lies and treachery. Secret signs as well as loot have been stolen before + now. + </p> + <p> + “I'd like to walk through the streets and see the crowd.” + </p> + <p> + He smiled as he said that, knowing well that the average young Rajput of + good birth would rather fight a tiger with cold steel than walk a mile or + two. He drew fire at once. + </p> + <p> + “Why walk, King sahib? Are we animals? There is a carriage waiting--her + carriage--and a coachman whose ears were born dead. We might be + overheard in the street. Are you and I children, tossing stones into a + pool to watch the rings widen!” + </p> + <p> + “Lead on, then,” answered King. + </p> + <p> + Outside the station was a luxuriously modern victoria, with C springs and + rubber tires, with horses that would have done credit to a viceroy. The + Rangar motioned King to get in first, and the moment they were both seated + the Rajput coachman set the horses to going like the wind. Rewa Gunga + opened a jeweled cigarette case. + </p> + <p> + “Will you have one?” he asked with the air of royalty entertaining a + blood-equal. + </p> + <p> + King accepted a cigarette for politeness' sake and took occasion to admire + the man's slender wrist, that was doubtless hard and strong as woven + steel, but was not much more than half the thickness of his own. + </p> + <p> + The Rajputs as a race are proud of their wrists and hands. Their swords + are made with a hilt so small that none save a Rajput of the blood could + possibly use one; yet there is no race in all warring India, nor any in + the world, that bears a finer record for hard fighting and sheer + derring-do. One of the questions that occurred to King that minute was why + this well-bred youngster whose age he guessed at twenty-two or so had not + turned his attention to the army. + </p> + <p> + “My height!” + </p> + <p> + The man had read his thoughts! + </p> + <p> + “Not quite tall enough. Besides--you are a soldier, are you not? And + do you fight?” + </p> + <p> + He nodded toward a dozen water-buffaloes, that slouched along the street + with wet goatskin mussuks slung on their blue flanks. + </p> + <p> + “They can fight,” he said smiling. “So can any other fool!” Then, after a + minute of rather strained silence: “My message is from her.” + </p> + <p> + “From Yasmini?” + </p> + <p> + “Who else?” + </p> + <p> + King accepted the rebuke with a little inclination of the head. He spoke + as little as possible, because he was puzzled. He had become conscious of + a puzzled look in the Rangar's eyes--of a subtle wonderment that + might be intentional flattery (for Art and the East are one). Whenever the + East is doubtful, and recognizes doubt, it is as dangerous as a hillside + in the rains, and it only added to his problem if the Rangar found in him + something inexplicable. The West can only get the better of the East when + the East is too cock-sure. + </p> + <p> + “She has jolly well gone North!” said the Rangar suddenly, and King shut + his teeth with a snap. He sat bolt upright, and the Rangar allowed himself + to look amused. + </p> + <p> + “When? Why?” + </p> + <p> + “She was too jolly well excited to wait, sahib! She is of the North, you + know. She loves the North, and the men of the 'Hills'; and she knows them + because she loves them. There came a tar (telegram) from Peshawur, from a + general, to say King sahib comes to Delhi; but already she had completed + all arrangements here. She was in a great stew, I can assure you. Finally + she said, 'Why should I wait?' Nobody could answer her.” + </p> + <p> + He spoke English well enough. Few educated foreign gentlemen could have + spoken it better, although there was the tendency to use slang that + well-bred natives insist on picking up from British officers; and as he + went on, here and there the native idiom crept through, translated. King + said nothing, but listened and watched, puzzled more than he would have + cared to admit by the look in the Rangar's eyes. It was not suspicion--nor + respect. Yet there was a suggestion of both. + </p> + <p> + “At last she said, 'It is well; I will not wait! I know of this sahib. He + is a man whose feet stand under him and he will not tread my growing + flowers into garbage! He will be clever enough to pick up the end of the + thread that I shall leave behind and follow it and me! He is a true hound, + with a nose that reads the wind, or the general sahib never would have + sent him!' So she left me behind, sahib, to--to present to you the + end of the thread of which she spoke.” + </p> + <p> + King tossed away the stump of the cigarette and rolled his tongue round + the butt of a fresh cheroot. The word “hound” is not necessarily a + compliment in any of a thousand Eastern tongues and gains little by + translation. It might have been a slip, but the East takes advantage of + its own slips as well as of other peoples' unless watched. + </p> + <p> + The carriage swayed at high speed round three sharp corners in succession + before the Rangar spoke again. + </p> + <p> + “She has often heard of you,” he said then. That was not unlikely, but not + necessarily true either. If it were true, it did not help to account for + the puzzled look in the Rangar's eyes, that increased rather than + diminished. + </p> + <p> + “I've heard of her,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Of course! Who has not? She has desired to meet you, sahib, ever since + she was told you are the best man in your service.” + </p> + <p> + King grunted, thinking of the knife beneath his shirt. + </p> + <p> + “She is very glad that you and she are on the same errand.” He leaned + forward for the sake of emphasis and laid a finger on King's hand. It was + a delicate, dainty finger with an almond nail. “She is very glad. She is + far more glad than you imagine, or than you would believe. King sahib, she + is all bucked up about it! Listen--her web is wide! Her agents are + here--there--everywhere, and she is obeyed as few kings have + ever been! Those agents shall all be held answerable for your life, sahib,--for + she has said so! They are one and all your bodyguard, from now forward!” + </p> + <p> + King inclined his head politely, but the weight of the knife inside his + shirt did not encourage credulity. True, it might not be Yasmini's knife, + and the Rangar's emphatic assurance might not be an unintentional + admission that the man who had tried to use it was Yasmini's man. But when + a man has formed the habit of deduction, he deduces as he goes along, and + is prone to believe what his instinct tells him. + </p> + <p> + Again, it was as if the Rangar read a part of his thoughts, if not all of + them. It is not difficult to counter that trick, but to do it a man must + be on his guard, or the East will know what he has thought and what he is + going to think, as many have discovered when it was too late. + </p> + <p> + “Her men are able to protect anybody's life from any God's number of + assassins, whatever may lead you to think the contrary. From now forward + your life is in her men's keeping!” + </p> + <p> + “Very good of her; I'm sure,” King murmured. He was thinking of the + general's express order to apply for a “passport” that would take him into + Khinjan Caves--mentally cursing the necessity for asking any kind of + favor,--and wondering whether to ask this man for it or wait until he + should meet Yasmini. He had about made up his mind that to wait would be + quite within a strict interpretation of his orders, as well as infinitely + more agreeable to himself, when the Rangar answered his thoughts again as + if he had spoken them aloud. + </p> + <p> + “She left this with me, saying I am to give it to you! I am to say that + wherever you wear it, between here and Afghanistan, your life shall be + safe and you may come and go!” + </p> + <p> + King stared. The Rangar drew a bracelet from an inner pocket and held it + out. It was a wonderful, barbaric thing of pure gold, big enough for a + grown man's wrist, and old enough to have been hammered out in the very + womb of time. It looked almost like ancient Greek, and it fastened with a + hinge and clasp that looked as if they did not belong to it, and might + have been made by a not very skillful modern jeweler. + </p> + <p> + “Won't you wear it?” asked Rewa Gunga, watching him. “It will prove a true + talisman! What was the name of the Johnny who had a lamp to rub? Aladdin? + It will be better than what he had! He could only command a lot of bogies. + This will give you authority over flesh and blood! Take it, sahib!” + </p> + <p> + So King put it on, letting it slip up his sleeve, out of sight,--with + a sensation as the snap closed of putting handcuffs on himself. But the + Rangar looked relieved. + </p> + <p> + “That is your passport, sahib! Show it to a Hill-man whenever you suppose + yourself in danger. The Raj might go to pieces, but while Yasmini lives--” + </p> + <p> + “Her friends will boast about her, I suppose!” + </p> + <p> + King finished the sentence for him because it is not considered good form for + natives to hint at possible dissolution of the Anglo-Indian Government. + Everybody knows that the British will not govern India forever, but the + British--who know it best of all, and work to that end most fervently--are + the only ones encouraged to talk about it. + </p> + <p> + For a few minutes after that Rewa Gunga held his peace, while the carriage + swayed at breakneck speed through the swarming streets. They had to drive + slower in the Chandni Chowk, for the ancient Street of the Silversmiths + that is now the mart of Delhi was ablaze with crude colors, and was + thronged with more people than ever since '57. There were a thousand signs + worth studying by a man who could read them. + </p> + <p> + King, watching and saying nothing, reached the conclusion that Delhi was + in hand--excited undoubtedly, more than a bit bewildered, watchful, + but in hand. Without exactly knowing how he did it, he grew aware of a + certain confidence that underlay the surface fuss. After that the sea of + changing patterns and raised voices ceased to have any particular interest + for him and he lay back against the cushions to pay stricter attention to + his own immediate affairs. + </p> + <p> + He did not believe for a second the lame explanation Yasmini had left + behind. She must have some good reason for wishing to be first up the + Khyber, and he was very sorry indeed she had slipped away. It might be + only jealousy, yet why should she be jealous? It might be fear--yet + why should she be afraid? + </p> + <p> + It was the next remark of the Rangar's that set him entirely on his guard, + and thenceforward whoever could have read his thoughts would have been + more than human. Perhaps it is the most dominant characteristic of the + British race that it will not defend itself until it must. He had known of + that thought-reading trick ever since his ayah (native nurse) taught him + to lisp Hindustanee; just as surely he knew that its impudent, repeated + use was intended to sap his belief in himself. There is not much to choose + between the native impudence that dares intrude on a man's thoughts, and + the insolence that understands it, and is rather too proud to care. + </p> + <p> + “I'll bet you a hundred dibs,” said the Rangar, “that she jolly well + didn't fancy your being on the scene ahead of her! I'll bet you she + decided to be there first and get control of the situation! Take me? You'd + lose if you did! She's slippery, and quick, and like all Women, she's + jealous!” + </p> + <p> + The Rangar's eyes were on his, but King was not to be caught again. It is + quite easy to think behind a fence, so to speak, if one gives attention to + it. + </p> + <p> + “She will be busy presently fooling those Afridis,” he continued, waving + his cigarette. “She has fooled them always, to the limit of their bally + bent. They all believe she is their best friend in the world--oh, + dear Yes, you bet they do! And so she is--so she is--but not in + the way they think! They believe she plots with them against the Raj! Poor + silly devils! Yet Yasmini loves them! They want war--blood--loot! + It is all they think about! They are seldom satisfied unless their wrists + and elbows are bally well red with other peoples' gore! And while they are + picturing the loot, and the slaughter of unbelievers--(as if they + believed anything but foolishness themselves!)--Yasmini plays her own + game, for amusement and power--a good game--a deep game! You + have seen already how India has to ask her aid in the 'Hills'! She loves + power, power, power--not for its name, for names are nothing, but to + use it. She loves the feel of it! Fighting is not power! Blood-letting is + foolishness. If there is any blood spilt it is none of her doing--unless--” + </p> + <p> + “Unless what?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Oh--sometimes there were fools who interfered. You can not blame her + for that.” + </p> + <p> + “You seem to be a champion of hers! How long have you known her?”' + </p> + <p> + The Rangar eyed him sharply. + </p> + <p> + “A long time. She and I played together when we were children. I know her + whole history--and that is something nobody else in the world knows + but she herself. You see, I am favored. It is because she knows me very + well that she chose me to travel North with you, when you start to find + her in the 'Hills'!” + </p> + <p> + King cleared his throat, and the Rangar nodded, looking into his eyes with + the engaging confidence of a child who never has been refused anything, in + or out of reason. King made no effort to look pleased, so the Rangar drew + on his resources. + </p> + <p> + “I have a letter from her,” he stated blandly. + </p> + <p> + From a pocket in the carriage cushions he brought out a silver tube, + richly carved in the Kashmiri style and closed at either end with a + tightly fitting silver cap. King accepted it and drew the cap from one + end. A roll of scented paper fell on his lap, and a puff of hot wind + combined with a lurch of the carriage springs came near to lose it for + him; he snatched it just in time and unrolled it to find a letter written + to himself in Urdu, in a beautiful flowing hand. + </p> + <p> + Urdu is perhaps the politest of written tongues and lends itself most + readily to indirectness; but since he did not expect to read a catalogue + of exact facts, he was not disappointed. + </p> + <p> + Translated, the letter ran: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “To Athelstan King sahib, by the hand of Rewa Gunga. + Greeting. The bearer is my well-trusted servant, whom + I have chosen to be the sahib's guide until Heaven + shall be propitious and we meet. He is instructed + in all that he need know concerning what is now in hand, + and he will tell by word of mouth such things as ought + not to be written. By all means let Rewa Gunga travel + with you, for he is of royal blood, of the House of + Ketchwaha and will not fail you. His honor and mine + are one. Praying that the many gods of India may heap + honors on your honor's head, providing each his proper + attribute toward entire ability to succeed in all things, + but especially in the present undertaking, + + “I am Your Excellency's humble servant, + --Yasmini.” + </pre> + <p> + He had barely finished reading it when the coachman took a last corner at + a gallop and drew the horses up on their haunches at a door in a high + white wall. Rewa Gunga sprang out of the carriage before the horses were + quite at a standstill. + </p> + <p> + “Here we are!” he said, and King, gathering up the letter and the silver + tube, noticed that the street curved here so that no other door and no + window overlooked this one. + </p> + <p> + He followed the Rangar, and he was no sooner into the shadow of the door + than the coachman lashed the horses and the carriage swung out of view. + </p> + <p> + “This way,” said the Rangar over his shoulder. “Come!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter III + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Lie to a liar, for lies are his coin. + Steal from a thief, for that is easy. + Set a trap for a trickster, and catch him at the first attempt. + But beware of the man who has no axe to grind. + --Eastern Proverb +</pre> + <p> + It was a musty smelling entrance, so dark that to see was scarcely + possible after the hot glare outside. Dimly King made out Rewa Gunga + mounting stairs to the left and followed him. The stairs wound backward + and forward on themselves four times, growing scarcely any lighter as they + ascended, until, when he guessed himself two stories at least above road + level, there was a sudden blaze of reflected light and he blinked at more + mirrors than he could count. They had been swung on hinges suddenly to + throw the light full in his face. + </p> + <p> + There were curtains reflected in each mirror, and little glowing lamps, so + cunningly arranged that it was not possible to guess which were real and + which were not. Rewa Gunga offered no explanation, but stood watching with + quiet amusement. He seemed to expect King to take a chance and go forward, + but if he did he reckoned without his guest. King stood still. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly, as if she had done it a thousand times before and surprised + a thousand people, a little nut-brown maid parted the middle pair of + curtains and said “Salaam!” smiling with teeth that were as white as + porcelain. All the other curtains parted too, so that the whereabouts of + the door might still have been in doubt had she not spoken and so + distinguished herself from her reflections. King looked scarcely + interested and not at all disturbed. + </p> + <p> + Balked of his amusement, Rewa Gunga hurried past him, thrusting the little + maid aside, and led the way. King followed him into a long room, whose + walls were hung with richer silks than any he remembered to have seen. In + a great wide window to one side some twenty women began at once to make + flute music. + </p> + <p> + Silken punkahs swung from chains, wafting back and forth a cloud of + sandalwood smoke that veiled the whole scene in mysterious, scented mist. + Through the open window came the splash of a fountain and the chattering + of birds, and the branch of a feathery tree drooped near by. It seemed + that the long white wall below was that of Yasmini's garden. + </p> + <p> + “Be welcome!” laughed Rewa Gunga; “I am to do the honors, since she is not + here. Be seated, sahib.” + </p> + <p> + King chose a divan at the room's farthest end, near tall curtains that led + into rooms beyond. He turned his back toward the reason for his choice. On + a little ivory-inlaid ebony table about ten feet away lay a knife, that + was almost the exact duplicate of the one inside his shirt. Bronze knives + of ancient date, with golden handles carved to represent a woman dancing, + are rare. The ability to seem not to notice incriminating evidence is + rarer still--rarest of all when under the eyes of a native of India, + for cats and hawks are dullards by comparison to them. But King saw the + knife, yet did not seem to see it. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing there calculated to set an Englishman at ease. In spite + of the Rangar's casual manner, Yasmini's reception room felt like the + antechamber to another world, where mystery is atmosphere and ordinary air + to breathe is not at all. He could sense hushed expectancy on every side--could + feel the eyes of many women fixed on him--and began to draw on his + guard as a fighting man draws on armor. There and then he deliberately set + himself to resist mesmerism, which is the East's chief weapon. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga, perfectly at home, sprawled leisurely, along a cushioned couch + with a grace that the West has not learned yet; but King did not make the + mistake of trusting him any better for his easy manners, and his eyes + sought swiftly for some unrhythmic, unplanned thing on which to rest, that + he might save himself by a sort of mental leverage. + </p> + <p> + Glancing along the wall that faced the big window, he noticed for the + first time a huge Afridi, who sat on a stool and leaned back against the + silken hangings with arms folded. + </p> + <p> + “Who is that man?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “He? Oh, he is a savage--just a big savage,” said Rewa Gunga, looking + vaguely annoyed. + </p> + <p> + “Why is he here?” + </p> + <p> + He did not dare let go of this chance side-issue. He knew that Rewa Gunga + wished him to talk of Yasmini and to ask questions about her, and that if + he succumbed to that temptation all his self-control would be cunningly + sapped away from him until his secrets, and his very senses, belonged to + some one else. + </p> + <p> + “What is he doing here?” he insisted. + </p> + <p> + “He? Oh, he does nothing. He waits,” purred the Rangar. “He is to be your + body-servant on your journey to the North. He is nothing--nobody at + all!--except that he is to be trusted utterly because he loves + Yasmini. He is Obedience! A big obedient fool! Let him be!” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said King. “If he's to be my man I'll speak to him!” + </p> + <p> + He felt himself winning. Already the spell of the room was lifting, and he + no longer felt the cloud of sandalwood smoke like a veil across his brain. + </p> + <p> + “Won't you tell him to come here to me?” + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga laughed, resting his silk turban against the wall hangings and + clasping both hands about his knee. It was as a man might laugh who has + been touched in a bout with foils. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!--Ismail!” he called, with a voice like a bell, that made King + stare. + </p> + <p> + The Afridi seemed to come out of a deep sleep and looked bewildered, + rubbing his eyes and feeling whether his turban was on straight. He combed + his beard with nervous fingers as he gazed about him and caught Rewa + Gunga's eye. Then he sprang to his feet. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” ordered Rewa Gunga. + </p> + <p> + The man obeyed. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see?” Rewa Gunga chuckled. “He rose from his place like a + buffalo, rump first and then shoulder after shoulder! Such men are safe! + Such men have no guile beyond what will help them to obey! Such men think + too slowly to invent deceit for its own sake!” + </p> + <p> + The Afridi came and towered above them, standing with gnarled hands + knotted into clubs. + </p> + <p> + “What is thy name?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he boomed. + </p> + <p> + “Thou art to be my servant?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! So said she. I am her man. I obey!” + </p> + <p> + “When did she say so?” King asked him blandly, asking unexpected questions + being half the art of Secret Service, although the other half is harder to + achieve. + </p> + <p> + The Hillman stroked his great beard and stood considering the question. + One could almost imagine the click of slow machinery revolving in his + mind, although King entertained a shrewd suspicion that he was not so + stupid as he chose to seem. His eyes were too hawk-bright to be a stupid + man's. + </p> + <p> + “Before she went away,” he answered at last. + </p> + <p> + “When did she go away?” + </p> + <p> + He thought again, then “Yesterday,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Why did you wait before you answered?” + </p> + <p> + The Afridi's eyes furtively sought Rewa Gunga's and found no aid there. + Watching the Rangar less furtively, but even less obviously, King was + aware that his eyes were nearly closed, as if they were not interested. + The fingers that clasped his knee drummed on it indifferently, seeing + which King allowed himself to smile. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind,” he told Ismail. “It is no matter. It is ever well to think + twice before speaking once, for thus mistakes die stillborn. Only the + monkey-folk thrive on quick answers--is it not so? Thou art a man of + many inches--of thew and sinew--Hey, but thou art a man! If the + heart within those great ribs of thine is true as thine arms are strong I + shall be fortunate to have thee for a servant!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said the Afridi. “But what are words? She has said I am thy + servant, and to hear her is to obey!” + </p> + <p> + “Then from now thou art my servant?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, but from yesterday when she gave the order!” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Aye, good for thee! May Allah do more to me if I fail!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, take me a telegram!” said King. + </p> + <p> + He began to write at once on a half-sheet of paper that he tore from a + letter he had in his pocket, setting down a row of figures at the top and + transposing into cypher as he went along. + </p> + <p> + “Yasmini has gone North. Is there any reason at your end why I should not + follow her at once?” + </p> + <p> + He addressed it in plain English to his friend the general at Peshawur, + taking great care lest the Rangar read it through those sleepy, + half-closed eyes of his. Then he tore the cypher from the top, struck a + match and burned the strip of paper and handed the code telegram to + Ismail, directing him carefully to a government office where the cypher + signature would be recognized and the telegram given precedence. + </p> + <p> + Ismail stalked off with it, striding like Moses down from Sinai--hook-nose--hawk-eye--flowing + beard--dignity and all, and King settled down to guard himself + against the next attempt on his sovereign self-command. + </p> + <p> + Now he chose to notice the knife on the ebony table as if he had not seen + it before. He got up and reached for it and brought it back, turning it + over and over in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “A strange knife,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,--from Khinjan,” said Rewa Gunga, and King eyed him as one wolf + eyes another. + </p> + <p> + “What makes you say it is from Khinjan?” + </p> + <p> + “She brought it from Khinjan Caves herself! There is another knife that + matches it, but that is not here. That bracelet you now wear, sahib, is + from Khinjan Caves too! She has the secret of the Caves!” + </p> + <p> + “I have heard that the 'Heart of the Hills' is there,” King answered. “Is + the 'Heart of the Hills' a treasure house?” + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga laughed. + </p> + <p> + “Ask her, sahib! Perhaps she will tell you! Perhaps she will let you see! + Who knows? She is a woman of resource and unexpectedness--Let her + women dance for you a while.” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. Then he got up and laid the knife back on the little table. A + minute or so later he noticed that at a sign from Rewa Gunga a woman left + the great window place and spirited the knife away. + </p> + <p> + “May I have a sheet of paper?” he asked, for he knew that another fight + for his self-command was due. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga gave an order, and a maid brought him scented paper on a silver + tray. He drew out his own fountain pen then and made ready. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the great silken punkah that swung rhythmically across the + full breadth of the room the beat was so great that the pen slipped round + and round between his fingers. Yet he contrived to write, and since his + one object was to give his brain employment, he wrote down a list of the + names he had memorized in the train on the journey from Peshawur, not + thinking of a use for the list until he had finished. Then, though, a real + use occurred to him. + </p> + <p> + While he began to write more than a dozen dancing women swept into the + room from behind the silk hangings in a concerted movement that was all + lithe slumberous grace. Wood-wind music called to them from the great deep + window as snakes are summoned from their holes, and as cobras answer the + charmer's call the women glided to the center and stood poised beneath the + punkah. + </p> + <p> + There they began to chant, still dreamily, and with the chant the dance + began, in and out, round and round, lazily, ever so lazily, wreathed in + buoyant gossamer that was scarcely more solid than the sandalwood smoke + they wafted into rings. + </p> + <p> + King watched them and listened to their chant until he began to recognize + the strain on the eye-muscles that precedes the mesmeric spell. Then he + wrote and read what he had written and wrote again. And after that, for + the sake of mental exercise, he switched his thoughts into another channel + altogether. He reverted to Delhi railway station. + </p> + <p> + “The Turks can spy as well as anybody.--They know those men are going + to Kerachi to be ready for them.--Therefore, having cut his eye-teeth + B.C. several hundred, the Unspeakable Turk will take care not to misbehave + UNTIL he's ready. And I suppose our government, being ours and we being + us, will let him do it! All of which will take time.--And that again + means no trouble in the Hills--probably--until the Turks really + do feel ready to begin. They'll preach a holy war just ahead of the date. + The tribes will keep quiet because an army at Kerachi might be meant for + their benefit. Oh, yes, I'm quite sure they were entraining for Kerachi in + readiness to move on Basra. + </p> + <p> + “Trucks ready for camels--and camel drivers--and food for camels--and + Eresby, who's just come from taking a special camel course. Not a doubt of + it!--And then, Corrigan--Elwright--Doby--Gould--all + on the platform in a bunch, and all down on the Army List as Turkish + interpreters! Not a doubt left!” + </p> + <p> + “What have you written?” asked a quiet voice at his ear; and he turned to + look straight in the eyes of Rewa Gunga, who had leaned forward to read + over his shoulder. Just for one second he hovered on the brink of quick + defeat. Having escaped the Scylla of the dancing women, Charybdis waited + for him in the shape of eyes that were pools of hot mystery. It was the + sound of his own voice that brought him back to the world again and saved + his will for him unbound. + </p> + <p> + “Read it, won't you?” he laughed. “If you know, take this pen and mark the + names of whichever of those men are still in Delhi.” + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga took pen and paper and set a mark against some thirty of the + names, for King had a manner that disarmed refusal. + </p> + <p> + “Where are the others?” he asked him, after a glance at it. + </p> + <p> + “In jail, or else over the border.” + </p> + <p> + “Already?” + </p> + <p> + The Rangar nodded. “Trust Yasmini! She saw to that jolly well before she + left Delhi! She would have stayed had there been anything more to do!” + </p> + <p> + King began to watch the dance again, for it did not feel safe to look too + long into the Rangar's eyes. It was not wise just then to look too long at + anything, or to think too long on any one subject. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail is slow about returning,” said the Rangar. + </p> + <p> + “I wrote at the foot of the tar,” said King, “that they are to detain him + there until the answer comes.” + </p> + <p> + The Rangar's eyes blazed for a second and then grew cold again (as King + did not fail to observe). He knew as well as the Rangar that not many men + would have kept their will so unfettered in that room as to be able to + give independent orders. He recognized resignation, temporary at least, in + the Rangar's attitude of leaning back again to watch from under lowered + eyelids. It was like being watched by a cat. + </p> + <p> + All this while the women danced on, in time to wailing flute-music, until, + it seemed from nowhere, a lovelier woman than any of them appeared in + their midst, sitting cross-legged with a flat basket at her knees. She sat + with arms raised and swayed from the waist as if in a delirium. Her arms + moved in narrowing circles, higher and higher above the basket lid, and + the lid began to rise. Nobody touched it, nor was there any string, but as + it rose it swayed with sickening monotony. + </p> + <p> + It was minutes before the bodies of two great king-cobras could be made + out, moving against the woman's spangled dress. The basket lid was resting + on their heads, and as the music and the chanting rose to a wild weird + shriek the lid rose too, until suddenly the woman snatched the lid away + and the snakes were revealed, with hoods raised, hissing the cobra's + hate-song that is prelude to the poison-death. + </p> + <p> + They struck at the woman, one after the other, and she leaped out of their + range, swift and as supple as they. Instantly then she joined in the + dance, with the snakes striking right and left at her. Left and right she + swayed to avoid them, far more gracefully than a matador avoids the bull + and courting a deadlier peril than he--poisonous, two to his one. As + she danced she whirled both arms above her head and cried as the + were-wolves are said to do on stormy nights. + </p> + <p> + Some unseen hand drew a blind over the great window and an eerie + green-and-golden light began to play from one end of the room, throwing + the dancers into half-relief and deepening the mystery. + </p> + <p> + Sweet strange scents were wafted in from under the silken hangings. The + room grew cooler by unguessed means. Every sense was treacherously wooed. + And ever, in the middle of the moving light among the languorous dancers, + the snakes pursued the woman! + </p> + <p> + “Do you do this often?” wondered King, in a calm aside to Rewa Gunga, + turning half toward him and taking his eyes off the dance without any + very great effort. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga clapped his hands and the dance ceased. The woman spirited her + snakes away. The blind was drawn upward and in a moment all was normal + again with the punkah swinging slowly overhead, except that the seductive + smell remained, that was like the early-morning breath of all the + different flowers of India. + </p> + <p> + “If she were here,” said the Rangar, a little grimly--with a trace of + disappointment in his tone--“you would not snatch your eyes away like + that! You would have been jolly well transfixed, my friend! These--she--that + woman--they are but clumsy amateurs! If she were here, to dance with + her snakes for you, you would have been jolly well dancing with her, if + she had wished it! Perhaps you shall see her dance some day! Ah,--here + is Ismail,” he added in an altered tone of voice. He seemed relieved at + sight of the Afridi. + </p> + <p> + Bursting through the glass-bead curtains at the door, the great savage + strode down the room, holding out a telegram. Rewa Gunga looked as if he + would have snatched it, but King's hand was held out first and Ismail gave + it to him. With a murmur of conventional apology King tore the envelope + and in a second his eyes were ablaze with something more than wonder. A + mystery, added to a mystery, stirred all the zeal in him. But in a second + he had sweated his excitement down. + </p> + <p> + “Read that, will you?” he said, passing it to Rewa Gunga. It was not in + cypher, but in plain everyday English. + </p> + <p> + “She has not gone North,” it ran. “She is still in Delhi. Suit your own + movements to your plans.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you explain?” asked King in a level voice. He was watching the Rangar + narrowly, yet he could not detect the slightest symptom of emotion. + </p> + <p> + “Explain?” said the Rangar. “Who can explain foolishness? It means that + another fat general has made another fat mistake!” + </p> + <p> + “What makes you so certain she went North?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + Instead of answering, Rewa Gunga beckoned Ismail, who had stepped back out + of hearing. The giant came and loomed over them like the Spirit of the + Lamp of the Arabian Nights. + </p> + <p> + “Whither went she?” asked the Rangar. + </p> + <p> + “To the North!” he boomed. + </p> + <p> + “How knowest thou?” + </p> + <p> + “I saw her go!” + </p> + <p> + “When went she?” + </p> + <p> + “Yesterday, when a telegram came.” + </p> + <p> + The word “came” was the only clue to his meaning, for in the language he + used “yesterday” and “to-morrow” are the same word; such is the East's + estimate of time. + </p> + <p> + “By what route did she go?” asked Rewa Gunga. + </p> + <p> + “By the terrain from the station.” + </p> + <p> + “How knowest thou that?” + </p> + <p> + “I was there, bearing her box of jewels.” + </p> + <p> + “Didst thou see her buy the tikkut?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I bought it, for she ordered me.” + </p> + <p> + “For what destination was the tikkut?” + </p> + <p> + “Peshawur!” said Ismail, filling his mouth with the word as if he loved + it. + </p> + <p> + “Yet”--it was King who spoke now, pointing an accusing finger at him--“a + burra sahib sends a tar to me--this is it!--to say she is in + Delhi still! Who told thee to answer those questions with those words?” + </p> + <p> + “She!” the big man answered. + </p> + <p> + “Yasmini?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! May Allah cover her with blessings!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said King. “You have my leave to depart out of earshot.” + </p> + <p> + Then he turned on Rewa Gunga. + </p> + <p> + “Whatever the truth of all this,” he said quietly, “I suppose it means she + has done what there was to do in Delhi?” + </p> + <p> + “Sahib,--trust her! Does a tigress hunt where no watercourses are, + and where no game goes to drink? She follows the sambur!” + </p> + <p> + “You are positive she has started for the North?” + </p> + <p> + “Sahib, when she speaks it is best to believe! She told me she will go. + Therefore I am ready to lead King sahib up the Khyber to her!” + </p> + <p> + “Are you certain you can find her?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, sahib,--in the dark!” + </p> + <p> + “There's a train leaves for the North to-night,” said King. + </p> + <p> + The Rangar nodded. + </p> + <p> + “You'll want a pass up the line. How many servants? Three--four--how + many?” + </p> + <p> + “One,” said the Rangar, and King was instantly suspicious of the modesty + of that allowance; however he wrote out a pass for Rewa Gunga and one + servant and gave it to him. + </p> + <p> + “Be there on time and see about your own reservation,” he said. “I'll + attend to Ismail's pass myself.” + </p> + <p> + He folded the list of names that the Rangar had marked and wrote something + on the back. Then he begged an envelope, and Rewa Gunga had one brought to + him. He sealed the list in the envelope, addressed it and beckoned Ismail + again. + </p> + <p> + “Take this to Saunders sahib!” he ordered. “Go first to the telegraph + office, where you were before, and the babu there will tell you where + Saunders sahib may be found. Having found him, deliver the letter to him. + Then come and find me at the Star of India Hotel and help me to bathe and + change my clothes.” + </p> + <p> + “To hear is to obey!” boomed Ismail, bowing; but his last glance was for + Rewa Gunga, and he did not turn to go until he had met the Rangar's eyes. + </p> + <p> + When Ismail had gone striding down the room, with no glance to spare for + the whispering women in the window, and with dignity like an aura exuding + from him, King looked into the Rangar's eyes with that engaging frankness + of his that disarms so many people. + </p> + <p> + “Then you'll be on the train to-night?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “To hear is to obey! With pleasure, sahib!” + </p> + <p> + “Then good-by until this evening.” + </p> + <p> + King bowed very civilly and walked out, rather unsteadily because his head + ached. Probably nobody else, except the Rangar, could have guessed what an + ordeal he had passed through or how near he had been to losing + self-command. + </p> + <p> + But as he felt his way down the stairs, that were dimly lighted now, he + knew he had all his senses with him, for he “spotted” and admired the + lurking places that had been designed for undoing of the unwary, or even + the overwary. Yasmini's Delhi nest was like a hundred traps in one. + </p> + <p> + “Almost like a pool table,” he reflected. “Pocket 'em at both ends and the + middle!” + </p> + <p> + In the street he found a gharry after a while and drove to his hotel. And + before Ismail came he took a stroll through a bazaar, where he made a few + strange purchases. In the hotel lobby he invested in a leather bag with a + good lock, in which to put them. Later on Ismail came and proved himself + an efficient body-servant. + </p> + <p> + That evening Ismail carried the leather bag and found his place on the + train, and that was not so difficult, because the trains running North + were nearly empty, although the platforms were all crowded. As he stood at + the carriage door with Ismail near him, a man named Saunders slipped + through the crowd and sought him out. + </p> + <p> + “Arrested 'em all!” he grinned. + </p> + <p> + “Good.” + </p> + <p> + “Seen anything of her? I recognized Yasmini's scent on your envelope. It's + peculiar to her--one of her monopolies!” + </p> + <p> + “No. I'm told she went North yesterday.” + </p> + <p> + “Not by train, she didn't! It's my business to know that!” + </p> + <p> + King did not answer; nor did he look surprised. He was watching Rewa + Gunga, followed by a servant, hurrying to a reserved compartment at the + front end of the train. The Rangar waved to him and he waved back. + </p> + <p> + “I'd know her in a million!” vowed Saunders. “I can take oath she hasn't + gone anywhere by train! Unless she has walked, or taken a carriage, she's + in Delhi!” + </p> + <p> + The engine gave a preliminary shriek and the giant Ismail nudged King's + elbow in impatient warning. There was no more sign of Rewa Gunga, who had + evidently settled down in his compartment for the night. + </p> + <p> + “Get my bag out again!” King ordered, and Ismail stared. + </p> + <p> + “Get out my bag, I said!” + </p> + <p> + “To hear is to obey!” Ismail grumbled, reaching with his long arm through + the window. + </p> + <p> + The engine shrieked again, somebody whistled, and the train began to move. + </p> + <p>“You've missed it!” said Saunders, amused at Ismail's frantic +disappointment. The giant was tugging at his beard. “How about your +trunk? Better wire ahead and have it spotted for you.”</p> + + <p>“No,” said King; “it's still in the baggage + room at the other station. I didn't intend to go by this train. Came down here + to see another fellow off, that's all! Have a cigar and then let's go + together and look those prisoners over!”</p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Men boast in the Hills, when they ought to pray; + For the wind blows lusty, and the blood runs red, + And Law lies belly upwards for a man to wreak his fancy on it. + Down in the plains, in the dust of the plains + Where law is master and a good man ought to boast, + They all lie belly downwards praying for their Hills again! +</pre> + <p> + The rear lights of the train he had not taken swayed out of Delhi station + and King grinned as he wiped the sweat from his face with a dripping + handkerchief. Behind him towered the hook-nosed Ismail, resentful of the + unexpected. In front of him Saunders eyed the proffered black cheroots + suspiciously, accepted one with an air of curiosity and passed the case + back. Around them the clatter of the station crowd began to die, and + Parsimony in a shabby uniform went round to lower lights. + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure--” + </p> + <p> + King's merry eyes looked into Saunders' as if there were no world war + really and they two were puppets in a comedy. + </p> + <p> + “--are you absolutely certain Yasmini is in Delhi?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Saunders. “What I swear to is that she has not left by train. + It's my business to know who leaves by train.” + </p> + <p> + “What can you suggest?” asked King, twisting at his scrubby little + mustache. But if he wished to convey the impression of a man at his wits' + end, he failed signally. + </p> + <p> + “I? Nothing! She's the most elusive individual in Asia! One person in the + world knows where she is, unless she has an accomplice. My information's + negative. I know she has not gone by--” + </p> + <p> + King struck a match and held it out, so the sentence was unfinished; the + first few puffs of the astonishing cigar wiped out all memory of the + missing word. And then King changed the subject. + </p> + <p> + “Those men I asked you to arrest--?” + </p> + <p> + “Nabbed”--puff--“every one of 'em!”--puff--puff--“all + under”--puff--puff--“lock and key,--best smoke I ever + tasted--where d'you get 'em?” + </p> + <p> + “Had they been in communication with her?” + </p> + <p> + Puff--puff--“You bet they had! Where d'you get these things?” + </p> + <p> + “Not her special men by any chance?” + </p> + <p> + Puff--“Gad, what smoke!--couldn't say, of course, but”--puff--puff--“shouldn't + think so.” + </p> + <p> + “Well--I'll go along with you if you like, and look them over.” + </p> + <p> + Both tone and manner gave Saunders credit for the suggestion, and Saunders + seemed to like it. There is nothing like following up, in football, war or + courtship. + </p> + <p> + “I see you're a judge of a cigar,” said King, and Saunders purred, all men + being fools to some extent, and the only trouble being to demonstrate the + fact. + </p> + <p> + They had started for the station entrance when a nasal voice began + intoning, “Cap-teen King sahib--Cap-teen King sahib!” and a telegraph + messenger passed them with his book under his arm. King whistled him. A + moment later he was tearing open an official urgent telegram and writing a + string of figures in pencil across the top. Then he decoded swiftly, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Advices are Yasmini was in Delhi as recently as six + this evening. Fail to understand your inability to + get in touch. Have you tried at her house? Matters + in Khyber district much less satisfactory. Word from + O-C Khyber Rifles to effect that lashkar is collecting. + Better sweep up in Delhi and proceed northward as quickly + as compatible with caution. L. M. L.” + </pre> + <p> + The three letters at the end were the general's coded signature. The + wording of the telegram was such that as he read King saw a mental picture + of the general's bald red skull and could almost hear him say the “fail to + understand.” The three words “much less satisfactory” were a bookful of + information. So, as he folded up the telegram, tore the penciled strip of + figures from the top and burned it with a match, he was at pains to look + pleased. + </p> + <p> + “Good news?” asked Saunders, blowing smoke through his nose. + </p> + <p> + “Excellent. Where's my man? Here--you--Ismail!” + </p> + <p> + The giant came and towered above him. + </p> + <p> + “You swore she went North!” + </p> + <p> + “Ha, sahib! To Peshawur she went!” + </p> + <p> + “Did she start from this station?” + </p> + <p> + “From where else, sahib?” + </p> + <p> + But this was too much for Saunders, who stepped forward and thrust in an + oar. King on the other hand stepped back a pace so as to watch both faces. + </p> + <p> + “Then, when did she go?” + </p> + <p> + “I saw her go!” said Ismail, affronted. + </p> + <p> + “When? When, confound you! When?” + </p> + <p> + “Yesterday.” + </p> + <p> + “I expect he means to-morrow,” said King. With the advantage of looker-on + and a very deep experience of Northerners, he had noted that Ismail was + lying and that Saunders was growing doubtful, although both men concealed + the truth with what was very close to being art. + </p> + <p> + “I have a telegram here,” he said, “that says she is in Delhi!” + </p> + <p> + He patted his coat, where the inner pocket bulged. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, then the tar lies, for I saw her go with these two eyes of mine!” + </p> + <p> + “It is not wise to lie to me, my friend,” King assured him, so pleasantly + that none could doubt he was telling truth. + </p> + <p> + “If I lie may I eat dirt!” Ismail answered him. + </p> + <p> + Inches lent the Afridi dignity, but dignity has often been used as a + stalking horse for untruth. King nodded, and it was not possible to judge + by his expression whether he believed or not. + </p> + <p> + “Let's make a move,” he said, turning to Saunders. “She seems at any rate + to wish it believed she has gone North. I can't stay here indefinitely. If + she's here she's on the watch here, and there's no need of me. If she has + gone North, then that is where the kites are wheeling! I'll take the early + morning train. Where are the prisoners?” + </p> + <p> + “In the old Mir Khan Palace. We were short of jail room and had to + improvise. The horse-stalls there have come in handy more than once + before. Shall we take this gharry?” + </p> + <p> + With Ismail up beside the driver nursing King's bag and looking like a + great grim vulture about to eat the horse, they drove back through + swarming streets in the direction of the river. King seemed to have lost + all interest in crowds. He scarcely even troubled to watch when they were + held up at a cross-roads by a marching regiment that tramped as if it were + herald of the Last Trump, with bayonets glistening in the street lights. + He sat staring ahead in silence, although Saunders made more than one + effort to engage him in conversation. + </p> + <p> + “No!” he said at last suddenly--so that Saunders jumped. + </p> + <p> + “No what?” + </p> + <p> + “No need to stay here. I've got what I came for!” + </p> + <p> + “What was that?” asked Saunders, but King was silent again. Conscious of + the unaccustomed weight on his left wrist, he moved his arm so that the + sleeve drew and he could see the edge of the great gold bracelet Rewa + Gunga had given him in Yasmini's name. + </p> + <p> + “Know anything of Rewa Gunga?” he asked suddenly again. + </p> + <p> + “The Rangar?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, the Rangar. Yasmini's man.” + </p> + <p> + “Not much. I've seen him. I've spoken with him, and I've had to stand + impudence from him--twice. I've been tipped off more than once to let + him alone because he's her man. He does ticklish errands for her, or so + they say. He's what you might call 'known to the police' all right.” + </p> + <p> + They began to approach an age-old palace near the river, and Saunders + whispered a pass-word when an armed guard halted them. They were halted + again at a gloomy gateway where an officer came out to look them over; by + his leave they left the gharry and followed him under the arch until their + heels rang on stone paving in a big ill-lighted courtyard surrounded by + high walls. + </p> + <p> + There, after a little talk, they left Ismail squatting beside King's bag, + and Saunders led the way through a modern iron door, into what had once + been a royal prince's stables. + </p> + <p> + In gloom that was only thrown into contrast by a wide-spaced row of + electric lights, a long line of barred and locked converted horse-stalls + ran down one side of a lean-to building. The upper half of each locked + door was a grating of steel rods, so that there was some ventilation for + the prisoners; but very little light filtered between the bars, and all + that King could see of the men within was the whites of their eyes. And + they did not look friendly. + </p> + <p> + He had to pass between them and the light, and they could see more of him + than he could of them. At the first cell he raised his left hand and made + the gold bracelet on his wrist clink against the steel bars. + </p> + <p> + A moment later be cursed himself, and felt the bracelet with his + fingernail. He had made a deep nick in the soft gold. A second later yet + he smiled. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” boomed a prisoner's voice in Pashtu. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't know that fellow was handcuffed,” said Saunders. “Did you hear the + ring? They should have been taken off. Leaving his irons on has made him + polite, though.” + </p> + <p> + He passed on, and King followed him, saying nothing. But at the next cell + he repeated what he had done at the first, taking better care of the gold + but letting his wrist stay longer in the light. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” said a voice within. + </p> + <p> + “Gettin' a shade less arrogant, what?” said Saunders. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” said a man in the third stall as King passed. + </p> + <p> + “They seem to be anxious for your morals!” laughed Saunders, keeping a + pace or two ahead to do the honors of the place. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” said a fourth man, and King desisted for the + present, because Saunders looked as if he were growing inquisitive. + </p> + <p> + “Where did you arrest them?” he asked when Saunders came to a stand under + a light. + </p> + <p> + “All in one place. At Ali's.” + </p> + <p> + “Who and what is Ali?” + </p> + <p> + “Pimp--crimp--procurer--Prussian spy and any other evil + thing that takes his fancy! Runs a combination gambling hell and boarding + house. Lets 'em run into debt and blackmails 'em. Ali's in the kaiser's + pay--that's known! 'Musing thing about it is he keeps a photo of + Wilhelm in his pocket and tries to make himself believe the kaiser knows + him by name. Suffers from swelled head, which is part of their plan, of + course. We'll get him when we want him, but at present he's useful 'as is' + for a decoy. Ali was very much upset at the arrest--asked in the name + of Heaven--seems to be familiar with God, too, and all the angels!--how + he shall collect all the money these men owe him!” + </p> + <p> + “You wouldn't call these men prosperous, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Not exactly! Ali is the only spy out of the North who prospers much at + present, and even he gets most of his money out of his private business. + Why, man, the real Germans we have pounced on are all as poor as church + mice. That's another part of the plan, of course, which is sweet in all + its workings. They're paid less than driven by threats of exposure to us--comes + cheaper, and serves to ginger up the spies! The Germans pay Ali a little, + and he traps the Hillmen when they come South--lets 'em gamble--gets + 'em into debt--plays on their fear of jail and their ignorance of the + Indian Penal Code, which altereth every afternoon--and spends a lot + of time telling 'em stories to take back with 'em to the Hills when they + can get away. They can get away when they've paid him what they owe. He + makes that clear, and of course that's the fly in the amber. Yasmini sends + and pays their board and gambling debts, and she's our man, so to speak. + When they get back to the 'Hills'--” + </p> + <p> + “Thanks,” said King, “I know what happens in the 'Hills. Tell me about the + Delhi end of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, when the wander-fever grabs 'em again they come down once more from + their 'Hills' to drink and gamble,--and first they go to Yasmini's. + But she won't let 'em drink at her place. Have to give her credit for + that, y'know; her place has never been a stews. Sooner or later they grow + tired of virtue, 'specially with so much intrigue goin' on under their + noses, and back they all drift to Ali's and tell him tales to tell the + Germans--and the round begins again. Yasmini coaxes all their stories + out of 'em and primes 'em with a few extra good ones into the bargain. + Everybody's fooled--'specially the Germans--and exceptin', of + course, Yasmini and the Raj. Nobody ever fooled that woman, nor ever will + if my belief goes for anything!” + </p> + <p> + “Sounds simple!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Simple and sordid!” agreed Saunders. + </p> + <p> + King looked up and down the line of locked doors and then straight into + Saunders' eyes in a friendly, yet rather disconcerting way. One could not + judge whether he were laughing or just thinking. + </p> + <p> + “D'you suppose it's as simple as all that?” + </p> + <p> + “How d'you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “D'you suppose the Germans aren't in direct touch with the tribes?” + </p> + <p> + “Why should they be? The simpler the better, I expect, from their point of + view; and the cheaper the better, too!” + </p> + <p> + “Um-m-m!” King rubbed his chin. “On what charge did you get these men?” + </p> + <p> + “Defense of the Realm--suspicious characters--charge to be + entered later.” + </p> + <p> + “Good! That's simple at all events! Know anything of my man Ismail?” + </p> + <p> + “Sure! He's one of Yasmini's pets. She bailed him out of Ali's three years + ago and he worships her. It was he who broke the leg and ribs of a + pup-rajah a month or two ago for putting on too much dog in her reception + room! He's Ursus out of Quo Vadis! He's dog, desperado, stalking horse and + Keeper of the Queen's secrets!” + </p> + <p> + “Then why d'you suppose she passed him along to me?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Dunno! This is your little mystery, not mine!” + </p> + <p> + “Glad you appreciate that! Do me a favor, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “Anything in reason.” + </p> + <p> + “Get the keys to all these cells--send 'em in here to me by Ismail--and + leave me in here alone!” + </p> + <p> + Saunders whistled and wiped sweat from his glistening face, for in spite + of windows open to the courtyard it was hotter than a furnace room. + </p> + <p> + “Mayn't I have you thrown into a den of tigers?” he asked. “Or a nest of + cobras? Or get the fiery furnace ready? You'll find 'em sore--and + dangerous! That man at the end with handcuffs on has probably been + violent! That 'God be with thee' stuff is habit--they say it with + unction before they knife a man!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll be careful, then,” King chuckled; and it is a fact that few men can + argue with him when he laughs quietly in that way. “Send me in the keys, + like a good chap.” + </p> + <p> + So Saunders went, glad enough to get into the outer air. He slammed the + great iron door behind him as if he were glad, too, to disassociate + himself from King and all foolishness. Like many another first-class man, + King sheds friends as a cat sheds fur going under a gate. They grow again + and quit again and don't seem to make much difference. + </p> + <p> + The instant the door slammed King continued down the line with his left + wrist held high so that the occupant of each cell in turn could see the + bracelet. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” came the instant greeting from each cell until + down toward the farther end. The occupants of the last six cells were + silent. + </p> + <p> + Numbers had been chalked roughly on the doors. With wetted fingers he + rubbed out the chalk marks on the last six doors, and he had scarcely + finished doing that when Ismail strode in, slamming the great iron door + behind him, jangling a bunch of keys and looking more than ever like + somebody out of the Old Testament. + </p> + <p> + “Open every door except those whose numbers I have rubbed out!” King + ordered him. + </p> + <p> + Ismail proceeded to obey as if that were the least improbable order in all + the world. It took him two minutes to select the pass-key and determine + how it worked, then the doors flew open one after another in quick + succession. + </p> + <p> + “Come out!” he growled. “Come out!--Come out!” although King had not + ordered that. + </p> + <p> + King went and stood under the center light with his left arm bared. The + prisoners, emerging like dead men out of tombs, blinked at the bright + light--saw him--then the bracelet--and saluted. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” growled each of them. + </p> + <p> + They stood still then, awaiting fresh developments. It did not seem to + occur to any one of them as strange that a British officer in khaki + uniform should be sporting Yasmini's talisman; the thing was apparently + sufficient explanation in itself. + </p> + <p> + “Ye all know this?” he asked, holding up his wrist. “Whose is this?” + </p> + <p> + “Hers!” + </p> + <p> + The answer was monosyllabic and instant from all thirty throats. “May + Allah guard her, sleeping and awake!” added one or two of them. + </p> + <p> + King lit a cheroot and made mental note of the wisdom of referring to her + by pronoun, not by name. + </p> + <p> + “And I? Who am I?” he asked, since it saves worlds of trouble to have the + other side state the case. The Secret Service was not designed for giving + information, but discovering it. + </p> + <p> + “Her messenger! Who else? Thou art he who shall take us to the 'Hills'! + She promised!” + </p> + <p> + “How did she know ye were in this jail?” he asked them, and one of the + Hillmen laughed like a jackal, showing yellow eye-teeth. The others + cackled in chorus after him. + </p> + <p> + “Answer that riddle thyself--or else ask her! Who are we? Bats, that + can see in the night? Spirits, who can hear through walls? Nay, we be + plain men of the mountains!” + </p> + <p> + “But where were ye when she promised?” + </p> + <p> + “At Ali's. All of us at Ali's--held for debt. We sent and begged of + her. She sent word back by a woman that one of the sirkar's men shall free + us and send us home. So we waited, eating shame and little else, at Ali's. + At last came a sahib in a great rage, who ordered irons put on our wrists + and us marched hither. Only when each was pushed into a separate cell were + the irons taken off again. Yet we were patient, for we knew this is part + of her cunning, to get us away from Ali without paying him. 'May Ali die + of want,' said we, with one voice all together in these cells! And now we + be ready! They fed us before we had been in here an hour. Our bellies be + full, but we be hungry for the 'Hills'!” + </p> + <p> + King thought of the gold-hilted knife, that still rested under his shirt. + He was tempted to show it to them and find out surely whose it was and + what it meant. But wisdom and curiosity seldom mingle. He thought of + Ismail--“Ursus, of Quo Vadis--dog, desperado, stalking-horse and + Keeper of the Queen's secrets.” It was not time yet to run risks with + Ismail. The knife stayed where it was. + </p> + <p> + “I shall start for the Hills at dawn,” he said slowly, and he watched + their eyes gleam at the news. No caged tiger is as wretched as a prisoned + Hillman. No freed bird wings more wildly for the open. No moth comes more + foolishly back to the flame again. It was easy to take pity on them--probably + not one of whom knew pity's meaning. + </p> + <p> + “Is there any among you who would care to come--?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah-h-h-h!” + </p> + <p> + “--at the price of strict obedience?” + </p> + <p> + “Eh-h-h-h-h!” + </p> + <p> + It seemed there was no word in Pashtu that could express their + willingness. + </p> + <p> + “We be very, very weary for our Hills!” explained the nearest man. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” King answered. “And ye all owe Ali!” + </p> + <p> + “Uh-h-h-h-h!” + </p> + <p> + But he knew better than to browbeat them on that account just then, for + the men of the North are easier led than driven--up to a certain + point. Yet it is no bad plan to remind them of the fundamentals to begin + with. + </p> + <p> + “Will ye obey me, and him?” he asked, laying his hand on Ismail's + shoulder, as much to let them see the bracelet again as for any other + reason. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! If we fail, Allah do more to us!” + </p> + <p> + King laughed. “Ye shall leave this place as my prisoners. Here ye have no + friends. Here ye must obey. But what when ye come to your 'Hills' at last? + Can one man hold thirty men prisoners then? In the 'Hills' will ye still + obey me?” + </p> + <p> + They answered him in chorus. Every man of the thirty, and Ismail into the + bargain, threw his right hand in the air. + </p> + <p> + “Allah witness that we will obey!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah-h-h!” said King. “I have heard Hillmen swear by Allah many a time! + Many a time!” + </p> + <p> + The answer to that was unexpected. Ismail knelt--seized his hand--and + pressed the gold bracelet to his lips! + </p> + <p> + In turn, every one of them filed by, knelt reverently and kissed the + bracelet! + </p> + <p> + “Saw ye ever a Hillman do that before?” asked Ismail. “They will obey + thee! Have no fear!” + </p> + <p> + “Kutch dar nahin hai!” King answered. “There is no such thing as fear!” + and Ismail grinned at him, not knowing that King was feeling as Aladdin + must have done. + </p> + <p> + “I have heard you swear,” said King; “be ye true men!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah-h-h!” + </p> + <p> + “Have they belongings that ought to be collected first?” he asked, and + Ismail laughed. + </p> + <p> + “No more than the dead have! A shroud apiece! Ali gave them bitterness to + eat and picked their teeth afterward for gleanings! They stand in what + they own!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, come!” ordered King, turning his back confidently on thirty savages + whom Saunders, for instance, would have preferred to drive in front of + him, after first seeing them handcuffed. But when he is not pressed for + time neither pistols, nor yet handcuffs, are included in King's method. + </p> + <p> + “Each lock has a key, but some keys fit all locks,” says the Eastern + proverb. King has been chosen for many ticklish errands in his time, and + Saunders is still in Delhi. + </p> + <p> + Through the great iron door into dim outer darkness King led them and + presently made them squat in a close-huddled semicircle on the paving + stones, like night-birds waiting for a meal. + </p> + <p> + “I want blankets for them--two good ones apiece--and food for a + week's journey!” he told the astonished Saunders; and he spoke so + decidedly that the other man's questions and argument died stillborn. + “While you attend to that for me, I'll be seeing his dibs and making + explanations. You look full of news. What do you know?” + </p> + <p> + “I've telephoned all the other stations, and my men swear Yasmini has not + left Delhi by train!” + </p> + <p> + King smiled at him. + </p> + <p> + “If I leave by train d'you suppose she'll hear of it?” + </p> + <p> + “You bet! Bet your boots! Man alive--if she's interested in you by so + much,”--he measured off a fraction of his little finger end--“she + knows your next two moves ahead, to say nothing of your past half-dozen! I + crossed her bows once and thought I had her at a disadvantage. She laughed + at me. On my honor, my spine tingles yet at the mere thought of it! You've + never met her? Never heard her laugh? Never seen her eyes? You've a treat + in store for you--and a mauvais quat' d'heure! What'll you bet me she + doesn't laugh you out of countenance the very first time you meet? Come + now--what'll you bet?” + </p> + <p> + “Not in the habit,” King answered, glancing at his watch. “Will you see + about their rations, please, and the blankets? Thanks!” + </p> + <p> + They went then in opposite directions and the prisoners were left + squatting under the eyes and bayonets of a very suspicious prison guard, + who made no secret of being ready for all conceivable emergencies. One + enthusiast drew the cartridge out of his breech-chamber and licked it at + intervals of a minute or two, to the very great interest of the Hillmen, + who memorized every detail that by any stretch of imagination might be + expected to improve their own shooting when they should get home again. + </p> + <p> + King found his way on foot through a maze of streets to a palace where he + was admitted through one door after another by sentries who saluted when + he had whispered to them. He ended by sitting on the end of the bed of a + gray-headed man who owns three titles and whose word is law between the + borders of a province. To him he talked as one schoolboy to a bigger one, + because the gray-haired man had understanding, and hence sympathy. + </p> + <p> + “I don't envy you!” said he under the sheet. “There was an American here + not long ago--most amusing man I ever talked to. He had the right + expression. 'I do not desiderate that pie!' was his way of putting it. + Good, don't you think?” + </p> + <p> + All the while he talked the older man was writing on a pad that he held + propped by his knees beneath the bedclothes, holding the paper tight to + keep it from fluttering in the breeze of a big electric fan. + </p> + <p> + “There's the release for your prisoners. Take it--and take them! + Whatever possessed you to want such a gift?” + </p> + <p> + “Orders, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Whose?” + </p> + <p> + “His. He sent for me to Peshawur and gave me strict orders to work with, + not against her. This was obvious.” + </p> + <p> + “How obvious? It seems bewildering!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir,--first place, she doesn't want to seem to be connected + with me. Otherwise she'd have been more in evidence. Second place, she has + left Delhi--his telegram and Saunders' men on oath notwithstanding--and + she did not mean to leave those men. I imagine her best way to manage + Hillmen is to keep promises, and they say she promised them. Third place, + if those thirty men had been anything but her particular pet gang they'd + either have been over the border or else in jail before now,--just + like all the others. For some reason that I don't pretend to understand, + she promised 'em more than she has been able to perform. So I provide + performance. She gets the credit for it. I get a pretty good personal + following at least as far as up the Khyber! Q.E.D., sir!” + </p> + <p> + The man in bed nodded. “Not bad,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't she make some effort to get those men away from Ali's?” King asked + him. “I mean, didn't she try to get them dry-nursed by the sirkar in some + way?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. She did. But it was difficult. In the first place, there didn't seem + to be any particular hurry. They were eating Ali's substance. The + scoundrel had to feed them as long as he kept them there, and we wanted + that. We forbade her to pay their debts to Ali, because he has too urgent + need of money just now. He is being pressed on account of debts of his + own, and the pressure is making him take risks. He has been begging for + money from the German agents. We know who they are, and we expect to make + a big haul within a few hours now.” + </p> + <p> + “Hope I didn't spoil things by butting in, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “No. This is different. She wanted them arrested and locked up at a moment + when the jails were all crowded. And then she wanted us to put 'em into + trucks and railroad 'em up North out of harm's way as she put it, and we + happened to be too busy. The railway staff was overworked. Now things are + getting straightened out. I felt it keenly not being able to oblige her, + but she asked too much at the wrong moment! I would have done it if I + could out of gratitude; it was she who tipped off for us most of the + really dangerous men, and it was not her fault a few of them escaped. But + we've all been working both tides under, King. Take me; this is my first + night in bed in three, and here I am awake! No--nothing personal--glad + to see you, but please understand. And I'm a leisured dilettante compared + to most of the others. She must have known our fix. She shouldn't have + asked.” + </p> + <p> + King smiled. “Perfectly good opportunity for me, sir!” he said cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + “So you seem to think. But look out for that woman, King--she's + dangerous. She's got the brains of Asia coupled with Western energy! I + think she's on our side, and I know he believes it; but watch her!” + </p> + <p> + “Ham dekta hai!” King grinned. But the older man continued to look as if + he pitied him. + </p> + <p> + “If you get through alive, come and tell me about it afterward. Now, mind + you do! I'm awfully interested, but as for envying you--” + </p> + <p> + “Envy!” King almost squealed. He made the bed-springs rattle as he jumped. + “I wouldn't swap jobs with General French, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “Nor with me, I suppose!” + </p> + <p> + “Nor with you, sir. + </p> + <p> + “Good-by, then. Good-by, King, my boy. Good-by, Athelstan. Your brother's + up the Khyber, isn't he? Give him my regards. Good-by!” + </p> + <p> + Long before dawn the thirty prisoners and Ismail squatted in a little herd + on the up-platform of a railway station, shepherded by King, who smoked a + cheroot some twenty paces away, sitting on an unmarked chest of medicines. + He seemed absorbed in a book on surgery that he had borrowed from a + chance-met acquaintance in the go-down where he drew the medical supplies. + Ismail sat on the one trunk that had been fetched from the other station + and nursed the new hand-bag on his knees, picking everlastingly at the + lock and wondering audibly what the bag contained to an accompaniment of + low-growled sympathy. + </p> + <p> + “I am his servant--for she said so--and he said so. As the + custom is he gave me the key of the great bag--on which I sit--as + he said himself, for safe-keeping. Then why--why in Allah's name--am + I not to have the key of this bag too? Of this little bag that holds so + little and is so light?” + </p> + <p> + “It might be money in it?” hazarded one of the herd. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, for that it is too light.” + </p> + <p> + “Paper money!” suggested another man. “Hundies, with printing on the face + that sahibs accept instead of gold.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I know where his money is,” said Ismail. “He has but little with + him.” + </p> + <p> + “A razor would slit the leather easily,” suggested another man. “Then with + a hand inserted carefully through the slit, so as not to widen it more + than needful, a man could soon discover the contents. And later, the bag + might be dropped or pushed violently against some sharp thing, to explain + the cut.” + </p> + <p> + Ismail shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “Why? What could he do to thee?” + </p> + <p> + “It is because I know not what he would do to me that I will do nothing!” + answered Ismail. “He is not at all like other sahibs I have had dealings + with. This man does unexpected things. This man is not mad, he has a + devil. I have it in my heart to love this man. But such talk is + foolishness. We are all her men!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! We are her men!” came the chorus, so that King looked up and watched + them over the open book. + </p> + <p> + At dawn, when the train pulled out, the thirty prisoners sat safely locked + in third-class compartments. King lay lazily on the cushions of a + first-class carriage in the rear, utterly absorbed in the principles of + antiseptic dressing, as if that had anything to do with Prussians and the + Khyber Pass; and Ismail attended to the careful packing of soda water + bottles in the ice-box on the floor. + </p> + <p> + “Shall I open the little bag, sahib?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + King shook his head. + </p> + <p> + Ismail shook the bag. + </p> + <p> + “The sound is as of things of much importance all disordered,” he said + sagely. “It might be well to rearrange.” + </p> + <p> + “Put it over there!” King ordered. “Set it down!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail obeyed and King laid his book down to light another of his black + cheroots. The theme of antiseptics ceased to exercise its charm over him. + He peeled off his tunic, changed his shirt and lay back in sweet + contentment. Headed for the “Hills,” who would not be contented, who had + been born in their very shadow?--in their shadow, of a line of + Britons who have all been buried there! + </p> + <p> + “The day after to-morrow I'll see snow!” he promised himself. And Ismail, + grinning with yellow teeth through a gap in his wayward beard, understood + and sympathized. + </p> + <p> + Forward in the third-class carriages the prisoners hugged themselves and + crooned as they met old landmarks and recognized the changing scenery. + There was a new cleaner tang in the hot wind that spoke of the “Hills” and + home! + </p> + <p> + Delhi had drawn them as Monte Carlo attracts the gamblers of all Europe. + But Delhi had spewed them out again, and oh! how exquisite the promise of + the “Hills” was, and the thunder of the train that hurried--the + bumping wheels that sang Himahlayas--Himahlyas!--the air that + blew in on them unscented--the reawakened memory--the heart's + desire for the cold and the snow and the cruelty--the dark nights and + the shrieking storms and the savagery of the Land of the Knife ahead! + </p> + <p> + The journey to Peshawur, that ought to have been wearisome because they + were everlastingly shunted into sidings to make way for roaring + south-bound troop trains and kept waiting at every wayside station because + the trains ahead of them were blocked three deep, was no less than a + jubilee progress! + </p> + <p> + Not a packed-in regiment went by that was not howled at by King's + prisoners as if they were blood-brothers of every man in it. Many an + officer whom King knew waved to him from a passing train. + </p> + <p> + “Meet you in Berlin!” was a favorite greeting. And after that they would + shout to him for news and be gone before King could answer. + </p> + <p> + Many a man, at stations where the sidings were all full and nothing less + than miracles seemed able to release the wedged-in trains, came and paced + up and down a platform side by side with King. From them he received + opinions, but no sympathy to speak of. + </p> + <p> + “Got to stay in India? Hard lines!” Then the conversation would be bluntly + changed, for in the height of one's enthusiasm it is not decent to hurt + another fellow's feelings. Simple, simple as a little child is the + clean-clipped British officer. “Look at that babu, now. Don't you think + he's a marvel? Don't you think the Indian babu's a marvel? Sixty a month + is more than the beggar gets, and there he goes, doing two jobs and + straightening out tangled trains into the bargain! Isn't he a wonder, + King?” + </p> + <p> + “India's a wonderful country,” King would answer, that being one of his + stock remarks. And to his credit be it written that he never laughed at + one of them. He let them think they were more fortunate than he, with + manlier, bloodier work to do. + </p> + <p> + Peshawur, when they reached it at last, looked dusty and bleak in the + comfortless light of Northern dawn. But the prisoners crowed and crooned + it a greeting, and there was not much grumbling when King refused to + unlock their compartment doors. Having waited thus long, they could endure + a few more hours in patience, now that they could see and smell their + “Hills” at last. + </p> + <p> + And there was the general again, not in a dog-cart this time, but + furiously driven in a motor-car, roaring and clattering into the station + less than two minutes after the train arrived. He was out of the car, for + all his age and weight, before it had come to a stand. He took one steady + look at King and then at the prisoners before he returned King's salute. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” he said. And then, as if that were not enough: “Excellent! Don't + let 'em out, though, to chew the rag with people on the platform. Keep 'em + in!” + </p> + <p> + “They're locked in, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Excellent! Come and walk up and down with me.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter V + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Death roosts in the Khyber while he preens his wings! + --Native Proverb +</pre> + <p> + “Seen her?” asked the general, with his hands behind him. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said King, looking sharply sidewise at him and walking stride for + stride. His hands were behind him, too, and one of them covered the gold + bracelet on his other wrist. + </p> + <p> + The general looked equally sharply sidewise. + </p> + <p> + “Nor've I,” he said. “She called me up over the phone yesterday to ask for + facilities for her man Rewa Gunga, and he was in here later. He's waiting + for you at the foot of the Pass--camped near the fort at Jamrud with + your bandobast all ready. She's on ahead--wouldn't wait.” + </p> + <p> + King listened in silence, and his prisoners, watching him through the + barred compartment windows, formed new and golden opinions of him, for it + is common knowledge in the “Hills” that when a burra sahib speaks to a + chota sahib, the chota sahib ought to say, “Yes, sir, oh, yes!” at very + short intervals. Therefore King could not be a chota sahib after all. So + much the better. The “Hills” ever loved to deal with men in authority, + just as they ever despised underlings. + </p> + <p> + “What made you go back for the prisoners?” the general asked. “Who gave + you that cue?” + </p> + <p> + “It's a safe rule never to do what the other man expects, sir, and Rewa + Gunga expected me to travel by his train.” + </p> + <p> + “Was that your only reason?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir. I had general reasons. None of 'em specific. Where natives have + a finger in the pie there's always something left undone at the last + minute.” + </p> + <p> + “But what made you investigate those prisoners?” + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't imagine why thirty men should be singled out for special + treatment. Rewa Gunga told me they were still at large in Delhi. Couldn't + guess why. Had 'em arrested so's to be able to question 'em. That's all, + sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Not nearly all!” said the general. “You realize by now, I suppose, that + they're her special men--special personal following?” + </p> + <p> + “Guessed something of that sort.” + </p> + <p> + “Well--she's clever. It occurred to her that the safest way to get + 'em up North was to have 'em arrested and deported. That would avoid + interference and delay and would give her a chance to act deliverer at + this end, and so make 'em grateful to her--you see? Rewa Gunga told + me all this, you understand. He seems to think she's semi-divine. He was + full of her cleverness in having thought of letting 'em all get into debt + at a house of ill repute, so as to have 'em at hand when she wanted 'em.” + </p> + <p> + “She must have learned that trick from our merchant marine,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Maybe. She's clever. She asked me over the phone whether her thirty men + had started North. I sent a telegram in cypher to find out. The answer was + that you had found 'em and rounded 'em up and were bringing 'em with you. + When she called me up on the phone the second time I told her so, and I + heard her chuckle with delight. So I emphasized the point of your having + discovered 'em and saved 'em every wit whole and all that kind of thing. I + asked her to come and see me, but she wouldn't,--said she was + disguised and particularly did not want to be recognized, which was + reasonable enough. She sent Rewa Gunga instead. Now, this seems important: + </p> + <p> + “Before I sent you down to Delhi--before I sent for you at all--I + told her what I meant to do, and I never in my life knew a woman raise + such terrific objections to working with a man. As it happened her + objections only confirmed my determination to send for you, and before she + went down to Delhi to clean up I told her flatly she would either have to + work with you or else stay in India for the duration of the war.” + </p> + <p> + The general did not notice that King was licking his lips. Nor, if he had + noticed King's hand that now was in front of him pressing on something + under his shirt, could he have guessed that the something was a + gold-hilted knife with a bronze blade. King grunted in token of attention, + and the general continued. + </p> + <p> + “She gave in finally, but I felt nervous about it. Now, without your + getting sight of her--you say you haven't seen her?--her whole + attitude has changed! What have you done? Bringing up her thirty men seems + a little enough thing. Yet, she swears by you! Used to swear at you, and + now says you're the only officer in the British army with enough brains to + fill a helmet! Says she wouldn't go up the Khyber without you! Says you're + indispensable! Sent Rewa Gunga round to me with orders to make sure I + don't change my mind about you! What have you done to her--bewitched + her?” + </p> + <p> + “Done nothing,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Well, keep on doing nothing in the same style and the world shall render + you its best jobs, one after the other, in sequence! You've made a good + beginning!” + </p> + <p> + “Know anything of Rewa Gunga, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing, except that he's her man. She trusts him, so we've got to, and + you've got to take him up the Khyber with you. What she orders, he'll do, + or you may take it from me she would never have left him behind. As long + as she is on our side you will be pretty safe in trusting Rewa Gunga. And + she has got to be on our side. Got to be! She's the only key we've got to + Khinjan, and hell is brewing there this minute! She dare unlock the gates + and ride the devil down the Khyber if she thought it worth her while! + You're to go up the Khyber after her to convince her that there are better + mounts than the devil and better fun than playing with hell-fire! The + Rangar told me he had given you her passport--that right?” + </p> + <p> + As they turned at the end of the platform King bared his wrist and showed + the gold bracelet. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” said the general, but King thought his face clouded. “That thing + is worth more than a hundred men. Jack Allison wore that same bracelet, + unless I'm much mistaken, on his way down in disguise from Bukhara. So did + another man we both knew; but he died. Be sure not to forget to give it + back to her when the show's over, King.” + </p> + <p> + King nodded and grunted. “What's the news from Khinjan, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing specific, except that the place is filling up. You remember what + I told you about the 'Heart of the Hills' being in Khinjan? Well, they say + now that the 'Heart of the Hills' has been awake for a long time, and that + when the heart stirs the body does not lie quiet long. No use trying to + guess what they mean; go and find out. And remember--the whole armed + force at my disposal in this Province isn't more than enough to tempt the + tribes to conclusions! It's a case for diplomacy. It's a case where + diplomacy must not fail.” + </p> + <p> + King said nothing, but the chin-strap mark on his cheek and chin grew + slightly whiter, as it always does under the stress of emotion. He can not + control it, and he has dyed it more than once on the eve of happenings, + there being no more wisdom in wearing feelings on one's face than on a + sleeve. + </p> + <p> + “Here comes your engine,” said the general. “Well--there are two + battalions of Khyber Rifles up the Pass and they're about at full + strength. They've got word already that you are gazetted to them. They'll + expect you. By the way, you've a brother in the K.R., haven't you?” + </p> + <p> + “At Ali Masjid, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Give him my regards when you see him, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “There's your engine whistling. You'd better hurry, Good-by, my boy. Get + word to me whenever possible. Good luck to you! Regards to your brother! + Good-by!” + </p> + <p> + King saluted and stood watching while the general hurried to the waiting + motor-car. When the car whirled away in a din of dust he returned + leisurely to the train that had been shortened to three coaches. Then he + gave the signal to start up the spur-track, that leads to Jamrud, where a + fort cowers in the very throat of the dreadfulest gorge in Asia--the + Khyber Pass. + </p> + <p> + It was not a long journey, nor a very slow one, for there was nothing to + block the way except occasional men with flags, who guarded culverts and + little bridges. The Germans would know better than to waste time or effort + on blowing up that track, but there might be Northern gentlemen at large, + out to do damage for the sport of it, and the sepoys all along the line + were posted in twos, and awake. + </p> + <p> + It was low-tide under the Himalayas. The flood that was draining India of + her armed men had left Jamrud high and dry with a little nondescript force + stranded there, as it were, under a British major and some native + officers. There were no more pomp and circumstance; no more of the + reassuring thunder of gathering regiments, nor for that matter any more of + that unarmed native helplessness that so stiffens the backs of the + official English. + </p> + <p> + Frowning over Jamrud were the lean “Hills,” peopled by the fiercest + fighting men on earth, and the clouds that hung over the Khyber's course + were an accent to the savagery. + </p> + <p> + But King smiled merrily as he jumped out of the train, and Rewa Gunga, who + was there to meet him, advanced with outstretched hand and a smile that + would have melted snow on the distant peaks if he had only looked the + other way. + </p> + <p> + “Welcome, King sahib!” he laughed, with the air of a skilled fencer who + admires another, better one. “I shall know better another time and let you + keep in front of me! No more getting first into a train and settling down + for the night! It may not be easy to follow you, and I suspect it isn't, + but at least it jolly well can't be such a job as leading you! I trust you + had a comfortable journey?” + </p> + <p> + “Thanks,” said King, shaking hands with him, and then turning away to + unlock the carriage doors that held his prisoners in. They were baying now + like wolves to be free, and they surged out, like wolves from a cage, to + clamor round the Rangar, pawing him and struggling to be first to ask him + questions. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, ye mountain people; nay!” he laughed. “I, too, am from the plains! + What do I know of your families or of your feuds? Am I to be torn to + pieces to make a meal?” + </p> + <p> + At that Ismail interfered, with the aid of an ash pick-handle, + chance-found beside the track. + </p> + <p> + “Hill-bastards!” he howled at them, beating at them as if they were + sheaves and his cudgel were a flail. “Sons of nameless mothers! Forgotten + of God! Shameless! Brood of the evil one! Hands off!” + </p> + <p> + King had to stop him, not that he feared trouble, for they did not seem to + resent either abuse or cudgeling in the least--and that in itself was + food for thought; but broken shoulders are no use for carrying loads. + </p> + <p> + Laughing as if the whole thing was the greatest joke imaginable, Rewa + Gunga fell into stride beside King and led him away in the direction of + some tents. + </p> + <p> + “She is up the Pass ahead of us,” he announced. “She was in the deuce of a + hurry, I can assure you. She wanted to wait and meet you, but matters were + too jolly well urgent, and we shall have our bally work cut out to catch + her, you can bet! But I have everything ready--tents and beds and + stores--everything!” + </p> + <p> + King looked over his shoulder to make sure that Ismail was bringing the + little leather bag along. + </p> + <p> + “So have I,” he said quietly. + </p> + <p> + “I have horses,” said Rewa Gunga, “and mules and--” + </p> + <p> + “How did she travel up the Khyber?” King asked him, and the Rangar spared + him a curious sidewise glance. + </p> + <p> + “On a horse. You should have seen the horse!” + </p> + <p> + “What escort had she?” + </p> + <p> + “She?” + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga chuckled and then suddenly grew serious. + </p> + <p> + “The 'Hills' are her escort, King sahib. She is mistress in the 'Hills.' + There isn't a murdering ruffian who would not lie down and let her walk on + him! She rode away alone on a thoroughbred mare and she jolly well left me + the mare's double on which to follow her. Come and look.” + </p> + <p> + Not far from where the tents had been pitched in a cluster a string of + horses winnied at a picket rope. King saw the two good horses ready for + himself, and ten mules beside them that would have done credit to any + outfit. But at the end of the line, pawing at the trampled grass, was a + black mare that made his eyes open wide. Once in a hundred years or so a + viceroy's cup, or a Derby is won by an animal that can stand and look and + move as that mare did. + </p> + <p> + “Just watch!” the Rangar boasted; hooking up the bit and throwing off the + blanket. And as he mounted into the native-made rough-hide saddle a shout + went up from the fort and native officers and half the soldiery came out + to watch the poetry of motion. + </p> + <p> + The mare was not the only one worth watching; her rider shared the praise. + There was something unexpected, although not in the least ungainly, about + the Rangar's seat in the saddle that was not the ordinary, graceful native + balance and yet was full of grace. King ascribed the difference to the + fact that the Rangar had seen no military service, and before the + inadequacy of that explanation had asserted itself he had already + forgotten to criticize in sheer admiration. + </p> + <p> + There was none of the spurring and back-reining that some native bloods of + India mistake for horse-manship. The Rangar rode with sympathy and most + consummate skill, and the result was that the mare behaved as if she were + part of him, responding to his thoughts, putting a foot where he wished + her to put it and showing her wildest turn of speed along a level stretch + in instant response to his mood. + </p> + <p> + “Never saw anything better,” King admitted ungrudgingly, as the mare came + back at a walk to her picket rope. + </p> + <p> + “There is only one mare like this one,” laughed the Rangar. “She has her.” + </p> + <p> + “What'll you take for this one?” King asked him. “Name your price!” + </p> + <p> + “The mare is hers. You must ask her. Who knows? She is generous. There is + nobody on earth more generous than she when she cares to be. See what you + wear on your wrist!” + </p> + <p> + “That is a loan,” said King, uncovering the bracelet. “I shall give it + back to her when we meet.” + </p> + <p> + “See what she says when you meet!” laughed the Rangar, taking a cigarette + from his jeweled case with an air and smiling as he lighted it. “There is + your tent, sahib.” + </p> + <p> + He motioned with the cigarette toward a tent pitched quite a hundred yards + away from the others and from the Rangar's own; with the Rangar's and the + cluster of tents for the men it made an equilateral triangle, so that both + he and the Rangar had privacy. + </p> + <p> + With a nod of dismissal, King walked over to inspect the bandobast, and + finding it much more extravagant than he would have dreamed of providing + for himself, he lit one of his black cheroots, and with hands clasped + behind him strolled over to the fort to interview Courtenay, the officer + commanding. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that Courtenay had gone up the Pass that morning with his + shotgun after quail. He came back into view, followed by his little + ten-man escort just as King neared the fort, and King timed his approach + so as to meet him. The men of the escort were heavily burdened; he could + see that from a distance. + </p> + <p> + “Hello!” he said by the fort gate, cheerily, after he had saluted and the + salute had been returned. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, hello, King! Glad to see you. Heard you were coming, of course. + Anything I can do?” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me anything you know,” said King, offering him a cheroot which the + other accepted. As he bit off the end they stood facing each other, so + that King could see the oncoming escort and what it carried. Courtenay + read his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Two of my men!” he said. “Found 'em up the Pass. Gazi work I think. They + were cut all to pieces. There's a big lashkar gathering somewhere in the + 'Hills,' and it might have been done by their skirmishers, but I don't + think so.” + </p> + <p> + “A lashkar besides the crowd at Khinjan?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Who's supposed to be leading it?” + </p> + <p> + “Can't find out,” said Courtenay. Then he stepped aside to give orders to + the escort. They carried the dead bodies into the fort. + </p> + <p> + “Know anything of Yasmini?” King asked, when the major stood in front of + him again. + </p> + <p> + “By reputation, of course, yes. Famous person--sings like a bulbul--dances + like the devil--lived in Delhi--mean her?” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. “When did she start up the Pass?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “How d'ye mean?” Courtenay demanded sharply. + </p> + <p> + “To-day or yesterday?” + </p> + <p> + “She didn't start! I know who goes up and who comes down. Would you care + to glance over the list?” + </p> + <p> + “Know anything of Rewa Gunga?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Not much. Tried to buy his mare. Seen the animal? Gad! I'd give a year's + pay for that beast! He wouldn't sell and I don't blame him.” + </p> + <p> + “He goes up the Khyber with me,” said King. “He's what the Turks would + call my youldash.” + </p> + <p> + “And the Persians a hamrah, eh? There was an American here lately--merry + fellow--and I was learning his language. Side partner's the word in + the States. I can imagine a worse side partner than that same man Rewa + Gunga--much worse.” + </p> + <p> + “He told me just now,” said King, “that Yasmini went up the Pass + unescorted, mounted on a mare the very dead spit of the black one you say + you wanted to buy.” + </p> + <p> + Courtenay whistled. + </p> + <p> + “I'm sorry, King. I'm sorry to say he lied.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you come and listen while I have it out with him?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly.” + </p> + <p> + King threw away his less-than-half-consumed cheroot and they started to + walk together toward King's camp. After a few minutes they arrived at a + point from which they could see the prisoners lined up in a row facing + Rewa Gunga. A less experienced eye than King's or Courtenay's could have + recognized their attitude of reverent obedience. + </p> + <p> + “He'll make a good adjutant for you, that man,” said Courtenay; but King + only grunted. + </p> + <p> + At sight of them Ismail left the line and came hurrying toward them with + long mountainman's strides. + </p> + <p> + “Tell Rewa Gunga sahib that I wish to speak to him!” King called, and + Ismail hurried back again. + </p> + <p> + Within two minutes the Rangar stood facing them, looking more at ease than + they. + </p> + <p> + “I was cautioning those savages!” he explained. “They're an escort, but + they need a reminder of the fact, else they might jolly well imagine + themselves mountain goats and scatter among the 'Hills'!” + </p> + <p> + He drew out his wonderful cigarette case and offered it open to Courtenay, + who hesitated, and then helped himself. King refused. + </p> + <p> + “Major Courtenay has just told me,” said King, “that nobody resembling + Yasmini has gone up the Pass recently. Can you explain?” + </p> + <p> + “You see, I've been watching the Pass,” explained Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + The Rangar shook his head, blew smoke through his nose and laughed. + </p> + <p> + “And you did not see her go?” he said, as if he were very much amused. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Courtenay. “She didn't go.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you explain?” asked King rather stiffly. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean, can I explain why the major failed to see her? 'Pon my soul, + King sahib, d'you want me to insult the man? Yasmini is too jolly clever + for me, or for any other man I ever met; and the major's a man, isn't he? + He may pack the Khyber so full of men that there's only standing room and + still she'll go up without his leave if she chooses! There is nobody like + Yasmini in all the world!” + </p> + <p> + The Rangar was looking past them, facing the great gorge that lets the + North of Asia trickle down into India and back again when weather and the + tribes permit. His eyes had become interested in the distance. King + wondered why--and looked--and saw. Courtenay saw, too. + </p> + <p> + “Hail that man and bring him here!” he ordered. + </p> + <p> + Ismail, keeping his distance with ears and eyes peeled, heard instantly + and hurried off. He went like the wind and all three watched in silence + for ten minutes while he headed off a man near the mouth of the Pass, + stopped him, spoke to him and brought him along. Fifteen minutes later an + Afridi stood scowling in front of them with a little letter in a cleft + stick in his hand. He held it out and Courtenay took it and sniffed. + </p> + <p> + “Well--I'll be blessed! A note”--sniff--sniff--“on + scented paper!” Sniff--sniff! “Carried down the Khyber in a split + stick! Take it, King--it's addressed to you.” + </p> + <p> + King obeyed and sniffed too. It smelt of something far more subtle than + musk. He recognized the same strange scent that had been wafted from + behind Yasmini's silken hangings in her room in Delhi. As he unfolded the + note--it was not sealed--he found time for a swift glance at + Rewa Gunga's face. The Rangar seemed interested and amused. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Dear Captain King,” the note ran, in English. “Kindly + be quick to follow me, because there is much talk of a + lashkar getting ready for a raid. I shall wait for + you in Khinjan, whither my messenger shall show the way. + Please let him keep his rifle. Trust him, and Rewa + Gunga and my thirty whom you brought with you. The + messenger's name is Darya Khan. + + “Your servant, + + “Ysamini.” + </pre> + <p> + He passed the note to Courtenay, who read it and passed it back. + </p> + <p> + “Are you the messenger who is to show this sahib the road to Khinjan?” he + asked. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + “But you are one of three who left here and went up the Pass at dawn! I + recognize you.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said the man. “She met me and gave me this letter and sent me + back.” + </p> + <p> + “How great is the lashkar that is forming?” asked Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + “Some say three thousand men. They speak truth. They who say five thousand + are liars. There is a lashkar.” + </p> + <p> + “And she went up alone?” King murmured aloud in Pashtu. + </p> + <p> + “Is the moon alone in the sky?” the fellow asked, and King smiled at him. + </p> + <p> + “Let us hurry after her, sahib!” urged Rewa Gunga, and King looked + straight into his eyes, that were like pools of fire, just as they had + been that night in the room in Delhi. He nodded and the Rangar grinned. + </p> + <p> + “Better wait until dawn,” advised Courtenay. “The Pass is supposed to be + closed at dusk.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall have to ask for special permission, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Granted, of course.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, we'll start at eight to-night!” said King, glancing at his watch + and snapping the gold case shut. + </p> + <p> + “Dine with me,” said Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, please. Got to pack first. Daren't trust anybody else.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well. We'll dine in my tent at six-thirty,” said Courtenay. “So + long!” + </p> + <p> + “So long, sir,” said King, and each went about his own business, King with + the Rangar, and Ismail and all thirty prisoners at his heels, and + Courtenay alone, but that much more determined. + </p> + <p> + “I'll find out,” the major muttered, “how she got up the Pass without my + knowing it. Somebody's tail shall be twisted for this!” + </p> + <p> + But he did not find out until King told him, and that was many days later, + when a terrible cloud no longer threatened India from the North. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Oh, a broken blade, + And an empty bag, + And a sodden kit, + And a foundered nag, + And a whimpering wind + Are more or less + Ground for a gentleman's distress. + Yet the blade will cut, + (He should swing with a will!) + And the emptiest bag + He may readiest fill; + And the nag will trot + If the man has a mind, + So the kit he may dry + In the whimpering wind. + Shades of a gallant past--confess! + How many fights were won with less? +</pre> + <p> + “I think I envy you!” said Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + They were seated in Courtenay's tent, face to face across the low table, + with guttering lights between and Ismail outside the tent handing plates + and things to Courtenay's servant inside. + </p> + <p> + “You're about the first who has admitted it,” said King. + </p> + <p> + Not far from them a herd of pack-camels grunted and bubbled after the + evening meal. The evening breeze brought the smoke of dung fires down to + them, and an Afghan--one of the little crowd of traders who had come + down with the camels three hours ago--sang a wailing song about his + lady-love. Overhead the sky was like black velvet, pierced with silver + holes. + </p> + <p> + “You see, you can't call our end of this business war--it's sport,” + said Courtenay. “Two battalions of Khyber Rifles, hired to hold the Pass + against their own relations. Against them a couple of hundred thousand + tribesmen, very hungry for loot, armed with up-to-date rifles, thanks to + Russia yesterday and Germany to-day, and all perfectly well aware that a + world war is in progress. That's sport, you know--not the 'image and + likeness of war' that Jorrocks called it, but the real red root. And + you've got a mystery thrown in to give it piquancy. I haven't found out + yet how Yasmini got up the Pass without my knowledge. I thought it was a + trick. Didn't believe she'd gone. Yet all my men swear they know she has + gone, and not one of them will own to having seen her go! What d'you think + of that?” + </p> + <p> + “Tell you later,” said King, “when I've been in the 'Hills' a while.” + </p> + <p> + “What d'you suppose I'm going to say, eh? Shall I enter in my diary that a + chit came down the Pass from a woman who never went up it? Or shall I say + she went up while I was looking the other way?” + </p> + <p> + “Help yourself!” laughed King. + </p> + <p> + “Laugh on! I envy you! If the worst comes to the worst, you'll have had + the best end of it. If you fail up there in the 'Hills' you'll get + scoughed and be done with you. You'll at least have had a show. All we + shall know of your failure will be the arrival of the flood! We'll be + swamped ingloriously--shot, skinned alive and crucified without a + chance of doing anything but wait for it! You're in luck--you can + move about and keep off the fidgets!” + </p> + <p> + For a while, as he ate Courtenay's broiled quail, King did not answer. But + the merry smile had left his eyes and he seemed for once to be letting his + mind dwell on conditions as they concerned himself. + </p> + <p> + “How many men have you at the fort?” he asked at last. + </p> + <p> + “Two hundred. Why?” + </p> + <p> + “All natives?” + </p> + <p> + “To a man.” + </p> +<p> + “Like 'em?” + </p> + <p> + “What's the use of talking?” answered Courtenay. “You know what it means + when men of an alien race stand up to you and grin when they salute. + They're my own.” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. “Die with you, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “To the last man,” said Courtenay quietly with that conviction that can + only be arrived at in one way, and that not the easiest. + </p> + <p> + “I'd die alone,” said King. “It'll be lonely in the 'Hills.' Got any more + quail?” + </p> + <p> + And that was all he ever did say on that subject, then or at any other + time. + </p> + <p> + “Here's to her!” laughed Courtenay at last, rising and holding up his + glass. “We can't explain her, so let's drink to her! No heel-taps! Here's + to Rewa Gunga's mistress, Yasmini!” + </p> + <p> + “May she show good hunting!” answered King, draining his glass; and it was + his first that day. “If it weren't for that note of hers that came down + the Pass, and for one or two other things, I'd almost believe her a myth--one + of those supposititious people who are supposed to express some ideal or + other. Not an hallucination, you understand--nor exactly an embodied + spirit, either. Perhaps the spirit of a problem. Let y be the Khyber + district, z the tribes, and x the spirit of the rumpus. Find x. Get me?” + </p> + <p> + “Not exactly. Got quinine in your kit, by the way?” + </p> + <p> + “Plenty, thanks.” + </p> + <p> + “What shall you do first after you get up the Pass? Call on your brother + at Ali Masjid? He's likely to know a lot by the time you get there.” + </p> + <p> + “Not sure,” said King. “May and may not. I'd like to see him. Haven't seen + the old chap in a donkey's age. How is he?” + </p> + <p> + “Well two days ago,” said Courtenay. “What's your general plan?” + </p> + <p> + “Hunt!” said King. “Hunt for x and report. Hunt for the spirit of the + coming ruction and try to scrag it! Live in the open when I can, sleep + with the lice when it rains or snows, eat dead goat and bad bread, I + expect; scratch myself when I'm not looking, and take a tub at the first + opportunity. When you see me on my way back, have a bath made ready for + me, will you--and keep to windward!” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly!” said Courtenay. “What's the Rangar going to do with that mare + of his? Suppose he'll leave her at Ali Masjid? He'll have to leave her + somewhere on the way. She'll get stolen. Gad! That's the brightest notion + yet! I'll make a point of buying her from the first horse-thief who comes + traipsing down the Pass!” + </p> + <p> + “Here's wishing you luck!” said King. “It's time to go, sir.” + </p> + <p> + He rose, and Courtenay walked with him to where his party waited in the + dark, chilled by the cold wind whistling down the Khyber. Rewa Gunga sat, + mounted, at their head, and close to him his personal servant rode another + horse. Behind them were the mules, and then in a cluster, each with a load + of some sort on his head, were the thirty prisoners, and Ismail took + charge of them officiously. Darya Khan, the man who had brought the letter + down the Pass, kept close to Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Are you armed?” King asked, as soon as he could see the whites of the + Rangar's eyes through the gloom. + </p> + <p> + “You jolly well bet I am!” the Rangar laughed. + </p> + <p> + King mounted, and Courtenay shook hands; then he went to Rewa Gunga's side + and shook hands with him, too. + </p> + <p> + “Good-by!” called King. + </p> + <p> + “Good-by and good luck!” + </p> + <p> + “Forward! March!” King ordered, and the little procession started. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, men of the 'Hills,' ye look like ghosts--like graveyard ghosts!” + jeered Courtenay, as they all filed past him. “Ye look like dead men, + going to be judged!” + </p> + <p> + Nobody answered. They strode behind the horses, with the swift silent + strides of men who are going home to the “Hills”; but even they, born in + the “Hills”' and knowing them as a wolf-pack knows its hunting-ground, + were awed by the gloom of Khyber-mouth ahead. King's voice was the first + to break the silence, and he did not speak until Courtenay was out of + ear-shot. Then: + </p> + <p> + “Men of the 'Hills'!” he called. “Kuch dar nahin hai!” + </p> + <p> + “Nahin hai! Hah!” shouted Ismail. “So speaks a man! Hear that, ye mountain + folk! He says, 'There is no such thing as fear!'” + </p> + <p> + In his place in the lead, King whistled softly to himself; but he drew an + automatic pistol from its place beneath his armpit and transferred it to a + readier position. + </p> + <p> + Fear or no fear, Khyber-mouth is haunted after dark by the men whose + blood-feuds are too reeking raw to let them dare go home and for whom the + British hangman very likely waits a mile or two farther south. It is one + of the few places in the world where a pistol is better than a thick + stick. + </p> + <p> + Boulder, crag and loose rock faded into gloom behind; in front on both + hands ragged hillsides were beginning to close in; and the wind, whose + home is in Allah's refuse heap, whistled as it searched busily among the + black ravines. Then presently the shadow of the thousand-foot-high Khyber + walls began to cover them, and King drew rein to count them all and let + them close up. To have let them straggle after that point would be + tantamount to murder probably. + </p> + <p> + “Ride last!” he ordered Rewa Gunga. “You've got the only other pistol, + haven't you?” + </p> + <p> + Darya Khan, who had brought the letter, had a rifle; so King gave him a + roving commission on the right flank. + </p> + <p> + They moved on again after five minutes, in the same deep silence, looking + like ghosts in search of somebody to ferry them across the Styx. Only the + glow of King's cheroot, and the lesser, quicker fire of Rewa Gunga's + cigarette, betrayed humanity, except that once or twice King's horse would + put a foot wrong and be spoken to. + </p> + <p> + “Hold up!” + </p> + <p> + But from five or ten yards away that might have been a new note in the + gaining wind or even nothing. + </p> + <p> + After a while King's cheroot went out, and he threw it away. A little + later Rewa Gunga threw away his cigarette. After that, the veriest + five-year-old among the Zakka Khels, watching sleepless over the rim of + some stone watch-tower, could have taken oath that the Khyber's unburied + dead were prowling in search of empty graves. Probably their uncanny + silence was their best protection; but Rewa Gunga chose to break it after + a time. + </p> + <p> + “King sahib!” he called softly, repeating it louder and more loudly until + King heard him. “Slowly! Not so fast!” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” + </p> + <p> + King did not check speed by a fraction, but the Rangar legged his mare + into a canter and forced him to pull out to the left of the track and make + room. + </p> + <p> + “Because, sahib, there are men among those boulders, and to go too fast is + to make them think you are afraid! To seem afraid is to invite attack! Can + we defend ourselves, with three firearms between us? Look! What was that?” + </p> + <p> + They were at the point where the road begins to lead up-hill, westward, + leaving the bed of a ravine and ascending to join the highway built by + British engineers. Below, to left and right, was pit-mouth gloom, shadows + amid shadows, full of eerie whisperings, and King felt the short hair on + his neck begin to rise. + </p> + <p> + So he urged his horse forward, because what Rewa Gunga said is true. There + is only one surer key to trouble in the Khyber than to seem afraid--and + that is to be afraid. And to have sat his horse there listening to the + Rangar's whisperings and trying to see through shadows would have been to + invite fear, of the sort that grows into panic. + </p> + <p> + The Rangar followed him, close up, and both horse and mare sensed + excitement. The mare's steel shoes sent up a shower of sparks, and King + turned to rebuke the Rangar. Yet he did not speak. Never, in all the years + he had known India and the borderland beyond, had he seen eyes so + suggestive of a tiger's in the dark! Yet they were not the same color as a + tiger's, nor the same size, nor the same shape! + </p> + <p> + “Look, sahib!” + </p> + <p> + “Look at what?” + </p> + <p> + “Look!” + </p> + <p> + After a second or two he caught a glimpse of bluish flame that flashed + suddenly and died again, somewhere below to the right. Then all at once + the flame burned brighter and steadier and began to move and to grow. + </p> + <p> + “Halt!” King thundered; and his voice was as sharp and unexpected as a + pistol-crack. This was something tangible, that a man could tackle--a + perfect antidote for nerves. + </p> + <p> + The blue light continued on a zigzag course, as if a man were running + among boulders with an unusual sort of torch; and as there was no answer + King drew his pistol, took about thirty seconds' aim and fired. He fired + straight at the blue light. + </p> + <p> + It vanished instantly, into measureless black silence. + </p> + <p> + “Now you've jolly well done it, haven't you!”' the Rangar laughed in his + ear. “That was her blue light--Yasmini's!” + </p> + <p> + It was a minute before King answered, for both animals were all but + frantic with their sense of their riders' state of mind; it needed + horsemanship to get them back under control. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know whose light it was?” King demanded, when the horse and + mare were head to head again. + </p> + <p> + “It was prearranged. She promised me a signal at the point where I am to + leave the track!” + </p> + <p> + “Where's that guide?” demanded King; and Darya Khan came forward out of + the night, with his rifle cocked and ready. + </p> + <p> + “Did she not say Khinjan is the destination?”' + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” the fellow answered. + </p> + <p> + “I know the way to Khinjan. That is not it. Get down there and find out + what that light was. Shout back what you find!” + </p> + <p> + The man obeyed instantly and sprang down into darkness. But King had + hardly given the order when shame told him he had sent a native on an + errand he had no liking for himself. + </p> + <p> + “Come back!” he shouted. “I'll go.” + </p> + <p> + But the man had gone, slipping noiselessly in the dark from rock to rock. + </p> + <p> + So King drove both spurs home, and set his unwilling horse to scrambling + downward at an angle he could not guess, into blackness he could feel, + trusting the animal to find a footing where his own eyes could make out + nothing. + </p> + <p> + To his disgust he heard the Rangar follow immediately. To his even greater + disgust the black mare overtook him. And even then, with his own mount + stumbling and nearly pitching him headforemost at each lurch, he was + forced to admire the mare's goatlike agility, for she descended into the + gorge in running leaps, never setting a wrong foot. When he and his horse + reached the bottom at last he found the Rangar waiting for him. + </p> + <p> + “This way, sahib!” + </p> + <p> + The next he knew sparks from the black mare's heels were kicking up in + front of him, and a wild ride had begun such as he had never yet dreamed + of. There was no catching up, for the black mare could gallop two to his + horse's one; but he set his teeth and followed into solid night, trusting + ear, eye, guesswork and the God of Secret Service men who loves the + reckless. + </p> + <p> + Once in a minute or so he would see a spark, or a shower of them, where + the mare took a turn in a hurry. Once in every two or three minutes he + caught sight for a second of the same blue siren light that had started + the race. He suspected that there were many torches placed at intervals. + It could not be one man running. More than once it occurred to him to draw + and shoot, but that thought died into the darkness whence it came. Never + once while he rode did he forget to admire the Rangar's courage or the + black mare's speed. + </p> + <p> + His own horse developed a speed and stamina he had not suspected, and + probably the Rangar did not dare extend the mare to her limit in the dark; + at all events, for ten, perhaps fifteen, minutes of breathless galloping + he almost made a race of it, keeping the Rangar, either within sight or + sound. + </p> + <p> + But then the mare swerved suddenly behind a boulder and was gone. He + spurred round the same great rock a minute later, and was faced by a blank + wall of shale that brought his horse up all standing. It led steep up for + a thousand feet to the sky-line. There was not so much as a goat-track to + show in which direction the mare had gone, nor a sound of any kind to + guide him. + </p> + <p> + He dismounted and stumbled about on foot for about ten minutes with his + eyes two feet from the earth, trying to find some trace of hoof. Then he + listened, with his ear to the ground. There was no result. + </p> + <p> + He knew better than to shout, for that would sound like a cry of distress, + and there is no mercy whatever in the “Hills” for lost wanderers, or for + men who seem lost. He had not a doubt there were men with long jezails + lurking not far away, to say nothing of those responsible for the blue + torchlight. + </p> + <p> + After some thought be mounted and began to hunt the way back, remembering + turns and twists with a gift for direction that natives might well have + envied him. He found his way back to the foot of the road at a trot, where + ninety-nine men out of almost any hundred would have been lost hopelessly; + and close to the road he overtook Darya Khan, hugging his rifle and + staring about like a scorpion at bay. + </p> + <p> + “Did you expect that blue light, and this galloping away?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, sahib; I knew nothing of it! I was told to lead the way to Khinjan.” + </p> + <p> + “Come on, then!” + </p> + <p> + He set his horse at the boulder-strewn slope and had to dismount to lead + him at the end of half a minute. At the end of a minute both he and the + messenger were hauling at the reins and the horse had grown frantic from + fear of falling backward. He shouted for help, and Ismail and another man + came leaping down, looking like the devils of the rocks, to lend their + strength. Ismail tightened his long girdle and stung the other two with + whiplash words, so that Darya Khan overcame prejudice to the point of + stowing his rifle between some rocks and lending a hand. Then it took all + four of them fifteen minutes to heave and haul the struggling animal to + the level road above. + </p> + <p> + There, with eyes long grown used to the dark, King stared about him, + recovering his breath and feeling in his pockets for a fresh cheroot and + matches. He struck a match and watched it to be sure his hand did not + shake before he spoke, because one of Cocker's rules is that a man must + command himself before trying it on others. + </p> + <p> + “Where are the others?” he asked, when he was certain of himself. + </p> + <p> + “Gone!” boomed Ismail, still panting, for he had heaved and dragged more + stoutly than had all the rest together. + </p> + <p> + King took a dozen pulls at the cheroot and stared about again. In the + middle of the road stood his second horse, and three mules with his + baggage, including the unmarked medicine chest. Close to them were three + men, making the party now only six all told, including Darya Khan, himself + and Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Gone whither?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” + </p> + <p> + Ismail's voice was eloquent of shocked surprise. + </p> + <p> + “They followed! Was it then thy baggage on the other mules? Were they thy + men? They led the mules and went!” + </p> + <p> + “Who ordered them?” + </p> + <p> + “Allah! Need the night be ordered to follow the Day?” + </p> + <p> + “Who told them whither to go?” + </p> + <p> + “Who told the moon where the night was?” Ismail answered. + </p> + <p> + “And thou?” + </p> + <p> + “I am thy man! She bade me be thy man!” + </p> + <p> + “And these?” + </p> + <p> + “Try them!” + </p> + <p> + King bethought him of his wrist, that was heavy with the weight of gold on + it. He drew back his sleeve and held it up. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” boomed all five men at once, and the Khyber night + gave back their voices, like the echoing of a well. + </p> + <p> + King took his reins and mounted. + </p> + <p> + “What now?” asked Ismail, picking up the leather bag that he regarded as + his own particular charge. + </p> + <p> + “Forward!” said King. “Come along!” + </p> + <p> + He began to set a fairly fast pace, Ismail leading the spare horse and the + others towing the mules along. Except for King, who was modern and out of + the picture, they looked like Old Testament patriarchs, hurrying out of + Egypt, as depicted in the illustrated Bibles of a generation ago--all + leaning forward--each man carrying a staff--and none looking to + the right or left. + </p> + <p> + After a time the moon rose and looked at them from over a distant ridge + that was thousands of feet higher than the ragged fringe of Khyber wall. + The little mangy jackals threw up their heads to howl at it; and after + that there was pale light diffused along the track, and they could see so + well that King set a faster pace, and they breathed hard in the effort to + keep up. He did not draw rein until it was nearly time for the Pass to + begin narrowing and humping upward to the narrow gut at Ali Masjid. But + then he halted suddenly. The jackals had ceased howling, and the very + spirit of the Khyber seemed to hold its breath and listen. + </p> + <p> + In that shuddersome ravine unusual sounds will rattle along sometimes from + wall to wall and gully to gully, multiplying as they go, until night grows + full of thunder. So it was now that they heard a staccato cannonade--not + very loud yet, but so quick, so pulsating, so filling to the ears that he + could judge nothing about the sound at all, except that whatever caused it + must be round a corner out of sight. + </p> + <p> + At first, for a few minutes King suspected it was Rewa Gunga's mare, + galloping over hard rock away ahead of him. Then he knew it was a horse + approaching. After that he became nearly sure he was mistaken altogether + and that the drums were being beaten at a village--until he + remembered there was no village near enough and no drums in any case. + </p> + <p> + It was the behavior of the horse he rode, and of the led one and the + mules, that announced at last beyond all question that a horse was coming + down the Khyber in a hurry. One of the mules brayed until the whole gorge + echoed with the insult, and a man hit him hard on the nose to silence him. + </p> + <p> + King legged his horse into the shadow of a great rock. And after + shepherding the men and mules into another shadow, Ismail came and held + his stirrup, with the leather bag in the other hand. The bag fascinated + him, because he did not know what was in it, and it was plain that he + meant to cling to it until death or King should put an end to curiosity. + </p> + <p> + King drew his pistol. Ismail drew in his breath with a hissing sound, as + if he and not King were the marksman. King notched the foresight against + the corner of a crag, at a height that ought to be an inch or two above an + oncoming horse's ears, and Ismail nodded sagely. Whoever now should gallop + round that rock would be obliged to cross the line of fire. Such are the + vagaries of the Khyber's night echoes that it was a long five minutes yet + before a man appeared at last, riding like the night wind, on a horse that + seemed to be very nearly on his last legs. The beast was going wildly, + sobbing, with straggled ears. + </p> + <p> + Instead of speaking, King spurred out of the shadow and blocked the + oncoming horseman's way, making his own horse meet the other shoulder to + breast, knocking most of the remaining wind out of him. At risk of his own + life, Ismail seized the man's reins. The sparks flew, and there was a + growled oath; but the long and the short of it was that the rider squinted + uncomfortably down the barrel of King's repeating pistol. + </p> + <p> + “Give an account of yourself!” commanded King. + </p> + <p> + The man did not answer. He was a jezailchi of the Khyber Rifles--hook-nosed + as an osprey--black-bearded--with white teeth glistening out of + a gap in the darkness of his lower face. And he was armed with a British + government rifle, although that is no criterion in that borderland of + professional thieves where many a man has offered himself for enlistment + with a stolen government rifle in his grasp. + </p> + <p> + The waler he rode was an officer's charger. The poor brute sobbed and + heaved and sweated in his tracks as his rightful owner surely had never + made him do. + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” King demanded. + </p> + <p> + “Jamrud!” + </p> + <p> + The jezailchi growled the one-word answer with one eye on King, but the + other eye still squinted down the pistol barrel warily. + </p> + <p> + “Have you a letter?” + </p> + <p> + The man did not answer. + </p> + <p> + “You may speak to me. I am of your regiment. I am Captain King.” + </p> + <p> + “That is a lie, and a poor one!” the fellow answered. “But a very little + while ago I spoke with King sahib in Ali Masjid Fort, and he is no + cappitin, he is leftnant. Therefore thou art a liar twice over--nay, + three times! Thou art no officer of Khyber Rifles! I am a jezailchi, and I + know them all!” + </p> + <p> + “None the less,” said King, “I am an officer of the Khyber Rifles, newly + appointed. I asked you, have you a letter?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + “Let me see it.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay!” + </p> + <p> + “I order you!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay! I am a true man! I will eat the letter rather!” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me who wrote it, then.” + </p> + <p> + But the fellow shook his head, still eying the pistol as if it were a + snake about to strike. + </p> + <p> + “I have eaten the salt!” he said. “May dogs eat me if I break faith! Who + art thou, to ask me to break faith? An arrficer? That must be a lie! The + letter is from him who wrote it, to whom I bear it--and that is my + answer if I die this minute!” + </p> + <p> + King let his reins fall and raised his left wrist until the moonlight + glinted on the gold of his bracelet under the jezailchi's very eyes. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” said the man at once. + </p> + <p> + “From whom is your letter, and to whom?” asked King, wondering what the + men in the clubs at home would say if they knew that a woman's bracelet + could outweigh authority on British sod; for the Khyber Pass is as much + British as the air is an eagle's or Korea Japanese, or Panama United + States American, and the Khyber jezailchis are paid to help keep it so. + </p> + <p> + “From the karnal sahib (colonel) at Landi Kotal, whose horse I ride,” said + the jezailchi slowly, “to the arrficer at Jamrud. To King sahib, the + arrficer at Ali Masjid I bore a letter also, and left it as I passed.” + </p> + <p> + “Had they no spare horse at Ali Masjid? That beast is foundered.” + </p> + <p> + “There are two horses there, and both lame. The man who thou sayest is thy + brother is heavy on horses.” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. “What is in the letter?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Nay! Have I eyes that can see through paper?” + </p> + <p> + “Thou hast ears that can listen!” answered King. + </p> + <p> + “In the letter that I left at Ali Masjid there is news of the lashkar that + is gathering in the 'Hills,' above Ali Masjid and beyond Khinjan. King + sahib is ordered to be awake and wary.” + </p> + <p> + “And to lame no more horses jumping them over rocks!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, the karnal sahib said he is to ride after no more jackals with a + spear!” + </p> + <p> + “Same old game!” said King to himself. “What knowest thou of the lashkar + that is gathering?” + </p> + <p> + “I? Oh, a little. An uncle of mine, and three half-brothers, and a brother + are of its number! One came at night to tempt me to join--but I have + eaten the salt. It was I who first warned our karnal sahib. Now, let me + by!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, wait!” ordered King. But he lowered his pistol point. + </p> + <p> + To hold up a despatch rider was about as irregular as any proceeding could + be; but it was within his province to find out how far the Khyber + jezailchis could be trusted and within his power more than to make up the + lost time. So that the irregularity did not trouble him much. + </p> + <p> + “Does this other letter tell of the lashkar, too?” + </p> + <p> + “Am I God, that I should know? But of what else should the karnal sahib + write?” + </p> + <p> + “What is the object of the rising?” King asked him next; and the man threw + his head back to laugh like a wolf. Laughter, at night in the Khyber, is + an insult. Ismail chattered into his beard; but King sat still. + </p> + <p> + “Object? What but to force the Khyber and burst through into India and + loot? What but to plunder, now that English backs are turned the other + way?” + </p> + <p> + “Who said their backs are turned?” demanded King. + </p> + <p> + “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ho! Hear him!” + </p> + <p> + The Khyber echoed the mockery away and away into the distance. + </p> + <p> + “Their backs are this way and their faces that! The kites know it! The + vultures know it! The little jackals know it! The little butchas in the + valley villages all know it! Ask the rocks, and the grass--the very + water running from the 'Hills'! They all know that the English fight for + life!” + </p> + <p> + “And the Khyber jezailchis? What of them?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “They know it better than any!” + </p> + <p> + “And?” + </p> + <p> + “They make ready, even as I.” + </p> + <p> + “For what?” + </p> + <p> + “For what Allah shall decide! We ate the salt, we jezailchis. We chose, + and we ate of our own free will. We have been paid the price we named, in + silver and rifles and clothing. The arrficers the sirkar sent us are men + of faith who have made no trouble with our women. What, then, should the + Khyber jezailchis do? For a little while there will be fighting--or, + if we be very brave and our arrficers skillful, and Allah would fain see + sport, then for a longer while. Then we shall be overridden. Then the + Khyber will be a roaring river of men pouring into India, as my father's + father told me it has often been! India shall bleed in these days--but + there will be fighting in the Khyber first!” + </p> + <p> + “And what of her? Of Yasmini?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “Thou wearest that--and askest what of her? Nay--tell!” + </p> + <p> + “Should she order the jezailchis to be false to the salt--?” + </p> + <p> + “Such a question!” + </p> + <p> + The man clucked into his beard and began to fidget in the saddle. King + gave him another view of the bracelet, and again he found a civil answer. + </p> + <p> + “We of the Rifles have her leave to be loyal to the salt, for, said she, + otherwise how could we be true men; and she loves no liars. From the + first, when she first won our hearts in the 'Hills,' she gave us of the + Rifles leave to be true men first and her servants afterward! We may love + her--as we do!--and yet fight against her, if so Allah wills--and + she will yet love us!” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” King asked him suddenly, and the man began to laugh again. + </p> + <p> + “Let me by!” he shouted truculently. “Who am I to sit a horse and gossip + in the Khyber? Let me by, I say!” + </p> + <p> + “I will let you by when you have told me where she is!” + </p> + <p> + “Then I die here, and very likely thou, too!” the man answered, bringing + his rifle to the port in front of him so quickly that he almost had King + at a disadvantage. As it was, King was quick enough to balance matters by + covering him with the pistol again. The horses sensed excitement and began + to stir. With a laugh the jezailchi let the rifle fall across his lap, and + at that King put the pistol out of sight. + </p> + <p> + “Fool!” hissed Ismail in his ear; but King knows the “Hills” better in + some ways than the savages who live in them; they, for instance, never + seem able to judge whether there will be a fight presently or not. + </p> + <p> + “Why won't you tell me where she is?” he asked in his friendliest voice, + and that would wheedle secrets from the Sphynx. + </p> + <p> + “Her secrets are her own, and may Allah help her guard them! I will tear + my tongue out first!” + </p> + <p> + “Enviable woman!” murmured King. “Pass, friend!” he ordered, reining + aside. “Take my spare horse and leave me that weary one, so you will + recover the lost time and more into the bargain.” + </p> + <p> + The man changed horses gladly, saying nothing. When he had shifted the + saddle and mounted, he began to ride off with a great air, not so much as + deigning to scowl at Ismail. But he had not ridden a dozen paces when he + sat round in the saddle and drew rein. + </p> + <p> + “Sahib!” he called. “Sahib!” + </p> + <p> + King waited. He had waited for this very thing and could afford to wait a + minute longer. + </p> + <p> + “Hast thou--is there--does the sahib--I have not tasted--” + </p> + <p> + He made a sign with his hand that men recognize in pretty nearly every + land under the sun. + </p> + <p> + “So-ho!” laughed King, patting his hip pocket, from which the cap of a + silver-topped flask had been protruding ever since he put the pistol out + of sight. “So our copper's hot, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “May Allah do more to me if my throat is not lined with the fires of + Eblis!” + </p> + <p> + “But the Kalamullah!” King objected. “What saith the Prophet?” + </p> + <p> + “The Prophet forbade the faithful to drink wine,” said the jezailchi. “He + said nothing about whiskey, that I ever heard!” + </p> + <p> + “Mine is brandy,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “May Allah bless the sahib's sons and grandsons to the seventh generation! + May Allah--” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about Yasmini first! Where is she?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay!” + </p> + <p> + King tapped the flask in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + “Nay! My throat is dry, but it shalt parch! I know not! As to where she + is, I know not!” + </p> + <p> + “Remember, and I will give you the whole of it!” + </p> + <p> + He drew the flask out of his pocket and rode a little way toward the man. + </p> + <p> + “None can overhear. Tell me now.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, sahib! I am silent!” + </p> + <p> + “Have you passed her on your way?” + </p> + <p> + The man shook his head--shook it until the whites of his eyes were a + streak in the middle of his dark face; and when a Hillman is as vehement + as that he is surely lying. + </p> + <p> + King set the flask to his own lips and drank a few drops. + </p> + <p> + “Salaam, sahib!” said the jezaitchi, wheeling his horse to ride away. + </p> + <p> + King let him ride twenty paces before calling to him to halt. + </p> + <p> + “Come back!” he ordered, and rode part of the way to meet him. + </p> + <p> + “I but tried thee, friend!” he said, holding out the flask. + </p> + <p> + “Allah then preserve me from a second test!” + </p> + <p> + The jezailchi seized the flask, clapped it to his lips and drained it to + the last drop while King sat still in the moonlight and smiled at him. + </p> + <p> + “God grant the giver peace!” he prayed, handing the flask back. The kindly + East possesses no word for “Thank you.” Then he wheeled the horse in a + sudden eddy, as polo ponies turn on the Indian plains, and rode away down + the wind as if the Pass were full of devils in pursuit of him. + </p> + <p> + King watched him out of sight and then listened until the hoof-beats died + away and the Pass grew still again. + </p> + <p> + “The jezailchis'll stand!” he said, lighting a new cheroot. “Good men and + good luck to 'em!” + </p> + <p> + Then he rode back to his own men. + </p> + <p> + “Where starts the trail to Khinjan?” he asked; not that he had forgotten + it, but to learn who knew. + </p> + <p> + “This side of Ali Masjid!” they answered all together. + </p> + <p> + “Two miles this side. More than a mile from here,” said Ismail. “What + next? Shall we camp here? Here is fuel and a little water. Give the word--” + </p> + <p> + “Nay-forward!” ordered King. + </p> + <p> + “Forward?” growled Ismail. “With this man it is ever 'forward!' Is there + neither rest nor fear? Has she bewitched him? Hai! Ye lazy ones! Ho! Sons + of sloth! Urge the mules faster! Beat the led horse!” + </p> + <p> + So in weird wan moonlight, King led them forward, straight up the + narrowing gorge, between cliffs that seemed to fray the very bosom of the + sky. He smoked a cigar and stared at the view, as if he were off to the + mountains for a month's sport with dependable shikarris whom he knew. + Nobody could have looked at him and guessed he was not enjoying himself. + </p> + <p> + “That man,” mumbled Ismail behind him, “is not as other sahibs I have + known. He is a man, this one! He will do unexpected things!” + </p> + <p> + “Forward!” King called to them, thinking they were grumbling. “Forward, + men of the 'Hills'!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The owl he has eyes that are big for his size, + And the night like a book he deciphers; + “Too-woop!” he asserts, and “Hoo-woo-ip!” he cries, + And he means to remark he is awfully wise; + But he lags behind us, who are “on” to the lies + Of the hairy Himalayan knifers! + + For eyes we be, of Empire, we, + Skinned and puckered and quick to see, + And nobody guesses how wise we be, + Nor hidden in what disguise we be, + A-cooking a sudden surprise we be + For hairy Himahlyan knifers! +</pre> + <p> + After a time King urged his horse to a jog-trot, and the five Hillmen + pattered in his wake, huddled so close together that the horse could + easily have kicked more than one of them. The night was cold enough to + make flesh creep; but it was imagination that herded them until they + touched the horse's rump and kept the whites of their eyes ever showing as + they glanced to left and right. The Khyber, fouled by memory, looks like + the very birthplace of the ghosts when the moon is fitful and a mist + begins to flow. + </p> + <p> + “Cheloh!” King called merrily enough; but his horse shied at nothing, + because horses have an uncanny way of knowing how their riders really + feel. They led mules and the spare horse, instead of dragging at their + bridles, pressed forward to have their heads among the men, and every once + and again there would sound the dull thump of a fist on a beast's nose--such + being the attitude of men toward the lesser beasts. + </p> + <p> + They trotted forward until the bed of the Khyber began to grow very + narrow, and Ali Masjid Fort could not be much more than a mile away, at + the widest guess. Then King drew rein and dismounted, for he would have + been challenged had he ridden much farther. A challenge in the Khyber + after dark consists invariably of a volley at short range, with the mere + words afterward, and the wise man takes precaution. + </p> + <p> + “Off with the mules' packs!” he ordered, and the men stood round and + stared. Darya Khan, leaning on the only rifle in the party, grinned like a + post-office letter box. + </p> + <p> + “Truly,” growled Ismail, forgetting past expression of a different + opinion, “this man is as mad as all the other Englishmen.” + </p> + <p> + “Were you ever bitten by one?” wondered King aloud. + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, off with the packs--and hurry!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail began to obey. + </p> + <p> + “Thou! Lord of the Rivers! (For that is what Darya Khan means.) What is + thy calling?” + </p> + <p> + “Badragga” (guide), he answered. “Did she not send me back down the Pass + to be a guide?” + </p> + <p> + “And before that what wast thou?” + </p> + <p> + “Is that thy business?” he snarled, shifting his rifle-barrel to the other + hand. “I am what she says I am! She used to call me 'Chikki'--the + Lifter!--and I was! There are those who were made to know it! If she + says now I am badragga, shall any say she lies?” + </p> + <p> + “I say thou art unpacker of mules' burdens!” answered King. “Begin!” + </p> + <p> + For answer the fellow grinned from ear to ear and thrust the rifle-barrel + forward insolently. King, with the movement of determination that a man + makes when about to force conclusions, drew up his sleeves above the + wrist. At that instant the moon shone through the mist and the gold + bracelet glittered in the moonlight. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” said “Lord of the Rivers” at once. And without + another word he laid down his rifle and went to help off-load the mules. + </p> + <p> + King stepped aside and cursed softly. To a man who knows how to enforce + his own authority, it is worse than galling to be obeyed because he wears + a woman's favor. But for a vein of wisdom that underlay his pride he would + have pocketed the bracelet there and then and have refused to wear it + again. But as he sweated his pride he overheard Ismail growl: + </p> + <p> + “Good for thee! He had taught thee obedience in another bat of the eye!” + </p> + <p> + “I obey her!” muttered Darya Khan. + </p> + <p> + “I, too,” said Ishmail. “So shall he before the week dies! But now it is + good to obey him. He is an ugly man to disobey!” + </p> + <p> + “I obey him until she sets me free, then,” grumbled Darya Khan. + </p> + <p> + “Better for thee!” said Ismail. + </p> + <p> + The packs were laid on the ground, and the mules shook themselves, while + the jackals that haunt the Khyber came closer, to sit in a ring and watch. + King dug a flashlight out of one of the packs, gave it to Ismail to hold, + sat on the other pack and began to write on a memorandum pad. It was a + minute before he could persuade Ismail that the flashlight was harmless, + and another minute before he could get him to hold it still. Then, + however, he wrote swiftly. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In the Khyber, a mile below you. + + “Dear Old Man--I would like to run in and see you, but + circumstances don't permit. Several people sent you + their regards by me. Herewith go two mules and their + packs. Make any use of the mules you like, but store + the loads where I can draw on them in case of need. + I would like to have a talk with you before taking the + rather desperate step I intend, but I don't want to be + seen entering or leaving Ali Masjid. Can you come + down the Pass without making your intention known? + It is growing misty now. It ought to be easy. My men + will tell you where I am and show you the way. Why + not destroy this letter? + + “Athelstan.” + </pre> + <p> + He folded the note and stuck a postage stamp on it in lieu of seal. Then + he examined the packs with the aid of the flashlight, sorted them and + ordered two of the mules reloaded. + </p> + <p> + “You three!” he ordered then. “Take the loaded mules into Ali Masjid Fort. + Take this chit, you. Give it to the sahib in command there.” + </p> + <p> + They stood and gaped at him, wide-eyed--then came closer to see his + eyes and to catch any whisper that Ismail might have for them. But Ismail + and Darya Khan seemed full of having been chosen to stay behind; they + offered no suggestions--certainly no encouragement to mutiny. + </p> + <p> + “To hear is to obey!” said the nearest man, seizing the note, for at all + events that was the easiest task. His action decided the other two. They + took the mules' leading-reins and followed him. Before they had gone ten + paces they were all swallowed in the mist that had begun to flow + southeastward; it closed on them like a blanket, and in a minute more the + clink of shod hooves had ceased. The night grew still, except for the + whimpering of jackals. Ismail came nearer and squatted at King's feet. + </p> + <p> + “Why, sahib?” he asked: and Darya Khan came closer, too. King had tied the + reins of the two horses and the one remaining mule together in a knot and + was sitting on the pack. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” he countered. + </p> + <p> + Solemn, almost motionless, squatted on their hunkers, they looked like two + great vultures watching an animal die. + </p> + <p> + “What have they done that they should be sent away?” asked Ismail. “What + have they done that they should be sent to the fort, where the arrficer + will put them in irons?” + </p> + <p> + “Why should he put them in irons?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Why not? Here in the Khyber there is often a price on men's heads!” + </p> + <p> + “And not in Delhi?” + </p> + <p> + “In Delhi these were not known. There were no witnesses in Delhi. In the + fort at Ali Masjid there will be a dozen ready to swear to them!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, why did they obey?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “What is that on the sahib's wrist?” + </p> + <p> + “You mean--?” + </p> + <p> + “Sahib--if she said, 'Walk into the fire or over that Cliff!' there + be many in these 'Hills' who would obey without murmuring!” + </p> + <p> + “I have nothing against them,” said King. “As long as they are my men I + will not send them into a trap.” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” nodded Ismail and Darya Khan together, but they did not seem + really satisfied. + </p> + <p> + “It is good,” said Ismail, “that she should have nothing against thee, + sahib! Those three men are in thy keeping!” + </p> + <p> + “And I in thine?” King asked, but neither man answered him. + </p> + <p> + They sat in silence for five minutes. Then suddenly the two Hillmen + shuddered, although King did not bat an eyelid. Din burst into being. A + volley ripped out of the night and thundered down the Pass. + </p> + <p> + “How-utt! Hukkums dar?” came the insolent challenge half a minute after it--the + proof positive that Ali Masjid's guards neither slept nor were afraid. + </p> + <p> + A weird wail answered the challenge, and there began a tossing to and fro + of words, that was prelude to a shouted invitation: + </p> + <p> + “Ud-vance-frrrennen-orsss-werrul!” + </p> + <p> + English can be as weirdly distorted as wire, or any other supple medium, + and native levies advance distortion to the point of art; but the language + sounds no less good in the chilly gloom of a Khyber night. + </p> + <p> + Followed another wait, this time of half an hour. Then a man's footsteps--a + booted, leather-heeled man, striding carelessly. Not far behind him was + the softer noise of sandals. The man began to whistle Annie Laurie. + </p> + <p> + “Charles? That you?” called King. + </p> + <p> + “That you, old man?” + </p> + <p> + A man in khaki stepped into the moonlight. He was so nearly the image of + Athelstan King that Ismail and Darya Khan stood up and stared. Athelstan + strode to meet him. Their walk was the same. Angle for angle, line for + line, they might have been one man and his shadow, except for + three-quarters of an inch of stature. + </p> + <p> + “Glad to see you, old man,” said Athelstan. + </p> + <p> + “Sure, old chap!” said Charles; and they shook hands. + </p> + <p> + “What's the desperate proposal?” asked the younger. + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you when we are alone.” + </p> + <p> + His brother nodded and stood a step aside. The three who had taken the + note to the fort came closer--partly to call attention to themselves, + partly to claim credit, partly because the outer silence frightened them. + They elbowed Ismail and Darya Khan, and one of them received a savage blow + in the stomach by way of retort from Ismail. Before that spark could start + an explosion Athelstan interfered. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail! Take two men. Go down the Pass out of ear-shot, and keep watch! + Come back when I whistle thus--but no sooner!” + </p> + <p> + He put fingers between his teeth and blew until the night shrilled back at + him. Ismail seized the leather bag and started to obey. + </p> + <p> + “Leave that bag. Leave it, I say!” + </p> + <p> + “But some man may steal it, sahib. How shall a thief know there is no + money in it?” + </p> + <p> + “Leave it and go!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail departed, grumbling, and King turned on Darya Khan. + </p> + <p> + “Take the remaining man, and go up the Pass!” he ordered. “Stand out of + ear-shot and keep watch. Come when I whistle!” + </p> + <p> + “But this one has a belly ache where Ismail smote him! Can a man with a + belly ache stand guard? His moaning will betray both him and me!” objected + “Lord of the Rivers.” + </p> + <p> + “Take him and go!” commanded King. + </p> + <p> + “But--” + </p> + <p> + King was careful now not to show his bracelet. + </p> + <p> + But there was something in his eye and in his attitude--a subtle + suggestive something-or-other about him--that was rather more + convincing than a pistol or a stick. Darya Khan thrust his rifle-end into + the hurt man's stomach for encouragement and started off into the mist. + </p> + <p> + “Come and ache out of the sahibs' sight!” he snarled. + </p> + <p> + In a minute King and his brother stood unseen, unheard in the shadow by a + patch of silver moonlight. Athelstan sat down on the mule's pack. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” said the younger. “Tell me. I shall have to hurry. You see I'm in + charge back there. They saw me come out, but I hope to teach 'em a lesson + going back.” + </p> + <p> + Athelstan nodded. “Good!” he said. “I've a roving commission. I'm ordered + to enter Khinjan Caves.” + </p> + <p> + His brother whistled. “Tall order! What's your plan?” + </p> + <p> + “Haven't one--yet. Know more when I'm nearer Khinjan. You can help no + end.” + </p> + <p> + “How? Name it!” + </p> + <p> + “I shall go up in disguise. Nobody can put the stain on as well as you. + But tell me something first. Any news of a holy war yet?” + </p> + <p> + His brother nodded. “Plenty of talk about one to come,” he said. “We keep + hearing of that lashkar that we can't locate, under a mullah whose name + seems to change with the day of the week. And there are everlasting tales + about the 'Heart of the Hills.”' + </p> + <p> + “No explanation of 'em?” Athelstan asked him. + </p> + <p> + “None! Not a thing!” + </p> + <p> + “D'you know of Yasmini?” + </p> + <p> + “Heard of her of course,” said his brother. + </p> + <p> + “Has she come up the Pass?” + </p> + <p> + His brother laughed. “No, neither she nor a coach and four.” + </p> + <p> + “I have heard the contrary,” said Athelstan. + </p> + <p> + “Heard what, exactly?” + </p> + <p> + “She's up the Pass ahead of me.” + </p> + <p> + “She hasn't passed Ali Masjid!” said his brother, and Athelstan nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Are the Turks in the show yet?” asked Charles. + </p> + <p> + “Not yet. But I know they're expected in.” + </p> + <p> + “You bet they're expected in!” The younger man grinned from ear to ear. + “They're working both tides under to prepare the tribes for it. They + flatter themselves they can set alight a holy war that will put Timour + Ilang to shame. You should hear my jezailchies talk at night when they + think I'm not listening!” + </p> + <p> + “The jezailchies'll stand though,” said Athelstan. + </p> + <p> + “Stake my life on it!” said his brother. “They'll stick to the last man!” + </p> + <p> + “I can't tell you,” said Athelstan, “why we're not attacking brother Turk + before he's ready. I imagine Whitehall has its hands full. But it's likely + enough that the Turk will throw in his lot with the Prussians the minute + he's ready to begin. Meanwhile my job is to help make the holy war seem + unprofitable to the tribes, so that they'll let the Turk down hard when he + calls on 'em. Every day that I can point to forts held strongly in the + Khyber is a day in my favor. There are sure to be raids. In fact, the more + the merrier, provided they're spasmodic. We must keep 'em separated--keep + 'em from swarming too fast--while I sow other seeds among 'em.” + </p> + <p> + His brother nodded. Sowing seeds was almost that family's hereditary job. + Athelstan continued: + </p> + <p> + “Hang on to Ali Masjid like a leech, old man! The day one raiding lashkar + gets command of the Khyber's throat, the others'll all believe they've won + the game. Nothing'll stop 'em then! Look out for traps. Smash 'em on + sight. But don't follow up too far!” + </p> + <p> + “Sure,” said Charles. + </p> + <p> + “Help me with the stain now, will you?” + </p> + <p> + With his flash-light burning as if its battery provided current by the + week instead of by the minute, Athelstan dragged open the mule's pack and + produced a host of things. He propped a mirror against the pack and + squatted in front of it. Then he passed a little bottle to his brother, + and Charles attended to the chin-strap mark that would have betrayed him a + British officer in any light brighter than dusk. In a few minutes his + whole face was darkened to one hue, and Charles stepped back to look at + it. + </p> + <p> + “Won't need to wash yourself for a month!” he said. “The dirt won't show!” + He sniffed at the bottle. “But that stain won't come off if you do wash--never + worry! You'll do finely.” + </p> + <p> + “Not yet, I won't!” said Athelstan, picking up a little safety razor and + beginning on his mustache. In a minute he had his upper lip bare. Then his + brother bent over him and rubbed in stain where the scrubby mustache had + been. + </p> + <p> + After that Athelstan unlocked the leather bag that had caused Ismail so + much concern and shook out from it a pile of odds and ends at which his + brother nodded with perfect understanding. The principal item was a piece + of silk--forty or fifty yards of it--that he proceeded to bind + into a turban on his head, his brother lending him a guiding, + understanding finger at every other turn. When that was done, the man who + had said he looked in the least like a British officer would have lied. + </p> + <p> + One after another he drew on native garments, picking them from the pile + beside him. So, by rapid stages he developed into a native hakim--by + creed a converted Hindu, like Rewa Gunga,--one of the men who + practise yunani, or modern medicine, without a license and with a very + great deal of added superstition, trickery and guesswork. + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't trust you with a ha'penny!” announced his brother when he had + done. + </p> + <p> + “Really? As good as all that?” + </p> + <p> + “The part to a T.” + </p> + <p> + “Well--take these into the fort for me, will you?” His brother caught + the bundle of discarded European clothes and tucked them under his arm. + “Now, re-member, old man! This is the biggest show there has ever been! + We've got to hold the Khyber, and we can't do it by riding pell-mell into + the first trap set for us! We must smash when the fighting starts--but + we mayn't miss! We mayn't run past the mark! Be a coward, if that's the + name you care to give it. You needn't tell me you've got orders to hunt + skirmishers to a standstill, because I know better. I know you've just had + your wig pulled for laming two horses!” + </p> + <p> + “How d'you know that?” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind! I've been seconded to your crowd. I'm your senior, and I'm + giving you orders. This show isn't sport, but the real red thing, and I + want to count on you to fight like a trained man, not like a natural-born + fool. I want to know you're holding Ali Masjid like Fabius held Rome, by + being slow and wily, just for the sake of the comfortable feeling it will + give me when I'm alone among the 'Hills.' Hit hard when you have to, but + for God's sake, old man, ware traps!” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” said his brother. + </p> + <p> + “Then good-by, old man!” + </p> + <p> + “Good-by, Athelstan!” + </p> + <p> + They stood facing and shook hands. Where had been a man and his reflection + in the mist, there now seemed to be the same man and a native. Athelstan + King had changed his very nature with his clothes. He stood like a native--moved + like one; even his voice was changed, as if--like the actor who dyed + himself all over to act Othello--he could do nothing by halves. + </p> + <p> + “I'm going to try to get in without my men seeing me!” said the younger. + </p> + <p> + “If they do see you, they'll shoot!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and miss! Trust a Khyber jezailchi not to hit much in the dark! + It'll do 'em good either way. I'll have time to give 'em the password + before they fire a second volley. They're not really dangerous till the + third one. Good-by!” + </p> + <p> + “By, Charles!” + </p> + <p> + Officers in that force are not chosen for their clumsiness, or inability + to move silently by night. His foot-steps died in the mist almost as + quickly as his shadow. Before he had been gone a minute the Pass was + silent as death again, and though Athelstan listened with trained ears, + the only sound he could detect was of a jackal cracking a bone fifty or + sixty yards away. + </p> + <p> + He repacked the loads, putting everything back carefully into the big + leather envelopes and locking the empty hand-bag, after throwing in a few + stones for Ismail's benefit. Then he went to sit in the moonlight, with + his back to a great rock and waited there cross-legged to give his brother + time to make good a retreat through the mist. When there was no more doubt + that his own men, at all events, had failed to detect the lieutenant, he + put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. + </p> + <p> + Almost at once he heard sandals come pattering from both directions. As + they emerged out of the mist he sat silent and still. It was Darya Khan + who came first and stood gaping at him, but Ismail was a very close + second, and the other three were only a little behind. For full two + minutes after the man with the sore stomach had come they all stood + holding one another's arms, astonished. Then-- + </p> + <p> + “Where is he?” asked Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Who?” said King, the hakim. + </p> + <p> + “Our sahib--King sahib--where is he?” + </p> + <p> + “Gone!” + </p> + <p> + Even his voice was so completely changed that men who had been reared amid + mutual suspicion could not recognize it. + </p> + <p> + “But there are his loads! There is his mule!” + </p> + <p> + “Here is his bag!” said Ismail, pouncing on it, picking it up and shaking + it. “It rattles not as formerly! There is more in it than there was!” + </p> + <p> + “His two horses and the mule are here,” said Darya Khan. + </p> + <p> + “Did I say he took them with him?” asked the hakim, who sat still with his + back to a rock. “He went because I came! He left me here in charge! Should + he not leave the wherewithal to make me comfortable, since I must do his + work? Hah! What do I see? A man bent nearly double? That means a belly + ache! Who should have a belly ache when I have potions, lotions, balms to + heal all ills, magic charms and talismans, big and little pills--and + at such a little price! So small a price! Show me the belly and pay your + money! Forget not the money, for nothing is free except air, water and the + Word of God! I have paid money for water before now, and where is the + mullah who will not take a fee? Nay, only air costs nothing! For a rupee, + then--for one rupee I will heal the sore belly and forget to be + ashamed for taking such a little fee!” + </p> + <p> + “Whither went the sahib? Nay--show us proof!” objected Darya Khan; + and Ismail stood back a pace to scratch his flowing beard and think. + </p> + <p> + “The sahib left this with me!” said King, and held up his wrist. The gold + bracelet Rewa Gunga had given him gleamed in the pale moonlight. + </p> + <p> + “May God be with thee!” boomed all five men together. + </p> + <p> + King jumped to his feet so suddenly that all five gave way in front of + him, and Darya Khan brought his rifle to the port. + </p> + <p> + “Hast thou never seen me before?” he demanded, seizing Ismail by the + shoulders and staring straight into his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I never saw thee!” + </p> + <p> + “Look again!” + </p> + <p> + He turned his head, to show his face in profile. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I never saw thee!” + </p> + <p> + “Thou, then! Thou with the belly! Thou! Thou!” + </p> + <p> + They all denied ever having seen him. + </p> + <p> + So he stepped back until the moon shone full in his face and pulled off + his turban, changing his expression at the same time. + </p> + <p> + “Now look!” + </p> + <p> + “Ma'uzbillah! (May God protect us!)” + </p> + <p> + “Now ye know me?” + </p> + <p> + “Hee-yee-yee!” yelled Ismail, hugging himself by the elbows and beginning + to dance from side to side. “Hee-yee-yee! What said I? Said I not so? Said + I not this is a different man? Said I not this is a good one--a man + of unexpected things? Said I not there was magic in the leather bag? I + shook it often, and the magic grew! Hee-yee-yee! Look at him! See such + cunning! Feel him! Smell of him! He is a good one--good!” + </p> + <p> + Three of the others stood and grinned, now that their first shock of + surprise had died away. The fourth man poked among the packs. There was + little to see except gleaming teeth and the whites of eyes, set in hairy + faces in the mist. But Ismail danced all by himself among the stones of + Khyber road and he looked like a bearded ghoul out for an airing. + </p> + <p> + “Hee-yee-yee! She smelt out a good one! Hee-yee-yee! This is a man after + my heart! Hee-yee-yee! God preserve me! God preserve me to see the end of + this! This one will show sport! Oh-yee-yee-yee!” + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he closed with King and hugged him until the stout ribs cracked + and bent inward and King sobbed for breath among the strands of the + Afridi's beard. He had to use knuckles and knees and feet to win freedom, + and though he used them with all his might and hurt the old savage + fiercely, he made no impression on his good will. + </p> + <p> + “After my own heart, thou art! Spirit of a cunning one! Worker of spells! + Allah! That was a good day when she bade me wait for thee!” + </p> + <p> + King sat down again, panting. He wanted time to get his breath back and a + little of the ache out of his ribs, but he did not care to waste any more + minutes, and his eyes watched the faces of the other four men. He saw them + slowly waken to understanding of what Ismail meant by “worker of spells” + and “magic in the bag” and knew that he had even greater hold on them now + than Yasmini's bracelet gave him. + </p> + <p> + “Ma'uzbillah!” they murmured as Ismail's meaning dawned and they + recognized a magician in their midst. “May God protect us!” + </p> + <p> + “May God protect me! I have need of it!” said King. “What shall my new + name be? Give ye me a name!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, choose thou!” urged Ismail, drawing nearer. “We have seen one + miracle; now let us hear another!” + </p> + <p> + “Very well. Khan is a title of respect. Since I wish for respect, I will + call myself Khan. Name me a village the first name you can think of--quick!” + </p> + <p> + “Kurram,” said Ismail, at a hazard. + </p> + <p> + “Kurram is good. Kurram I am! Kurram Khan is my name henceforward! Kurram + Khan the dakitar!” + </p> + <p> + “But where is the sahib who came from the fort to talk?” asked the man + whose stomach ached yet from Ismail and Darya Khan's attentions to it. + </p> + <p> + “Gone!” announced King. “He went with the other one!” + </p> + <p> + “Went whither? Did any see him go?” + </p> + <p> + “Is that thy affair?” asked King, and the man collapsed. It is not + considered wise to the north of Jamrud to argue with a wizard, or even + with a man who only claims to be one. This was a man who had changed his + very nature almost under their eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Even his other clothes have gone!” murmured one man, he who had poked + about among the packs. + </p> + <p> + “And now, Ismail, Darya Khan, ye two dunder-heads!--ye bellies + without brains!--when was there ever a dakitar--a hakim, who had + not two assistants at the least? Have ye never seen, ye blinder-than-bats--how + one man holds a patient while his boils are lanced, and yet another makes + the hot iron ready?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Aye!” + </p> + <p> + They had both seen that often. + </p> + <p> + “Then, what are ye?” + </p> + <p> + They gaped at him. Were they to work wonders too? Were they to be part and + parcel of the miracle? Watching them, King saw understanding dawn behind + Ismail's eyes and knew he was winning more than a mere admirer. He knew it + might be days yet, might be weeks before the truth was out, but it seemed + to him that Ismail was at heart his friend. And there are no friendships + stronger than those formed in the Khyber and beyond--no more loyal + partnerships. The “Hills” are the home of contrasts, of blood-feuds that + last until the last-but-one man dies, and of friendships that no crime or + need or slander can efface. If the feuds are to be avoided like the devil, + the friendships are worth having. + </p> + <p> + “There is another thing ye might do,” he suggested, “if ye two grown men + are afraid to see a boil slit open. Always there are timid patients who + hang back and refuse to drink the medicines. There should be one or two + among the crowd who will come forward and swallow the draughts eagerly, in + proof that no harm results. Be ye two they!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail spat savagely. + </p> + <p> + “Nay! Bismillah! Nay, nay! I will hold them who have boils, sitting firmly + on their bellies--so--or between their shoulders--thus--when + the boils are behind! Nay, I will drink no draughts! I am a man, not a + cess-pool!” + </p> + <p> + “And I will study how to heat hot irons!” said Darya Khan, with grim + conviction. “It is likely that, having worked for a blacksmith once, I may + learn quickly! Phaughghgh! I have tasted physic! I have drunk Apsin Saats! + (Epsom Salts.)” + </p> + <p> + He spat, too, in a very fury of reminiscence. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” said King. “Henceforward, then, I am Kurram Khan, the dakitar, and + ye two are my assistants, Ismail to hold the men with boils, and Darya + Khan to heat the irons--both of ye to be my men and support me with + words when need be!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said Ismail, quick to think of details, “and these others shall be + the tasters! They have big bellies, that will hold many potions without + crowding. Let them swallow a little of each medicine in the chest now, for + the sake of practise! Let them learn not to make a wry face when the taste + of cess-pools rests on the tongue--” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, and the breath comes sobbing through the nose!” said Darya Khan, + remembering fragments of an adventurous career. “Let them learn to drink + Apsin Saats without coughing!” + </p> + <p> + “We will not drink the medicines!” announced the man who had a stomach + ache. “Nay, nay!” + </p> + <p> + But Ismail hit him with the back of his hand in the stomach again and + danced away, hugging himself and shouting “Hee-yee-yee!” until the jackals + joined him in discontented chorus and the Khyber Pass became full of weird + howling. Then suddenly the old Afridi thought of something else and came + back to thrust his face close to King's. + </p> + <p> + “Why be a Rangar? Why be a Rajput, sahib? She loves us Hillmen better!” + </p> + <p> + “Do I look like a Hillman of the 'Hills'?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, not now. But he who can work one miracle can work another. Change + thy skin once more and be a true Hillman!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” King laughed. “And fall heir to a blood-feud with every second man + I chance upon! A Hill-man is cousin to a hundred others, and what say they + in the 'Hills'?--'to hate like cousins,' eh? All cousins are at war. + As a Rangar I have left my cousins down in India. Better be a converted + Hindu and be despised by some than have cousins in the 'Hills'! Besides--do + I speak like a Hillman?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Never an Afridi spake his own tongue better!” + </p> + <p> + “Yet--does a Hillman slip? Would a Hillman use Punjabi words in a + careless moment?”' + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” + </p> + <p> + “Therefore, thou dunderhead, I will be a Rangar Rajput,--a stranger + in a strange land, traveling by her favor to visit her in Khinjan! Thus, + should I happen to make mistakes in speech or action, it may be + overlooked, and each man will unwittingly be my advocate, explaining away + my errors to himself and others instead of my enemy denouncing me to all + and sundry! Is that clear, thou oaf?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Thou art more cunning than any man I ever met!” + </p> + <p> + The great Afridi began to rub the tips of his fingers through his straggly + beard in a way that might mean anything, and King seemed to draw + considerable satisfaction from it, as if it were a sign language that he + understood. More than any one thing in the world just then he needed a + friend, and he certainly did not propose to refuse such a useful one. + </p> + <p> + “And,” he added, as if it were an afterthought, instead of his chief + reason, “if her special man Rewa Gunga is a Rangar, and is known as a + Rangar through out the 'Hills,' shall I not the more likely win favor by + being a Rangar too? If I wear her bracelet and at the same time am a + Rangar, who will not trust me?” + </p> + <p> + “True! Thou art a magician!” + </p> + <p> + “True!” agreed Ismail. + </p> + <p> + But the moon was getting low and Khyber would be dark again in half an + hour, for the great crags in the distance to either hand shut off more + light than do the Khyber walls. The mist, too, was growing thicker. It was + time to make a move. + </p> + <p> + King rose. “Pack the mule and bring my horse!” he ordered and they hurried + to obey with alacrity born of new respect, Darya Khan attending to the + trimming of the mule's load in person instead of snarling at another man. + It was a very different little escort from the one that had come thus far. + Like King himself, it had changed its very nature in fifteen minutes! + </p> + <p> + They brought the horse, and King laughed at them, calling the idiots--men + without eyes. + </p> + <p> + “The saddle?” Ismail suggested. “It is a government arrficer's saddle.” + </p> + <p> + “Stolen!” said King, and they nodded. “Stolen along with the horse!” + </p> + <p> + “Then the bridle?” + </p> + <p> + “Stolen too, ye men without eyes! Ye insects! A stolen horse and saddle + and bridle, are they not a passport of gentility this side of the border?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + “I am Kurram Khan, the dakitar, but who in the 'Hills' would believe it? + Look now--look ye and tell me what is wrong?” + </p> + <p> + He pointed to the horse, and they stood in a row and stared. + </p> + <p> + “Shorten those stirrups, then, six holes at the least! Men will laugh at + me if I ride like a British arrficer!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said Ismail, hurrying to obey. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Aye! Aye!” agreed the others. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” he said, gathering the reins and swinging into the saddle, “who + knows the way to Khinjan?” + </p> + <p> + “Which of us does not!” + </p> + <p> + “Ye all know it? Then ye all are border thieves and worse! No honest man + knows that road! Lead on, Darya Khan, thou Lord of Rivers! Do thy duty as + badragga and beware lest we get our knees wet at the fords! Ismail, you + march next. Now I. You other two and the mule follow me. Let the man with + the belly ache ride last on the other horse. So! Forward march!” + </p> + <p> + So Darya Khan led the way with his rifle, and King's face glowed in + cigarette light not very far behind him as he legged his horse up the + narrow track that led northward out of the Khyber bed. + </p> + <p> + It would be a long time before he would dare smoke a cigar again, and his + supply of cigarettes was destined to dwindle down to nothing before that + day. But he did not seem to mind. + </p> + <p> + “Cheloh!” he called. “Forward, men of the mountains! Kuch dar nahin hai!” + </p> + <p> + “Thy mother and the spirit of a fight were one!” swore Ismail just in + front of him, stepping out like a boy going to a picnic. “She will love + thee! Allah! She will love thee! Allah! Allah!” + </p> + <p> + The thought seemed to appal him. For hours after that he climbed ahead in + silence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Dear is the swagger that takes a man in + Helmeted, clattering, proud. + Sweet are the honors the arrogant win, + Hot from the breath of a crowd. + Precious the spirit that never will bend-- + Hot challenge for insolent stare! + But--talk when you've tried it!--to win in the end, + Go ahsti!* Be meek! And beware! + + [* Slowly.] +</pre> + <p> + Even with the man with the stomach ache mounted on the spare horse for the + sake of extra speed (and he was not suffering one-fifth so much as he + pretended); with Ismail to urge, and King to coax, and the fear of + mountain death on every side of them, they were the part of a night and a + day and a night and a part of another day in reaching Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + Darya Khan, with the rifle held in both hands, led the way swiftly, but + warily; and the last man's eyes looked ever backward, for many a sneaking + enemy might have seen them and have judged a stern chase worth while. + </p> + <p> + In the “Hills” the hunter has all the best of it, and the hunted needs + must run. The accepted rule is to stalk one's enemy relentlessly and get + him first. King happened to be hunting, although not for human life, and + he felt bold, but the men with him dreaded each upstanding crag, that + might conceal a rifleman. Armed men behind corners mean only one thing in + the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + The animals grew weary to the verge of dropping, for the “road” had been + made for the most part by mountain freshets, and where that was not the + case it was imaginary altogether. They traveled upward, along ledges that + were age-worn in the limestone--downward where the “hell-stones” slid + from under them to almost bottomless ravines, and a false step would have + been instant death--up again between big edged boulders, that nipped + the mule's pack and let the mule between--past many and many a lonely + cairn that hid the bones of a murdered man (buried to keep his ghost from + making trouble)--ever with a tortured ridge of rock for sky-line and + generally leaning against a wind, that chilled them to the bone, while the + fierce sun burned them. + </p> + <p> + At night and at noon they slept fitfully at the chance-met shrine of some + holy man. The “Hills” are full of them, marked by fluttering rags that can + be seen for miles away; and though the Quran's meaning must be stretched + to find excuse, the Hillmen are adept at stretching things and hold those + shrines as sacred as the Book itself. Men who would almost rather cut + throats than gamble regard them as sanctuaries. + </p> + <p> + When a man says he is holy he can find few in the “Hills” to believe him; + but when he dies or is tortured to death or shot, even the men who + murdered him will come and revere his grave. + </p> + <p> + Whole villages leave their preciousest possessions at a shrine before + wandering in search of summer pasture. They find them safe on their + return, although the “Hills” are the home of the lightest-fingered thieves + on earth, who are prouder of villainy than of virtue. A man with a + blood-feud, and his foe hard after him, may sleep in safety at a faquir's + grave. His foe will wait within range, but he will not draw trigger until + the grave is left behind. + </p> + <p> + So a man may rest in temporary peace even on the road to Khinjan, although + Khinjan and peace have nothing whatever in common. + </p> + <p> + It was at such a shrine, surrounded by tattered rags tied to sticks, that + fluttered in the wind three or four thousand feet above Khyber level, that + King drew Ismail into conversation, and deftly forced on him the role of + questioner. + </p> + <p> + “How can'st thou see the Caves!” he asked, for King had hinted at his + intention; and for answer King gave him a glimpse of the gold bracelet. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Well and good! But even she dare not disobey the rule. Khinjan was + there before she came, and the rule was there from the beginning, when the + first men found the Caves! Some--hundreds--have gained + admission, lacking the right. But who ever saw them again? Allah! I, for + one, would not chance it!” + </p> + <p> + “Thou and I are two men!” answered King. “Allah gave thee qualities I + lack. He gave thee the strength of a bull and a mountain goat in one, and + her for a mistress. To me he gave other qualities. I shall see the Caves. + I am not afraid.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! He gave thee other gifts indeed! But listen! How many Indian + servants of the British Raj have set out to see the Caves? Many, many--aye, + very many! Again and again the sirkar sent its loyal ones. Did any return? + Not one! Some were crucified before they reached the place. One died + slowly on the very rock whereon we sit, with his eyelids missing and his + eyes turned to the sun! Some entered Khinjan, and the women of the place + made sport with them. Those would rather have been crucified outside had + they but known. Some, having got by Khinjan, entered the Caves. None ever + came out again!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, what is my case to thee?” King asked him “If I can not come out + again and there is a secret then the secret will be kept, and what is the + trouble?” + </p> + <p> + “I love thee,” the Afridi answered simply. “Thou art a man after mine own + heart. Turn! Go back before it is too late!” + </p> + <p> + King shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “Be warned!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail reached out a hairy-backed hand that shook with half-suppressed + emotion. + </p> + <p> + “When we reach Khinjan, and I come within reach of her orders again, then + I am her man, not thine!” + </p> + <p> + King smiled, glancing again at the gold bracelet on his arm. + </p> + <p> + “I look like her man, too!” + </p> + <p> + “Thou!” Ismail's scorn was well feigned if it was not real. “Thou chicken + running to the hand that will pluck thy breast-feathers! Listen! + Abdurrahman--he of Khabul--and may Allah give his ugly bones no + peace!--Abdurrahman of Khabul sought the secret of the Caves. He sent + his men to set an ambush. They caught twenty coming out of Khinjan on a + raid. The twenty were carried to Khabul and put to torture there. How + many, think you, told the secret under torture? They died cursing + Abdurrahman to his face and he died without the secret! May God recompense + him with the fire that burns forever and scalding water and ashes to eat! + May rats eat his bones!” + </p> + <p> + “Had Abdurrahman this?” asked King, touching the bracelet. + </p> + <p> + “Nay! He would have given one eye for it, but none would trade with him! + He knew of it, but never saw it.” + </p> + <p> + “I am more favored. I have it. It is hers, is it not? + Does not she know the secret?” + </p> + <p> + “She knows all that any man knows and more!” + </p> + <p> + “Was she seen to slay a man in the teeth of written law?” asked King, and + Ismail stared so hard at him that he laughed. + </p> + <p> + “I was in Khinjan once before, my friend! I know the rule! I failed to + reach the Caves that other time because I had no witnesses to swear they + had seen me slay a man in the teeth of written law. I know!” + </p> + <p> + “Who saw thee this time?” Ismail asked, and began to cackle with the cruel + humor of the “Hills,” that sees amusement in a man's undoing, or in the + destruction of his plans. His humor forced him to explain. + </p> + <p> + “The price of an entrance has come of late to be the life of an English + arrficer! Many an one the English have dubbed Ghazi, because he crossed + the border and buried his knife in a man on church parade! They hang and + burn them, knowing our Muslim law, that denies Heaven to him who is hanged + and burned. Yet the man they miscall ghazi sought but the key to Khinjan + Caves, with no thought at all about Heaven! Thou art a British arrficer. + It may be they will let thee enter the Caves at her bidding. It may be, + too, that they will keep thee in a cage there for some chief's son to try + his knife on when the time comes to win admission! Listen--man o' my + heart!--so strict is the rule that boys born in the Caves, when they + come to manhood, must go and slay an Englishman and earn outlawry before + they may come back; and lest they prove fearful and betray the secret, ten + men follow each. They die by the hand of one or other of the ten unless + they have slain their man within two weeks. So the secret has been kept + more years than ten men can remember!” (That estimate was doubtless due to + a respect for figures and bore no relation to the length of a human + generation.) + </p> + <p> + “Whom did she kill to gain admission?” King asked him unexpectedly. + </p> + <p> + “Ask her!” said Ismail. “It is her business.” + </p> + <p> + “And thou? Was the life of a British officer the price paid?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay. I slew a mullah.” + </p> + <p> + The calmness of the admission, and the satisfaction that its memory seemed + to bring the owner made King laugh. He found lawless satisfaction for + himself in that Ismail's blood-price should have been a priest, not one of + his brother officers. A man does not follow King's profession for health, + profit or sentiment's sake, but healthy sentiment remains. The loyalty + that drives him, and is its own most great reward, makes him a man to the + middle. He liked Ismail. He could not have liked him in the same way if he + had known him guilty of English blood, which is only proof, of course, + that sentiment and common justice are not one. But sentiment remains. + Justice is an ideal. + </p> + <p> + “Be warned and go back!” urged Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Come with me, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I am her man. She waits for me!” + </p> + <p> + “I imagine she waits for me!” laughed King. “Forward! We have rested in + this place long enough!” + </p> + <p> + So on they went, climbing and descending the naked ramparts that lead + eastward and upward and northward to the Roof of Mother Earth--Ismail + ever grumbling into his long beard, and King consumed by a fiercer + enthusiasm than ever had yet burned in him, + </p> + <p> + “Forward! Forward! Cast hounds forward! Forward in any event!” says + Cocker. It is only regular generals in command of troops in the field who + must keep their rear open for retreat. The Secret Service thinks only of + the goal ahead. + </p> + <p> + It was ten of a blazing forenoon, and the sun had heated up the rocks + until it was pain to walk on them and agony to sit, when they topped the + last escarpment and came in sight of Khinjan's walls, across a mile-wide + rock ravine--Khinjan the unregenerate, that has no other human + habitation within a march because none dare build. + </p> + <p> + They stood on a ridge and leaned against the wind. Beneath them a path + like a rope ladder descended in zigzags to the valley that is Khinjan's + dry moat; it needed courage as well as imagination to believe that the + animals could be guided down it. + </p> + <p> + “Is there no other way?” asked King. He knew well of one other, but one + does not tell all one knows in the “Hills,” and there might have been a + third way. + </p> + <p> + “None from this side,” said Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “And on the other side?” + </p> + <p> + “There is a rather better path--that by which the sirkar's troops + once came--although it has been greatly obstructed since. It is two + days' march from here to reach it. Be warned a last time, sahib--little + hakim--be warned and go back!” + </p> + <p> + “Thou bird of ill omen!” laughed King. “Must thou croak from every rock we + rest on?” + </p> + <p> + “If I were a bird I would fly away back with thee!” said Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Forward, since we can not fly--forward and downward!” King answered. + “She must have crossed this valley. Therefore there are things worth while + beyond! Forward!” + </p> + <p> + The animals, weary to death anyhow, fell rather than walked down the + track. The men sat and scrambled. And the heat rose up to meet them from + the waterless ravine as if its floor were Tophet's lid and the devil busy + under it, stoking. + </p> + <p> + It was midday when at last they stood on bottom and swayed like men in a + dream fingering their bruises and scarcely able for the heat haze to see + the tangled mass of stone towers and mud-and-stone walls that faced them, + a mile away. Nobody challenged them yet. Khinjan itself seemed dead, + crackled in the heat. + </p> + <p> + “Sahib, let us mount the hill again and wait for night and a cool breeze!” + urged Darya Khan. + </p> + <p> + Ismail clucked into his beard and spat to wet his lips. + </p> + <p> + “This glare makes my eyes ache!” he grumbled. + </p> + <p> + “Wait, sahib! Wait a while!” urged the others. + </p> + <p> + “Forward!” ordered King. “This must be Tophet. Know ye not that none come + out of Tophet by the way they entered in? Forward! The exit is beyond!” + </p> + <p> + They staggered after him, sheltering their eyes and faces from the glare + with turban-ends and odds and ends of clothing. The animals swayed behind + them with hung heads and drooping ears, and neither man nor beast had + sense enough left to have detected an ambush. They were more than half-way + across the valley, hunting for shadow where none was to be found, when a + shotted salute brought them up all-standing in a cluster. Six or eight + nickel-coated bullets spattered on the rocks close by, and one so narrowly + missed King that he could feel its wind. + </p> + <p> + Up went all their hands together, and they held them so until they ached. + Nothing whatever happened. Their arms ceased aching and grew numb. + </p> + <p> + “Forward!” ordered King. + </p> + <p> + After another quarter of a mile of stumbling among hot boulders, not one + of which was big enough to afford cover, or shelter from the sun, another + volley whistled over them. Their hands went up again, and this time King + could see turbaned heads above a parapet in front. But nothing further + happened. + </p> + <p> + “Forward!” he ordered. + </p> + <p> + They advanced another two hundred yards and a third volley rattled among + the rocks on either hand, frightening one of the mules so that it stumbled + and fell and had to be helped up again. When that was done, and the mule + stood trembling, they all faced the wall. But they were too weary to hold + their hands up any more. Thirst had begun to exercise its sway. One of the + men was half delirious. + </p> + <p> + “Who are ye?” howled a human being, whose voice was so like a wolf's that + the words at first had no meaning. He peered over the parapet, a hundred + feet above, with his head so swathed in dirty linen that he looked like a + bandaged corpse. + </p> + <p> + “What will ye? Who comes uninvited into Khinjan?” + </p> + <p> + King bethought him of Yasmini's talisman. He, held it up, and the gold + band glinted in the sun. Yet, although a Hillman's eyes are keener than an + eagle's, he did not believe the thing could be recognized at that angle, + and from that distance. Another thought suggested itself to him. He turned + his head and caught Ismail in the act of signaling with both hands. + </p> + <p> + “Ye may come!” howled the watchman on the parapet, disappearing instantly. + </p> + <p> + King trembled--perhaps as a racehorse trembles at the starting gate, + though he was weary enough to tremble from fatigue. The “Hills,” that numb + the hearts of many men, had not cowed him, for he loved them and in love + there is no fear. Heat and cold and hunger were all in the day's work; + thirst was an incident; and the whistle of lead in the wind had never + meant more to him than work ahead to do. + </p> + <p> + But a greyhound trembles in the leash. A boiler, trembles when word goes + down the speaking-tube from the bridge for “all she's got.” And so the + mild-looking hakim Kurram Khan, walking gingerly across hot rocks, donning + cheap, imitation shell-rimmed spectacles to help him look the part, + trembled even more than the leg-weary horse he led. + </p> + <p> + But that passed. He was all in hand when he led his men up over a rough + stone causeway to a door in the bottom of a high battlemented wall and + waited for somebody to open it. + </p> + <p> + The great teak door looked as if it had been stolen from some Hindu + temple, and he wondered how and when they could have brought it there + across those savage intervening miles. With its six-inch teak planks and + bronze bolts its weight must be guessed at in tons--yet a horse can + hardly carry a man along any of the trails that lead to Khinjan! + </p> + <p> + The wood bore the marks of siege and fracture and repair. The walls were + new-built, of age-old stone. The last expedition out of India had leveled + every bit of those defenses flat with the valley, but Khinjan's devils had + reerected them, as ants rebuild a rifled nest. + </p> + <p> + The door was swung open after a time, pulled by a rope, manipulated from + above by unseen hands. Inside was another blind wall, twenty feet behind + the first. To the right a low barricade blocked the passage and provided a + safe vantage point from which it could be swept by a hail of lead; but to + the left a path ran unobstructed for more than a hundred yards between the + walls, to where the way was blocked by another teak door, set in + unscalable black rock. High above the door was a ledge of rock that + crossed like a bridge from wall to wall, with a parapet of stone built + upon it, pierced for rifle-fire. + </p> + <p> + As they approached this second door a Rangar turban, not unlike King's + own, appeared above the parapet on the ledge and a voice he recognized + hailed him good-humoredly. + </p> + <p> + “Salaam aleikoum!” + </p> + <p> + “And upon thee be peace!” King answered in the Pashtu tongue, for the + “Hills” are polite, whatever the other principles. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga's face beamed down on him, wreathed in smiles that seemed to + include mockery as well as triumph. Looking up at him at an angle that + made his neck ache and dazzled his eyes, King could not be sure, but it + seemed to him that the smile said, “Here you are, my man, and aren't you + in for it?” He more than half suspected he was intended to understand + that. But the Rangar's conversation took another line. + </p> + <p> + “By jove!” he chuckled. “She expected you. She guessed you are a hound who + can hunt well on a dry scent, and she dared bet you will come in spite of + all odds! But she didn't expect you in Rangar dress! No, by jove! You + jolly well will take the wind out of her sails!” + </p> + <p> + King made no answer. For one thing, the word “hound,” even in English, is + not essentially a compliment. But he had a better reason than that. + </p> + <p> + “Did you find the way easily?” the Rangar asked but King kept silence. + </p> + <p> + “Is he parched? Have they cut his tongue out on the road?” + </p> + <p> + That question was in Pashtu, directed at Ismail and the others, but King + answered it. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, as for that,” he said, salaaming again in the fastidious manner of a + native gentleman, “I know no other tongue than Pashtu and my own + Rajasthani. My name is Kurram Khan. I ask admittance.” + </p> + <p> + He held up his wrist to show the gold bracelet, and high over his head the + Rangar laughed like a bell. + </p> + <p> + “Shabash!” he laughed. “Well done! Enter, Kurram Khan, and be welcome, + thou and thy men. Be welcome in her name!” + </p> + <p> + Somebody pulled a rope and the door yawned wide, giving on a kind of + courtyard whose high walls allowed no view of anything but hot blue sky. + King hurried under the arch and looked up, but on the courtyard side of + the door the wall rose sheer and blank, and there was no sign of window or + stairs, or of any means of reaching the ledge from which the Rangar had + addressed him. What he did see, as he faced that way, was that each of his + men salaamed low and covered his face with both hands as he entered. + </p> + <p> + “Whom do ye salute?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + Ismail stared back at him almost insolently, as one who would rebuke a + fool. + </p> + <p> + “Is this not her nest these days?” he answered. “It is well to bow low. + She is not as other women. She is she! See yonder!” + </p> + <p> + Through a gap under an arch in a far corner of the courtyard came a + one-eyed, lean-looking villain in Afridi dress who leaned on a long gun + and stared at them under his hand. After a leisurely consideration of them + he rubbed his nose slowly with one finger, spat contemptuously, and then + used the finger to beckon them, crooking it queerly and turning on his + heel. He did not say one word. + </p> + <p> + King led the way after him on foot, for even in the “Hills” where cruelty + is a virtue, a man may be excused, on economic grounds, for showing mercy + to his beast. His men tugged the weary animals along behind him, through + the gap under the arch and along an almost interminable, smelly maze of + alleys whose sides were the walls of square stone towers, or sometimes of + mud-and-stone-walled compounds, and here and there of sheer, slab-sided + cliff. + </p> + <p> + At intervals they came to bolted narrow doors, that probably led up to + overhead defenses. Not fifty yards of any alley was straight; not a yard + but what was commanded from overhead. Khinjan had been rebuilt since its + last destruction by some expert who knew all about street fighting. Like + Old Jerusalem, the place could have contained a civil war of a hundred + factions, and still have opposed stout resistance to an outside army. + </p> + <p> + Alley gave on to courtyard, and filthy square to alley, until unexpectedly + at last a seemingly blind passage turned sharply and opened on a straight + street, of fair width, and more than half a mile long. It is marked + “Street of the Dwellings” on the secret army maps, and it has been burned + so often by Khinjan rioters, as well as by expeditions out of India, that + a man who goes on a long journey never expects to find it the same on his + return. + </p> + <p> + It was lined on either hand with motley dwellings, out of which a motlier + crowd of people swarmed to stare at King and his men. There were houses + built of stolen corrugated iron--that cursed, hot, hideous stuff that the + West has inflicted on an all-too-willing East; others of wood--of + stone--of mud--of mats--of skins--even of tent-cloth. Most of + them were filthy. A row of kites sat on the roof of one, and in the gutter + near it three gorged vultures sat on the remains of a mule. Scarcely a + house was fit to be defended, for Khinjan's fighting men all possess + towers, that are plastered about the overfrowning mountain like wasp nests + on a wall. These were the sweepers, the traders, the loose women, the mere + penniless and the more or less useful men--not Khinjan's inner guard + by any means. + </p> + <p> + There were Hindus--sycophants, keepers of accounts and writers to the + chiefs (since literacy is at premium in these parts). In proof of + Khinjan's catholic taste and indiscriminate villainy, there were women of + nearly every Indian breed and caste, many of them stolen into shameful + slavery, but some of them there from choice. And there were little + children--little naked brats with round drum tummies, who squealed + and shrilled and stared with bold eyes; some of them were pretending to be + bandits on their own account already, and one flung a stone that missed + King by an inch. The stone fell in the gutter on the far side and, started + a fight among the mangy street curs, which proved a diversion and probably + saved King's party from more accurate attentions. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps a thousand souls came out to watch, all told. Not an eye of them + all missed the government marks on King's trappings, or the government + brand on the mules, and after a minute or two, when the procession was + half-way down the street, a man reproved the child who had thrown a stone, + and he was backed up by the others. They classified King correctly, + exactly as he meant they should. As a hakim--a man of medicine--he + could fill a long-felt want; but by the brand on his accouterments he + walked an openly avowed robber, and that made him a brother in crime. + Somebody cuffed the next child who picked up a stone. + </p> + <p> + He knew the street of old, although it had changed perhaps a dozen times + since he had seen it. It was a cul-de-sac, and at the end of it, just as + on his previous visit, there stood a stone mosque, whose roof leaned back + at a steep angle against the mountain-side. The fact that it was a mosque, + and that it was the only building used as such in Khinjan, had saved it + from being leveled to the ground by the last British expedition. + </p> + <p> + It was a famous mosque in its way, for the bed-sheet of the Prophet is + known to hang in it, preserved against the ravages of time and the touch + of infidels by priceless Afghan rugs before and behind, so that it hangs + like a great thin sandwich before the rear stone wall. King had seen it. + Very vividly he recalled his almost exposure by a suspicious mullah, when + he had crept nearer to examine it at close range. For the Secret Service + must probe all things. + </p> + <p> + There had been an attempt since his last visit to make the mosque's + exterior look more in keeping with the building's use. It was cleaner. It + had been smeared with whitewash. A platform had been built on the roof for + the muezzin. But it still looked more like a fort than a place of worship. + </p> + <p> + Toward it the one-eyed ruffian led the way, with the long, + leisurely-seeming gait of a mountaineer. At the door, in the middle of the + end of the street, he paused and struck on the lintel three times with his + gun-butt. And that was a strange proceeding, to say the least, in a land + where the mosque is public resting place for homeless ones, and all the + “faithful” have a right to enter. + </p> + <p> + A mullah, shaven like a mummy for some unaccountable reason--even his + eyebrows and eyelashes had been removed--pushed his bare head through + the door and blinked at them. There was some whispering and more staring, + and at last the mullah turned his back. + </p> + <p> + The door slammed. The one-eyed guide grounded his gun-butt on the stone, + and the procession waited, watched by the crowd that had lost its interest + sufficiently to talk and joke. + </p> + <p> + In two minutes the mullah returned and threw a mat over the threshold. It + turned out to be the end of a long narrow strip that he kicked and + unrolled in front of him all across the floor of the mosque. After that it + was not so astonishing that the horses and mules were allowed to enter. + </p> + <p> + “Which proves I was right after all!” murmured King to himself. + </p> + <p> + In a steel box at Simla is a memorandum, made after his former visit to + the place, to the effect that the entrance into Khinjan Caves might + possibly be inside the mosque. Nobody had believed it likely, and he had + not more than half favored it himself; but it is good, even when the next + step may lead into a death-trap, to see one's first opinions confirmed. + </p> + <p> + He nodded to himself as the outer door slammed shut behind them, for that + was another most unusual circumstance. + </p> + <p> + A faint light shone through slit-like windows, changing darkness into + gloom, and little more than vaguely hinting at the Prophet's bed-sheet. + But for a section of white wall to either side of it, the relic might have + seemed part of the shadows. The mullah stood with his back to it and + beckoned King nearer. He approached until he could see the pattern on the + covering rugs, and the pink rims round the mullah's lashless eyes. + </p> + <p> + “What is thy desire?” the mullah asked--as a wolf might ask what a + lamb wants. + </p> + <p> + Supposing Yasmini to be jealous of invasion of her realm, King did not + doubt she would be glad to have him break down at this point. Until he had + actually gained access to her, nobody could reasonably charge her with his + safety. If he had been done to death in the Khyber, the sirkar would have + known it in a matter of hours. If he were killed here they might never + know it. + </p> + <p> + “Answer!” said the mullah. “What is thy desire?” + </p> + <p> + “Audience with her!” he answered, and showed the gold bracelet on his + wrist. + </p> + <p> + The red eye-rims of the mullah blinked a time or two, and though he did + not salute the bracelet, as others had invariably done, his manner + underwent a perceptible change. + </p> + <p> + “That is proof that she knows thee. What is thy name.” + </p> + <p> + “Kurram Khan.” + </p> + <p> + “And thy business?” + </p> + <p> + “Hakim.” + </p> + <p> + “We need thee in Khinjan Caves! But none enter who have not earned right + to enter! There is but one key. Name it!” + </p> + <p> + King drew in his breath. He had hoped Yasmini's talisman would prove to be + key enough. The nails his left hand nearly pierced the palm, but he smiled + pleasantly. + </p> + <p> + “He who would enter must slay a man before witnesses in the teeth of + written law!” he said. + </p> + <p> + “And thou?” + </p> + <p> + “I slew an Englishman!” The boast made his blood run cold, but his + expression was one of sinful pride. + </p> + <p> + “Whom? When? Where?” + </p> + <p> + “Athelstan King--a British arrficer--sent on his way to these + 'Hills' to spy!” + </p> + <p> + It was like having spells cast on himself to order! + </p> + <p> + “Where is his body?” + </p> + <p> + “Ask the vultures! Ask the kites!” + </p> + <p> + “And thy witnesses?” + </p> + <p> + Hoping against hope, King turned and waved his hand. As he did so, being + quick-eyed, he saw Ismail drive an elbow home into Darya Khan's ribs, and + caught a quick interchange of whispers. + </p> + <p> + “These men are all known to me,” said the mullah. “They all have right to + enter here. They have right to testify. Did ye see him slay his man?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” lied Ismail, prompt as friend can be. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” lied Darya Khan, fearful of Ismail's elbow. + </p> + <p> + “Then, enter!” said the priest resignedly, as one admits a communicant + against his better judgment. + </p> + <p> + He turned his back on them so as to face the Prophet's bed-sheet and the + rear wall, and in that minute a hairy hand gripped King's arm from behind, + and Ismail's voice hissed hot-breathed in his ear. + </p> + <p> + “Ready of tongue! Ready of wit! Who told thee I would lie to save thy + skin? Be thy kismet as thy courage, then--but I am hers, not thy man! + Hers, thou light of life--though God knows I love thee!” + </p> + <p> + The mullah seized the Prophet's bed-sheet and its covering rugs in both + hands, with about as much reverence as salesmen show for what they keep in + stock. The whole lot slid to one side by means of noisy rings on a rod, + and a wall lay bare, built of crudely cut but very well laid stone blocks. + It appeared to reach unbroken across the whole width of the mosque's + interior. + </p> + <p> + On the floor lay a mallet, a peculiar thing of bronze, cast in one piece, + handle and all. The mullah took it in his hand and struck the stone floor + sharply once--then twice again--then three times--then a + dozen times in quick succession. The floor rang hollow at that spot. + </p> + <p> + After about a minute there came one answering hammer-stroke from beyond + the wall. Then the mullah laid the mallet down and though King ached to + pick it up and examine it he did not dare. + </p> + <p> + Excitement now was probably the least of his emotions. It had been + swallowed in interest. But in his guise of hakim he had to beware of that + superficial western carelessness, that permits folk to acknowledge + themselves frightened or excited or amused. His business was to attract as + little attention to himself as possible; and to that end he folded his + hands and looked reverent, as if entering some Mecca of his dreams. + Through his horn-rimmed spectacles his eyes looked far-away and dreamy. + But it would have been a mistake to suppose that a detail was escaping + him. + </p> + <p> + The irregular lines in the masonry began to be more pronounced. All at + once the wall shook and they gaped by an inch or two, as happens when an + earthquake has shaken buildings without bringing anything down. Then an + irregular section of wall began to move quite smoothly away in front of + him, leaving a gap through which eight men abreast could have marched. + </p> + <p> + As it receded he observed that the lowest course of stones was laid on a + bronze foundation, that keyed in wide bronze grooves. There was oil enough + in the grooves to have greased a ship's ways and there was neither squeak nor + tremor as the tons of masonry slid back. + </p> + <p> + At the end of perhaps three minutes that section of the wall had become + the fourth side of a twenty-foot-wide island that stood fair in the middle + of a tunnel, splitting it in two to right and left. Judging by the angle + of the two divisions they became one again before going very far. + </p> + <p> + The mullah stood aside and motioned King to enter. But the one-eyed guide + who had led them to the mosque thrust himself between Darya Khan and + Ismail, pushed King aside and took the lead. + </p> + <p> + “Nay!” he said, “I am responsible to her.” + </p> + <p> + It was the first time he had spoken and he appeared to resent the waste of + words. + </p> + <p> + The tunnel that led to the left was pierced in twenty places in the roof + for rifle-fire; a score of men with enough ammunition could have held it + forever against an army. But the right-hand way looked undefended. + Nevertheless, the guide led to the left, and King followed him, filled + with curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Many have entered!” sang the lashless mullah in a sing-song chant. “More + have sought to enter! Some who remained without were wisest! I count them! + I keep count! Many went in! Not all came out again by this road!” + </p> + <p> + “Then there is another road?” King wondered, but he held his tongue and + followed the guide. + </p> + <p> + It proved to be fifty yards through part natural, part hand-hewn, tunnel + to the neck of the fork where the left- and right-hand passages + became one again. He stopped at the fork and looked back, for none of his + men was following. + </p> + <p> + He caught the sound of scuffling--of clattering hoofs, and grunts and + shouted oaths--and started to run back, since even a native hakim may + protect his own, should he care to, even in the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + For the sake of principle he chose the other passage, for Cocker says, + “Look! Look! Look!” But the guide seized him by the arm from behind and + swung him back again. + </p> + <p> + “Not that way!” he growled. But he offered no explanation. + </p> + <p> + In the “Hills” it is not good to ask “why” of strangers. It is good to be + glad one was not knifed, and to be deferent until more suitable occasion. + King started to run again, but this time along the same defended passage + down which they had come. And now the guide made no objection but leaned + on his long gun and waited. + </p> + <p> + The charger proved to be making the trouble--the horse that King had + exchanged with the jezailchi in the Khyber. The terrified brute was + refusing to enter the passage, and all the men, including Ismail and the + mullah, were shoving, or else tugging at the reins. + </p> + <p> + At the moment King appeared the united strength of six men was beginning + to prevail. The mullah let go the reins, and in that instant the horse saw + King advance toward him out of the tunnel; so, after the manner of horses, + he chose the other passage. King ran at full speed round the corner after + him, remembering that the guide had admitted responsibility, and therefore + that the chances were he would be rescued should he run into a trap. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, ten yards in the lead down the dark tunnel the horse threw his + weight back with a clatter of sparks and screamed as only a horse can. + After that there was neither sight nor sound of him. + </p> + <p> + Creeping forward with both arms outstretched against the left-hand wall, + he reached the spot where, the horse had been, and shuddered on the smooth + dark edge of a hole that went the full width of the floor. There came + whispering up out of it, and a dank wet smell, as if there were running + water a mile away below. He could feel that a little air flowed downward + into it. Twenty yards away on the far side the path resumed, but there was + neither hand nor foothold on the smooth damp walls between. He went back + to his men with a shiver between his shoulder-blades, and the mullah, + standing in the gap of the mosque wall, blinked at him with lashless eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Many have entered,” he chanted maliciously. “Some went out by a different + road!” + </p> + <p> + “Come!” Ismail growled at the other men, seizing the mule's bridle himself + and leading to the left. “The ghosts will have a charger now for their + captain to ride! Lead on, Hakim sahib!” + </p> + <p> + “Come!” called the one-eyed guide from the neck of the fork ahead. And as + they all pressed forward after King the hairless mullah gave a signal and + the great stone door slid slowly into place. It was like a tombstone. It + was as if the world that mortals know were a thing of the forgotten past + and the underworld lay ahead. + </p> + <p> + “Lead along, Charon!” King grinned. He needed some sort of pleasantry to + steady his nerves. But even so he wondered what the nerves of India would + be like if her millions knew of this place. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IX + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Oh, Abdul trod with a martial tread, + Swinging his scimiter's weight. + “I am overlord here,” he said, + “And he who wishes may chance his head, + “For my blade is long, and my arm is strong, + “And the goods of the world to the bold belong!” + So Abdul guarded the gate. + + Many a head did Abdul cleave, + Turban and crown and chin, + For all the 'venturers sought to know + What it could be he guarded so. + And since none give but eke receive, + A thrust in his ribs made Abdul grieve + For good blood outpourin'. + + His men wept, watching Abdul bleed + And life's light waning dim, + Till he cursed them. “Open the fort gate wide! + To saddle, and scour the countryside + For a leech!” he swore. “God rot ye, ride!” + 'Twas thus, in the guise of a friend in need, + His enemy came to him. +</pre> + <p> + The second gap closed up behind them and the tunnel began to echo weirdly. + The mule was the next to be panic-stricken. The noise of his plunging + increased the echoes a thousand times and multiplied his fright, until the + poor brute collapsed into meek obedience at last. But the guide strode on + unconcerned with his easy Hillman gait, neither deigning to glance back + nor making any verbal comment. + </p> + <p> + Over their heads, at irregular intervals, there were holes that if they + led as King presumed into caves above, left not an inch of all the long + passage that could not have been swept by rifle-fire. It was impregnable; + for no artillery heavy enough to pound the mountain into pieces could ever + be dragged within range. Whatever hiding place this entrance guarded could + be held forever, given food and cartridges! + </p> + <p> + The tunnel wound to right and left like a snake, growing lighter and + lighter after each bend; and soon their own din began to be swallowed in a + greater one that entered from the farther end. After two sharp turns they + came out unexpectedly into the blaze of blue day, nearly stunned by light + and sound. A road came up from below like that of an ocean in the grip of + a typhoon. + </p> + <p> + When his wits recovered from the shock, King struggled with a wild desire + to yell, for before him, was what no servant of British India had ever + seen and lived to tell about, and that is an experience more potent than + unbroken rum. + </p> + <p> + They had emerged from a round-mouthed tunnel--it looked already like + a rabbit-hole, so huge was the cliff behind--on to a ledge of rock + that formed a sort of road along one side of a mile-wide chasm. Above him, + it seemed a mile up, was blue sky, to which limestone walls ran sheer, + with scarcely a foothold that could be seen. Beneath, so deep that eyes + could not guess how deep, yawned the stained gorge of the underworld, + many-colored, smooth and wet. + </p> + <p> + And out of a great, jagged slit in the side of the cliff, perhaps a + thousand feet below them, there poured down into thunderous dimness a + waterfall whose breadth seemed not less than half a mile. It spouted + seventy or eighty yards before it began to curve, and its din was like the + voice of all creation. + </p> + <p> + Ismail came and stood by King in silence, taking his hand, as a little + child might. Presently he stooped and picked up a stone and tossed it + over. + </p> + <p> + “Gone!” he said simply. “That down there is Earth's Drink!” + </p> + <p> + “And this is the 'Heart of the Hills' men boast about?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay! It is not!” snapped Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Then, where--” + </p> + <p> + But the one-eyed guide beckoned impatiently, and King led the way after + him, staring as hakim or prisoner or any man had right to do on first + admission to such wonders. Not to have stared would have been to proclaim + himself an idiot. + </p> + <p> + The least of all the wonders was that the secret of the place should have + been kept all down the centuries; for it was the hollow middle of a + limestone mountain, that could neither be looked down into from above, + because the heights were not scalable, nor guessed at from the + conformation of the country. The river, that flowed out of rock and went + plunging down into the chasm, must be snow from the Himalayan peaks, on + its way to swell the sea. There was no other way to account for that; but + that explanation did explain why at least one Indian river is no greater + than it is. + </p> + <p> + The road they followed was a fold in the natural rock, rising and falling + and curving like a ribbon, but tending on the average downward. It looked + to be about two miles to the point where it curved at the chasm's end and + swept round and downward, to be lost in a fissure in the cliff. + </p> + <p> + They soon began to pass the mouths of caves. Some were above the road, now + and then at crazy heights above it, reached by artificial steps hewn out + of the stone. Others were below, reached from the road by means of + ladders, that trembled and swayed over the dizzying waterfall. Most of the + caves were inhabited, for armed men and sullen women came to their + entrances to stare. + </p> + <p> + Ears grow accustomed to the sound of water sooner than to almost anything. + It was not long before King's ears could catch the patter of his men's + feet following, and the shod clink of the mule. He could hear when Ismail + whispered: + </p> + <p> + “Be brave, little hakim! She loves fearless men.” + </p> + <p> + As the track descended caves became more numerous. In one there were + horses, for as they passed there came a whiff of unclean stables, and the + litter of fodder and dung was all about the entrance. The mouths of other + caves were sealed, with great wax disks, strangely stamped, affixed to + stout wooden doors. One cave smelt as if oil were stored in it, and King + wondered whence the oil was brought--for the sirkar knows to a pint + and an ounce what products travel up and down the Khyber. + </p> + <p> + At last the guide halted, in the middle of a short steep slope where the + path was less than six feet wide and a narrow cave mouth gave directly on + to it. + </p> + <p> + “Be content to rest here!” he said, pointing. + </p> + <p> + “Thy cave?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Nay. God's! I am the caretaker!” + </p> + <p> + (The “Hills” are very pious and polite, between the acts of robbing and + shedding blood.) + </p> + <p> + “Allah, then, reward thee, brother!” answered King. “Allah give sight to + thy blind eye! Allah give thee children! Allah give thee peace, and to all + thy house!” + </p> + <p> + The guide salaamed, half-mockingly, half-wondering at such eloquence, + pausing in the passage to point into the side-caves that debouched to + either hand. There was a niche of a place, where a man might lie on guard + near the entrance; another cave in which horses could be stabled, with + plenty of fodder piled up ready; another beyond that for servants and + baggage, with a fireplace and cooking pots; and at the last at the rear of + all a great cavern full of eerie gloom, that opened out from the end of + the passage like a bottle at the end of a long neck. + </p> + <p> + Peering about him into vastness, King became aware of frame beds, placed + at intervals in a row, each with a mat beside it. And there were several + brass basins and ewers for water. Also there were some little bronze + lamps; the guide lit three of them, and King took up one to examine it. As + he did so, involuntarily his hand almost went to his bosom, where the + strange knife still reposed that he had taken from the would-be murderer + in the train to Delhi. + </p> + <p> + There was no gold on the lamp; but the handle by which he lifted it had + been cast, the devils of the Himalayas only knew how many centuries ago, + in the form of a woman dancing; her size, and her shape, and the art with + which she had been fashioned, were the same as the handle of the knife. + </p> + <p> + Watching him as a wolf eyes another one, the strange guide found his + tongue. + </p> + <p> + “How many such hast thou ever seen?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “None!” answered King, and the guide cackled at him, like a hen that has + laid an egg. + </p> + <p> + “There be many strange things in Khinjan, but few strangers!” he remarked; + and then, as if that were enough for any man to say on any occasion, he + turned on his heel and stalked out of the cavern. It was the last King + ever saw of him. He followed him down the passage to the entrance and + watched him until his back disappeared round the first bend, but the man + never turned his head once. He did not even look over the edge of the + road, down into the amazing waterfall, nor up to the round disk of sky. + </p> + <p> + King turned back and looked into the other caves--saw the weary horse + and mule fed, watered and bedded down--took note of the running water + that rushed out of a rock fissure and gurgled out of sight down another + one--examined the servants' cave and saw that they had been amply + provided with blankets. There was nothing lacking that the most exacting + traveler could have demanded at such a distance from civilization. There + was more than the most exacting would have dared expect. + </p> + <p> + “Why isn't it damp in here?” he wondered, returning to his own cave. And + then he noticed long fissures in the cavern walls, and that the smoke from + the lamps drifted toward them. He could not guess what made it do that, + unless it were the suction of the enormous river hurrying underground; and + then he remembered that at the entrance air had rushed downward into the + hole down which the horse had disappeared, which partly confirmed his + guess. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he shouted, and jumped at the revolver-crack--like echo of + his voice. + </p> + <p> + Ismail came running. + </p> + <p> + “Make the men carry the mule's packs into this cave. You and Darya Khan + stay here and help me open them. Remember, ye are both assistants of + Kurram Khan, the hakim!” + </p> + <p> + “They will laugh at us! They will laugh at us!” clucked Ismail, but he + hurried to obey, while King wondered who would laugh. + </p> + <p> + Within an hour a delegation came from no less a person than Yasmini + herself, bearing her compliments, and hot food savory enough to make a + brass idol's mouth water. By that time King had his sets of surgical + instruments and drugs and bandages all laid out on one of the beds and + covered from view by a blanket. + </p> + <p> + It was only one more proof of the British army's everlasting luck that one + of the men, who set the great brass dish of food on the floor near King, + had a swollen cheek, and that he should touch the swelling clumsily, as he + lifted his hand to shake back a lock of greasy hair. + </p> + <p> + There followed an oath like flint struck on steel ten times in rapid + succession. + </p> + <p> + “Does it pain thee, brother?” asked Kurram Khan the hakim. + </p> + <p> + “Are there devils in Tophet! Fire and my veins are one!” + </p> + <p> + The man did not notice the eagerness beaming out of King's horn-rimmed + spectacles, but Ismail did; it seemed to him time to prove his virtues as + assistant. + </p> + <p> + “This is the famous hakim Kurram Khan,” he boasted. “He can cure anything, + and for a very little fee!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, for no fee at all in this case!” said King. + </p> + <p> + The man looked incredulous, but King drew the covering from his row of + instruments and bottles. + </p> + <p> + “Take a chance!” he advised. “None but the brave wins anything!” + </p> + <p> + The man sat down, as if he would argue the point at length, but Ismail and + Darya Khan were new to the business and enthusiastic. They had him down, + held tight on the floor to the huge amusement of the rest, before the man + could even protest; and his howls of rage did him no good, for Ismail + drove the hilt of a knife between his open jaws to keep them open. + </p> + <p> + A very large proportion of King's stores consisted of morphia and cocaine. + He injected enough cocaine to deaden the man's nerves, and allowed it time + to work. Then he drew out three back teeth in quick succession, to make + sure he had the right one. + </p> + <p> + Ismail let the victim up, and Darya Khan gave him water in a brass cup. + Utterly without pain for the first time for days, the man was as grateful + as a wolf freed from a trap. + </p> + <p> + “Allah reward thee, since the service was free!” he smirked. + </p> + <p> + “Are there any others in pain in Khinjan?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to him! What is Khinjan? Is there one man without a wound or a + sore or a scar or a sickness?” + </p> + <p> + “Then, tell them,” said King. + </p> + <p> + The man laughed. + </p> + <p> + “When I show my jaw, there will be a fight to be first! Make ready, hakim! + I go!” + </p> + <p> + He was true to his word and left the cave like a gust of wind, followed by + the three who had come with him. King sat down to eat, but he had not + finished his meal--he had made the last little heap of rice into a + ball with his fingers, native style, and was mopping up the last of the + curried gravy with it--when the advance guard of the lame and the + halt and the sick made its appearance. The cave's entrance became jammed + with them, and no riot ever made more noise. + </p> + <p> + “Hakim! Ho, hakim! Where is the hakim who draws teeth? Where is the man + who knows yunani?” + </p> + <p> + Ten men burst down the passage all together, all clamoring, and one man + wasted no time at all but began to tear away bloody bandages to show his + wound. The hardest thing now was to get and keep some kind of order, and + for ten minutes Ismail and Darya Khan labored, using threats where + argument failed, and brute force when they dared. It was like beating mad + hounds from off their worry. What established order at last was that King + rolled up his sleeves and began, so that eagerness gave place to wonder. + </p> + <p> + The “Hills” are not squeamish in any one particular; so that the fact that + the cave became a shambles upset nobody. The surgeon's thrill that makes + even half-amateurs oblivious of all but the work in hand, coupled with the + desperate need of winning this first trick, made King horror-proof; and + nobody waiting for the next turn was troubled because the man under the + knife screamed a little or bled more than usual. + </p> + <p> + When they died--and more than one did die--men carried them out + and flung them over the precipice into the waterfall below. + </p> + <p> + Ismail and Darya Khan became choosers of the victims. They seized a man, + laid him on the bed, tore off his disgusting bandages and held their + breath until the awful resulting stench had more or less dispersed. Then + King would probe or lance or bandage as he saw fit, using anaesthetics + when he must, but managing mostly without them. + </p> + <p> + They almost flung money at him. Few of them asked what his fee would be. + Those who had no money brought him shawls, and swords, and even clothing. + Two or three brought old-fashioned fire-arms; but they were men who did + not expect to live. And King accepted every gift without comment, because + that was in keeping with the part he played. He tossed money and clothes + and every other thing they gave him into a corner at the back of the cave, + and nobody tried to steal them back, although a man suspected of honesty + in that company would have been tortured to death as an heretic and would + have had no sympathy. + </p> + <p> + For hour after gruesome hour he toiled over wounds and sores such as only + battles and evil living can produce, until men began to come at last with + fresh wounds, all caused by bullets, wrapped in bandages on which the + blood had caked but had not grown foul. + </p> + <p> + “There has been fighting in the Khyber,” somebody informed him, and he + stopped with lancet in mid-air to listen, scanning a hundred faces swiftly + in the smoky lamplight. There were ten men who held lamps for him, one of + them a newcomer, and it was he who spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Fighting in the Khyber! Aye! We were a little lashkar, but we drove them + back into their fort! Aye! we slew many!” + </p> + <p> + “Not a jihad yet?” King asked, as if the world might be coming to an end. + The words were startled out of him. Under other circumstances he would + never have asked that question so directly; but he had lost reckoning of + everything but these poor devils' dreadful need of doctoring, and he was + like a man roused out of a dream. If a holy war had been proclaimed + already, then he was engaged on a forlorn hope. But the man laughed at + him. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, not yet. Bull-with-a-beard holds back yet. This was a little fight. + The jihad shall come later!” + </p> + <p> + “And who is 'Bull-with-a-beard'?” King wondered; but he did not ask that + question because his wits were awake again. It pays not to be in too much + of a hurry to know things in the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + As it happened, he asked no more questions, for there came a shout at the + cave entrance whose purport he did not catch, and within five minutes + after that, without a word of explanation, the cave was left empty of all + except his own five men. They carried away the men too sick to walk and + vanished, snatching the last man away almost before King's fingers had + finished tying the bandage on his wound. + </p> + <p> + “Why is that?” he asked Ismail. “Why did they go? Who shouted?” + </p> + <p> + “It is night,” Ismail answered. “It was time.” + </p> + <p> + King stared about him. He had not realized until then that without aid of + the lamps he could not see his own hand held out in front of him; his eyes + had grown used to the gloom, like those of the surgeons in the sick-bays + below the water line in Nelson's fleet. + </p> + <p> + “But who shouted?” + </p> + <p> + “Who knows? There is only one here who gives orders. We be many who obey,” + said Ismail. + </p> + <p> + “Whose men were the last ones?” King asked him, trying a new line. + </p> + <p> + “Bull-with-a-beard's.” + </p> + <p> + “And whose man art thou, Ismail?” + </p> + <p> + The Afridi hesitated, and when he spoke at last there was not quite the + same assurance in his voice as once there had been. + </p> + <p> + “I am hers! Be thou hers, too! But it is night. Sleep against the toil + tomorrow. There be many sick in Khinjan.” + </p> + <p> + King made a little effort to clean the cave, but the task was hopeless. + For one thing he was so weary that his very bones were water; for another, + Ismail pretended to be equally tired, and when the suggestion that they + should help was put to the others they claimed their izzat indignantly. + Izzat and sharm (honor and shame) are the two scarcely distinguishable + enemies of honest work, into whose teeth it takes both nerve and + resolution to drive a Hillman at the best of times. Nerve King had, but + his resolution was asleep. He was too tired to care. + </p> + <p> + He appointed them to two-hour watches, to relieve one another until dawn, + and flung himself on a clean bed. He was asleep before his head had met + the pillow; and for all he knew to the contrary he dreamed of Yasmini all + night long. + </p> + <p> + It seemed to him that she came into the cave--she the woman of the + faded photograph the general had given him in Peshawur--and that the + cave became filled with the strange intoxicating scent that had first + wooed his senses in her reception room in Delhi. + </p> + <p> + He dreamed that she called him by name. First, “King sahib!” Then, “Kurram + Khan!” And her voice was surprisingly familiar. But dreams are strange + things. + </p> + <p> + “He sleeps!” said the same voice presently. “It is good that he sleeps!” + And in his sleep he thought that a shadowy Ismail grunted an answer. + </p> + <p> + After that he was very sure in his dream that it was good to sleep, + although a voice he did not recognize and that he was quite sure was a + dream-voice, kept whispering to him to wake up and protect himself. + </p> + <p> + But the scent grew stronger, and he began to dream of cobras, that danced + with a woman and struck at her so swiftly that she had to become two women + in order to avoid them; and Rewa Gunga came and laughed at both and called + them amateurs, so that the woman became enraged and drew a bronze-bladed + dagger with a golden hilt. + </p> + <p> + Then intelligible dreams ceased altogether, and he, slept like a dead man, + but with a vague suggestion ever with him that Yasmini was not very far + away, and that she was interested in him to a point that was actually + embarrassing. It was like the ether-dream he once dreamt in a hospital. + </p> + <p> + When he awoke at last it was after dawn, and light shone down the passage + into his cave. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he shouted, for he was thirsty. But there was no answer. + </p> + <p> + “Darya Khan!” + </p> + <p> + Again there was no answer. He called each of the other men by name with + the same result. + </p> + <p> + He got up and realized then for the first time that he had not undressed + himself the night before. His head felt heavy, and although he did not + believe he had been drugged, there was a scent he half-recognized that + permeated the cave, and even overcame the dreadful atmosphere that the + sick of yesterday had left behind. He decided to go to the cave mouth, + summon his men, who were no doubt sleeping as he had done, sniff the fresh + air outside and come back to try the scent again; he would know then + whether his nose were deceiving him. + </p> + <p> + But there was no Ismail near the entrance--no Darya Khan--nor + any of the other men. The horse was gone. So was the mule. So was the + harness, and everything he had, except the drugs and instruments and the + presents the sick had given him; he had noticed all those still lying + about in confusion when he woke. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, thinking they might all be + outside. + </p> + <p> + He heard a man hawk and spit, close to the entrance, and went out to see. + A man whom he had never seen before leaned on a magazine rifle and eyed + him as a tiger eyes its prey. + </p> + <p> + “No farther!” he growled, bringing his rifle to the port. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Allah! When a camel dies in the Khyber do the kites ask why? Go in!” + </p> + <p> + He thought then of Yasmini's bracelet, that always gained him at least + civility from every man who saw it. He held up his left wrist and knew + that instant why it felt uncomfortable. The bracelet has disappeared! + </p> + <p> + He turned back into the cave to hunt for it, and the strange scent greeted + him again. In spite of the surrounding stench of drugs and filthy wounds, + there was no mistaking it. If it had been her special scent in Delhi, as + Saunders swore it was, and her special scent on the note Darya Khan had + carried down the Khyber, then it was hers now, and she had been in the + cave. + </p> + <p> + He hunted high and low and found no bracelet. + </p> + <p> + His pistol was gone, too, and his cartridges, but not the dagger, wrapped + in a handkerchief, under his shirt. The money, that his patients had + brought him, lay on the floor untouched. It was an unusual robber who had + robbed him. + </p> + <p> + At least once in his life (or he were not human, but an angel) it dawns on + a man that he has done the unforgivable. It dawns on most men oftener than + once a week. So men learn sympathy. + </p> + <p> + “I should have been awake to change the guard every two hours!” he + admitted, sitting on the bed. “I wouldn't hesitate to shoot another man + for that--or for less!” + </p> + <p> + He let the thought sink in, until the very lees of shame tasted like ashes + in his mouth. Then, being what he was,--and there are not very many + men good enough to shoulder what lay ahead of him--he set the whole + affair behind him as part of the past and looked forward. + </p> + <p> + “Who's 'Bull-with-a-beard'?” he wondered. “Nobody interfered with me until + I doctored his men. He's in opposition. That's a fair guess. Now, who in + thunder--by the fat lord Harry--can 'Bull-with-a-beard' be? And + why fighting in the Khyber so early as all this? And why does + 'Bull-with-a-beard,' whoever he is, hang back?” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter X + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Are jackals a tiger's friends because they flatter him and eat + his leavings? + Choose, ye with stripes and proud whiskers, choose between friend + and enemy.--Native Proverb +</pre> + <p> + They came and changed the guard two hours after dawn, to the accompaniment + of a lot of hawking and spitting, orders growled through the mist, and the + crash of rifle-butts grounding on the rock path. King went to the cave + entrance, to look the new man over; but because he was in Khinjan, and + Khinjan in the “Hills,” where indirectness is the key to information, he + stood for a while at gaze, listening to the thunder of tumbling water and + looking at the cliff-edge six feet away that was laid like a knife in the + ascending mist. + </p> + <p> + Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the new man was a Mahsudi--no + sweeter to look at and no less treacherous for the fact. Also, that he had + boils all over the back of his neck. He was not likely to be better + tempered because of that fact, either. But it is an ill wind that blows no + good to the Secret Service. + </p> + <p> + “There is an end to everything,” he remarked presently, addressing the + world at large, or as much as he could see of it through the cave mouth. + “A hill is so high, a pool so deep, a river so wide. How long, for + instance, must thy watch be?” + </p> + <p> + “What is that to thee?” the fellow growled. + </p> + <p> + “There is an end to pain!” said King, adjusting his horn-rimmed + spectacles. “I lanced a man's boils last night, and it hurt him, but he + must be well to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Get in!” growled the guard. “She says it is sorcery! She says none are to + let thee touch them!” + </p> + <p> + Plainly, he was in no receptive mood; orders had been spat into his hairy + ear too recently. + </p> + <p> + “Get in!” he growled, lifting his rifle-butt as if to enforce the order. + </p> + <p> + “I can heal boils!” said King, retiring into the cave. Then, from a safe + distance down the passage, he added a word or two to sink in as the hours + went by. + </p> + <p> + “It is good to be able to bend the neck without pain and to rest easily at + night! It is good not to flinch at another's touch. Boils are bad! Healing + is easy and good!” + </p> + <p> + Then, since a quarrel was the very last thing he was looking for, he + retired into his own gloomy quarters at the rear, taking care to sit so + that he could see and overhear what passed at the entrance. Among other + things in the course of the day he noticed that the watch was changed + every four hours and that there were only three men in the guard, for the + same man was back again that evening. + </p> + <p> + At intervals throughout the day Yasmini sent him food by silent + messengers; so he ate, for “the thing to do,” says Cocker, “is the first + that comes to hand, and the thing not to do is worry.” It is not easy to + worry and eat heartily at one and the same time. Having eaten, he rolled + up his sleeves and native-made cotton trousers and proceeded to clean the + cave. After that he overhauled his stock of drugs and instruments, + repacking them and making ready against opportunity. + </p> + <p> + “As I told that heathen with a gun out there, there's an end to + everything!” he reflected. “May this come soon!” + </p> + <p> + When they changed the guard that afternoon he had grown weary of his own + company and of fruitless speculation and was pacing up and down. The + second guard proved even less communicative than the first, up to the + point when, to lessen his ennui, King began to whistle. Because a Secret + Service man must be consistent, the tune was not English, but a weird + minor one to which the “Hills” have set their favorite love song (that is, + all about hate in the concrete!). + </p> + <p> + The echo of the waterfall within the cave was like the roaring in a shell + held to the ear, but each time he came near the entrance the new guard + could catch a few bars of the tune. After a little while the hook-nosed + ruffian began to sing the words to it, in a voice like a forgotten dog's. + </p> + <p> + So he stopped at the entrance and changed the tune. And the guard sang the + words of the new tune, too. After that he came out into the light of day + (direct sunlight was cut off by the huge height of the cliffs all around) + and leaned in the entrance, smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Allah preserve thee, brother!” he remarked. “Thine is a voice like a + warrior's--bold and big! Thou art a true son of the Prophet!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said the fellow, “that I am! Allah preserve thee, for thou hast + more need of it than I, although I guard thee just at present. Whistle me + another one!” + </p> + <p> + So King whistled the refrain of a song that boasts of an Afghan invasion + of India, and of the loot that came of it, and the prisoners, and the + women--particularly the women, mentioning more than a few of them by + name, and their charms in detail. It was a song to warm the very cockles + of a Hillman's heart. Nothing could have been better chosen for that + setting, of a cave mouth half-way down the side of a gash in earth's + wildest mountains, with the blue sky resting on a jagged rim a mile above. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” said the bearded jailer. “Now begin again and I will sing!” + </p> + <p> + He threw his head back and howled until the mountain walls rang with the + song, and other men in far-off caves took it up and howled it back at him. + When he left off singing at last, to drink from a water-bottle, that + surely had been looted from a British soldier, King decided to be done + with overtures and make the next move in the game. + </p> + <p> + “Didst thou ever sing for her?” he asked, and the man turned round to + stare at him as if he were mad, King saw then a blood-soaked bandage on + the right of his neck, not very far from the jugular. + </p> + <p> + “When she sings we are silent! When she is silent it is good to wait a + while and see!” he answered. + </p> + <p> + “Hah!” said King. “Was that wound got in the Khyber the other day?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay. Here in Khinjan. I had my thumb in a man's eye, and the bastard bit + me! May devils do worse to him where he has gone! I threw him into Earth's + Drink!” + </p> + <p> + “A good place for one's enemies!” laughed King. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + “A man told me last night,” said King, drawing on imagination without any + compunction at all, “that the fight in the Khyber was because a jihad is + launched aleady.” + </p> + <p> + “That man lied!” said the guard, shifting position uneasily, as if afraid + to talk too much. + </p> + <p> + “So I told him!” answered King. “I told him there never will be another + jihad.”' + </p> + <p> + “Then art thou a greater liar than he!” the guard answered hotly. “There + will be a jihad when she is ready, such an one as never yet was! India + shall bleed for all the fat years she has lain unplundered! Not a throat + of an unbeliever in the world shall be left un-slit! No jihad? Thou liar! + Get in out of my sight!” + </p> + <p> + So King retired into the cave, with something new to think about. Was she + planning the jihad! Or pretending to plan one? Every once in a while the + guard leaned far into the cave mouth and huried adjectives at him, the + mildest of which was a well of information. If his temper was the temper + of the “Hills,” it was easy to read disappointment for a jihad that should + have been already but had been postponed. + </p> + <p> + When they changed the guard again the new man proved surly. There was no + getting a word out of him. He showed dirty yellow teeth in a wolfish + snarl, and his only answer was a lifted rifle and a crooked forefinger. + King let him alone and paced the cave for hours. + </p> + <p> + He was squatting on his bed-end in the dark, like a spectacled image of + Buddha, when the first of the three men came on guard again and at last + Ismail came for him holding a pitchy torch that filled the dim passage + full of acrid smoke and made both of them cough. Ismail was red-eyed with + it. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he growled. “Come, little hakim!” Then he turned on his heel at + once, as if afraid of being twitted with desertion. He seemed to want to + get outside, where he could keep out of range of words, yet not to wish to + seem unfriendly. + </p> + <p> + But King made no effort to speak to him, following in silence out on to + the dark ledge above the waterfall and noticing that the guard with the + boils was back again on duty. He grinned evilly out of a shadow as King + passed. + </p> + <p> + “Make an end!” he advised, spitting over the Cliff into thunderous + darkness to illustrate the suggestion. “Jump, hakim, before a worse thing + happens!” + </p> + <p> + To add further point he kicked a loose stone over the edge, and the + movement caused him to bend his neck and so inadvertently to hurt his + boils. He cursed, and there was pity in King's voice when he spoke next. + </p> + <p> + “Do they hurt thee?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, like the devil! Khinjan is a place of plagues!” + </p> + <p> + “I could heal them,” King said, passing on, and the man stared hard. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” boomed Ismail through the darkness, shaking the torch to make it + burn better and beckoning impatiently, and King hurried after him, leaving + behind a savage at the cave mouth who fingered his sores and wondered, + muttering, leaning on a rifle, muttering and muttering again as if he had + seen a new light. + </p> + <p> + Instead of waiting for King to catch up, Ismail began to lead the way at + great speed along a path that descended gradually until it curved round + the end of the chasm and plunged into a tunnel where the darkness grew + opaque. In the tunnel the torch's smoke cast weird shadows on walls and + roof, and the fitful light only confused, so that Ismail slowed down and + let him come up close. + </p> + <p> + Then for thirty minutes he led swiftly down a crazy devil's stairway of + uneven boulders, stopping to lend a hand at the worst places, but + everlastingly urging him to hurry. They were both breathless, and King was + bruised in a dozen places when they reached level going at least six or + seven hundred feet below the cave from which they started. + </p> + <p> + Then the hell-mouth gloom began to grow faintly luminous, and the + waterfall's thunder burst on their ears from close at hand. They emerged + into fresh wet air and a sea of sound, on a rock ledge like the one above. + Ismail raised the torch and waved it. The fire and smoke wandered up, + until they flattened on a moving opal dome, that prisoned all the noises + in the world. + </p> + <p> + “Earth's Drink!” he announced, waving the torch and then shutting his + mouth tight, as if afraid to voice sacrilege. + </p> + <p> + It was the river, million-colored in the torch-light, pouring from a + half-mile-long slash in the cliff above them and plunging past them + through the gloom toward the very middle of the world. Its width was a + matter of memory, and its depth unguessable, for although dim moonlight + filtered through it, he did not know where the moon was, nor how far such + light could penetrate through moving water. Somewhere it met rock-bottom + and boiled there, for a roar like the sea's came up from deeps + unimaginable. + </p> + <p> + He watched the overturning dome until his senses reeled. Then he crawled + on hands and knees to the ledge's brink and tried to peer over. But Ismail + dragged him back. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he howled; but in all that din his shout was like a whisper. + </p> + <p> + “How deep is it?” King bellowed back. + </p> + <p> + “Allah! Ask Him who made it!” + </p> + <p> + The fear of the falls was on the Afridi, and he tugged at King's arm in a + frenzy of impatience. Suddenly he let go and broke into a run. King + trotted after him, afraid too, to look to right or left, lest the fear + should make him throw himself over the brink. The thunder and the hugeness + had their grip on him and had begun to numb his power to think and his + will to be a man. Suddenly when they had run a hundred yards, Ismail + turned sharp to the right into a tunnel that led straight back into the + cliff and sloped uphill. As the din of the falls grew less behind him and + his power to think returned, King calculated that they must be following + the main direction of the river bed, but edging away gradually to the + right of it. After ten minutes' hurrying uphill he guessed they must be + level with the river, in a tunnel running nearly parallel. + </p> + <p> + He proved to be right, for they came to a gap in the wall, and Ismail + thrust the torch through it. The light shone on swift black water, and a + wind rushed through the gap that nearly blew the torch out. It accounted + altogether for the dryness of the rock and the fresh air in the tunnel. + The river's weight seemed to suck a hurricane along with it--air + enough for a million men to breathe. + </p> + <p> + After that there was no more need to stop at intervals and beat the torch + against the wall to make it burn brightly, for the wind fanned it until + the flame was nearly white. Ismail kept looking back to bid King hurry and + never paused once to rest. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he urged fiercely. “This leads to the 'Heart of the Hills'!” And + after that King had to do his best to keep the Afridi's back in sight. + </p> + <p> + They began after a time to hear voices and to see the smoky glare made by + other torches. Then Ismail set the pace yet faster, and they became the + last two of a procession of turbaned men, who tramped along a winding + tunnel into a great mountain's womb. The sound of slippers clicking and + rutching on the rock floor swelled and died and swelled again as the + tunnel led from cavern into cavern. + </p> + <p> + In one great cave they came to every man beat out his torch and tossed it + on a heap. The heap was more than shoulder high, and three parts covered + the floor of the cave. After that there was a ledge above the height of a + man's head on either side of the tunnel, and along the ledge little + oil-burning lamps were spaced at measured intervals. They looked ancient + enough to have been there when the mountain itself was born, and although + all the brass ones suggested Indian and Hindu origin, there were others + among them of earthenware that looked like plunder from ancient Greece. + </p> + <p> + It was like a transposition of epochs. King felt already as if the + twentieth century had never existed, just as he seemed to have left life + behind for good and all when the mosque door had closed on him. + </p> + <p> + A quarter of a mile farther along the tunnel opened into another, yet + greater cave, and there every man kicked off his slippers, without seeming + to trouble how they lay; they littered the floor unarranged and uncared + for, looking like the cast-off wing-cases of gigantic beetles. + </p> + <p> + After that cave there were two sharp turns in the tunnel, and then at last + a sea of noise and a veritable blaze of light. + </p> + <p> + Part of the noise made King feel homesick, for out of the mountain's very + womb brayed a music-box, such as the old-time carousels made use of before + the days of electricity and steam. It was being worked by inexpert hands, + for the time was something jerky; but it was robbed of its tinny meanness + and even lent majesty by the hugeness of a cavern's roof, as well as by the + crashing, swinging march it played--wild--wonderful--invented + for lawless hours and a kingless people. + </p> + <p> + “Marchons!--Citoyens!--” + </p> + <p> + The procession began to tramp in time to it, and the rock shook. They + deployed to left and right into a space so vast that the eye at first + refused to try to measure it. It was the hollow core of a mountain, filled + by the sea-sound of a human crowd and hung with huge stalactites that + danced and shifted and flung back a thousand colors at the flickering + light below. + </p> + <p> + There was an undertone to the clangor of the music-box and the human hum, + for across the cavern's farther end for a space of two hundred yards the + great river rushed, penned here into a deep trough of less than a tenth + its normal width--plunging out of a great fanged gap and hurrying out + of view down another one, licking smooth banks on its way with a hungry + sucking sound. Its depth where it crossed the cavern's end could only be + guessed by remembering the half-mile breadth of the waterfall. + </p> + <p> + There were little lamps everywhere, perched on ledges amid the + stalactites, and they suffused the whole cavern in golden glow, made the + crowd's faces look golden and cast golden shimmers on the cold, black + river bed. There was scarcely any smoke, for the wind that went like a + storm down the tunnel seemed to have its birth here; the air was fresh and + cool and never still. No doubt fresh air was pouring in continually + through some shaft in the rock, but the shaft was invisible. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of the cavern a great arena had been left bare, and thousands + of turbaned men squatted round it in rings. At the end where the river + formed a tangent to them the rings were flattened, and at that point they + were cut into by the ramp of a bridge, and by a lane left to connect the + bridge with the arena. The bridge was almost the most wonderful of all. + </p> + <p> + So delicately formed that fairies might have made it with a guttered + candle, it spanned the river in one splendid sweep, twenty feet above + water, like a suspension bridge. Then, so light and graceful that it + scarcely seemed to touch anything at all, it swept on in irregular arches + downward to the arena and ceased abruptly as if shorn off by a giant ax, + at a point less than half-way to it. + </p> + <p> + Its end formed a nearly square platform, about fourteen feet above the + floor, and the broad track thence to the arena, as well as all the arena's + boundary, had been marked off by great earthenware lamps, whose greasy + smoke streaked up and was lost by the wind among the stalactites. + </p> + <p> + “Greek lamps, every one of 'em!” King whispered to himself, but he wasted + no time just then on trying to explain how Greek lamps had ever got there. + There was too much else to watch and wonder at. + </p> + <p> + No steps led down from the bridge end to the floor; toward the arena it + was blind. But from the bridge's farther end across the hurrying water + stairs had been hewn out of the rock wall and led up to a hole of twice a + man's height, more than fifty feet above water level. + </p> + <p> + On either side of the bridge end a passage had been left clear to the + river edge, and nobody seemed to care to invade it, although it was not + marked off in any way. Each passage was about fifty feet wide and quite + straight. But the space between the bridge end and the arena, and the + arena itself, had to be kept free from trespassers by fifty swaggering + ruffians armed to the teeth. + </p> + <p> + Every man of the thousands there had a knife in evidence, but the arena + guards had magazine rifles well as Khyber tulwars. Nobody else wore + firearms openly. Some of the arena guards bore huge round shields of + prehistoric pattern of a size and sort he had never seen before, even in + museums. But there was very little that he was seeing that night of a kind + that he had seen before anywhere! + </p> + <p> + The guards lolled insolently, conscious of brute strength and special + favor. When any man trespassed with so much as a toe beyond the ring of + lamps, a guard would slap his rifle-butt until the swivels rattled and the + offender would scurry into bounds amid the jeers of any who had seen. + </p> + <p> + Shoving, kicking and elbowing with set purpose, Ismail forced a way + through the already seated crowd, and drew King down into the cramped + space beside him, close enough to the arena to be able to catch the + guards' low laughter. But he was restless. He wished to get nearer yet, + only there seemed no room anywhere in front. + </p> + <p> + The music-box was hidden. King could see it nowhere. Five minutes after he + and Ismail were seated it stopped playing. The hum of the crowd died too. + </p> + <p> + Then a guard threw his shield down with a clang and deliberately fired his + rifle at the roof. The ricocheting bullet brought down a shower of + splintered stone and stalactite, and he grinned as he watched the crowd + dodge to avoid it. Before they had done dodging and while he yet grinned, + a chant began--ghastly--tuneless--so out of time that the + words were not intelligible--yet so obvious in general meaning that + nobody could hear it and not understand. + </p> + <p> + It was a devils' anthem, glorifying hellishness--suggestive of the + gnashing of a million teeth, and the whicker of drawn blades--more + shuddersome and mean than the wind of a winter's night. And it ceased as + suddenly as it had begun. + </p> + <p> + Another ruffian fired at the roof, and while the crack of the shot yet + echoed seven other of the arena guards stepped forward with long horns and + blew a blast. That was greeted by a yell that made the cavern tremble. + </p> + <p> + Instantly a hundred men rose from different directions and raced for the + arena, each with a curved sword in either hand. The yelling changed back + into the chant, only louder than before, and by that much more terrible. + Cymbals crashed. The music-box resumed its measured grinding of The + Marseillaise. And the hundred began an Afridi sword dance, than which + there is nothing wilder in all the world. Its like can only be seen under + the shadow of the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + Ismail put his hands together and howled through them like a wolf on the + war-path, nudging King with an elbow. So King imitated him, although one + extra shout in all that din seemed thrown away. + </p> + <p> + The dancers pranced in a circle, each man whirling both swords around his + head and the head of the man in front of him at a speed that passed + belief. Their long black hair shook and swayed. The sweat began to pour + from them until their arms and shoulders glistened. The speed increased. + Another hundred men leaped in, forming a new ring outside the first, only + facing the other way. Another hundred and fifty formed a ring outside them + again, with the direction again reversed; and two hundred and fifty more + formed an outer circle--all careering at the limit of their power, + gasping as the beasts do in the fury of fighting to the death, slitting + the air until it whistled, with swords that missed human heads by + immeasurable fractions of an inch. + </p> + <p> + Ismail seemed obsessed by the spirit of hell let loose--drawn by it, + as by a magnet, although subsequent events proved him not to have been + altogether without a plan. He got up, with his eyes fixed on the dance, + and dragged King with him to a place ten rows nearer the arena, that had + been vacated by a dancer. There--two, where there was only rightly + room for one--he thrust himself and King next to some Orakzai + Pathans, elbowing savagely to right and left to make room. And patience + proved scarce. The instant oaths of anything but greeting were like + overture to a dog fight. + </p> + <p> + “Bismillah!” swore the nearest man, deigning to use intelligible sentences + at last. “Shall a dog of an Afridi bustle me?” + </p> + <p> + He reached for the ever-ready Pathan knife, and Ismail, with both eyes on + the dancing, neither heard nor saw. The Pathan leaned past King to stab, + but paused in the instant that his knife licked clear. From a swift + side-glance at King's face be changed to full stare, his scowl slowly + giving place to a grin as he recognized him. + </p> + <p> + “Allah!” + </p> + <p> + He drove the long blade back again, fidgeting about to make more room and + kicking out at his next neighbor to the same end, so that presently King + sat on the rock floor instead of on other men's hip-bones. + </p> + <p> + “Well met, hakim! See--the wound heals finely!” + </p> + <p> + Baring his shoulder under the smelly sheepskin coat, he lifted a bandage + gingerly to show the clean opening out of which King had coaxed a bullet + the day before. It looked wholesome and ready to heal. + </p> + <p> + “Name thy reward, hakim! We Orakzai Pathans forget no favors!” (Now that + boast was a true one.) + </p> + <p> + King glanced to his left and saw that there was no risk of being overheard + or interrupted by Ismail; the Afridi was beating his fists together, + rocking from side to side in frenzy, and letting out about one yell a + minute that would have curdled a wolf's heart. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I have all I need!” he answered, and the Pathan laughed. + </p> + <p> + “In thine own time, hakim! Need forgets none of us!” + </p> + <p> + “True!” said King. + </p> + <p> + He nodded more to himself than to the other man. He needed, for instance, + very much to know who was planning a jihad, and who “Bull-with-a-beard” + might be; but it was not safe to confide just yet in a chance-made + acquaintance. A very fair acquaintance with some phases of the East had + taught him that names such as Bull-with-a-beard are often almost + photographically descriptive. He rose to his feet to look. A blind man can + talk, but it takes trained eyes to gather information. + </p> + <p> + The din had increased, and it was safe to stand up and stare, because all + eyes were on the madness in the middle. There were plenty besides himself + who stood to get a better view, and he had to dodge from side to side to + see between them. + </p> + <p> + “I'm not to doctor his men. Therefore it's a fair guess that he and I are + to be kept apart. Therefore he'll be as far away from me now as possible, + supposing he's here.” + </p> + <p> + Reasoning along that line, he tried to see the face on the far side, but + the problem was to see over the dancers' heads. He succeeded presently, + for the Orakzai Pathan saw what he wanted, and in his anxiety to be + agreeable, reached forward to pull back a box from between the ranks in + front. + </p> + <p> + Its owners offered instant fight, but made no further objection when they + saw who wanted it and why. King wondered at their sudden change of mind, + the Pathan looked actually grieved that a fight should have been spared + him. He tried, with a few barbed insults, to rearouse a spark of enmity, + but failed, to his own great discontent. + </p> + <p> + The box was a commonplace affair, built square, of pine, and had probably + contained somebody's new helmet at one stage of its career. The stenciled + marks on its sides and top had long ago become obliterated by wear and + dirt. + </p> + <p> + King got up on it and gazed long at the rows of spectators on the far + side, and having no least notion what to look for, he studied the faces + one by one. + </p> + <p> + “If he's important enough for her to have it in for him, he'll not be far + from the front,” he reasoned and with that in mind he picked out several + bull-necked, bearded men, any one of whom could easily have answered to + the description. There were too many of them to give him any comfort, + until the thought occurred to him that a man with brains enough to be a + leader would not be so obsessed and excited by mere prancing athleticism + as those men were. Then he looked farther along the line. + </p> + <p> + He found a man soon who was not interested in the dancing, but who had + eyes and ears apparently for everything and everybody else. He watched him + for ten minutes, until at last their eyes met. Then he sat down and kicked + the box back to its owners. + </p> + <p> + He looked again at Ismail. With teeth clenched and eyes ablaze, the Afridi + was smashing his knuckles together and rocking to and fro. There was no + need to fear him. He turned and touched the Pathan's broad shoulder. The + man smiled and bent his turbaned head to listen. + </p> + <p> + “Opposite,” said King, “nearly exactly opposite--three rows back from + the front, counting the front row as one--there sits a man with his + arm in a sling and a bandage over his eye.” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan nodded and touched his knife-hilt. + </p> + <p> + “One-and-twenty men from him, counting him as one, sits a man with a big + black beard, whose shoulders are like a bull's. As he sits he hangs his + head between them--thus.” + </p> + <p> + “And you want him killed? Nay, I think you mean Muhammad Anim. His time is + not yet.” + </p> + <p> + The suggestion was as good-naturedly prompt as if the hakim's need had + been water, and the other's flask were empty. He was sorry he could not + offer to oblige. + </p> + <p> + “Who am I that I should want him killed?” King answered with mild reproof. + “My trade is to heal, not slay. I am a hakim.” + </p> + <p> + The other nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Yet, to enter Khinjan Caves you had to slay a man, hakim or no!” + </p> + <p> + “He was an unbeliever,” King answered modestly, and the other nodded again + with friendly understanding. + </p> + <p> + “What about the man yonder, then?” the Pathan asked. “What will you have + of him?” + </p> + <p> + “Look! See! Tell me truly what his name is!” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan got up and strode forward to stand on the box, kicking aside + the elbows that leaned on it and laughing when the owners cursed him. He + stood on it and stared for five minutes, counting deliberately three times + over, striking a finger on the palm of his hand to check himself. + </p> + <p> + “Bull-with-a-beard!” he announced at last, dropping back into place beside + King. “Muhammad Anim. The mullah Muhammad Anim.” + </p> + <p> + “An Afghan?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “He says he is an Afghan. But unless he lies he is from Ishtamboul + (Constantinople).” + </p> + <p> + Itching to ask more questions, King sat still and held his peace. The + direr the need of information in the “Hills,” and in all the East for that + matter, the greater the wisdom, as a rule, of seeming uninquisitive. And + wisdom was rewarded now, for the Pathan, who would have dried up under + eager questioning, grew talkative. Civility and volubility are sometimes + one, and not always only among the civilized. King--the hakim Kurram + Khan--blinked mildly behind his spectacles and looked like one to + whom a savage might safely ease his mind. + </p> + <p> + “He bade me go to Sikaram where my village is and bring him a hundred men + for his lashkar. He says he has her special favor. Wait and watch, I say! + </p> + <p> + “Has he money?” asked King, apparently drawing a bow at a venture for + conversation's sake. But there is an art in asking artless questions. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! The liar says the Germans gave it to him! He swears they will send + more. Who are the Germans? Who is a man who talks of a jihad that is to + be, that he should have gold coin given him by unbelievers? I saw a German + once, at Nuklao. He ate pig-meat and washed it down with wine. Are such + men sons of the Prophet? Wait and watch, say I!” + </p> + <p> + “Money?” said King. “He admits it? And none dare kill him for it? You say + his time is not yet come?” + </p> + <p> + More than ever it was obvious that the hakim was a very simple man. The + Pathan made a gesture of contempt. + </p> + <p> + “I dare what I will, hakim! But he says there is more money on the way! + When he has it all--why--we are all in Allah's keeping--He + decides!” + </p> + <p> + “And should no more money come?” + </p> + <p> + This was courteous conversation and received as such--many a long + league removed from curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Who am I to foretell a man's kismet? I know what I know, and I think what + I think! I know thee, hakim, for a gentle fellow, who hurt me almost not + at all in the drawing of a bullet out of my flesh. What knowest thou about + me?” + </p> + <p> + “That I will dress the wound for thee again!” + </p> + <p> + Artless statements are as useful in their way as artless questions. Let + the guile lie deep, that is all. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, nay! For she said nay! Shall I fall foul of her, for the sake of a + new bandage?” + </p> + <p> + The temptation was terrific to ask why she had given that order, but King + resisted it; and presently it occurred to the Pathan that his own theories + on the subject might be of interest. + </p> + <p> + “She will use thee for a reward,” he said. “He who shall win and keep her + favor may have his hurts dressed and his belly dosed. Her enemies may + rot.” + </p> + <p> + “Who is fool enough to be her enemy?” asked King, the altogether mild and + guileless. + </p> + <p> + The Pathan stuck out his tongue and squeezed his nose with one finger + until it nearly disappeared into his face. + </p> + <p> + “If she calls a man enemy, how shall he prove otherwise?” he answered. + Then he rolled off center, to pull out his great snuff-box from the + leather bag at his waist. + </p> + <p> + “Does she call the mullah Muhammad Anim enemy?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, she never mentions him by name.” + </p> + <p> + “Art thou a man of thy word?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “When it suits me.” + </p> + <p> + “There was a promise regarding my reward.” + </p> + <p> + “Name it, hakim! We will see.” + </p> + <p> + “Go tell the mullah Muhammad Anim where I sit!” + </p> + <p> + The fellow laughed. He considered himself tricked; one could read that + plainly enough; for taking polite messages does not come within the Hills' + elastic code of izzat, although carrying a challenge is another matter. + Yet he felt grateful for the hakim's service and was ready to seize the + first cheap means of squaring the indebtedness. + </p> + <p> + “Keep my place!” he ordered, getting up. He growled it, as some men speak + to dogs, because growling soothed his ruffled vanity. + </p> + <p> + He helped himself noisily to snuff then and began to clear a passage, + kicking out to right and left and laughing when his victims protested. + Before he had traversed fifty yards he had made himself more enemies than + most men dare aspire to in a lifetime, and he seemed well pleased with the + fruit of his effort. + </p> + <p> + The dance went on for fifteen minutes yet, but then--quite + unexpectedly--all the arena guards together fired a volley at the + roof, and the dance stopped as if every dancer had been hit. The + spectators were set surging by the showers of stone splinters, that hurt + whom they struck, and their snarl was like a wolf-pack's when a tiger + interferes. But the guards thought it all a prodigious joke and the more + the crowd swore the more they laughed. + </p> + <p> + Panting--foaming at the mouth, some of them--the dancers ran to + their seats and set the crowd surging again, leaving the arena empty of + all but the guards. The man whose seat Ismail had taken came staggering, + slippery with sweat, and squeezed himself where he belonged, forcing King + into the Pathan's empty place. Ismail threw his arms round the man and + patted him, calling him “mighty dancer,” “son of the wind,” “prince of + prancers,” “prince of swordsmen,” “war-horse,” and a dozen more endearing + epithets. The fellow lay back across Ismail's knees, breathless but well + enough contented. + </p> + <p> + And after a few more minutes the Orakzai Pathan came back, and King tried + to make room for him to sit. + </p> + <p> + “I bade thee keep my place!” he growled, towering over King and plucking + at his knife-belt irresolutely. He made it clear without troubling to use + words that any other man would have had to fight, and the hakim might + think himself lucky. + </p> + <p> + “Take my seat,” said King, struggling to get up. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, nay--sit still, thou. I can kick room for myself. So! So! So!” + </p> + <p> + There was an answering snarl of hate that seemed like a song to him, amid + which he sat down. + </p> + <p> + “The mullah Muhammad Anim answered he knows nothing of thee and cares + less! He said--and he said it with vehemence--it is no more to + him where a hakim sits than where the rats hide!” + </p> + <p> + He watched King's face and seeing that, King allowed his facial muscles to + express chagrin. + </p> + <p> + “Between us, it is a poor time for messages to him. He is too full of + pride that his lashkar should have beaten the British.” + </p> + <p> + “Did they beat the British greatly?” King asked him, with only vague + interest on his face and a prayer inside him that his heart might flutter + less violently against his ribs. His voice was as non-committal as the + mullah's message. + </p> + <p> + “Who knows, when so many men would rather lie than kill? Each one who + returned swears he slew a hundred. But some did not return. Wait and + watch, say I!” + </p> + <p> + Now a man stood up near the edge of the crowd whom King recognized; and + recognition brought no joy with it. The mullah without hair or eyelashes, + who had admitted him and his party through the mosque into the Caves, + strode out to the middle of the arena all alone, strutting and swaggering. + He recalled the man's last words and drew no consolation from them, + either. + </p> + <p> + “Many have entered! Some went out by a different road!” + </p> + <p> + Cold chills went down his back. All at once Ismail's manner became + unencouraging. He ceased to make a fuss over the dancer and began to eye + King sidewise, until at last he seemed unable to contain the malice that + would well forth. + </p> + <p> + “At the gate there were only words!” he whispered. “Here in this cavern + men wait for proof!” + </p> + <p> + He licked his teeth suggestively, as a wolf does when he contemplates a + meal. Then, as an afterthought, as though ashamed, “I love thee! Thou art + a man after my own heart! But I am her man! Wait and see!” + </p> + <p> + The mullah in the arena, blinking with his lashless eyes, held both arms + up for silence in the attitude of a Christian priest blessing a + congregation. The guards backed his silent demand with threatening rifles. + The din died to a hiss of a thousand whispers, and then the great cavern + grew still, and only the river could be heard sucking hungrily between the + smooth stone banks. + </p> + <p> + “God is great!” the mullah howled. + </p> + <p> + “God is great!” the crowd thundered in echo to him; and then the vault + took up the echoes. “God is great--is great--is great--ea--ea--eat!” + </p> + <p> + “And Muhammad is His prophet!” howled the mullah. Instantly they answered + him again. + </p> + <p> + “And Muhammad is His prophet!” + </p> + <p> + “His prophet--is His prophet--is His prophet!” said the + stalactites, in loud barks--then in murmurs--then in awe-struck + whispers. + </p> + <p> + That seemed to be all the religious ritual Khinjan remembered or could + tolerate. Considering that the mullah, too, must have killed his man in + cold blood before earning the right to be there, perhaps it was enough--too + much. There were men not far from King who shuddered. + </p> + <p> + “There are strangers!” announced the mullah, as a man might say, “I smell + a rat!” But he did not look at anybody in particular; he blinked at the + crowd. + </p> + <p> + “Strangers!” said the stalactites, in an awe-struck whisper. + </p> + <p> + “Show them! Show them! Let them stand forth!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh-h-h-h-h! Let them stand forth!” said the roof. + </p> + <p> + The mullah bowed as if that idea were a new one and he thought it better + than his own; for all crowds love flattery. + </p> + <p> + “Bring them!” he shouted, and King suppressed a shudder--for what + proof had he of right to be there beyond Ismail's verbal corroboration of + a lie? Would Ismail lie for him again? he wondered. And if so, would the + lie be any use? + </p> + <p> + Not far from where King sat there was an immediate disturbance in the + crowd, and a wretched-looking Baluchi was thrust forward at a run, with + arms lashed to his sides and a pitiful look of terror on his face. Two + more Baluchis were hustled along after him, protesting a little, but + looking almost as hopeless. + </p> + <p> + Once in the arena, the guards took charge of all three of them and lined + them up facing the mullah, clubbing them with their rifle-butts to get + quick obedience. The crowd began to be noisy again, but the mullah signed + for silence. + </p> + <p> + “These are traitors!” he howled, with a gesture such as Ajax might have + used when he defied the lightning. + </p> + <p> + The roof said “Traitors!” + </p> + <p> + “Slay them, then!” howled the crowd, delighted. And blinking behind the + horn-rimmed spectacles, King began to look about busily for hope, where + there did not seem to be any. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, hear me first!” the mullah howled, and his voice was like a wolf's + at hunting time. “Hear, and be warned!” + </p> + <p> + The crowd grew very still, but King saw that some men licked their lips, + as if they well knew what was coming. + </p> + <p> + “These three men came, and one was a new man!” the mullah howled. “The + other two were his witnesses! All three swore that the first man came from + slaying an unbeliever in the teeth of written law. They said he ran from + the law. So, as the custom is, I let all three enter!” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” said the crowd. “Good!” They might have been five thousand judges, + judging in equity, so grave they were. Yet they licked their lips. + </p> + <p> + “But later, word came to me saying they are liars. So--again as the + custom is--I ordered them bound and held!” + </p> + <p> + “Slay them! Slay them!” the crowd yelped, gleeful as a wolf-pack on a + scent and abandoning solemnity as suddenly as it had been assumed. “Slay + them!” + </p> + <p> + They were like the wind, whipping in and out among Khinjan's rocks, savage + and then still for a minute, savage and then still. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, there is a custom yet!” the mullah howled, holding up both arms. And + there was silence again like the lull before a hurricane, with only the + great black river talking to itself. + </p> + <p> + “Who speaks for them? Does any speak for them?” + </p> + <p> + “Speak for them?” said the roof. + </p> + <p> + There was silence. Then there was a murmur of astonishment. Over opposite + to where King sat the mullah stood up, who the Pathan had said was + “Bull-with-a-beard”--Muhammad Anim. + </p> + <p> + “The men are mine!” he growled. His voice was like a bear's at bay; it was + low, but it carried strangely. And as he spoke he swung his great head + between his shoulders, like a bear that means to charge. “The proof they + brought has been stolen! They had good proof! I speak for them! The men + are mine!” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan nudged King in the ribs with an elbow like a club and tickled + his ear with hot breath. + </p> + <p> + “Bull-with-a-beard speaks truth!” he grinned. “'Truth and a lie together! + Good may it do him and them! They die, they three Baluchis!” + </p> + <p> + “Proof!” howled the mullah who had no hair eyelashes. + </p> + <p> + “Proof--oof--oof!” said the stalactites. + </p> + <p> + “Proof! Show us proof!” yelled the crowd. + </p> + <p> + “Words at the gate--proof in the cavern!” howled the lashless one. + </p> + <p> + The Pathan next King leaned over to whisper to him again, but stiffened in + the act. There was a great gasp the same instant, as the whole crowd + caught its breath all together. The mullah in the middle froze into + immobility. Bull-with-a-beard stood mumbling, swaying his great head from + side to side, no longer suggestive of a bear about to charge, but of one + who hesitates. + </p> + <p> + The crowd was staring at the end of the bridge. King stared, too, and + caught his own breath. For Yasmini stood there, smiling on them all as the + new moon smiles down on the Khyber! She had come among them like a spirit, + all unheralded. + </p> + <p> + So much more beautiful than the one likeness King had seen of her that for + a second he doubted who she was--more lovely than he had imagined her + even in his dreams--she stood there, human and warm and real, who had + begun to seem a myth, clad in gauzy transparent stuff that made no secret + of sylph-like shapeliness and looking nearly light enough to blow away. + Her feet--and they were the most marvelously molded things he had + ever seen--were naked and played restlessly on the naked stone. Not + one part of her was still for a fraction of a second; yet the whole effect + was of insolently lazy ease. + </p> + <p> + Her eyes blazed brighter than the little jewels stitched to her gossamer + dress, and when a man once looked at them he did not find it easy to look + away again. Even mullah Muhammad Anim seemed transfixed, like a great + foolish animal. + </p> + <p> + But King was staring very hard indeed at something else--mentally + cursing the plain glass spectacles he wore, that had begun to film over + and dim his vision. There were two bracelets on her arm, both barbaric + things of solid gold. The smaller of the two was on her wrist and the + larger on her upper arm, but they were so alike, except for size, and so + exactly like the one Rewa Gunga had given him in her name and that 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. + </p> + <p> + But her eyes began to search the crowd in his direction, and then he knew + two things absolutely. He was sitting where she had ordered Ismail to + place him; for she picked him out almost instantly, and laughed as if + somebody had struck a silver bell. And one of those bracelets was the one + that he had worn; for she flaunted it at him, moving her arm so that the + light should make the gold glitter. + </p> + <p> + Then, perhaps because the crowd had begun to whisper, and she wanted all + attention, she raised both arms to toss back the golden hair that came + cascading nearly to her knees. And as if the crowd knew that symptom well, + it drew its breath in sharply and grew very still. + </p> + <p> + “Muhammad Anim!” she said, and she might have been wooing him. “That was a + devil's trick!” + </p> + <p> + It was rather an astounding statement, 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 her, so in her own good time, when she had tossed her golden hair + back once or twice again, she developed her meaning. + </p> + <p> + “We who are free of Khinjan Caves do not send men out to bring recruits. + We know better than to bid our men tell lies for others at the gate. Nor, + seeking proof for our new recruit, do we send men to hunt a head for him--not + even those of us who have a lashkar that we call our own, mullah Muhammad + Anim. Each of us earns his own way in!” + </p> + <p> + The mullah Muhammad Anim began to stroke his beard, but he made no answer. + </p> + <p> + “And--mullah Muhammad Anim, thou wandering man of God--when that + lashkar has foolishly been sent and has failed, is it written in the + Kalamullah saying we should pretend there was a head, and that the head + was stolen? A lie is a lie, Muhammad Anim! Wandering perhaps is good, if + in search of the way. Is it good to lose the way, and to lie, thou true + follower of the Prophet?” + </p> + <p> + She smiled, tossing her hair back. Her eyes challenged, her lips mocked + him and her chin scorned. The crowd breathed hard and watched. The mullah + muttered something in his beard, and sat down, and the crowd began to roar + applause at her. But she checked it with a regal gesture, and a glance of + contempt at the mullah that was alone worth a journey across the “Hills” + to see. + </p> + <p> + “Guards!” she said quietly. And the crowd's sigh then was like the night + wind in a forest. + </p> + <p> + “Away with those three of Muhammad Anim's men!” + </p> + <p> + Twelve of the arena guards threw down their shields with a sudden clatter + and seized the prisoners, four to each. The crowd shivered with delicious + anticipation. The doomed men neither struggled nor cried, for fatalism is + an anodyne as well as an explosive. King set his teeth. Yasmini, with both + hands behind her head, continued to smile down on them all as sweetly as + the stars shine on a battle-field. + </p> + <p> + She nodded once; and then all was over in a minute. With a ringing “Ho!” + and a run, the guards lifted their victims shoulder high and bore them + forward. At the river bank they paused for a second to swing them. Then, + with another “Ho!” they threw them like dead rubbish into the swift black + water. + </p> + <p> + There was only one wild scream that went echoing and re-echoing to the + roof. There was scarcely a splash, and no extra ripple at all. No heads + came up again to gasp. No fingers clutched at the surface. The fearful + speed of the river sucked them under, to grind and churn and pound them + through long caverns underground and hurl them at last over the great + cataract toward the middle of the world. + </p> + <p> + “Ah-h-h-h-h!” sighed the crowd in ecstasy. + </p> + <p> + “Is there no other stranger?” asked Yasmini, searching for King again with + her amazing eyes. The skin all down his back turned there and then into + gooseflesh. And as her eyes met his she laughed like a bell at him. She + knew! She knew who he was, how he had entered, and how he felt. Not a + doubt of it! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Long slept the Heart o' the Hills, oh, long! + (Ye who have watched, ye know!) + As sap sleeps in the deodars + When winter shrieks and steely stars + Blink over frozen snow. + Ye haste? The sap stirs now, ye say? + Ye feel the pulse of spring? + But sap must rise ere buds may break, + Or cubs fare forth, or bees awake, + Or lean buck spurn the ling! +</pre> + <p> + “Kurram Khan!” the lashless mullah howled, like a lone wolf in the + moonlight, and King stood up. + </p> + <p> + It is one of the laws of Cocker, who wrote the S. S. Code, that a man is + alive until he is proved dead, and where there is life there is + opportunity. In that grim minute King felt heretical; but a man's feelings + are his own affair provided he can prove it, and he managed to seem about + as much at ease as a native hakim ought to feel at such an initiation. + </p> + <p> + “Come forward!” the mullah howled, and he obeyed, treading gingerly + between men who were at no pains to let him by, and silently blessing + them, because he was not really in any hurry at all. Yasmini looked lovely + from a distance, and life was sweet. + </p> + <p> + “Who are his witnesses?” + </p> + <p> + “Witnesses?” the roof hissed. + </p> + <p> + “I!” shouted Ismail, jumping up. + </p> + <p> + “I!” cracked the roof. “I! I!” So that for a second King almost believed + he had a crowd of men to swear for him and did not hear Darya Khan at all, + who rose from a place not very far behind where had sat. + </p> + <p> + Ismail followed him in a hurry, like a man wading a river with loose + clothes gathered in one arm and the other arm ready in case of falling. He + took much less trouble than King not to tread on people, and oaths' marked + his wake. + </p> + <p> + Darya Khan did not go so fast. As he forced his way forward a man passed + him up the wooden box that King had used to stand on; he seized it in both + hands with a grin and a jest and went to stand behind King and Ismail, in + line with the lashless mullah, facing Yasmini. Yasmini smiled at them all + as if they were actors in her comedy, and she well pleased with them. + </p> + <p> + “Look ye!” howled the mullah. “Look ye and look well, for this is to be + one of us!” + </p> + <p> + King felt ten thousand eyes burn holes in his back, but the one pair of + eyes that mocked him from the bridge was more disconcerting. + </p> + <p> + “Turn, Kurram Khan! Turn that all may see!” + </p> + <p> + Feeling like a man on a spit, he revolved slowly. By the time he had + turned once completely around, besides knowing positively that one of the + two bracelets on her right arm was the one he had worn, or else its exact + copy, he knew that he was not meant to die yet; for his eyes could work + much more swiftly than the horn-rimmed spectacles made believe. He decided + that Yasmini meant he should be frightened, but not much hurt just yet. + </p> + <p> + So he ceased altogether to feel frightened and took care to look more + scared than ever. + </p> + <p> + “Who paid the price of thy admission?” the mullah howled, and King cleared + his throat, for he was not quite sure yet what that might mean. + </p> + <p> + “Speak, Kurram Khan!” Yasmini purred, smiling her loveliest. “Tell them + whom you slew.” + </p> + <p> + King turned and faced the crowd, raising himself on the balls of his feet + to shout, like a man facing thousands of troops on parade. He nearly gave + himself away, for habit had him unawares. A native hakim, given the + stoutest lungs in all India, would not have shouted in that way. + </p> + <p> + “Cappitin Attleystan King!” he roared. And he nearly jumped out of his + skin when his own voice came rattling back at him from the roof overhead. + </p> + <p> + “Cappitin Attleystan King!” it answered. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini chuckled as a little rill will sometimes chuckle among ferns. It + was devilish. It seemed to say there were traps not far ahead. + </p> + <p> + “Where was he slain?” asked the mullah. + </p> + <p> + “In the Khyber Pass,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “In the Khyber Pass!” the roof whispered hoarsely, as if aghast at such + cold-bloodedness. + </p> + <p> + “Now give proof!” said the mullah. “Words at the gate--proof in the + cavern! Without good proof, there is only one way out of here!” + </p> + <p> + “Proof!” the crowd thundered. “Proof!” + </p> + <p> + “Proof! Proof! Proof!” the roof echoed. + </p> + <p> + There was no need for Darya Khan to whisper. King's hands were behind him, + and he had seen what he had seen and guessed what he had guessed while he + was turning to let the crowd look at him. His fingers closed on human + hair. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, it is short!” hissed Darya Khan. “Take the two ears, or hold it by + the jawbone! Hold it high in both hands!” + </p> + <p> + King obeyed, without looking at the thing, and Ismail, turning to face the + crowd, rose on tiptoe and filled his lungs for the effort of his life. + </p> + <p> + “The head of Cappitin Attleystan King--infidel kaffir--British + arrficer!” he howled. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” the crowd bellowed. “Good! Throw it!” + </p> + <p> + The crowd's roar and the roof's echoes combined until pandemonium. + </p> + <p> + “Throw it to them, Kurram Khan!” Yasmini purred from the bridge end, + speaking as softly and as sweetly, as if she coaxed a child. Yet her voice + carried. + </p> + <p> + He lowered the head, but instead of looking at it he looked up at her. He + thought she was enjoying herself and his predicament as he had never seen + any one enjoy anything. + </p> + <p> + “Throw it to them, Kurram Khan!” she purred. “It is the custom!” + </p> + <p> + “Throw it! Throw it!” the crowd thundered. + </p> + <p> + He turned the ghastly thing until it lay face-upward in his hands, and so + at last he saw it. He caught his breath, and only the horn-rimmed + spectacles, that he had cursed twice that night, saved him from + self-betrayal. The cavern seemed to sway, but he recovered and his wits + worked swiftly. If Yasmini detected his nervousness she gave no sign. + </p> + <p> + “Throw it! Throw it! Throw it!” + </p> + <p> + The crowd was growing impatient. Many men were standing, waving their arms + to draw attention to themselves, and he wondered what the ultimate end of + the head would be, if he obeyed and threw it to them. Watching Yasmini's + eyes, he knew it had not entered her head that he might disobey. + </p> + <p> + He looked past her toward the 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 acted too suddenly one of them might shoot at him + unbidden. They were wondrous free with their cartridges, those guards, in + a land where ammunition is worth its weight in silver coin. + </p> + <p> + Holding the head before him with both hands, he began to walk toward the + river, edging all the while a little toward the crowd as if meaning to get + nearer before he threw. + </p> + <p> + He was much more than half-way to the river's edge before Yasmini or + anybody else divined his true intention. The mullah grew suspicions first + and yelled. Then King hurried, for he did not believe Yasmini would need + many seconds in which to regain command of any situation. But she saw fit + to stand still and watch. + </p> + <p> + He reached the river and stood there. Now he was in no hurry at all, for + it stood to reason that unless Yasmini very much desired him to be kept + alive he would have been shot dead already. For a moment the crowd was so + interested that it forgot to bark and snarl. + </p> + <p> + His next move was as deliberate as he could make it, although he was + careful to avoid the least suggestion of mummery (for then the crowd would + have suspected disloyalty to Islam, and the “Hills” are very, very pious, + and very suspicious of all foreign ritual). + </p> + <p> + He did a thoughtful simple thing that made every savage who watched him + gasp because of its very unexpectedness. He held the head in both hands, + threw it far out into the river and stood to watch it sink. Then, without + visible emotion of any kind, he walked back stolidly to face Yasmini at + the bridge end, with shoulders a little more stubborn now than they ought + to be, and chin a shade too high, for there never was a man who could act + quite perfectly. + </p> + <p> + “Thou fool!” Yasmini whispered through lips that did not move. + </p> + <p> + She betrayed a flash of temper like a trapped she-tiger's, but followed it + instantly with her loveliest smile. Like to like, however, the crowd saw + the flash of temper and took its cue from that. + </p> + <p> + “Slay him!” yelled a lone voice, that was greeted an approving murmur. + </p> + <p> + “Slay him!” advised the roof in a whisper, in one of its phonetic tricks. + </p> + <p> + “This is a darbar!” Yasmini announced in a rising, ringing voice. “My + darbar, for I summoned it! Did I invite any man to speak?” + </p> + <p> + There was silence, as a whipped unwilling pack is silent. + </p> + <p> + “Speak, thou, Kurram Khan!” she said. “Knowing the custom--having + heard the order to throw that trophy to them--why act otherwise? + Explain!” + </p> + <p> + Nothing in the wide world could be fairer! She left him to extricate + himself from a mess of his own making! It was more than fair, for she went + out of her way to offer him an opening to jump through. And she paid him + the compliment of suggesting be must be clever enough to take it, for she + seemed to expect a satisfying answer. + </p> + <p> + “Tell them why!” she said, smiling. No man could have guessed by the tone + of her voice whether she was for him or against him, and the crowd, + beginning again to whisper, watched to see which way the cat would jump. + </p> + <p> + He bowed low to her three times--very low indeed and very slowly, for + he had to think. Then he turned his back and repeated the obeisance to the + crowd. Still he could think of no excuse, except Cocker's Rule No. I for + Tight Places, and all the world knows that because Solomon said much the + same thing first: + </p> + <p> + “A soft answer is better than a sword!” + </p> + <p> + But Cocker adds, “Never excuse. Explain! And blame no man.” + </p> + <p> + “My brothers,” he said, and paused, since a man must make a beginning, + even when he can not see the end. And as he spoke the answer came to him. + He stood upright, and his voice became that of a man whose advice has been + asked, and who gives it freely. “These be stirring times! Ye need take + care, my brothers! Ye saw this night how one man entered here on the + strength of an oath and a promise. All he lacked was proof. And I had + proof. Ye saw! Who am I that I should deny you a custom? Yet--think + ye, my brothers!--how easy would it not have been, had I thrown that + head to you, for a traitor to catch it and hide it in his clothes, and + make away with it! He could have used it to admit to these caves--why--even + an Englishman, my brothers! If that had happened, ye would have blamed + me!” + </p> + <p> + Yasmini smiled. Taking its cue from her, the crowd murmured, scarcely + assent, but rather recognition of the hakim's adroitness. The game was not + won; there lacked a touch to tip the scales in his favor, and Yasmini + supplied it with ready genius. + </p> + <p> + “The hakim speaks truth!” she laughed. + </p> + <p> + King turned about instantly to face her, but he salaamed so low that she + could not have seen his expression had she tried. + </p> + <p> + “If Ye wish it, I will order him tossed into Earth's Drink after those + other three.” + </p> + <p> + Muhammed Anim rose stroking his beard and rocking where he stood. + </p> + <p> + “It is the law!” he growled, and King shuddered. + </p> + <p> + “It is the law,” Yasmini answered in a voice that rang with pride and + insolence, “that none interrupt me while I speak! For such ill-mannered + ones Earth's Drink hungers! Will you test my authority, Muhammad Anim?” + </p> + <p> + The mullah sat down, and hundreds of men laughed at him, but not all of + the men by any means. + </p> + <p> + “It is the law that none goes out of Khinjan Cave alive who breaks the law + of the Caves. But he broke no very big law. And he spoke truth. Think Ye! + If that head had only fallen into Muhammad Anim's lap, the mullah might + have smuggled in another man with it!” + </p> + <p> + A roar of laughter greeted that thrust. Many men who had not laughed at + the mullah's first discomfiture, joined in now. Muhammad Anim sat and + fidgeted, meeting nobody's eye and answering nothing. + </p> + <p> + “So it seems to me good,” Yasmini said, in a voice that did not echo any + more but rang very clear and true (she seemed to know the trick of the + roof, and to use the echo or not as she chose), “to let this hakim live! + He shall meditate in his cave a while, and perhaps he shall be beaten, + lest he dare offend again. He can no more escape from Khinjan Caves than + the women who are prisoners here. He may therefore live!” + </p> + <p> + There was utter silence. Men looked at one another and at her, and her + blazing eyes searched the crowd swiftly. It was plain enough that there + were at least two parties there, and that none dared oppose Yasmini's will + for fear of the others. + </p> + <p> + “To thy seat, Kurram Khan!” she ordered, when she had waited a full minute + and no man spoke. + </p> + <p> + He wasted no time. He hurried out of the arena as fast as he could walk, + with Ismail and Darya Khan close at his heels. It was like a run out of + danger in a dream. He stumbled over the legs of the front-rank men in his + hurry to get back to his place, and Ismail overtook him, seized him by the + shoulders, hugged him, and dragged him to the empty seat next to the + Orakzai Pathan. There he hugged him until his ribs cracked. + </p> + <p> + “Ready o' wit!” he crowed. “Ready o' tongue! Light o' life! Man after mine + own heart! Hey, I love thee! Readily I would be thy man, but for being + hers! Would I had a son like thee! Fool--fool--fool not to throw + the head to them! Squeamish one! Man like a child! What is the head but + earth when the life has left it? What would thy head be without the nimble + wit? Fool--fool--fool! And clever! Turned the joke on Muhammad + Anim! Turned it on Bull-with-a-beard in a twinkling--in the bat of an + eye--in a breath! Turned it against her enemy and raised a laugh + against him from his own men! Ready o' wit! Shameless one! Lucky one! + Allah was surely good to thee!” + </p> + <p> + Still exulting, he let go, but none too soon for comfort. King's ribs were + sore from his hugging for days. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he asked. For King seemed to be shaping words with his lips. + He bent a great hairy ear to listen. + </p> + <p> + “Have they taken Ali Masjid Fort?” King whispered. + </p> + <p> + “How should I know? Why?” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me, man, if you love me! Have they taken it?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, how should I know? Ask her! She knows more than any man knows!” + </p> + <p> + King turned to ask the same question of his friend the Orakzai Pathan; but + the Pathan would have none of his questions, he was busy listening for + whispers from the crowd, watching with both eyes, and he shoved King + aside. + </p> + <p> + The crowd was very far from being satisfied. An angry murmur had begun to + fill the cavern as a hive is filled with the song of bees at swarming + time. But even so, surmise what one might, it was not easy to persuade the + eye that Yasmini's careless smile and easy poise were assumed. If she + recognized indignation and feared it, she disguised her fear amazingly. + </p> + <p> + King saw her whisper to a guard. The fellow nodded and passed his shield + to another man. He began to make his way in no great hurry toward the edge + of the arena. She whispered again and standing forward with their trumpets + seven of the guards blew a blast that split across the cavern like the + trump of doom; and as its hundred thousand echoes died in the roof, the + hum of voices died, too, and the very sound of breathing. The gurgling of + water became as if the river flowed in solitude. + </p> + <p> + Leisurely then, languidly, she raised both arms until she looked like an + angel poised for flight. The little jewels stitched to her gauzy dress + twinkled like fire-flies as she moved. The crowd gasped sharply. She had + it by the heart-strings. + </p> + <p> + She called, and four guards got under one shield, bowing their heads and + resting the great rim on their shoulders. They carried it beneath her and + stood still. With a low delicious laugh, sweet and true, she sprang on it, + and the shield scarcely trembled; she seemed lighter than the silk her + dress was woven from! + </p> + <p> + They carried her so, looking as if she and the shield were carved of a + piece, and by a master such as has not often been. And in the midst of the + arena before they had ceased moving she began to sing, with her head + thrown back and bosom swelling like a bird's. + </p> + <p> + The East would ever rather draw its own conclusions from a hint let fall + than be puzzled by what the West believes are facts. And parables are not + good evidence in courts of law, which is always a consideration. So her + song took the form of a parable. + </p> + <p> + And to say that she took hold of them and played rhapsodies of her own + making on their heart-strings would be to undervalue what she did. They + were dumb while she sang, but they rose at her. Not a force in the world + could have kept them down, for she was deftly touching cords that stirred + other forces--subtle, mysterious, mesmeric, which the old East + understands--which Muhammad the Prophet understood when he harnessed + evil in the shafts with men and wrote rules for their driving in a book. + They rose in silence and stood tense. + </p> + <p> + While she sang, the guard to whom she had whispered forced a way through + the ranks of the standing crowd, and came behind Ismail. He tweaked the + Afridi's ear to draw attention, for like all the others--like King, + too--Ismail was listening with dropped jaw and watching with burning + eyes. For a minute they whispered, so low that King did not hear what they + said; and then the guard forced his way back by the shortest route to the + arena, knocking down half a dozen men and gaining safety beyond the lamps + before his victims could draw knife and follow him. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini's song went on, verse after verse, telling never one fact, yet + hinting unutterable things in a language that was made for hint and + metaphor and parable and innuendo. What tongue did not hint at was + conveyed by subtle gesture and a smile and flashing eyes. It was perfectly + evident that she knew more than King--more than the general at + Peshawur--more than the viceroy at Simla--probably more than the + British government--concerning what was about to happen in Islam. The + others might guess. She knew. It was just as evident that she would not + tell. The whole of her song, and it took her twenty minutes by the count + of King's pulse, to sing it, was a warning to wait and a promise of + amazing things to come. + </p> + <p> + She sang of a wolf-pack gathering from the valleys in the winter snow--a + very hungry wolf-pack. Then of a stalled ox, grown very fat from being + cared for. Of the “Heart of the Hills” that awoke in the womb of the + “Hills,” and that listened and watched. + </p> + <p> + “Now, is she the 'Heart of the Hills'?” King wondered. The rumors men had + heard and told again in India, about the “Heart of the Hills” in Khinjan + seemed to have foundation. + </p> + <p> + He thought of the strange knife, wrapped in a handkerchief under his + shirt, with its bronze blade and gold hilt in the shape of a woman + dancing. The woman dancing was astonishingly like Yasmini, standing on the + shield! + </p> + <p> + She sang about the owners of the stalled ox, who were busy at bay, + defending themselves and their ox from another wolf-pack in another + direction “far beyond.” + </p> + <p> + She urged them to wait a little while. The ox was big enough and fat + enough to nourish all the wolves in the world for many seasons. Let them + wait, then, until another, greater wolf-pack joined them, that they might + go hunting all together, overwhelm its present owners and devour the ox! + So urged the “Heart of the Hills,” speaking to the mountain wolves, + according to Yasmini's song. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The little cubs in the burrows know. + Are ye grown wolves, who hurry so?” + </pre> + <p> + She paused, for effect; but they gave tongue then because they could not + help it, and the cavern shook to their terrific worship. + </p> + <p> + “Allah! Allah!” + </p> + <p> + They summoned God to come and see the height and depth and weight of their + allegiance to her! And because for their thunder there was no more chance + of being heard, she dropped from the shield like a blossom. No sound of + falling could have been heard in all that din, but one could see she made + no sound. The shield-bearers ran back to the bridge and stood below it, + eyes agape. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga spoke truth in Delhi when he assured King he should some day + wonder at Yasmini's dancing. + </p> + <p> + She became joy and bravery and youth! She danced a story for them of the + things they knew. She was the dawn light, touching the distant peaks. She + was the wind that follows it, sweeping among the junipers and kissing each + as she came. She was laughter, as the little children laugh when the + cattle are loosed from the byres at last to feed in the valleys. She was + the scent of spring uprising. She was blossom. She was fruit! Very + daughter of the sparkle of warm sun on snow, she was the “Heart of the + Hills” herself! + </p> + <p> + Never was such dancing! Never such an audience! Never such mad applause! + She danced until the great rough guards had to run round the arena with + clubbed butts and beat back trespassers who would have mobbed her. And + every movement--every gracious wonder-curve and step with which she + told her tale was as purely Greek as the handle on King's knife and the + figures on the lamp-bowls and as the bracelets on her arm. Greek! + </p> + <p> + And she half-modern-Russian, ex-girl-wife of a semi-civilized Hill-rajah! + Who taught her? There is nothing new, even in Khinjan, in the “Hills”! + </p> + <p> + And when the crowd defeated the arena guards at last and burst through the + swinging butts to seize and fling her high and worship her with mad + barbaric rite, she ran toward the shield. The four men raised it + shoulder-high again. She went to it like a leaf in the wind--sprang + on it as if wings had lifted her, scarce touching it with naked toes--and + leapt to the bridge with a laugh. + </p> + <p> + She went over the bridge on tiptoes, like nothing else under heaven but + Yasmini at her bewitchingest. And without pausing on the far side she + danced up the hewn stone stairs, dived into the dark hole and was gone! + </p> + <p> + “Come!” yelled Ismail in King's ear. He could have heard nothing less, for + the cavern was like to burst apart from the tumult. + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” the Afridi shouted in disgust. “Does the wind ask whither? Come + like the wind and see! They will remember next that they have a bone to + pick with thee! Come away!” + </p> + <p> + That seemed good enough advice. He followed as fast as Ismail could + shoulder a way out between the frantic Hillmen, deafened, stupefied, + numbed, almost cowed by the ovation they were giving their “Heart of their + Hills.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A scorpion in a corner stings himself to death. + A coward blames the gods. They laugh and let him die + A man goes forward + --Native Proverb +</pre> + <p> + As they disappeared after a scramble through the mouth of the same tunnel + they had entered by, a roar went up behind them like the birth of + earthquakes. Looking back over his shoulder, King saw Yasmini come back + into the hole's mouth, to stand framed in it and bow acknowledgment. She + looked so ravishing in contrast to the huge grim wall, and the black + river, and the darkness at her back, that Khinjan's thousands tried to + storm the bridge and drag her down to them. The guards were hard put to + it, with their backs to the bridge end, for two or three minutes. + </p> + <p> + But Ismail would not let him wait and watch from there. He dragged him + down the tunnel and pushed him up on to a ledge where they could both see + without being seen, through a fissure in the rock. + </p> + <p> + For the space of five minutes Yasmini stood in the great hole, smiling and + watching the struggle below. Then she went, and the guards began to get + the best of it, because the crowd's enthusiasm waned when they could see + her no more. Then suddenly the guards began to loose random volleys at the + roof and brought down hundredweights of splintered stalactite. + </p> + <p> + Within a minute there were a hundred men busy sweeping up the + splinters. In another minute twenty Zakka Khels had begun a sword dance, + yelling like the damned. A hundred joined them. In three minutes more the + whole arena was a dinning whirlpool, and the river's voice was drowned in + shouting and the stamping of naked feet on stone. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” urged Ismail, and led the way. + </p> + <p> + King's last impression was of earth's womb on fire and of hellions brewing + wrath. The stalactites and the hurrying river multiplied the dancing + lights into a million, and the great roof hurled the din down again to + make confusion with the new din coming up. + </p> + <p> + Ismail went like a rat down a run, and King failed to overtake him until + he found him in the cave of the slippers kicking to right and left at + random. + </p> + <p> + “Choose a good pair!” he growled. “Let late-comers fight for what is left! + Nay, I have thine! Choose thou the next best!” + </p> + <p> + The statement being one of fact, and that no time or place for a quarrel + with the only friend in sight, King picked out the best slippers he could + see. The instant he had them on Ismail was off again, running like the + wind. + </p> + <p> + They had no torch. They left the little tunnel lamps behind. It became so + dark that King had to follow by ear, and so it happened that he missed + seeing where the tunnel forked. He imagined they were running back toward + the ledge under the waterfall; yet, when Ismail called a halt at last, + panting, groped behind a great rock for a lamp and lit the wick with a + common safety match, they were in a cave he had never seen before. + </p> + <p> + “Where are we?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “Where none dare seek us.” + </p> + <p> + Ismail held the lamp high, shielding its wick with a hollowed palm and + peering about him as if in doubt, his ragged beard looking like smoke in + the wind; for a wind blew down all the passages in Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + King examined the lamp. It was of bronze and almost as surely ancient + Greek as it surely was not Indian. There were figures graven on the bowl + representing a woman dancing, who looked not unlike Yasmini; but before he + had time to look very closely Ismail blew the lamp out and was off again, + like a shadow shot into its mother night. + </p> + <p> + Confused by the sudden darkness King crashed into a rock as he tried to + follow. Ismail turned back and gave him the end of a cotton girdle that he + unwound from his waist; then he plunged ahead again into Cimmerian + blackness, down a passage so narrow that they could touch a wall with + either hand. + </p> + <p> + Once he shouted back to duck, and they passed under a low roof where + water dripped on them, and the rock underfoot was the bed of a shallow + stream. After that the track began to rise, and the grade grew so steep + that even Ismail, the furious, had to slacken pace. + </p> + <p> + They began to climb up titanic stairways all in the dark, feeling their + way through fissures in a mountain's framework, up zigzag ledges, and over + great broken lumps of rock from one cave to another; until at last in one + great cave Ismail stopped and relit the lamp. Hunting about with its aid + he found an imported “hurricane” lantern and lit that, leaving the bronze + lamp in its place. + </p> + <p> + Soon after that they lost sight of walls to their left for a time, + although there were no stars, nor any light to suggest the outer world--nothing + but wind. The wind blew a hurricane. + </p> + <p> + Their path now was a very narrow ledge formed by a crack that ran + diagonally down the face of a black cliff on their right. They hugged the + stone because of a sense of fathomless space above--below--on + every side but one. The rock wall was the one thing tangible, and the + footing the crack in it afforded was the gift of God. + </p> + <p> + The moaning wind rose to a shriek at intervals and made their clothes + flutter like ghosts' shrouds, and in spite of it King's shirt was drenched + with sweat, and his fingers ached from clinging as if they were on fire. + Crawling against the wind along a wider ledge at the top, they came to a + chasm, crossed by a foot-wide causeway. The wind bowled and moaned in it, + and the futile lantern rays only suggested unimaginable, things--death + the least of them. + </p> + <p> + “Art thou afraid?” asked Ismail, holding the lantern to King's face. + </p> + <p> + “Kuch dar nahin hai!” he answered. “There is no such thing as fear!” + </p> + <p> + It was a bold answer, and Ismail laughed, knowing well that neither of + them believed a word of it at that moment. Only, each thought better of + the other, that the one should have cared to ask, and that the other + should be willing to give the lie to a fear that crawled and could be + felt. Too many men are willing to admit they are afraid. Too many would + rather condemn and despise than ask and laugh. But it is on the edges of + eternity that men find each other out, and sympathize. + </p> + <p> + Ismail went down on his hands and knees, lifting the lantern along a foot + at a time in front of him and carrying it in his teeth by the bail the + last part of the way. It seemed like an hour before he stood up, nearly a + hundred yards away on the far side, and yelled for King to follow. + </p> + <p> + The wind snatched the yells away, but the waving lantern beckoned him, and + King knelt down in the dark. It happened that he laid his hand on a loose + stone, the size of his head, near the edge. He shoved it over and + listened. He listened for a minute but did not hear it strike anything, + and the shudder, that he could not repress, came from the middle of his + backbone and spread outward through each fiber of his being. If he had + delayed another second his courage would have failed; he began at once to + crawl to where Ismail stood swinging the light. + </p> + <p> + There was room on the ledge for his knees and no more. Toes and fingers + were overside. He sat down as on horseback, and transferred both slippers + to his pockets, and then went forward again with bare feet, waiting + whenever the wind snatched at him with redoubled fury, to lean against it + and grip the rock with numb fingers. Ismail swung the lamp, for reasons + best known to himself, and half-way over King sat astride the ridge again + to shout to him to hold it still. But Ismail did not understand him. + </p> + <p> + “Khinjan graves are deep!” he howled back. “Fear and the shadow of death + are one!” + </p> + <p> + He swung the lamp even more violently, as if it were a charm that could + exorcise fear and bring a man over safely. The shadows danced until his + brain reeled, and King swore he would thrash the fool as soon as he could + reach him. He lay belly-downward on the rock and crawled like an insect + the remainder of the way. + </p> + <p> + And as if aware of his intention Ismail started to hurry on while there + was yet a yard or two to crawl, and anger not being a load worth carrying, + nor revenge a thing permitted to interfere with the sirkar's business, + King let both die. + </p> + <p> + Hunted by the wind, they ran round a bold shoulder of cliff into another + black-dark tunnel. There the wind died, swallowed in a hundred fissures, + but the track grew worse and steeper until they had to cling with both + hands and climb and now and then Ismail set the lantern on a ledge and + lowered his girdle to help King up. Sometimes he stood on King's shoulder + in order to reach a higher level. They climbed for an hour and dropped at + last panting, on a ledge, after squeezing themselves under the corner of a + boulder. + </p> + <p> + The lantern light shone on a tiny trickle of cold water, and there Ismail + drank deep, like a bull, before signing to King to imitate him. + </p> + <p> + “A thirsty throat and a crazy head are one,” he counseled. “A man needs + wit and a wet tongue who would talk with her!” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” asked King, when he had finished drinking. + </p> + <p> + “Go and look!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail gave him a sudden shove, that sent him feet first forward over the + edge. He fell a distance rather greater than his own height, to another + ledge and stood there looking up. He could see Ismail's red-rimmed eyes + blinking down at him in the lantern light, but suddenly the Afridi blew + the lamp out, and then the darkness became solid. Thought itself left off + less than a yard away. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he whispered. But Ismail did not answer him. + </p> + <p> + He faced about, leaning against the rock, with the flat of both hands + pressed tight against it for the sake of its company; and almost at once + he saw a little bright red light glowing in the distance. It might have + been a hundred yards, and it might have been a mile away below him; it was + perfectly impossible to judge, for the darkness was not measurable. + </p> + <p> + “Flowers turn to the light!” droned Ismail's voice above sententiously, + and turning, he thought he could see red eyes peering over the rock. He + jumped, and made a grab for the flowing beard that surely must be below + them, but he missed. + </p> + <p> + “Little fish swim to the light!” droned Ismail. “Moths fly to the light! + Who is a man that he should know less than they?” + </p> + <p> + He turned again and stared at the light. Dimly, very vaguely be could make + out that a causeway led downward from almost where he stood. He was + convinced that should he try to climb back Ismail would merely reach out a + hand and shove him down again, and there was no sense in being put to that + indignity. He decided to go forward, for there was even less sense in + standing still. + </p> + <p> + “Come with me! Come along, Ismail!” he called. + </p> + <p> + “Allah! Hear him! Nay, nay, nay! Who was it said a little while ago, + 'There is no such thing as fear!' I am afraid, but thou and I are two men! + Go thou alone!” + </p> + <p> + Reason is a man's only dependable faculty. Reason told him that at a word + from Yasmini he would have been flung into “Earth's Drink” hours ago. + Therefore, added reason, why should she forego that spectacular + opportunity when his death would have amused Khinjan's thousands, only to + kill him now in the dark alone? He had treated a few dozen sick men, + surely she had not been afraid to offend them. Had she not dared forbid + the sick coming to him altogether? “Forward!” says Cocker, in at least a + dozen places. “Go forward and find out! Better a bed in hell than a seat + on the horns of a dilemma! Forward!” + </p> + <p> + There was no sound now anywhere. He stretched a leg downward and felt a + rock two or three feet lower down, and the sound of his slipper sole + touching it, being the only noise, made the short hair rise on the back of + his neck. Then he took himself, so to speak, by the hand and went forward + and downward, for action is the only curb imagination knows. + </p> + <p> + He forgot to count his pulse and judge how long it took him to descend + that causeway in the dark. It was not so very rough, nor so very + dangerous, but of course he only knew that fact afterward. He had to grope + his way inch by inch, trusting to sense of touch and the British army's + everlasting luck, with an eye all the while on a red light that was + something like the glow through hell's keyhole. + </p> + <p> + When he reached bottom, after perhaps twenty minutes, and stood at last on + comparatively level rock, his legs were trembling from tension, and he had + to sit down while he stretched them out and rested. The light still looked + a quarter of a mile away, although that was guesswork. It made scarcely + more impression on the surrounding darkness than one coal glowing in a + cellar. The silence began to make his head ache. + </p> + <p> + He got up and started forward, but just as he did that he thought he heard + a footstep. He suspected Ismail might be following after all. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he called, trying to peer through the dark. + </p> + <p> + But all the darkness had its home there. He could not even see his own + hand stretched out. His own voice made him jump; after a second's pause it + began to crack and rattle from wall to wall and from roof to floor, until + at last the echoing word became one again and died with a hiss somewhere + in the bowels of the world--Mbisssss!--like the sound of hot + iron being plunged into a blacksmith's trough with a little after-murmur + of complaining water. + </p> + <p> + But then he was sure he heard a footstep! He faced about; and now there + were two red lights where there had been only one. They seemed rather + nearer, perhaps because there were two of them. + </p> + <p> + “Hullo, King sahib!” said a voice he recognized; and he choked. He felt + that if he had coughed his heart would have lain on the floor! + </p> + <p> + “Are you afraid, King sahib?” said the Rangar Rewa Gunga's voice, and he + took a step forward to be closer to his questioner. He found himself + beside a rock, looking up at the Rangar's turban, that peered over the top + of it. He could dimly make out the Rangar's dark eyes. + </p> + <p> + “I would be afraid if I were you!” + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga flashed a little electric torch into his eyes, but after a few + seconds he shifted it so that both their faces could be seen, although the + Rangar's only very faintly. + </p> + <p> + “I have come to warn you!” + </p> + <p> + “Very good of you, I'm sure!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “If she knew I were here, she would jolly well have my liver nailed to a + wall! I come to advise you to go back!” + </p> + <p> + “Have they taken Ali Masjid Fort?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind, sahib, but listen! I have brought her bracelet! I stole it! + She stole it from you, and I stole it back! Take it! Put it on and wear + it! Use it as a passport out of Khinjan Caves--for no man dare touch + you while you wear it--and as a passport down the Khyber into India! + Go back to India and stay there! Take it and go! Quick! Take it!” + </p> + <p> + “No, thanks!” said King. + </p> + <p> + The Rangar laughed mirthlessly, shifting the light a little as King + stepped aside to get a better view of him. He held the torch more + cunningly than a Spanish lady holds a fan. + </p> + <p> + “All Englishmen are fools--most of them stiff-necked fools,” he + asserted. “Bah! Do you think I do not know? Do you think anything is + hidden from her? I know--and she knows--that you think you have + a surprise in store for her! You think you will go to her, and she will + say, 'King sahib, why did you throw that head into the river, and put me + in danger from my men?' And you will say, will you not, 'Princess, that + was my brother's head!'? Was that not what you intended? Is it not true? + Does she not know it? She knows more than you know, King sahib! Because + you showed me certain little courtesies, I have come to warn you to run + away!” + </p> + <p> + “Do you suppose she knows you are here?” King asked, and the Rangar + laughed. + </p> + <p> + “If she knows so much, and is able to read my mind from a distance, where + does she suppose you are?” King insisted. + </p> + <p> + The Rangar laughed again, leaning his chin on both fists and switching out + the light. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she sent me to warn you!” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said King, “my brother commanded at Ali Masjid Fort. There are + things I must ask her. How did she know that head was my brother's? What + part had she in taking it from his shoulders? What did she mean by that + song of hers?” + </p> + <p> + The Rangar chuckled softly. + </p> + <p> + “There are no fools in the world like Englishmen! Listen! You are being + offered life and liberty! Here is the key to both!” + </p> + <p> + He made the gold bracelet ring on the rock by way of explanation. + </p> + <p> + “Take the key and go!” + </p> + <p> + “No!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Very well, sahib! Hear the other side of it! Beyond those two red lights + there is a curtain. This side of that curtain you are Athelstan King of + the Khyber Rifles, or Kurram Khan, or whatever you care to call yourself. + Beyond it, you are what she calls you! Choose!” + </p> + <p> + King did not answer, so he continued after a pause. + </p> + <p> + “You shall pass behind that curtain, if you insist. Beyond it you shall + know what she knows about Ali Masjid and your brother's head! You shall + know all that she knows! There shall be no secrets between you and her! + She shall translate the meaning of her song to you! But you shall never + come out again King of the Khyber Rifles, or Kurram Khan! If you ever come + out again, it shall be as you never dreamed, bearing arms you never saw + yet, and you shall cut with your own hand the ties that bind you to + England! Choose!” + </p> + <p> + “I chose long ago,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Are the gentle English never serious?” the Rangar asked. “Will you not + understand that if you pass that curtain you shall know all things that + Yasmini knows, but that you shall cease to be yourself? Cease--to--be--yourself! + Is my meaning clear?” + </p> + <p> + “Not in the least,” said King, “but I hope mine is!” + </p> + <p> + “You will go forward?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said King. + </p> + <p> + Rewa Gunga made no answer to that, although King waited for an answer. For + about a minute there was no sound at all, except the beating of King's + heart. Then he moved to try and see the Rangar's turban above the rock. He + could not see it. He found a niche in the rock, set his foot in it and + mounted three or four feet, until his head was level with the top. The + Rangar was gone! + </p> + <p> + He listened for two or three minutes, but the silence began to make his + head ache again; so he stooped to feel the floor with his hand before + deciding to go forward. There was no mistaking the finish given by the + tread of countless feet. He was on a highway, and there are not often + pitfalls where so many feet have been. + </p> + <p> + For all that he went forward as a certain Agag once did, and it was many + minutes before he could see a curtain glowing blood-red in the light + behind the two lamps, at the top of a flight of ten stone steps. It was + peculiar to him and to his service that he counted the steps before going + nearer. + </p> + <p> + When he went quite close he saw carpet down the middle of the steps, so + ancient that the stone showed through in places; all the pattern, + supposing it ever had any, was worn or faded away. Carpet and steps glowed + red too. His own face, and the hands he held in front of him were + red-hot-poker color. Yet outside the little ellipse of light the darkness + looked like a thing to lean against, and the silence was so intense that + he could hear the arteries singing by his ears. + </p> + <p> + He saw the curtains move slightly, apparently in a little puff of wind + that made the lamps waver. He was very nearly sure he heard a footfall + beyond the curtains and a tinkle--as of a tiny silver bell, or a + jewel striking against another one. + </p> + <p> + He kicked his slippers off, because there are no conditions under which + bad manners ever are good policy. Wide history and Cocker's famous code. + Then he walked up the steps without treading on the carpet, because living + scorpions have been known to be placed under carpets on purpose on + occasion. And at the top, being a Secret Service man, he stooped to + examine the lamps. + </p> + <p> + They were bronze, cast, polished and graved. All round the circumference + of each bowl were figures in half-relief, representing a woman dancing. + She was the woman of the knife-hilt, and of the lamps in the arena! She + looked like Yasmini! Only she could not be Yasmini because these lamps + were so ancient and so rare that he had never seen any in the least like + them, although he had visited most of the museums of the East. + </p> + <p> + Both lamps were alike, for he crossed over to make sure and took each in + his hands in turn. But no two figures of the dance were alike on either. + It was the same woman dancing, but the artist had chosen twenty different + poses with which to immortalize his skill, and hers. Both lamps burned + sweet oil with a wick, and each had a chimney of horn, not at all unlike a + modern lamp-chimney. The horn was stained red. + </p> + <p> + As he set the second lamp down he became aware of a subtle interesting + smell, and memory took back at once to Yasmini's room in the Chandni Chowk + in Delhi where he had smelled it first. It was the peculiar scent he had + been told was Yasmini's own--a blend of scents, like a chord of + music, in which musk did not predominate. + </p> + <p> + He took three strides and touched the curtains, discovering now for the + first time that there were two of them, divided down the middle. They were + about eight feet high, and each three feet wide, of leather, and though + they looked old as the “Hills” themselves the leather was supple as good + cloth. They had once been decorated with figures in gold leaf, but only a + little patch of yellow here and there remained to hint at faded glories. + </p> + <p> + He decided to remember his manners again, and at least to make opportunity + for an invitation. + </p> + <p> + “Kurram Khan hai!” he announced, forgetting the echo. But the echo was the + only answer. It cackled at him, cracking back and forth down the cavern to + die with a groan in illimitable darkness. + </p> + <p> + “Kurram-urram-urram-urram-urram-ahn-hai! Urram-urram-urram-urram-ahn-hai! + Urram-urram-urram-ah-hh-ough-ah!” + </p> + <p> + There was no sound beyond the curtains. No answer. Only he thought the + strange scent grew stronger. He decided to go forward. With his heart in + his mouth he parted the curtains with both hands, startled by the sharp + jangle of metal rings on a rod. + </p> + <p> + So he stood, with arms outstretched, staring--staring--staring--with + eyes skilled swiftly to take in details, but with a brain that tried to + explain--formed a hundred wild suggestions--and then reeled. He + was face to face with the unexplainable--the riddle of Khinjan Caves. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Grand was thy goal! Thy vision new! + Ave, Caesar! + Conquest? Ends of Earth thy view? + Ave, Caesar! + To sow--to reap--to play God's game? + How many Caesars did that same + Until the great, grim Reaper came! + Who ploughs with death shall garner rue, + And under all skies is nothing new. + Vale, Caesar! +</pre> + <p> + Telling the story afterward King never made any effort to describe his own + sensations. It was surely enough to state what he saw, after a breathless + climb among the rat-runs of a mountain with his imagination fired already + by what had happened in the Cavern of Earth's Drink. + </p> + <p> + The leather curtains slipped through his fingers and closed behind him + with the clash of rings on a rod. But he was beyond being startled. He was + not really sure he was in the world. He knew he was awake, and he knew he + was glad he had left his shoes outside. But he was not certain whether it + was the twentieth century, or fifty-five B. C., or earlier yet; or whether + time had ceased. Very vividly in that minute there flashed before his mind + Mark Twain's suggestion of the Transposition of Epochs. + </p> + <p> + The place where he was did not look like a cave, but a palace chamber, for + the rock walls had been trimmed square and polished smooth; then they had + been painted pure white, except for a wide blue frieze, with a line of + gold-leaf drawn underneath it. And on the frieze, done in gold-leaf too, + was the Grecian lady of the lamps, always dancing. There were fifty or + sixty figures of her, no two the same. + </p> + <p> + A dozen lamps were burning, set in niches cut in the walls at measured + intervals. They were exactly like the two outside, except that their horn + chimneys were stained yellow instead of red, suffusing everything in a + golden glow. + </p> + <p> + Opposite him was a curtain, rather like that through which he had entered. + Near to the curtain was a bed, whose great wooden posts were cracked with + age. And it was at the bed he stared, with eyes that took in every detail + but refused to believe. + </p> + <p> + In spite of its age it was spread with fine new linen. Richly embroidered, + not very ancient Indian draperies hung down from it to the floor on either + side. On it, above the linen, a man and a woman lay hand-in-hand; and the + woman was so exactly like Yasmini, even to her clothing, and her naked + feet, that it was not possible for a man to be self-possessed. + </p> + <p> + They both seemed asleep. It was as if Yasmini, weary from the dancing, had + laid herself to sleep beside her lord. But who was he? And why did he wear + Roman armor? And why was there no guard to keep intruders out? + </p> + <p> + It was minutes before he satisfied himself that the man's breast did not + rise and fall under the bronze armor and that the woman's jeweled gauzy + stuff was still. Imagination played such tricks with him that in the + stillness he imagined he heard breathing. + </p> + <p> + After he was sure they were both dead, he went nearer, but it was a minute + yet before he knew the woman was not she. At first a wild thought + possessed him that she had killed herself. + </p> + <p> + The only thing to show who he had been were the letters S. P. Q. R. on a + great plumed helmet, on a little table by the bed. But she was the woman + of the lamp-bowls and the frieze. A life-size stone statue in a corner was + so like her, and like Yasmini too, that it was difficult to decide which + of the two it represented. + </p> + <p> + She had lived when he did, for her fingers were locked in his. And he had + lived two thousand years ago, because his armor was about as old as that, + and for proof that he had died in it part of his breast had turned to + powder inside the breastplate. The rest of his body was whole and + perfectly preserved. + </p> + <p> + Stern, handsome in a high-beaked Roman way, gray on the temples, + firm-lipped, he lay like an emperor in harness. But the pride and + resolution on his face were outdone by the serenity of hers. Very surely + those two had been lovers. + </p> + <p> + Something--he could not decide what--about the man's appearance + kept him staring for ten minutes, holding his breath unconsciously and + letting it out in little silent gasps. It annoyed him that he could not + pin down the elusive thing; and when he went on presently to be curious + about more tangible things, it was only to be faced with the unexplainable + at every turn. + </p> + <p> + How had the bodies been preserved, for instance? They were perfect, except + for that one detail of the man's breast. The air was full of the perfume + he had learned to recognize as Yasmini's, but there was no sniff about the + bodies of pitch or bitumen, or of any other chemical. Nor was there any + sign of violence about them, or means of telling how they died, or when, + except for the probable date of the man's armor. + </p> + <p> + Both of them looked young and healthy--the woman younger than thirty--twenty-five + at a guess--and the man perhaps forty, perhaps forty-five. + </p> + <p> + He bent over them. Every stitch of the man's clothing had decayed in the + course of centuries, so that his armor rested on the naked skin, except + for a dressed leather kilt about his middle. The leather was as old as the + curtains at the entrance, and as well preserved. + </p> + <p> + But the woman's silken clothing was as new as the bedding; and that was so + new that it had been woven in Belfast, Ireland, by machinery and bore the + mark of the firm that made it! + </p> + <p> + Yet, they both died at about the same time, or how could their fingers + have been interlaced? And some of the jewelry on the woman's clothes was + very ancient as well as priceless. + </p> + <p> + He looked closer at the fingers for signs of force and suddenly caught his + breath. Under the woman's flimsy sleeve was a wrought gold bracelet, + smaller than that one he himself had worn in Delhi and up the Khyber--exactly + like the little one that Yasmini wore on her wrist in the Cavern of + Earth's Drink! He raised the loose sleeve to look more closely at it. + </p> + <p> + The sleeve overlay the man's forearm, and the movement laid bare another + bracelet, on the man's right wrist. Size for size, this was the same as + the one that had been stolen from himself. + </p> + <p> + Memory prompted him. He felt its outer edge with a finger-nail. There was + the little nick that he had made in the soft gold when he struck it + against the cell bars in the jail at the Mir Khan Palace! + </p> + <p> + That put another thought in his head. It was less than two hours since + Yasmini danced in the arena. It might well be much less than that since + she had taken off her bracelets. He laid a finger on the dead man's + stone-cold hand and let it rest so for a minute. Then, running it slowly + up the wrist, he touched the gold. It was warm. He repeated the test on + the woman's wrist. Hers was warm, too. Both bracelets had been worn by a + living being within an hour-- + </p> + <p> + “Probably within minutes!” + </p> + <p> + He muttered and frowned in thought, and then suddenly jumped backward. The + leather curtain near the bed had moved on its bronze rod. + </p> + <p> + “Aren't they dears?” a voice said in English behind him. “Aren't they + sweet?” + </p> + <p> + He had jumped so as to face about, and somebody laughed at him. Yasmini + stood not two arms' lengths away, lovelier than the dead woman because of + the merry life in her, young and warm, aglow, but looking like the dead + woman and the woman of the frieze--the woman of the lamp--bowls--the + statue--come to life, speaking to him in English more sweetly than if + it had been her mother tongue. The English abuse their language. Yasmini + caressed it and made it do its work twice over. + </p> + <p> + Being dressed as a native, he salaamed low. Knowing him for what he was, + she gave him the senna-stained tips of her warm fingers to kiss, and he + thought she trembled when he touched them. But a second later she had + snatched them away and was treating him to raillery. + </p> + <p> + “Man of pills and blisters!” she said, “tell me how those bodies are + preserved! Spill knowledge from that learned skull of thine!” + </p> + <p> + He did not answer. He never shone in conversation at any time, having made + as many friends as enemies by saying nothing until the spirit moves him. + But she did not know that yet. + </p> + <p> + “If I knew for certain why those two did not turn to worms,” she went on, + “almost I would choose to die now, while I am beautiful! Think of the fogy + museum men!” (She called them by a far less edifying name, really, for the + East is frank in that way, especially in its use of other tongues.) “What + would they say, think you, King sahib, if they found us two dead beside + those two? Would not that be a mystery? Don't you love mysteries? Speak, + man, speak! Has Khinjan struck you dumb?” + </p> + <p> + But he did not speak. He was staring at her arm, where two whitish marks + on the skin betrayed that bracelets had been. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, those! They are theirs. I would not rob the dead, or the gods would + turn on me. I robbed you, instead, while you slept. Fie, King sahib, while + you slept!” + </p> + <p> + But her steel did not strike on flint. It was her eyes that flashed. He + would have done better to have seemed ashamed, for then he might have + fooled her, at least for a while. But having judged himself, he did not + care a fig for her judgment of him. She realized that instantly and having + found a tool that would not work, discarded it for a better one. She grew + confidential. + </p> + <p> + “I borrow them,” she explained, “but I put them back. I take them for so + many days, and when the day comes--the gods like us to be exact! Once + there was an Englishman to whom I lent the larger one, and he refused to + return it. He wanted it to wear, to bring him luck. Collins, of the + Gurkhas. A cobra bit him.” + </p> + <p> + King's eyes changed, for Collins of the Gurkhas had died in his two arms, + saying never a word. He had always wondered why the native who ran in to + kill the cobra had run away again and left Collins lying there after + seeming to shake hands with him. Yasmini, watching his eyes and reading + his memory, missed nothing. + </p> + <p> + “You saw?” she said excitedly. “You remember? Then you understand! You + yourself were near death when I took the bracelet last night. The time was + up. I would have stabbed you if you had tried to prevent me!” + </p> + <p> + Now he spoke at last and gave her a first glimpse of an angle of his mind + she had not suspected. + </p> + <p> + “Princess,” he said. He used the word with the deference some men can + combine with effrontery, so that very tenderness has barbs. “You might + have had that thing back if you had sent a messenger for it at any time. A + word by a servant would have been enough. + </p> + <p> + “You could never have reached Khinjan then!” she retorted. Her eyes + flashed again, but his did not waver. + </p> + <p> + “Princess,” he said, “why speak of what you don't know?” + </p> + <p> + He thought she would strike like a snake, but she smiled at him instead. + And when Yasmini has smiled on a man he has never been just the same man + afterward. He knows more, for one thing. He has had a lesson in one of the + finer arts. + </p> + <p> + “I will speak of what I do know,” she said. “No, there is no need. Look! + Look!” + </p> + <p> + She pointed at the bed--at the man on the bed--fingers locked in + those of a woman who looked so like herself. + </p> + <p> + “You see--yet you do not see! Men are blind! Men look into a mirror, + and see only whiskers they forgot to shave the day before. Women look once + and then remember! Look again!” + </p> + <p> + He looked, knowing well there was something to be understood, that stared + him in the face. But for the life of him he could not determine question + or answer. + </p> + <p> + “What is in your bosom?” she asked him. + </p> + <p> + He put his hand to his shirt. + </p> + <p> + “Draw it out!” she said, as a teacher drills a child. + </p> + <p> + He drew out the gold-hilted knife with the bronze blade, with which a man + had meant to murder him. He let it lie on the palm of his hand and looked + from it to her and back again. The hilt might have been a portrait of her + modeled from the life. + </p> + <p> + “Here is another like it,” she said, stepping to the bedside. She drew + back the woman's dress at the bosom and showed a knife exactly like that + in King's hand. “One lay on her bosom and one on his when I found them!” + she said. “Now, think again!” + </p> + <p> + He did think, of thirty thousand possibilities, and of one impossible idea + that stood up prominent among them all and insisted on seeming the only + likely one. + </p> + <p> + “I saw the knife in your bosom last night,” she said, “and laughed so that + I nearly wakened you. Man! Are you stupid? Will that ready wit of yours + not work? Have I bewildered you? Is it my perfume? My eyes? My jewels? + What is it? Think, man! Think!” + </p> + <p> + But if she wanted to make him guess aloud for her amusement she was + wasting time. Had he known the answer he would have held his tongue. As he + did not know it, he had all the more reason to wait indefinitely, if need + be. But interminable waiting was no part of her plan. Words were welling + out of her. + </p> + <p> + “I gave a fool that knife to use, because he was afraid. It gave him + courage. When he failed I knew it by telegram, and I sent another fool + before the wires were cold, to kill him in the police-station cell for + having failed. One fool has been stabbed and the English will hang the + other. Then I sent twenty men to turn India inside out and find the knife + again, for like the bracelets it has its place. And that is why I laughed. + They are hunting. They will hunt until I call them off!” + </p> + <p> + “Why didn't you take it with the bracelet?” King asked her, holding it + out. “Take it now. I don't want it.” + </p> + <p> + She accepted it and laid it on the man's bronze armor. Then, however, she + resumed it and played with it. + </p> + <p> + “Look again!” she said. “Think and look again!” + </p> + <p> + He looked, and he knew now. But he still preferred that she should tell + him, and his lips shut tight. + </p> + <p> + “Why, having ordered your death, did I countermand the order when your + life had been attempted once? Why, as soon as Rewa Gunga had seen you, did + I order you to be aided in every way?” + </p> + <p> + Still he did not answer, although the solution to that riddle, too, was + beginning to dawn on his consciousness. He suspected she would be annoyed + if he deprived her of the fun of telling him, so that by being silent he + played both her game and his own. + </p> + <p> + “Why did I order your death in the first place?” + </p> + <p> + The answer to that was obvious, but she answered it for him. + </p> + <p> + “Because, since the sirkar insisted that one man must come with me to + Khinjan, I preferred a fool, who could be lost on the way. I knew your + reputation. I never heard any man call you a fool.” + </p> + <p> + She laughed. He nodded. She was obviously telling truth. + </p> + <p> + “Can you guess why I changed my mind about you--wise man?” + </p> + <p> + She looked from him to the man on the bed and back to him again. Having + solved her riddle, King had leisure to be interested in her eyes, and + watched them analytically, like a jeweler appraising diamonds. They were + strangely reminiscent, but much more changeable and colorful than any he + had ever seen. They had the baffling trick of changing while he watched + them. + </p> + <p> + “Having sent a man to kill you, why did I cease to want you killed? + Instead of losing you on the way to Khinjan, why did I run risks to + protect you after you reached here? Why did I save your life in the Cavern + of Earth's Drink to-night? You do not know yet? Then I will tell you + something else you do not know. I was in Delhi when you were! I watched + and listened while you and Rewa Gunga talked in my house! I was in Rewa + Gunga's carriage on the train that he took and you did not! I have learned + at first hand that you are not a fool. But that was not enough! You had to + be three things--clever and brave and one other. The one other you + are! Brave you have proved yourself to be! Clever you must be, to trick + your way into Khinjan Caves, even with Ismail at your elbow! That is why I + saved your life--because you are those two things and--and--one + other!” + </p> + <p> + She snatched a mirror from a little ivory table--a modern mirror--bad + glass, bad art, bad workmanship, but silver warranted. + </p> + <p> + “Look in it and then at him!” she ordered. + </p> + <p> + But he did not need to look. The man on the bed was not so much like + himself as the woman was like her, but the resemblance seemed to grow + under his eyes, as such things do. It was helped out by the stain his + brother had applied to his face in the Khyber. King was the taller and the + younger by several years, but the noses were the same, and the wrinkled + fore-heads; both men had the same firm mouth; both looked like Romans. + </p> + <p> + “How did you get that scar?” + </p> + <p> + She came closer and took his hand, holding it in both hers, and he felt + the same thrill Samson knew. He steeled himself as Samson did not. + </p> + <p> + “A Mahsudi got me with a martini at long range in the blockade of 1902,” + he said dryly. + </p> + <p> + “Look! Did he get his from a spear or from an arrow?” + </p> + <p> + Almost in the same spot, also on the dead man's left hand, was a scar so + nearly like it that it needed a third and a fourth glance to tell the + difference. They both bent over the bed to see it, and she laid a hand on + his shoulder. Touch and scent and confidence, all three were bewitching; + all three were calculated, too! He could have killed her, and she knew he + could have killed her, just as she knew he would not. Yet what right had + she to know it! + </p> + <p> + “Athelstan!” + </p> + <p> + She pronounced his given name as if she loved the word, standing straight + again and looking into his eyes. There were high lights in hers that + outgleamed the diamonds on her dress. + </p> + <p> + “Your gods and mine have done this, Athelstan. When the gods combine they + lay plans well indeed!” + </p> + <p> + “I only know one God,” he answered simply, as a man speaks of the deep + things in his heart. + </p> + <p> + “I know of many! They love me! They shall love you, too! Many are better + than one! You shall learn to know my gods, for we are to be partners, you + and I!” + </p> + <p> + She laughed at him, looking like a goddess herself, but he frowned. And + the more he frowned the better she seemed to like him. + </p> + <p> + “Partners in what, Princess?” + </p> + <p> + “Thou--Ismail dubbed thee Ready o' wit!--answer thine own + question!” + </p> + <p> + She took his hand again, her eyes burning with excitement and mysticism + and ambition like a fever. She seemed to take more than physical + possession of him. + </p> + <p> + “What brought them here? Tell me that!” she demanded, pointing to the bed. + “You think he brought, her? I tell you she was the spur that drove him! Is + it a wonder that men called her the 'Heart of the 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. There have always been hundreds--and sometimes + thousands--who knew the secret of Khinjan Caves, but this has been a + secret within a secret. Some one, who knew the secret before I, sawed + those bracelets through and fitted hinges and clasps. The men you saw in + the Cavern of Earth's Drink have no doubt I am the 'Heart of the Hills' + come to life! They shall know thee as Him within a little while!” + </p> + <p> + She held his hand a little tighter and pressed closer to him, laughing + softly. He stood as if made of iron, and that only made her laugh the + more. + </p> + <p> + “Tales of the 'Heart of the Hills' have puzzled the Raj, haven't they, + these many years? They sent me to find the source of them. Me! They chose + well! There are not many like me! I have found this one dead woman who was + like me. And in ten years, until you came, I have found no man like Him!” + </p> + <p> + She tried to look into his eyes, but he frowned straight in front of him. + His native costume and Rangar turban did not make him seem any less a man. + His jowl, that was beginning to need shaving, was as grim and as + satisfying as the dead Roman's. She stroked his left hand with soft + fingers. + </p> + <p> + “I used to think I knew how to dance!” she laughed--“For ten years I + have taken those pictures of her for my model and have striven to learn + what she knew. I have surpassed her! I used to think I knew how to amuse + myself with men's dreams--until I found this! Then I dreamed on my + own account! My dream was true, my warrior! You have come! Our hour has + come!” + </p> + <p> + She tugged at his hand. He was hers, soul and harness, if outward signs + could prove it. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” she said. “Is this my hospitality? You are weary and hungry. + Come!” + </p> + <p> + She led him by the hand, for it would have needed brute force to pry her + fingers loose. She drew aside the leather curtain that hung on a bronze + rod near the bed, led him through it, and let it clash to again behind + them. + </p> + <p> + Now they were in the dark together, and it was not comprehended in her + scheme of things to let circumstance lie fallow. She pressed his hand, and + sighed, and then hurried, whispering tender words he could scarcely catch. + When they burst together through a curtain at the other end of a passage + in the rock, his skin was red under the tan and for the first time her + eyes refused to meet his. + </p> + <p> + “Why did they choose that cave to sleep in?” she asked him. “Is not this a + better one? Who laid them there?” + </p> + <p> + He stared about. They were in a great room far more splendid than the + first. There was a fountain in the center splashing in the midst of + flowers. They were cut flowers. The “Hills” must have been scoured for + them within a day. + </p> + <p> + There were great cushioned couches all about and two thrones made of ivory + and gold. Between two couches was a table, laden with golden plates and a + golden jug, on pure white linen. There were two goblets of beaten gold and + knives with golden handles and bronze blades. The whole room seemed to be + drenched in the scent Yasmini favored, and there was the same frieze + running round all four walls, with the woman depicted on it dancing. + </p> + <p> + “Come, we shall eat!” she said, leading him by the hand to a couch. She + took the one facing him, and they lay like two Romans of the Empire with + the table in between. + </p> + <p> + She struck a golden gong then, and a native woman came in who stared at + King as if she had seen him before and did not like him. Except for the + jewels, she was dressed exactly like Yasmini, which is to say that her + gauzy stuff was all but transparent. But Yasmini uses raiment as she does + her eyes; it is part of her, and of her art. The maid, who would have + shone among many women, looked stiff and dull by contrast. + </p> + <p> + “I trust no Hill woman--they are cattle with human tongues,” Yasmini + said, frowning at the maid. “Even in Delhi there was only this one woman + whom I dared bring here with me. You brought my men-servants! They are + loyal, but as clumsy as the bears in their cold 'Hills'! Rewa Gunga + brought me this one disguised as a man--you remember?” + </p> + <p> + She nodded to the servant, who clapped her hands. At once came a stream of + Hillmen, robed in white, who carried sherbet in bottles cooled in snow and + dishes fragrant with hot food. He recognized his own prisoners from the + Mir Khan Palace jail, and nodded to them as they set the things down under + the maid's direction. When they had done the woman chased them out and + came and stood behind Yasmini with a fan, for though it was not too hot, + she liked to have her golden hair blown into movement. + </p> + <p> + “My cook was a viceroy's,” she said, beginning to eat. “He killed an + officer who said the curry had pig's fat in it. That made him free of + Khinjan but of not many other places! I have promised him a swim in + Earth's Drink when he ever forgets his art!” + </p> + <p> + King ate, because a man can not talk and eat at once. It was true that he + was hungry, that hunger is a piquant sauce, and that artist was an + adjective too mild to apply to the cook. But the other reason was his + chief one. Yasmini ate daintily, as if only to keep him company. + </p> + <p> + “You would rather have wine?” she asked suddenly. “All sahibs drink wine. + Bring wine!” she ordered. + </p> + <p> + But King shook his head, and she looked pleased. + </p> + <p> + He had thought she would be disappointed. When he had finished eating she + drove the maid away with a sharp word; and when King jumped to his feet + she led him toward the gold-and-ivory thrones, taking her seat on one of + them and bidding him adjust the footstool. + </p> + <p> + “Would I might offer you the other!” she said, merrily enough, “but you + must sit at my feet until our hearts are one!” + </p> + <p> + It was clear that she took no delight in easy victories, for she laughed + aloud at the quizzical expression on his face. He guessed that if she + could have conquered him at the first attempt a day would have found her + weary of him; there was deliberate wisdom in his plan for the present to + seem to let her win by little inches at a time. He reasoned that so she + would tell him more than if he defied her outright. + </p> + <p> + He brought an ivory footstool and set it about a yard away from her waxen + toes. And she, watching him with burning eyes, wound tresses of her hair + around the golden dagger handle, making her jewels glitter with each + movement. + </p> + <p> + “You pleased me by refusing wine,” she said. “You please me--oh, you + please me! Christians drink wine and eat beef and pig-meat. Ugh! Hindu and + Muslim both despise them, having each a little understanding of his own. + The gods of India, who are the only real gods, what do they think of it + all! They have been good to the English, but they have had no thanks. They + will stand aside now and watch a greater jihad than the world has ever + seen! And the Hindu, who holds the cow sacred, will not support Christians + who hold nothing sacred, against Muhammadans who loathe the pig! + Christianity has failed! The English must go down with it--just as + Rome went down when she dabbled in Christianity. Oh, I know all about + Rome!” + </p> + <p> + “And the gods of India?” he asked, to keep her to the point now that she + seemed well started. + </p> + <p> + He was there to learn, not to teach. + </p> + <p> + “I know them, too! I know them as nobody else does! They are neither + Hindu, nor Muhammadan, but are older by a thousand ages than either + foolishness! I love them, and they love me--as you shall love me, + too! If they did not love both of us, we would not both be here! We must + obey them!” + </p> + <p> + None of the East's amazing ways of courtship are ever tedious. Love + springs into being on an instant and lives a thousand years inside an + hour. She left no doubt as to her meaning. She and King were to love, as + the East knows love, and then the world might have just what they two did + not care to take from it. + </p> + <p> + His only possible course as yet was the defensive, and there is no defense + like silence. He was still. + </p> + <p> + “The sirkar,” she went on, “the silly sirkar fears that perhaps Turkey may + enter the war. Perhaps a jihad may be proclaimed. So much for fear! I + know! I have known for a very long time! And I have not let fear trouble + me at all!” + </p> + <p> + Her eyes were on his steadily, and she read no fear in his, either, for + none was there. In hers he saw ambition--triumph already--excitement--the + gambler's love of all the hugest risks. Behind them burned genius and the + devilry that would stop at nothing. As the general had told him in + Peshawur, she would dare open Hell's gate and ride the devil down the + Khyber for the fun of it. + </p> + <p> + “Au diable, diable et demie!” the French say; and like most French + proverbs it is a wise one. But whence the devil and a half should come to + thwart her was not obvious. + </p> + <p> + “I must be a devil and a half,” he told himself, and very nearly laughed + aloud at the idea. She mistook the sudden humor in his eyes for admiration + of herself, being used to that from men. + </p> + <p> + “Listen, while I tell you all from the beginning! The sirkar sent me to + discover what may be this 'Heart of the Hills' men talk about. I found + these caves--and this! I told the sirkar a little about the Caves, + and nothing at all about the Sleepers. But even at that they only believed + the third of what I said. And I--back in Delhi I bought books--borrowed + books--sent to Europe for more books--and hired babu Sita Ram to + read them to me, until his tongue grew dry and swollen and he used to fall + asleep in a corner. I know all about Rome! Days I spent--weeks!--months!--listening + to the history of their great Caesar, and their little Caesars--of + their conquests and their games! It was good, and I understood it all! + Rome should have been true to the old gods, and they would have been true + to her! She fell when she fooled with Christianity!” + </p> + <p> + She was speaking dreamily now, with her chin resting on a hand and an + elbow on the ivory arm of the throne, remembering as she told her story. + And it meant so much to her, she was so in earnest, that her voice + conjured up pictures for King to see. + </p> + <p> + “When I had read enough I came back here to think. I knew enough now to be + sure that the Sleeper is a Roman, and the 'Heart of the Hills' a Grecian + maid. She is like me. That is why I know she drove him to make an empire, + choosing for a beginning these 'Hills' where Rome had never penetrated. He + found her in Greece. He plunged through Persia to build a throne for her! + I have seen it all in dreams, and again in the crystal! And because I was + all alone, I saw that I would need all the skill I could learn, and much + patience. So I began to learn to dance as she danced, using those pictures + of her as a model. I have surpassed her! I can dance better than she ever + did! + </p> + <p> + “Between times I would go to Delhi and dance there a little, and a little + in other places--once indeed before a viceroy, and once for the king + of England--and all men--the king, too!--told me that none + in the world can dance as I can! And all the while I kept looking for the + man--the man who should be like the Sleeper, even as I am like her + whom he loved! + </p> + <p> + “Many a man--many and many a man I have tried and found wanting! For + I was impatient in spite of resolutions. I burned to find him at once, and + begin! But you are the first of all the men I have tested who answered all + the tests! Languages--he must speak the native tongues. Brave be must + be--and clever--resembling the Sleeper in appearance. I began to + think long ago that I must forego that last test, for there was none like + the Sleeper until you came. And when this world war broke--for it is + a world war, a world war I tell you!--I thought at last that I must + manage all alone. And then you came! + </p> + <p> + “But there were many I tried--many--especially after I abandoned + the thought that the man must resemble the Sleeper. There was a Prince of + Germany who came to India on a hunting trip. You remember?” + </p> + <p> + King pricked his ears and allowed himself to grin, for in common with many + hundred other men who had been lieutenants at the time, he would once have + given an ear and an eye to know the truth of that affair. The grin + transformed his whole appearance, until Yasmini beamed on him. + </p> + <p> + “I'm listening, Princess!” he reminded her. + </p> + <p> + “Well--he came--the Prince of Germany--the borrower!” + </p> + <p> + “Borrower of what, Princess?” + </p> + <p> + “Of wit! Of brains! Of platitudes! Of reputation! There came a crowd with + him of such clumsy plunderers, asking such rude questions, that even the + sirkar could not shut its ears and eyes! + </p> + <p> + “I did not know all about sahibs in those days. I thought that, although + this man is what he is, yet he is a prince, and perhaps I can fire him + with my genius. I could have taught him the native tongues. I thought he + had ambition, but I learned that he is only greedy. You see, I was + foolish, not knowing yet that in good time if I am patient my man will + come to me! But I learned all about Germans--all! + </p> + <p> + “I offered him India first, then Asia, then the world--even as I now + offer them to you. The sirkar sent him to see me dance, and he stayed to + hear me talk. When I saw at last that he has the head and heart of a hyena + I told him lies. But he, being drunk, told me truths that I have + remembered. + </p> + <p> + “Later he sent two of his officers to ask me questions, and they were + little better than he, although a little better mannered. I told them + lies, too, and they told me lies, but they told me much that was true. + </p> + <p> + “Then the prince came again, a last time. And I was weary of him. The + sirkar was very weary of him too. He offered me money to go to Germany and + dance for the kaiser in Berlin. He said I will be shown there much that + will be to my advantage. I refused. He made me other offers. So I spat in + his face and threw food at him. + </p> + <p> + “He complained to the sirkar against me, sending one of his high officers + to demand that I be whipped. So I told the sirkar some--not much, + indeed, but enough--of the things he and his officers had told me. + And the sirkar said at once that there was both cholera and bubonic + plague, and he must go home! + </p> + <p> + “I have heard--three men told me--that he said he will never + rest until I have been whipped! But I have heard that his officers laughed + behind his back. And ever since that time there have always been Germans + in communication with me. I have had more money from Berlin than would + bribe the viceroy's council, and I have not once been in the dark about + Germany's plans--although they have always thought I am in the dark. + </p> + <p> + “I went on looking for my man--studying all, Germans, English, Turks, + French--and there was a Frenchman whom I nearly chose--and an + American, a man who used the strangest words, who laughed at me. I studied + Hindu, Muslim, Christian, every good-looking fighting man who came my way, + knowing well that all creeds are one when the gods have named their + choice. + </p> + <p> + “There came that old Bull-with-a-beard, Muhammad Anim, and for a time I + thought he is the man, for he is a man whatever else he is. But I tired of + him. I called him Bull-with-a-beard, and the 'Hills' took it up and mocked + him, until the new name stuck. He still thinks he is the man, having more + strength to hope and more will to will wrongly than any man I ever met, + except a German. I have even been sure sometimes that Muhammad Anim is a + German; yet now I am not sure. + </p> + <p> + “From all the men I met and watched I have learned all they knew! And I + have never neglected to tell the sirkar sufficient of what men have told + me, to keep the sirkar pleased with me! + </p> + <p> + “Nor have I ever played Germany's game--no, no! I have talked with a + prince of Germany, and I understand too well! Who sups with a boar may get + good roots to eat, but must endure pigs' feet in the trough! Pigs' hides + make good saddles; I have used the Germans, as they think they have used + me! I have used them ruthlessly. + </p> + <p> + “Knowing all I knew, and being ready except that I had not found my man + yet, I dallied in India on the eve of war, watching a certain Sikh to + discover whether he is the man or not. But he lacked imagination, and I + was caught in Delhi when war broke and the English closed the Khyber Pass. + Yet I had to come up the Khyber, to reach Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + “So it was fortunate that I knew of a German plot that I could spoil at + the last minute. I fooled the Germans by letting the Sikh whom I had + watched discover it. The Germans still believe me their accomplice--and + the sirkar was so pleased that I think if I had asked for an English + peerage they would have answered me soberly. A million dynamite bombs was + a big haul for the sirkar! My offer to go to Khinjan and keep the 'Hills' + quiet was accepted that same day! + </p> + <p> + “But what are a million dynamite bombs! Dynamite bombs have been coming + into Khinjan month by month these three years! Bombs and rifles and + cartridges! Muhammad Anim's men, whom he trusts because he must, hid it + all in a cave I showed them, that they think, and he thinks, has only one + entrance to it. Muhammad Anim sealed it, and he has the key. But I have + the ammunition! + </p> + <p> + “There was another way out of that cave, although there is none now, for I + have blocked it. My men, whom I trust because I know them, carried + everything out by the back way, and I have it all. I will show it to you + presently. + </p> + <p> + “I know all Muhammad Anim's plans. Bull-with-a-beard believes himself a + statesman, yet he told me all he knows! He has told me how Germany plans + to draw Turkey in and to force Turkey to proclaim a jihad. As if I did not + know it first, almost before the Germans knew it! Fools! The jihad will + recoil on them! It will be like a cobra, striking whoever stirs it! A + typhoon, smiting right and left! Christianity is doomed, and the Germans + call themselves Christians! Fools! Rome called herself Christian--and + where is Rome? + </p> + <p> + “But we, my warrior, when Muhammad Anim gets the word from Germany and + gives the sign, and the 'Hills' are afire, and the whole East roars in the + flame of the jihad--we will put ourselves at the head of that jihad, + and the East and the world is ours!” + </p> + <p> + King smiled at her. + </p> + <p> + “The East isn't very well armed,” he objected. “Mere numbers--” + </p> + <p> + “Numbers?” She laughed at him. “The West has the West by the throat! It is + tearing itself! They will drag in America! There will be no armed nation + with its hands free--and while those wolves fight, other wolves shall + come and steal the meat! The old gods, who built these caverns in the + 'Hills,' are laughing! They are getting ready! Thou and I--” + </p> + <p> + As she coupled him and herself together in one plan she read the changed + expression of his face--the very quickly passing cloud that even the + best-trained man can not control. + </p> + <p> + “I know!” she asserted, sitting upright and coming out of her dream to + face facts as their master. She looked more lovely now than ever, although + twice as dangerous. “You are thinking of your brother--of his head! + That I am a murderess who can never be your friend! Is that not so?” + </p> + <p> + He did not answer, but his eyes may have betrayed something, for she + looked as if he had struck her. Leaning forward, she held the gold-hilted + dagger out to him, hilt first. + </p> + <p> + “Take it and stab me!” she ordered. “Stab--if you blame me for your + brother's death! I should have known him for your brother if I had come on + him in the dark!--His head might have come from your shoulders!--You + were like a man holding up his own head, as I have seen in pictures in a + book! I would never have killed him!” + </p> + <p> + Her golden hair fell all about his shoulders, and its scent was not + intended to be sobering. She ran warm fingers through his hair while she + held the knife toward him with the other hand. + </p> + <p> + “Take it and stab!” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “No!” she laughed. “No! You are my warrior--my man--my well--beloved! + You have come to me alone out of all the world! You would no more stab me + than the gods would forget me!” + </p> + <p> + Their eyes were on each other's--deep looking into deep. + </p> + <p> + “Strength!” she said, flinging him away and leaning back to look at him, + almost as a fed cat stretches in the sunlight. “Courage! Simplicity! + Directness! Strength I have, too, and courage never failed me, but my mind + is a river winding in and out, gathering as it goes. I have no directness--no + simplicity! You go straight from point to point, my sending from the gods! + I have needed you! Oh, I have needed you so much, these many years! And + now that you have come you want to hate me because you think I killed your + brother! Listen--I will tell you all I know about your brother.”' + </p> + <p> + Without a scrap of proof of any kind he knew she was telling truth + unadorned--or at least the truth as she saw it. Eye to eye, there are + times when no proof is needed. + </p> + <p> + “Without my leave, Muhammad Anim sent five hundred men on a foray toward + the Khyber. Bull-with-a-beard needed an Englishman's head, for proof for a + spy of his who could not enter Khinjan Caves. They trapped your brother + outside Ali Masjid with fifty of his men. They took his head after a long + fight, leaving more than a hundred of their own in payment. + </p> + <p> + “Bull-with-a-beard was pleased. But he was careless, and I sent my men to + steal the head from his men. I needed evidence for you. And I swear to you--I + swear to you by my gods who have brought us two together--that I + first knew it was your brother's head when you held it up in the Cavern of + Earth's Drink! Then I knew it could not be anybody else's head!” + </p> + <p> + “Why bid me throw it to them, then?” he asked her, and he was aware of her + scorn before the words had left his lips. + </p> + <p> + She leaned back again and looked at him through lowered eyes, as if she + must study him all anew. She seemed to find it hard to believe that he + really thought so in the commonplace. + </p> + <p> + “What is a head to me, or to you--a head with no life in it--carrion!--compared + to what shall be? Would you have known it was his head if you had thrown + it to them when I ordered you?” + </p> + <p> + He understood. Some of her blood was Russian, some Indian. + </p> + <p> + “A friend is a friend, but a brother is a rival,” says the East, out of + world-old experience, and in some ways Russia is more eastern than the + East itself. + </p> + <p> + “Muhammad Anim shall answer to you for your brother's head!” she said with + a little nod, as if she were making concessions to a child. “At present we + need him. Let him preach his jihad, and loose it at the right time. After + that he will be in the way! You shall name his death--Earth's Drink--slow + torture--fire! Will that content you?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said, with a dry laugh. + </p> + <p> + “What more can you ask?” + </p> + <p> + “Less! My brother died at the head of his men. He couldn't ask more. Let + Bull-with-a-beard alone.” + </p> + <p> + She set both elbows on her knees and laid her chin on both hands to stare + at him again. He began to remember long-forgotten schoolboy lore about + chemical reagents, that dissolve materials into their component parts, + such was the magic of her eyes. There were no eyes like hers that he had + ever seen, although Rewa Gunga's had been something like them. Only Rewa + Gunga's had not changed so. Thought of the Rangar no sooner crossed his + mind than she was speaking of him. + </p> + <p> + “Rewa Gunga met you in the dark, beyond those outer curtains, did he not?” + </p> + <p> + He nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Did he tell you that if you pass the curtains you shall be told all I + know?” + </p> + <p> + He nodded again, and she laughed. + </p> + <p> + “It would take time to tell you all I know! First, I think I will show you + things. Afterward you shall ask me questions, and I will answer them!” + </p> + <p> + She stood up, and of course he stood up, too. So, she on the footstool of + the throne, her eyes and his were on a level. She laid hands on his + shoulders and looked into his eyes until he could see his own twin + portraits in hers that were glowing sunset pools. Heart of the Hills? The + Heart of all the East seemed to burn in her, rebellious! + </p> + <p> + “Are you believing me?” she asked him. + </p> + <p> + He nodded, for no man could have helped believing her. As she knew the + truth, she was telling it to him, as surely as she was doing her skillful + best to mesmerize him. But the Secret Service is made up of men trained + against that. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” she said, and stepping down she took his arm. + </p> + <p> + She led him past the thrones to other leather curtains in a wall, and + through them into long hewn passages from cavern into cavern, until even + the Rock of Gibraltar seemed like a doll's house in comparison. + </p> + <p> + In one cave there were piles of javelins that had been stacked there by + the Sleeper and his men. In another were sheaves of arrows; and in one + were spears in racks against a wall. There were empty stables, with rings + made fast into the rock where a hundred horses could have stood in line. + </p> + <p> + She showed him a cave containing great forges, where the bronze had been + worked, with charcoal still piled up against the wall at one end. There + were copper and tin ingots in there of a shape he had never seen. + </p> + <p> + “I know where they came from,” she told him. “I have made it my business + to know all the 'Hills.' I know things the Hillmen's + great-great-great-grand-fathers forgot! I know old workings that would + make a modern nation rich! We shall have money when we need it, never + fear! We shall conquer India while the English backs are turned and the + best troops are oversea. We will bring a hundred thousand slaves back here + to work our mines! With what they dig from the mines, copper and gold and + tin, we will make ready to buy the English off when they are free to turn + this way again. The English will do anything for money! They will be in + debt when this war is over, and their price will be less then than now!” + </p> + <p> + She laughed merrily at him because his face showed that he did not + appreciate that stricture. Then she called him her Warrior and her + Well-beloved and took him down a long passage, holding his hand all the + way, to show him slots cut in the floor for the use of archers. + </p> + <p> + “You entered Khinjan Caves by a tunnel under this floor, Well-beloved. + There is no other entrance!” + </p> + <p> + By this time Well-beloved was her name for him, although there was no air + of finality about it. It was as if she paved the way for use of Athelstan + and that was a sacred name. It was amazing how she conveyed that + impression without using words. + </p> + <p> + “The Sleeper cut these slots for his archers. Then he had another thought + and set these cauldrons in place, to boil oil to pour down. Could any army + force a way through by the route by which you entered?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said, marveling at the ton-weight copper cauldrons, one to each + hole. + </p> + <p> + “Even without rifles for the defense?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “And I have more than a thousand Mauser rifles here, and more than a + million rounds of ammunition!” + </p> + <p> + “How did you get them?” + </p> + <p> + “I shall tell you that later. Come and see some other things. See and + believe!” + </p> + <p> + She showed him a cave in which boxes were stacked in high square piles. + </p> + <p> + “Dynamite bombs!” she boasted. “How many boxes? I forget! Too many to + count! Women brought them all the way from the sea, for even Muhammad Anim + could not make Afridi riflemen carry loads. I have wondered what + Bull-with-a-beard will say when he misses his precious dynamite!” + </p> + <p> + “You've enough in there to blow the mountain up!” King advised her. “If + somebody fired a pistol in here, the least would be the collapse of this + floor into the tunnel below with a hundred thousand tons of rock on top of + it. There is no other way out?” + </p> + <p> + “Earth's Drink!” she said, and he made a grimace that set her to laughing. + </p> + <p> + But she looked at him darkly after that and he got the impression that the + thought was not new to her, and that she did not thank him for the advice. + He began to wonder whether there was anything she had not thought of--any + loophole she had left him for escape--any issue she had not foreseen. + </p> + <p> + “Kill her!” a secret voice urged him. But that was the voice of the + “Hills,” that are violent first and regretful afterward. He did not listen + to it. And then the wisdom of the West came to him, as epitomized by + Cocker along the lines laid down by Solomon. + </p> + <p> + “It isn't possible to make a puzzle that has no solution to it. The fact + that it's a puzzle is the proof that there's a key! Go ahead!” + </p> + <p> + It was the “Go ahead!” that Solomon omitted, and that makes Cocker such + cheerful reading. King ceased conjecturing and gave full attention to his + guide. + </p> + <p> + She showed him where eleven hundred Mauser rifles stood in racks in + another cave, with boxes of ammunition piled beside them--each rifle + and cartridge worth its weight in silver coin--a very rajah's ransom! + </p> + <p> + “The Germans are generous in some things--only in some things--very + mean in others!” she told him. “They sent no medical stores, and no + blankets!” + </p> + <p> + Past caves where provisions of every imaginable kind were stored, + sufficient for an army, she led him to where her guards slept together + with the thirty special men whom King had brought with him up the Khyber. + </p> + <p> + “I have five hundred others whom I dare trust to come in here,” she said, + “but they shall stay outside until I want them. A mystery is a good thing! + It is good for them all to wonder what I keep in here! It is good to keep + this sanctuary; it makes for power!” + </p> + <p> + Pressing very close to him, she guided him down another dark tunnel until + he and she stood together in the jaws of the round hole above the river, + looking down into the cavern of Earth's Drink. + </p> + <p> + Nobody looked up at them. The thousands were too busy working up a frenzy + for the great jihad that was to come. + </p> + <p> + Stacks of wood had been piled up, six-man high in the middle, and then + fired. The heat came upward like a furnace blast, and the smoke was a + great red cloud among the stalactites. Round and round that holocaust the + thousands did their sword-dance, yelling as the devils yelled at Khinjan's + birth. They needed no wine to craze them. They were drunk with fanaticism, + frenzy, lust! + </p> + <p> + “The women brought that wood from fifty miles away!” Yasmini shouted in + his ear; for the din, mingling with the river's voice, made a volcano + chord. “It is a week's supply of wood! But so they are--so they will + be! They will lay waste India! They will butcher and plunder and burn! It + will be what they leave of India that we shall build anew and govern, for + India herself will rise to help them lay her own cities waste! It is + always so! Conquests always are so! Come!” + </p> + <p> + She tugged at him and led him back along the tunnel and through other + tunnels to the throne room, where she made him sit at her feet again. + </p> + <p> + The food had been cleared away in their absence. Instead, on the ebony + table there were pens and ink and paper. + </p> + <p> + She leaned back on her throne, with bare feet pressed tight against the + footstool, staring, staring at the table and the pens, and then at King, + as if she would compose an ultimatum to the world and send King to deliver + it. + </p> + <p> + “I said I will tell you,” she sad slowly. “Listen!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Nothing new! Nothing new! + Nowhere to hide when a reckoning's due, + But right earns right, and wrong gets rue, + With nothing deducted or given in lieu; + And neither the War God, I, nor you + Ever could make one lie come true! + Vale, Ceasar! +</pre> + <p> + As Yasmini herself had admitted, she headed from point to point after a + manner of her own. + </p> + <p> + “You know where is Dar es Salaam?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “East Africa,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “How far is that from here?” + </p> + <p> + “Two or three thousand miles.” + </p> + <p> + “And English war-ships watch the Persian Gulf and all the seas from India + to Aden?” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Have the English any ships that dive under water?” + </p> + <p> + He nodded again. + </p> + <p> + “In these waters?” + </p> + <p> + “I think not. I'm not sure, but I think not.” + </p> + <p> + “The grenades you have seen, and the rifles and cartridges were sent by + the Germans to Dar es Salaam, to suppress a rising of African natives. + Does it begin to grow clear to you, my friend?” + </p> + <p> + He smiled as well as nodded this time. + </p> + <p> + “Muhammad Anim used to wait with a hundred women at a certain place on the + seashore. What he found on the beach there he made the women carry on + their heads to Khinjan. And by the time he had hidden what he found and + returned from Khinjan to the beach, there were more things to find and + bring. So they worked, he and the Germans, for I know not how long--with + the English watching the seas as on land lean wolves comb the valleys. + </p> + <p> + “Did you ever hear of the big whale in the Gulf?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said King. That was natural. There are as a rule about as many + whales as salmon in the Persian Gulf. + </p> + <p> + “A German who came to me in Delhi--he who first showed me pictures of + an underwater ship--said that at that time the officers and crew of + one such ship were getting great practise. Do you suppose their practise + made whales take refuge in the Gulf?” + </p> + <p> + “How should I know, Princess?” + </p> + <p> + “Because I heard a story later, of an English cruiser on its way up the + Gulf, that collided with a whale. The shock of hitting it bent many steel + plates, and the cruiser had to put back for repair. It must have been a + very big whale, for there was much oil on the sea for a long time + afterward. So I heard. + </p> + <p> + “And no more dynamite came--nor rifles--nor cartridges, although + the Germans had promised more. And orders for Muhammad Anim that had been + said to come by sea came now by way of Bagdad, carried by pilgrims + returning from the holy places. I know that because I intercepted a letter + and threw its bearer into Earth's Drink to save Muhammad Anim the trouble + of asking questions.” + </p> + <p> + “What were the terms of the German bargain?” King asked her. “What + stipulations did they make?” + </p> + <p> + “With the tribes? None! They were too wise. A jihad was decided on in + Germany's good time; and when that time should come ten rifles in the + 'Hills' and a thousand cartridges would mean not only a hundred dead + Englishmen, but ten times that number busily engaged. Why bargain when + there was no need? A rifle is what it is. The 'Hills' are the 'Hills'! + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about your lamp oil, then,” he said. “You burn enough oil in + Khinjan Caves to light Bombay! That does not come by submarine. The sirkar + knows how much of everything goes up the Khyber. I have seen the printed + lists myself--a few hundred cans of kerosene--a few score + gallons of vegetable oil, and all bound for farther north. There isn't + enough oil pressed among the 'Hills' to keep these caves going for a day. + Where does it all come from?” + </p> + <p> + She laughed, as a mother laughs at a child's questions, finding delicious + enjoyment in instructing him. + </p> + <p> + “There are three villages, not two days' march from Khabul, where men have + lived for centuries by pressing oil for Khinjan Caves,” she said. “The + Sleeper fetched his oil thence. There are the bones of a camel in a cave I + did not show you, and beside the camel are the leather bags still in which + the oil was carried. Nowadays it comes in second-hand cans and drums. The + Sleeper left gold in here. Those who kept the Sleeper's secret paid for + the oil in gold. No Afghan troubled why oil was needed, so long as gold + paid for it, until Abdurrahman heard the story. He made a ten-year-long + effort to learn the secret, but he failed. When he cut off the supply of + oil for a time, there was a rebellion so close to Khabul gates that he + thought better of it. Of gold and Abdurrahman, gold was the stronger. And + I know where the Sleeper dug his gold!” + </p> + <p> + They sat in silence for a long while after that, she looking at the table, + with its ink and pens and paper, and he thinking, with hands clasped round + one knee; for it is wiser to think than to talk, even when a woman is near + who can read thoughts that are not guarded. + </p> + <p> + “Most disillusionments come simply,” King said at last. “D'you know, + Princess, what has kept the sirkar from really believing in Khinjan + Caves?” + </p> + <p> + She shook her head. “The gods!” she said. “The gods can blindfold + governments and whole peoples as easily as they can make us see!” + </p> + <p> + “It was the fact that they knew what provisions and what oil and what + necessities of life went up the Khyber and came down it. They knew a place + such as this was said to be could not be. They knew it! They could prove + it!” + </p> + <p> + Yasmini nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Let it be a lesson to you, Princess!” + </p> + <p> + She stared, and her fiery-opal eyes began to change and glow. She began to + twist her golden hair round the dagger hilt again. But always her feet + were still on the footstool of the throne, as if she knew--knew--knew + that she stood on firm foundations. No sirkar ever doubted less than she, + and the suggestions in King's little homily did not please her. She looked + toward the table again--then again into his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Athelstan!” she said. “It sounds like a king's name! What was the + Sleeper's name? I have often wondered! I found no name in all the books + about Rome that seemed to fit him. None of the names I mouthed could make + me dream as the sight of him could. But, Athelstan! That is a name like a + king's! It seems to fit him, too! Was there such a name, in Rome?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “What does it mean?” she asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Slow of resolution!” + </p> + <p> + She clapped her hands. + </p> + <p> + “Another sign!” she laughed. “The gods love me! There always is a sign + when I need one! Slow of resolution, art thou? I will speed thy + resolution, Well-beloved! You were quick to change from King, of the + Khyber Rifle Regiment, to Kurram Khan. Change now into my warrior--my + dear lord--my King again!” + </p> + <p> + She rose, with arms outstretched to him. All her dancer's art, her untamed + poetry, her witchery, were expressed in a movement. Her eyes melted as + they met his. And since he stood up, too, for manner's sake, they were eye + to eye again--almost lip to lip. Her sweet breath was in his + nostrils. + </p> + <p> + In another moment she was in his arms, clinging to him, kissing him. And + if any man has felt on his lips the kiss of all the scented glamour of the + East, let him tell what King's sensations were. Let Ceasar, who was kissed + by Cleopatra, come to life and talk of it! + </p> + <p> + King's arm is strong, and he did not stand like an idol. His head might + swim, but she, too, tasted the delirium of human passion loosed and given + for a mad swift minute. If his heart swelled to bursting, so must hers + have done. + </p> + <p> + “I have needed you!” she whispered. “I have been all alone! I have needed + you!” + </p> + <p> + Then her lips sought his again, and neither spoke. + </p> + <p> + Neither knew how long it was before she began to understand that he, not + she, was winning. The human answer to her appeal was full. He gave her all + she asked of admiration, kiss for kiss. And then--her arms did not + cling so tightly, although his strong right arm was like a stanchion. + Because he knew that he, not she, was winning, he picked her up in his + arms and kissed her as if she were a child. And then, because he knew he + had won, he set her on her feet on the footstool of the throne, and even + pitied her. + </p> + <p> + She felt the pity. As she tossed the hair back over her shoulder her eyes + glowed with another meaning--dangerous--like a tiger's glare. + </p> + <p> + “You pity me? You think because I love you, you can feed my love on a + plate to the Indian government? You think my love is a weapon to use + against me? Your love for me may wait for a better time? You are not so + wise as I thought you, Athelstan!” + </p> + <p> + But he knew he had won. His heart was singing down inside him as it had + not sung since he left India behind. But he stood quite humbly before her, + for had he not kissed her? + </p> + <p> + “You think a kiss is the bond between us? You mistake! You forget! The + kiss, my Athelstan, was the fruit, not the seed! The seed came first! If I + loosed you--if I set you free--you would never dare go back to + India!” + </p> + <p> + He scarcely heard her. He knew he had won. His heart was like a bird, + fluttering wildly. He knew that the next step would be shown him, and for + the present he had time and grace to pity her, knowing how he would have + felt if she had won. Besides, he had kissed her, and he had not lied. Each + kiss had been a tribute of admiration, for was she not splendid--amazing--more + to be desired than wine? He stood with bowed head, lest the triumph in his + eyes offend her. Yet if any one had asked him how he knew that he had won, + he never could have told. + </p> + <p> + “If you were to go back to India except as its conqueror, they would strip + the buttons from your uniform and tear your medals off and shoot you in + the back against a wall! My signature is known in India and I am known. + What I write will be believed. Rewa Gunga shall take a letter. He shall + take two--four--witnesses. He shall see them on their way and + shall give them the letter when they reach the Khyber and shall send them + into India with it. Have no fear. Bull-with-a-beard shall not intercept + them, as I have intercepted his men. When Rewa Gunga shall return and tell + me he saw my letter on its way down the Khyber, then we shall talk again + about pity--you and I! Come!” + </p> + <p> + She took his arm, as if her threats had been caresses. Triumph shone from + her eyes. She tossed her brave chin and laughed at him, only encouraged to + greater daring by his attitude. + </p> + <p> + “Why don't you kill me?” she asked, and though his answer surprised her, + it did not make her angry. + </p> + <p> + “It would do no good,” he said simply. + </p> + <p> + “Would you kill me if you thought it would do good?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly!” he said. + </p> + <p> + She laughed at that as if it were the greatest joke she had ever heard. It + set her in the best humor possible, and by the time they reached the ebony + table and she had taken the pen and dipped it in the ink, she was + chuckling to herself as if the one good joke had grown into a hundred. + </p> + <p> + She wrote in Urdu. It is likely that for all her knowledge of the spoken + English tongue she was not so swift or ready with the trick of writing it. + She had said herself that a babu read English books to her aloud. But she + wrote in Urdu with an easy flowing hand, and in two minutes she had thrown + sand on the letter and had given it to King to read. It was not like a + woman's letter. It did not waste a word. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Your Captain King has been too much trouble. He has + taken money from the Germans. He adopted native dress. + He called himself Kurram Khan. He slew his own brother + at night in the Khyber Pass. These men will say that + he carried the head to Khinjan, and their word is true, + for I, Yasmini, saw. He used the head for a passport, + to obtain admittance. He proclaims a jihad! He urges + invasion of India! He held up his brother's head + before five thousand men and boasted of the murder. + The next you shall hear of your Captain King of the + Khyber Rifles, he will be leading a jihad into India. + You would have better trusted me. Yasmini.” + </pre> + <p> + He read it and passed it back to her. + </p> + <p> + “They will not disbelieve me,” she said, triumphant as the very devil over + a branded soul all hot. “They will be sure you are mad, and they will + believe the witnesses!” + </p> + <p> + He bowed. She sealed the letter and addressed it with only a scrawled mark + on its outer cover. That, by the way, was utter insolence, for the mark + would be understood at any frontier post by the officer commanding. + </p> + <p> + “Rewa Gunga shall start with this to-day!” she said, with more amusement + than malice. After that she was still for a moment, watching his eyes, at + a loss to understand his carelessness. He seemed strangely unabased. His + folded arms were not defiant, but neither were they yielding. + </p> + <p> + “I love you, Athelstan!” she said. “Do you love me?” + </p> + <p> + “I think you are very beautiful, Princess!” + </p> + <p> + “Beautiful? I know I am beautiful. But is that all?” + </p> + <p> + “Clever!” he added. + </p> + <p> + She began to drum with the golden dagger hilt on the table, and to look + dangerous, which is not to infer by any means that she looked less lovely. + </p> + <p> + “Do you love me?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me, Princess, but you forget. I was born east of Mecca, but my + folk were from the West. We are slower to love than some other nations. + With us love is more often growth, less often surrender at first sight. I + think you are wonderful.” + </p> + <p> + She nodded and tucked the sealed letter in her bosom. + </p> + <p> + “It shall go,” she said darkly, “and another letter with it. They looted + your brother's body. In his pocket they found the note you wrote him, and + that you asked him to destroy! That will be evidence. That will convince! + Come!” + </p> + <p> + He followed her through leather curtains again and down the dark passage + into the outer chamber; and the illusion was of walking behind a + golden-haired Madonna to some shrine of Innocence. Her perfume was like + incense; her manner perfect reverence. She passed into the cave where the + two dead bodies lay like a high priestess performing a rite. + </p> + <p> + Walking to the bed, she stood for minutes, gazing at the Sleeper and his + queen. And from the new angle from which King saw him the Sleeper's + likeness to himself was actually startling. Startling--weird--like + an incantation were Yasmini's words when at last she spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Muhammad lied! He lied in his teeth! His sons have multiplied his lie! + Siddhattha, whom men have called Gotama, the Buddha, was before Muhammad + and he knew more! He told of the wheel of things, and there is a wheel! + Yet, what knew the Buddha of the wheel? He who spoke of Dharma (the + customs of the law) not knowing Dharma! This is true---Of old there + was a wish of the gods--of the old gods. And so these two were. There + is a wish again now of the old gods. So, are we two not as they two were? + It is the same wish, and lo! We are ready, this man and I. We will obey, + ye gods--ye old gods!” + </p> + <p> + She raised her arms and, going closer to the bed, stood there in an + attitude of mystic reverence, giving and receiving blessings. + </p> + <p> + “Dear gods!” she prayed. “Dear old gods--older than these 'Hills'--show + me in a vision what their fault was--why these two were ended before + the end! + </p> + <p> + “I know all the other things ye have shown me. I know the world's silly + creeds have made it mad, and it must rend itself, and this man and I shall + reap where the nations sowed--if only we obey! Wherein, ye old dear + gods, who love me, did these two disobey? I pray you, tell me in a + vision!” + </p> + <p> + She shook her head and sighed. Sadness seemed to have crept over her, like + a cold mist from the night. It was as if she could dimly see her plans + foredoomed, and yet hoped on in spite of it. The fatalism that she scorned + as Muhammad's lie held her in its grip, and her natural courage fought + with it. Womanlike, she turned to King in that minute and confided to him + her very inmost thoughts. And he, without an inkling as to how she must + fail, yet knew that she must, and pitied her. + </p> + <p> + “Have you seen that breast under the armor?” she asked suddenly. “Come + nearer! Come and look! Why did his breast decay and his body stay whole + like hers? Did she kill him? Was that a dagger-stab in his breast? I found + perfume in these caves--great jars of it, and I use it always. It is + better than temple incense and all the breath of gardens in the spring! I + have put it on slaughtered animals. Where the knife has touched them, they + decay--as that man's breast did--but the rest of them remains + undecaying year after year. It was a knife, I think, that pierced his + breast. I think that scent is the preservative. Did she kill him? Was she + jealous of him? How did she die? There is no mark on her! Athelstan--listen! + I think he would have failed her! I think she stabbed him rather than see + him fail, and then swallowed poison! Afterward their servants laid them + there. She smiles in death because she knew the wheel will turn and that + death dies too! He looks grim because he knew less than she. It is always + woman who understands and man who fails! I think she stabbed him. She + should have loved him better, and then there would have been no need. I + will love you better than she loved him!” + </p> + <p> + She turned and devoured him with her eyes, so that it needed all his + manhood to hold him back from being her slave that minute. For in that + minute she left no charm unexercised--sex--mesmerisrn--beauty--flattery + (her eyes could flatter as a dumb dog's flatter a huntsman!)--grace + unutterable-mystery--she used every art on him she knew. Yet he stood + the test. + </p> + <p> + “Even if you fail me, Well-beloved, I will love you! The gods who gave you + to me will know how to make you love; and lessons are to learn. If you + fail me I will forgive, knowing that in the end the gods will never let + you fail me! You are mine, and Earth is ours, for the old gods intend it + so!” + </p> + <p> + She seemed to expect him to take her in his arms again; but he stood + respectfully and made no answer, nor any move. Grim and strong his jowl + was, like the Sleeper's, and the dark hair three days old on it softened + nothing of its lines. His Roman nose and steady, dark, full eyes suggested + no compromise. Yet he was good to look at. She had not lied when she said + she loved him, and he understood her and was sorry. But he did not look + sorry, nor did he offer any argument to quench her love. He was a servant + of the raj; his life and his love had been India's since the day he first + buckled on his spurs, and Yasmini wouldn't have understood that. + </p> + <p> + Nor did she understand that, even supposing he had loved her with all his + heart, not on any conditions would he have admitted it until absolutely + free, any more than that if she crucified him he would love her the same, + supposing that he loved her at all. Nor did she trust the “old gods” too + well, or let them work unaided. + </p> + <p> + “Come with me, Athelstan!” she said. She took his arm--found little + jeweled slippers in a closet hewn in the wall--put them on and led + him to the curtains he had entered by. She led him through them, and, red + as cardinals in lamplight on the other side, they stood hand-in-hand, back + to the leather, facing the unfathomable dark. Her fingers were so strong + that he could not have wrenched his own away without using the other hand + to help. + </p> + <p> + “Where are your shoes?” she asked him. + </p> + <p> + “At the foot of these steps, Princess.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you see them yonder in the dark?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you guess where the darkness leads to?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + He shuddered and she chuckled. + </p> + <p> + “Could you return alone by the way Ismail brought you?” + </p> + <p> + “I think not.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you try?” + </p> + <p> + “If I must. I am not afraid.” + </p> + <p> + “You have heard the echo? Yes, I know you heard the echo. Hear it again!” + </p> + <p> + She raised her head and howled like a wolf--like a lone wolf that has + found no quarry--melancholy, mean, grown reckless with his hunger. + There was a pause of nearly a minute. Then in the hideous darkness a + phantom wolf-pack took up the howl in chorus, and for three long minutes + there was din beside which the voice of living wolves at war would be a + slumber song. Ten times ghastlier than if it had been real, the chorus + wailed and ululated back and forth along immeasurable distances--became + one yell again--and went howling down into earth's bowels as if the + last of a phantom pack were left behind and yelling to be waited for. + </p> + <p> + When it ceased at last King was sweating. + </p> + <p> + “Nor am I afraid,” she laughed, squeezing his hand yet tighter. + </p> + <p> + She led him down the steps, and at the foot told him to put on his + slippers, as if he were a child. Then, hurrying as if those opal eyes of + hers were indifferent to dark or daylight, she picked her way among + boulders that he could feel but not see, along a floor that was only + smooth in places, for a distance that was long enough by two or three + times to lose him altogether. + </p> + <p> + When he looked back there was no sign of red lights behind him. And when + he looked forward, there was a dim outer light in front and a whiff of the + cool fresh air that presages the dawn! + </p> + <p> + She led him through a gap on to a ledge of rock that hung thousands of + feet above the home of thunder, a ledge less than six feet wide, less than + twenty long, tilted back toward the cliff. There they sat, watching the + stars. And there they saw the dawn come. + </p> + <p> + Morning looks down into Khinjan hours after the sun has risen, because the + precipices shut it out. But the peaks on every side are very beacons of + the range at the earliest peep of dawn. In silence they watched day's + herald touch the peaks with rosy jeweled fingers--she waiting as if + she expected the marvel of it all to make King speak. + </p> + <p> + It was cold. She came and snuggled close to him, and it was so they + watched the sparkle of dawn's jewels die and the peaks grow gray again, + she with an arm on his shoulder and strands of her golden hair blown past + his face. + </p> + <p> + “Of what are you thinking?” she asked him at last. + </p> + <p> + “Of India, Princess.” + </p> + <p> + “What of India?” + </p> + <p> + “She lies helpless.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! You love India?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “You shall love me better! You shall love me better than your life! Then, + for love of me, you shall own the India you think you love! This letter + shall go!” She tapped her bosom. “It is best to cut you off from India + first. You shall lose that you may win!” + </p> + <p> + She got up and stood in the gap, smiling mockingly, framed in the darkness + of the cave behind. + </p> + <p> + “I understand!” she said. “You think you are my enemy. Love and hate never + lived side by side. You shall see!” + </p> + <p> + Then in an instant she was gone, backward into the dark. He sat and waited + for her, cross-legged on the ledge. As daylight began to filter downward + he could dimly make out the waterfall, thundering like the whelming of a + world; he sat staring at it, trying to formulate a plan, until it dawned + on him that he was nearly chilled to the bone. Then he got up and stepped + through the gap, too. + </p> + <p> + “Princess!” he called. Then louder, “Princess!” + </p> + <p> + When the echo of his own voice died, it was as if the ghoul who made the + echoes had taken shape. A beard--red eye-rims--and a hook nose + came out of the dark, and Ismail bared yellow teeth. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he said. “Come, little hakim!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Private preserves? New Notions? + Measure me a quart of honesty, + And I will trade it for a pound weight of my thoughts. + Then you and I shall go and dream together + A brand-new dream of things that never happened, + Nor ever can be. Come, trade with me! +</pre> + <p> + What Yasmini had been doing in the minutes while King stared from the + ledge in the dawn was unguessable. Perhaps she had been praying to her old + gods. At least she had given Ismail strict orders, for he said nothing, + but seized King's hand and led him through the dark as a rat leads a blind + one--swiftly, surely, unhesitating. King had no means whatever of + guessing their direction. They did not pass the two lights again with the + curtain and the steps all glowing red. + </p> + <p> + They came instead to other steps, narrow and steep, that led upward in a + semicircle to a rough hole in a rock wall. At the top there was a little + yellow light, so dim and small that its rays scarcely sufficed to show the + opening. + </p> + <p> + “Go up!” said Ismail, giving King a shove and disappearing at once. One + side-step into blackness and he might have been a mile away. + </p> + <p> + So King went up, stooping to feel each next footing with a cautious hand. + He was beginning to be sleepy, and to suspect that Yasmini had taken him + to view the dawn with just that end in view. Nothing can make tired eyes + so long for sleep as a glimpse of waking day--Sleepy eyes are easiest + to trick. + </p> + <p> + It was not many minutes before he was sure his guess was right. + </p> + <p> + The opening at the head of the stairs led into a tunnel. He followed it + with a hand on either wall and reached another of Khinjan's strange + leather curtains. His face struck the leather unexpectedly, and at that + instant, as if his touch were electric, the curtain sprang aside and his + eyes were dazzled by the light of diamonds. + </p> + <p> + It was Aladdin's Cave, with her acting spirit of the lamp! It needed + effort of self-control to know that the huge, white, cut crystals that + sparkled all about the hewn cell could not be diamonds. They were as big + as his head, and bigger--at least a hundred of them, and they + multiplied the light of half a dozen little oil lamps until the cave + seemed the home of light. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini had not a jewel on her. She was in a new mood and new garments to + suit it. Her feet were still bare, but she was robed from head to heel in + pure white linen, on which her long hair shone as if it were truly strands + of gold. She received him with an air of mystic calm, gracious and + dignified as the high-priestess of a Grecian temple. She seemed devout--to + have forgotten that she ever killed a man, or made a threat or plotted for + a kingdom. + </p> + <p> + “Be still,” she said, raising a finger. “The old gods talk to us in here. + It is not for us to answer them in words, but in deeds. Let us listen and + do!” + </p> + <p> + There were two cushions--great billowy modern ones, covered in gold + brocade--on the floor in the midst of the cave. Between them was a + stand of ivory, some two feet high, whose top was a disk, cut from the + largest tusk that ever could have been. On the disk resting in a little + hollow in the ivory, was a pure, perfect crystal sphere of a foot + diameter. He could see his reflection in it, and Yasmini's, too, the + moment he entered the cave, and whichever way they moved both images + remained undistorted. He suspected that the lighting and the crystal + reflectors had not been arranged at random. + </p> + <p> + In each corner of the four-square cave there was a brazier of bronze, and + from each rose incense smoke, straight upward. The four streams of smoke + met at the ceiling and converged into a cloud that hung almost motionless. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini stepped very reverently to a cushion by the crystal in the middle, + and signed to King to imitate her. They stood facing. She seemed to pray, + for her eyes were hidden under the long lashes. Then she knelt, and King + did the same, his knees sinking deep into another cushion. So they knelt + eye to eye above the crystal for many minutes without either saying a + word. It was Yasmini who spoke first. + </p> + <p> + “The old gods have showed me the past many and many a time in this,” she + said. “It is, their way of speaking to me. Now, to-day, I have prayed to + them to show me the future. Look! Look, Athelstan! Do as I do--so!” + </p> + <p> + There seemed nothing to be gained by disobeying her. To obey her might be + to win new insight into the ramifications of her plans. Men who have + experience of the East are the last to deny that there is method in + Eastern magic; they glimpse the knowledge that belonged to Pharaoh's men, + although unlike Moses they are not always able to confound it. The East + forgets nothing. The West ignores. But there are men from the West who are + willing to look and to listen and to try to understand; like King, they go + high in the Service. There are others who look on at the magic with an + understanding eye and are caught by it. Their end is not good to + contemplate. The East is fettered in her own mesmeric spell and must + suffer until she wakes. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini held the upright column of the ivory stand with both hands, close + under the disk at the top. He copied her, placing his hands below hers. + Hers slipped down and covered his, soft and warm; and so they stayed. + </p> + <p> + “Look!” she said. “Look!” + </p> + <p> + Her own eyes were grown big and round, and she gazed at the crystal ball + as she had looked into King's eyes that night, with the very hunger of her + soul. Her lips were parted. Watching her, King grew expectant, too. His + eyes followed hers, to stare into the middle of the crystal, no longer + feeling sleepy, and in less than a minute he could not have withdrawn them + had he tried. + </p> + <p> + The crystal clouded over. Yasmini's breath came steadily, with a little + hissing sound between her teeth, and the crystal, or else the whole world, + seemed to sway in time to it. Then the man in Roman armor strode out of a + mist, and all was steady again and easy to understand. When the man in + armor opened his lips to speak, one knew what he had said. When he + frowned, one knew why he frowned. When he smiled, one knew that she was + coming. + </p> + <p> + And she did come, dancing out of the mist behind him, to fling soft arms + round his neck and whisper praises in his ear. He stood like a king who + has come into his own, with an arm round her and his chin held high. She + kissed him on his proud chin, and laughed into his face. + </p> + <p> + There were troubles--difficulties, all in the mist behind, but he + stood and despised them then while she caressed him! + </p> + <p> + Just as spoken words had no part in the vision, yet the whole was + understood, so time did not enter into it. There was no connecting link + between each scene; each dissolved into the other, and all were one. + </p> + <p> + She faded into mist, in a swirl of graceful drapery, and he frowned again. + A long line of men-at-arms stood before him, grim as he and as + discontented. They leaned on spears, at ease, and that seemed to annoy him + most of all. A spokesman stood out from the ranks and addressed him, with + gesticulations and a head so far thrown back that his helmet-plume stood + out like a secretary's pen behind him. He was not a Roman, although there + was something Roman about his attitude and armor. None of the men-at-arms + was a Roman. + </p> + <p> + They demanded to be led home, wherever home was. (It was as plain as if + their spokesman had shouted it into King's ear aloud.) And he refused them + bluntly, proudly. + </p> + <p> + Two men brought him a native woman, each holding an arm and thrusting her + forward between them. She was not at all unlike a native woman of to-day, + either in dress or sullenness; she had the beak and the keen eyes and the + cruel lips of the “Hills.” They showed her to him, and it was quite clear + that they compared her to their own women, left behind; the comparison was + plainly to her disadvantage. + </p> + <p> + He wasted no argument on them, but his scorn made the two men fade away, + and the woman with them. Yet he had no scorn for his lined-up fighting + men, and so could act none. He ordered the spokesman back to the ranks, + and the man obeyed. He gave another order, and the long lines stood at + attention, spears straight up and down, and their round sheilds like great + medallions on a wall. He ordered them away, but they stood still. + </p> + <p> + Then he did a truly Roman thing. He got his harness off--unbuckled + and took off the great bronze corselet, in which he lay dead in another + cave. He threw it down--tore open the white shirt underneath--and + held his arms out. He bade them come and kill him. He bade them drive + their spears into his unprotected breast. + </p> + <p> + There was not a movement down the line of men. They stood as a cliff looks + at the tide. He dared them. He called them cowards--women--weaklings + afraid of blood. But they stood still. He strode up and down the line, + seeking a man with heart enough to plunge a spear into him, and no man + moved. + </p> + <p> + Then he stood still before them all again and wept, because they loved him + and he loved them. And then she came, not dancing this time, but + barefooted and walking like a poem of the early days of Greece. She picked + up his corselet and buckled it on him, making him hold up his arms and + kneel while she slipped it over his head. And the grim men-at-arms hove + their long spears up into the air and roared her an ovation, bringing down + their right feet with a thunder all together. + </p> + <p> + “Ave!” + </p> + <p> + But the mist closed up and then the crystal was clear again. It was + Yasmini's voice that spoke, King looked up into her eyes, and they made + him shudder, for he had never seen eyes like them. Her hands still clasped + his own, burning hot. She was more terrible than Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + “I never saw that before,” she said. “It is because you are here! We shall + see it all now! We shall know it all! We shall know whether it was she who + killed him, or whether his own men took him at his word. We shall know! + Look again! Look again!” + </p> + <p> + His eyes seemed unable to obey his own will any longer. They obeyed her + voice. He gazed again into the crystal, and it clouded over. But although + he obeyed her, the crystal obeyed him and answered at least in part the + questions his imagination asked. He was not conscious of asking anything, + but being a soldier his curiosity followed a more or less definite line. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini's breath began to come and go again with the little hissing sound. + Her hot hands pressed his own. The mist suddenly dissolved. There was a + road--a long white road, across a plain, and the men-at-arms fought + their way along it. They were facing east. + </p> + <p> + Archers opposed them--archers on foot, and cavalry--Parthians. + The Parthians were wild, but the drill of the men-at-arms was a thing to + marvel at. When the flights of arrows came they knelt behind their + shields. When the horsemen charged they closed in solid phalanx, and the + inner ranks hurled javelins at ten-yard range. When the fury of the + onslaught died they formed in column and went forward, gaining furlongs at + a time while their enemy watched them and wondered. + </p> + <p> + It was plain that the enemy expected them to retreat sooner or later, for + the archers and cavalry were at great pains to get behind them, so that + before long the road ahead was less well defended than that behind. It did + not seem to occur to the enemy that they were pressing toward the distant + line of hills and did not seek to return at all. + </p> + <p> + They had no baggage to impede them. It was absurd to suppose they would + not try to fight a way back soon. They must be a Roman raiding party, out + to teach Parthians a lesson. Yet they pressed ever forward, and the hills + grew ever nearer; while he sat a great brown charger calmly in their midst + and gave them not too many orders, but here and there a word of praise, + and once or twice a trumpet shout of encouragement. He seemed to own the + knack of being wherever the fight was fiercest. His mere presence seemed + better than a hundred men when the phalanx bent before charging cavalry. + </p> + <p> + She rode a little white horse, beside him always and utterly scornful of + the risk. She wore no armor--carried no shield. Her bare feet showed + through the sandal straps, and the outlines of her lissom body were quite + visible through the muslin stuff she wore. She might have just come from + the dancing. She had a flower in her hand, and a wreath of flowers in her + hair. She shouted more encouragement than he. She shouted too much. Once + he laid a strong brown hand across her mouth, and she held it there and + kissed it. + </p> + <p> + They lost men--five or six or ten or twenty at each onslaught. + Perhaps they had been a thousand strong in the beginning. Their own men--the + regimental surgeons probably--cut the throats of the badly wounded, + to save them from the enemy's attentions; and by this time they were not + more than seven or eight hundred strong. + </p> + <p> + But they went forward--ever forward--and the line of hills drew + near. Then he began to stir himself, and she with him. He shouted to them + to charge, and she echoed him, leaving his side at last to take command of + a wing and sting the tired-out men-at-arms into new enthusiasm. In a + minute they were a roaring tide that swept forward to the foot of the + hills and surged upward without a check. In a little while they were + hurling boulders down on an enemy that seemed inclined to parley. + </p> + <p> + Then, like a shadow of the incense cloud above, the mist closed up in the + crystal again, and in a moment more King and Yasmini were looking into + each other's eyes again above it. + </p> + <p> + “I have seen that before,” she said, shaking her, head. “I am weary of + their battles. They won; that is enough! I must know how they failed, so + that we make no such mistakes!” + </p> + <p> + Her face was flushed, and her eyes glowed with the fire that is not lit by + ordinary passion. She was being eaten by ambition--burned by her own + fire--by ambition not totally selfish, for she yearned to shepherd + King as she seemed to think this woman of the vision had not shepherded + the man in armor. + </p> + <p> + “Look again!” she said. “Look again! And oh, ye old gods, show--show + me wherein she failed!” + </p> + <p> + They stared again, and once more the crystal clouded. Out of the cloud + came a city in the middle of a plain, and the city was besieged. It was + not a very great city, but from the outside it looked rich, for domes and + roofs and towers showed above the wall, all well built and well preserved. + He and she, sitting their horses out of arrow range from the main gate + seemed confident of taking it and eager to get it over with. + </p> + <p> + They no longer had only six or seven hundred men, but men by the thousand. + Their veterans in Roman armor were in command of others now, and they had + a human pack-train with them, heavily burdened captives who sulked in + chains under a guard. + </p> + <p> + The mist cleared further, and the gate gave in under the blows of an + improvised battering-ram, covered by showers of arrows from short range. + Then, like a river breaking down a dam, the thousands stormed in, howling. + Smoke rose. There were screams of women. A great tower near the gate, that + was half wood, half stone, crackled and curled up in yellow and crimson + flame. He and she rode in together as modern men and women ride through a + gate to the covert side at a fox-hunt. They chatted and laughed together, + and their horses pranced, responding to the humor of their riders. + </p> + <p> + King would have liked to tear his eyes away from the scenes that followed + in the tree-lined streets, but the crystal ball held him as if in a trance--that + and Yasmini's hands that clasped his own like hot torture chamber clamps. + Animals fighting to the death are not so vile, nor so inhuman as men can + be in the hour of what they call victory. Even the little children of that + city paid the penalty for having closed the gate. + </p> + <p> + Time was no measure to the crystal ball. In minutes it showed the devil's + work of hours. The city went up in smoke and flame, and from the far side + through a great breach in the wall the conquerors went out, with their + plunder and such prisoners as had been saved to drag and carry it. + </p> + <p> + Now there were wagons and camels and horses. Now there were tents and + furniture. Now each man of the fighting force had as much as he himself + could carry, as well as what was loaded on the prisoners. + </p> + <p> + Only he and she seemed to care nothing for the loot and rode as if each + was all the other needed. Still he wore nothing but his armor, and she no + more than her dancing dress and sandals. But now she had eight prisoners + to hold a panoply above her horse and keep the sun from her. + </p> + <p> + She had flowers woven in her hair, and others in her hand, as if she rode + from a bridal feast and were not in mourning for a plundered, butchered + city. They were headed northward now, toward distant mountains, and the + dust of their long column went up like a river of smoke, flowing from the + holocaust behind. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini shook her head impatiently. The crystal clouded over, and King's + eyes were free. + </p> + <p> + “I am tired of it,” she said. “I have seen that so many times. I know they + won. I know they found their way to Khinjan. I know they began to build an + empire here. I have seen all that a hundred times. What I must know is + what mistake they made. What did they do wrong? How did they come to fail? + Look again! Let us look again!” + </p> + <p> + She never once let King's hands go, but pressed them tighter and tighter + until the circulation nearly stopped and they grew numb. Her own strength + seemed endless--to grow rather than to wane in proportion as her + yearning to look into the past grew. Her attitude would have been more + understandable if she had believed herself and King to be reincarnations + of those forgotten conquerors; but she was too original for that. She had + said the old gods wished, and the man and the woman were; the old gods + wished the same wish again, and she and King were. Why then, if the old + gods were contriving it all, should she seek to steady the ark for them? + But down at bottom there is no logic connected with gods many. She + clutched King's fingers as if to hold him there, and to make him see and + understand the distant past, were the only way to save him from mistakes. + </p> + <p> + “Look!” she insisted. “Look again!” And he obeyed her. By this time + obedience was much the easiest course. Between times his eyes were so + weary he could hardly hold them open, and it was only when he gazed into + the crystal that he could rest them and feel easy. He knew well that she + was winning control over him in some sort, and he fought against it + grimly. Soon he became weirdly conscious of being two men--one, whom + she had grasped and overcome, a physical man who did not matter much, and + another, mental man who was free from her, who could understand her, whom + she could not reach or touch. + </p> + <p> + “Look!” she insisted. “Look!” And the crystal clouded over. + </p> + <p> + He strode out of the mist again, frowning, with his chin hung low and + fists clenched tight at his sides. Four of his own men came out of the + mist to him and greeted him respectfully, yet not without a touch of + irony. + </p> + <p> + They spoke to him and pointed westward. One laid a hand on his shoulder, + but he shook it off and the man reeled back as if he had been struck. + Another man took up the argument, but he shook his head. They all spoke + together, gesticulating and growing angry; but he stood calm among them, + as a rock stands in a storm. He folded his arms across his breast after a + while and listened, saying nothing. + </p> + <p> + Then as if to end the argument for good and all, he drew his sword and + held it out toward them, hilt first, telling them again to kill him and + have done with it. They refused. He laughed at them, but they still + refused; so he put his sword back in the sheath. + </p> + <p> + One of the men stepped into the mist and disappeared. Presently he came + again, with two others, helping a wounded man along between them. Whoever + the wounded man might be he was treated with respect. Prouder than + Lucifer, he who had struck another man's hand from off his shoulder knelt + to give this wounded man a knee and seemed pained when the man refused + him. + </p> + <p> + The wounded man pointed to the westward too and argued in short + clipped-off sentences. He had a day or two to live--certainly not + longer, for the blood flowed slowly from a wound that would not stanch; + yet he argued as a man who has lost no interest in life, but rather sees + its problems truly now that his own are near an end. + </p> + <p> + He demanded something almost truculently. He took his helmet off and + passed it down to him. With fingers that were growing feeble the wounded + man held it and traced out the letters S. P. Q. R. on the front. + </p> + <p> + “Go home!” he said, passing it back to him. “Fight your way back home!” + What he said was as distinct as if a voice in the cave had spoken it. + </p> + <p> + Then, vision within a vision--dream within a dream--there was a + view of the Via Appia, with gaunt grim gallows set along it in a row and + on them a regiment's commander crucified along with the remnant of his + men. + </p> + <p> + “So Rome treats traitors!” said a voice, that might have been either + man's. + </p> + <p> + But instantly there was another vision, of ten thousand wolves baying down + a Himalayan gorge in winter-time, the sleet frozen stiff on their fur and + their tongues hanging. Eye and fang flashed altogether and made one gleam. + </p> + <p> + “Choose!” said a voice. + </p> + <p> + So he chose. He nodded. The men saluted him, and the wounded man was + helped away to die. And then she came, angry as a flash of lightning, to + spring at him and cling to him and call him names--begging, + demanding, ordering, crying--abusing him and praising him in turn. He + shook his head. She sobbed, but he shook his head again and pointed + westward. Then she took him by the hand and led him away, not looking at + his face again. + </p> + <p> + The crystal ball grew clouded. Yasmini's breath came and went as if she + were running in a race, and her pressure on King's fingers was actually + painful. The mist dissolved, and King forgot the pressure--forgot + everything. The man in armor lay dead on his back in the cave on the + wooden bed, and she bent over him, dagger in hand. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Yasmini, her teeth chattering. “But what else could she do?” + The mist closed in again and the crystal grew opaque. “The future!” she + begged. “It is the future I must know! Ye old gods, tell me! Show me!” + </p> + <p> + The mist turned red. The crystal ball became as it were a ball of fire + revolving within itself. The fire turned to blood, and the blood to fire + again. The very cavern that they knelt in seemed to sway. Yasmini screamed + and moaned. She loosed King's hands to cover her own eyes. + </p> + <p> + And as she did that King sank, like a sack half-empty and toppled over + sidewise on the floor asleep. + </p> + <p> + He neither dreamed nor was conscious of anything, but slept like a dead + man, having fought against her mesmerism harder than he knew. + </p> + <p> + Statesmen, generals, outlaws, all make their big mistakes and manage to + recover. Very nearly always it is an apparently little mistake that does + most damage in the end, something unnoticeable at the time, that grows in + geometrical proportion, minus instead of plus. + </p> + <p> + Yasmini made her little mistake that minute in believing King was utterly + mesmerized at last and utterly in her power. Whereas in truth he was only + weary. It may be that she gave him orders in his sleep, after the accepted + manner of mesmerists; but if she did, they never reached him; he was far + too fast asleep. He slept so deep and long that he was not conscious of + men's voices, nor of being carried, nor of time, nor of anxiety, nor of + anything. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Wolf met wolf in the dawning day + Where scent hung sweet over trodden clay, + And square each stood in the jungle way + Eyeing the other with ears laid back. + Still were the watchers. When foe greets foe + The wisest are quietest. Better to go-- + Who stays to watch trouble woos trouble! + But lo! + They trotted together to hunt one doe, + Eyeing each other with ears laid back. +</pre> + <p> + When King awoke he lay on a comfortable bed in a cave he had never yet + seen, but there was no trace of Yasmini, nor of the men who must have + carried him to it. Barbaric splendor and splendor that was not by any + means barbaric lay all about--tiger skins, ivory-legged chairs, + graven bronze vases, and a yak-hair shawl worth a rajah's ransom. + </p> + <p> + The cave was spacious and not gloomy, for there was a wide door, + apparently unguarded, and another square opening cut in the rock to serve + as a window. Through both openings light streamed in like taut threads of + Yasmini's golden hair--strings of a golden zither, on which his own + heart's promptings played a tune. + </p> + <p> + He had no idea how long he had slept, but judged from memory of his former + need of sleep and recogntion of his present freshness--and from the + fact that it was a morning sun that shone through the openings--that + he must have slept the clock round. + </p> + <p> + It did not matter. He knew it did not matter in the least. He had no more + plan than a mathematician has who starts to solve a problem, knowing that + twice two is four in infinite combination. Like the mathematician, he knew + that he must win. + </p> + <p> + No man ever won a battle or conceived a stroke of statesmanship, no great + deed was ever accomplished without a first taste of the triumphant + foreknowledge, such as comes only to men who have digged hard, hewing to + the line, loyal to first principles. King had been loyal all his life. + </p> + <p> + The difference between first principles and the other thing could hardly + be better illustrated than by comparing Yasmini's position with his. From + her point of view he had no ground to stand on, unless he should choose to + come and stand on hers. She had men, ammunition, information. He had what + he stood in, and his only information had been poured into his ears for + her ends. + </p> + <p> + Yet his heart sang inside him now; and he trusted it because that singing + never had deceived him. He did not believe she would have left him alone + at that state of affairs unless through over-confidence. It is one of the + absolute laws that over-confidence begets blindness and mistakes. + </p> + <p> + She had staked on what seemed to her the certainty of India's rising at + the first signal of a holy war. She believed from close acquaintance that + India was utterly disloyal, having made a study of disloyalty. And having + read history she knew that many a conqueror has staked on such cards as + hers, to win for lack of a better man to take the other side. + </p> + <p> + But King had studied loyalty all his life, and he knew that besides being + the home of money-lenders, thugs, and murderers, India is the very + motherland of chivalry; that besides sedition she breeds gentlemen with + stout hearts; that in addition to what one Christian Book calls “whoring + after strange gods” India strives after purity. He knew that India's + ideals are all imperishable, and her crimes but a kaleidoscopic phase. + </p> + <p> + Not that he was analyzing thoughts just then. He was listening to the + still small voice that told him half of his purpose was accomplished. He + had probed Khinjan Caves, and knew the whole purpose for which the lawless + thousands had been gathering and were gathering still. Remained, to thwart + that purpose. And he had no more doubt of there being a means to thwart it + than a mathematician has of the result of two times two, applied. + </p> + <p> + Like a mathematician, he did not waste time and confuse issues by casting + too far ahead, but began to devote himself steadily to the figures + nearest. Knots are not untied by wholesale, but are conquered strand by + strand. He began at the beginning, where he stood. + </p> + <p> + He became conscious of human life near by and tip-toed to the door to + look. A six-foot ledge of smooth rock ended just at the door and sloped in + the other direction sharply downward toward another opening in the cliff + side, three or four hundred yards away and two hundred feet lower down. + </p> + <p> + Behind him in a corner at the back of the cave was a narrow fissure, hung + with a leather curtain, that was doubtless the door into Khinjan's heart; + but the only way to the outer air was along that ledge above a dizzying + precipice, so high that the huge waterfall looked like a little stream + below. He was in a very eagle's aerie; the upper rim of Khinjan's gorge + seemed not more than a quarter of a mile above him. + </p> + <p> + Round the corner, ten feet from the entrance, stood a guard, armed to the + teeth, with a rifle, a sword, two pistols and a long curved Khyber knife + stuck handy in his girdle. He spoke to the man and received no answer. He + picked up a splinter of rock and threw it. The fellow looked at him then. + He spoke again. The man transferred his rifle to the other hand and made + signs with his free fingers. King looked puzzled. The man opened his mouth + and showed that his tongue was missing. He had been made dumb, as pegs are + made to fit square holes. King went in again, to wait on events and + shudder. + </p> + <p> + Nor did he have long to wait. There came a sound of grunting, up the rock + path. Then footsteps. Then a hoarse voice, growling orders. He went out + again to look, and beheld a little procession of women, led by a man. The + man was armed, but the women were burdened with his own belongings--the + medicine chest--his saddle and bridle--his unrifled mule-pack--and, + wonder of wonders! the presents Khinjan's sick had given him, including + money and weapons. They came past the dumb man on guard and laid them all + at King's feet just inside the cave. + </p> + <p> + He smiled, with that genial, face-transforming smile of his that has so + often melted a road for him through sullen crowds. But the man in charge + of the women did not grin. He was suffering. He growled at the women, and + they went away like obedient animals, to sit half-way down the ledge and + await further orders. He himself made as if to follow them, and the dumb + man on guard did not pay much attention; he let women and man pass behind + him, stepping one pace forward toward the edge to make more room. That was + his last entirely voluntary act in this world. + </p> + <p> + With a suddenness that disarmed all opposition the other humped himself + against the wall and bucked into the dumb man's back, sending him, weapons + and all, hurtling over the precipice. With a wild effort to recover, and + avenge himself, and do his duty, the victim fired his rifle, that was + ready cocked. The bullet struck the rock above and either split or shook a + great fragment loose, that hurtled down after him, so that he and the + stone made a race of it for the waterfall and the caverns into which the + water tumbled thousands of feet away. The other ruffian spat after him, + and then walked back to where King stood. + </p> + <p> + “Now heal me my boils!” he said, grinning at last, doubtless from pleasure + at the prospect. He was the same man who had stood on guard at the + “guest-cave” when Ismail led King out to see the Cavern of Earth's Drink. + </p> + <p> + The temptation was to fling the brute after his victim. The temptation + always is to do the wrong thing--to cap wrath with wrath, injustice + with vengeance. That way wars begin and are never ended. King beckoned him + into the cave, and bent over the chest of medical supplies. Then, finding + the light better for his purpose at the entrance, he called the man back + and made him sit down on the box. + </p> + <p> + The business of lancing boils is not especially edifying in itself; but + that particular minor operation probably saved India. But for hope of it + the man with boils would never have stood two turns on guard hand running + and let the relief sleep on; so he would not have been on duty when the + message came to carry King's belongings to his new cave of residence. + There would have been no object in killing the dumb man and so there would + have been an expert with a loaded rifle to keep Muhammad Anim lurking down + the trail. + </p> + <p> + Muhammad Anim came--like the devil to scotch King's faith. He had + followed the women with the loads. He stood now, like a big bear on a + mountain track, swaying his head from side to side six feet away from + King, watching the boils succumb to treatment. He grunted when the job was + finished, and King jumped, nearly driving the lance into a new place in + his patient's neck. + </p> + <p> + “Let him go!” growled Muhammad Anim. “Go thou! Stand guard over the women + until I come!” + </p> + <p> + The mullah turned a rifle this way and that in his paws, like a great bear + dancing. The Mahsudi with a sore neck could have shot him perhaps, but + there are men with whom only the bravest dare try conclusions. In cold + gray dawn it would have needed a martinet to make a firing squad do + execution on Muhammad Anim, even with his hands tied and his back against + a wall. A man whose boils had just been lanced was no match for him at + all, even in broad daylight. The Hillman slunk away and did as he was + told. + </p> + <p> + “What meant thy message?” growled the mullah. “There came a Pathan to me + in the Cavern of Earth's Drink with word that yonder sits a hakim. What of + it?” + </p> + <p> + King had almost forgotten the message he had sent to Muhammad Anim in the + Cavern of Earth's Drink. But that was not why his eyes looked past the + mullah's now, nor why he did not answer. The mullah did not look round, + for he knew what was happening. + </p> + <p> + The very Orakzai Pathan who had sat next King in the Cavern of Earth's + Drink, and who had carried the message for him, was creeping up behind the + women and already had his rifle leveled at the man with boils. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said the mullah, watching King's eyes. “He has done well, and the + road is clear!” + </p> + <p> + The man with boils offered no fight. He dropped his rifle and threw his + hands up. In a moment the Orakzai Pathan was in command of two rifles, + holding them in one hand and nodding and making signs to King from among + the women, whom he seemed to regard as his plunder too. The women appeared + supremely indifferent in any event. King nodded back to him. A friend is a + friend in the “Hills,” and rare is the man who spares his enemy. + </p> + <p> + “Why send that message to me?” asked Muhammad Anim. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” asked King. “If none know where the hakim is, how shall the + hakim earn a living?” + </p> + <p> + “None comes to earn a living in the Hills,” growled the mullah, swaying + his head slowly and devouring King with cruel calculating eyes. “Why art + thou here?” + </p> + <p> + “I slew a man,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Thou liest! It was my men who got the head that let thee in! Speak! Why + art thou here?” + </p> + <p> + But King did not answer. The mullah resumed. + </p> + <p> + “He who brought me the message yesterday says he has it from another, who + had it from a third, that thou art here because she plans a simultaneous + rising in India, and thou art from the Punjab where the Sikhs all wait to + rise. Is that true?” + </p> + <p> + “Thy man said it,” answered King. + </p> + <p> + “What sayest thou?” the mullah asked. + </p> + <p> + “I say nothing,” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Then hear me!” said the mullah. “Listen, thou.” But he did not begin to + speak yet. He tried to see past King into the cave and to peer about into + the shadows. + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” he asked. “Her man Rewa Gunga went yesterday, with three + men and a letter to carry, down the Khyber. But where is she?” + </p> + <p> + So he had slept the clock round! King did not answer. He blocked the way + into the cave and looked past the mullah at a sight that fascinated, as a + serpent's eyes are said to fascinate a bird. But the mullah, who knew + perfectly well what must be happening, did not trouble to turn his head. + </p> + <p> + The Orakzai Pathan crouched among the women, and the women grinned. The + Mahsudi, having surrendered and considering himself therefore absolved + from further responsibility at least for the present, spat over the + precipice and fingered gingerly the sore place where his boils had been. + He yawned and dropped both hands to his side; and it was at that instant + that the Pathan sprang at him. + </p> + <p> + With arms like the jaws of a vise he pinned the Mahsudi's to his side, and + lifted him from off his feet. The fellow screamed, and the Pathan shouted + “Ho!” But he did no murder yet. He let his victim grow fully conscious of + the fate in store for him, holding him so that his frantic kicks were + squandered on thin air. He turned him slowly, until he was upside-down; + and so, perpendicular, face-outward, he hove him forward like a dead log. + He stood and watched his victim fall two or three thousand feet before + troubling to turn and resume both rifles; and it was not until then, as if + he had been mentally conscious of each move, that the mullah turned to + look, and seeing only one man nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” he grunted. “'Shabash!”' (Well done!) + </p> + <p> + Then he turned his head to stare into King's face, with the scrutiny of a + trader appraising loot. Fire leaped up behind his calculating eyes. And + without a word passing between them, King knew that this man as well as + Yasmini was in possession of the secret of the Sleeper. Perhaps he knew it + first; perhaps she snatched the keeping of the secret from him. At all + events he knew it and recognized King's likeness to the Sleeper, for his + eyes betrayed him. He began to stroke his beard monotonously with one + hand. The rifle, that he pretended to be holding, really leaned against + his back and with the free hand he was making signals. + </p> + <p> + King knew well he was making signals. But he knew too that in Yasmini's + power, her prisoner, he had no chance at all of interfering with her + plans. Having grounded on the bottom of impotence, so to speak, any tide + that would take him off must be a good tide. He pretended to be aware of + nothing, and to be particularly unaware that the Pathan, with a rifle in + each hand, was pretending to come casually up the path. + </p> + <p> + In a minute he was covered by a rifle. In another minute the mullah had + lashed his hands. In five minutes more the women were loaded again with + his belongings and they were all half-way down the track in single file, + the mullah bringing up the rear, descending backward with rifle ready + against surprise, as if he expected Yasmini and her men to pounce out any + minute to the rescue. + </p> + <p> + They entered a tunnel and wound along it, stepping at short intervals over + the bodies of three stabbed sentries. The Pathan spurned them with his + heel as he passed. In the glare at the tunnel's mouth King tripped over + the body of a fourth man and fell with his chin beyond the edge of a sheer + precipice. + </p> + <p> + They were on a ledge above the waterfall again, having come through a + projection on the cliff's side, for Khinjan is all rat-runs and + projections, like a sponge or a hornet's nest on a titanic scale. + </p> + <p> + The Pathan laughed and came back to gather him like a sheaf of corn. The + great smelly ruffian hugged him to himself as he set him on his feet. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Thou hakim!” he grinned. “There is no pain in my shoulder at all! Ask + of me another favor when the time comes! Hey, but I am sick of Khinjan!” + </p> + <p> + He gave King a shove along the path in the general direction of the + mullah. Then he seized the dead body by the legs, and hurled it like a + sling shot, watching it with a grin as it fell in a wide parabola. After + that he took the dead man's rifle, and those of the three other dead men, + that he had hidden in a crevice in the rock, and loaded them all on a + woman in addition to King's saddle that she carried already. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he said. “Hurry, or Bull-with-a-beard yonder will remember us + again. I love him best when he forgets!” + </p> + <p> + They soon reached another cave, at which the mullah stopped. It was a dark + ill-smelling hole, but he ordered King into it and the Pathan after him on + guard, after first seeing the women pile all their loads inside. Then he + took the women away and went off muttering to himself, swaggering, + swinging his right arm as he strode, in a way few natives do. + </p> + <p> + “Let us hope he has forgotten these!” the Pathan grinned, touching the + pile of rifles. “Weight for weight in silver they will bring me a fine + price! He may forget. He dreams. For a mullah he cares less for meat and + money than any I ever saw. He is mad, I think. It is my opinion Allah + touched him!” + </p> + <p> + “What is that, under thy shirt?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + The Pathan grinned, and undid the button. There was a second shirt + underneath, and to that on the left breast were pinned two British medals. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes!” he laughed. “I served the raj! I was in the army eleven years.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did you leave it?” King asked, remembering that this man loved to + hear his own voice. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I had furlough, and the bastard who stood next me in the ranks was + the son of a dog with whom my father had a blood-feud. The blind fool did + not know me. He received his furlough on the same day as I. I would not + lay finger on him that side of the border, for we ate the same salt. I + knifed him this side the border. It was no affair of the British. But I + was seen, and I fled. And having slain a man, and having no doubt a report + had gone back to the regiment, I entered this place. Except for a raid now + and then to cool my blood I have been here ever since. It is a devil of a + place.” + </p> + <p> + Now the art of ruling India consists not in treading barefooted on + scorpions--not in virtuous indignation at men who know no better--but + in seeking for and making much of the gold that lies ever amid the dross. + There is gold in the character of any man who once passed the grilling + tests before enlistment in a British-Indian regiment. It may need + experience to lay a finger on it, but it is surely there. + </p> + <p> + “I heard,” said King, “as I came toward the Khyber in great haste (for the + police were at my heels)--” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, the police!” the Pathan grinned pleasantly. + </p> + <p> + The inference was that at some time or other he had left his mark on the + police. + </p> + <p> + “I heard,” said King, “that men are flocking back to their old regiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, but not men with a price on their heads, little hakim!” + </p> + <p> + “I could not say,” said King. To seem to know too much is as bad as to + drink too much. “But I heard say that the sirkar has offered pardons to + all deserters who return.” + </p> + <p> + “Hah! The sirkar must be afraid. The sirkar needs men!” + </p> + <p> + “For myself,” said King, “a whole skin in the 'Hills' seems better than + one full of bullet holes in India.” + </p> + <p> + “Hah! But thou art a hakim, not a soldier!” + </p> + <p> + “True!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me that again! Free pardons? Free pardons for all deserters?” + </p> + <p> + “So I heard.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! But I was seen to slay a man of my own regiment.” + </p> + <p> + “On this side the border or that?” asked King artfully. + </p> + <p> + “On this side.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, but you were seen.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay! But that is no man's business. In India I earned in my salt. I obeyed + the law. There is no law here in the 'Hills.' I am minded to go back and + seek that pardon! It would feel good to stand in the rank again, with a + stiff-backed sahib out in front of me, and the thunder of the gun-wheels + going by. The salt was good! Come thou with me!” + </p> + <p> + “The pardon is for deserters,” King objected, “not for political + offenders.” + </p> + <p> + “Haugh!” said the Pathan, bringing down his flat hand hard on the hakim's + thigh. “I will attend to that for thee. I will obtain my pardon first. + Then will I lead thee by the hand to the karnal sahib and lie to him and + say, 'This is the one who persuaded me against my will to come back to the + regiment!”' + </p> + <p> + “And he will believe? Nay, I would be afraid!” said King. + </p> + <p> + “Would a pardon not be good?” the Pathan asked him. “A pardon and leave to + swagger through the bazaars again and make trouble with the daughters and + wives of fat traders--a pardon--Allah! It would be good to + salute the karnal sahib again and see him raise a finger, thus; and to + have the captain sahib call me a scoundrel--or some worse name if he + loves me very much, for the English are a strange race--” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a dreamer!” said King. “Untie my hands; the thong cuts me.” The + Pathan obeyed. + </p> + <p> + “Dreamer, am I? It is good to dream such dreams. By Allah, I've a mind to + see that dream come true! I never slew a man on Indian soil, only in these + 'Hills.' I will go to them and say 'Here I am! I am a deserter. I seek + that pardon!' 'Truly I will go! Come thou with me, little hakim!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” said King, “I have another thought.” + </p> + <p> + “What then?” + </p> + <p> + “You, who were seen to slay a man a yard this side of the border--” + </p> + <p> + “Nay; half a mile this side!” + </p> + <p> + “Half a mile, then. You who were seen to slay a fellow soldier of your + regiment, and I who am a political offender, do not win pardons so easily + as that.” + </p> + <p> + “Would they hang us?” + </p> + <p> + That was the first squeamishness the Pathan had shown of any kind, but men + of his race would rather be tortured to death than hanged in a merciful + hempen noose. + </p> + <p> + “They would hang us,” said King, “unless we came bearing gifts.” + </p> + <p> + “Gifts? Has Allah touched thee? What gifts should we bring? A dozen stolen + rifles? A bag of silver? And I am the dreamer, am I?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” said King. “I am the dreamer. I have seen a good vision.” + </p> + <p> + “Well?” + </p> + <p> + “There are others in these Hills--others in Khinjan who wear British + medals?” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan nodded. + </p> + <p> + “How many?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Hundreds. Men fight first on one side, then on the other, being true to + either side while the contract lasts. In all there must be the makings of + many regiments among the 'Hills.'” + </p> + <p> + King nodded. He himself had seen the chieftains come to parley after the + Tirah war. Most of them had worn British medals and had worn them proudly. + </p> + <p> + “If we two,” he said, speaking slowly, “could speak with some of those men + and stir the spirit in them and persuade them to feel as thou dost, + mentioning the pardon for deserters and the probability of bonuses to the + time-expired for reenlistment; if we could march down the Khyber with a + hundred such, or even with fifty or with twenty-five or with a dozen men--we + would receive our pardon for the sake of service rendered.” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan thumped him on the back so hard that his eyes watered. + </p> + <p> + “We would have to use much caution,” King advised him, when he was able to + speak again. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! If Bull-with-a-beard got wind of it he would have us crucified. And + if she heard of it--” + </p> + <p> + He was silent. Apparently there were no words in his tongue that could + compass his dread of her revenge. He was silent for ten minutes, and King + sat still beside him, letting memory of other days do its work--memory + of the long, clean regimental lines, and of order and decency and of + justice handed out to all and sundry by gentlemen who did not think + themselves too good to wear a native regiment's uniform. + </p> + <p> + “In two days I could do the drill again as well as ever,” he said at last. + Then there was silence again for fifteen minutes more. “I could always + shoot,” he murmured; “I could always shoot.” + </p> + <p> + When Muhammad Anim came back they had both forgotten to replace the + lashing on King's wrists, but the mullah seemed not to notice it. + </p> + <p> + “Come!” he ordered, with a sidewise jerk of his great ugly head, and then + stood muttering impatiently while they obeyed. + </p> + <p> + He had twice the number of women with him, but none of them the same; and + he had brought five ruffians to guard them, who pounced on the captured + rifles and claimed one apiece, to the Pathan's loud-growled disgust. Then + the women were made to gather up King's belongings, and at a word from the + mullah they started in single file--the mullah leading, then two men, + then King, then the Orakzai Pathan, and then the other three. The Pathan + began to whisper busily to the man next behind and noticing that King + looked straight forward and contented himself; his heart was singing + within him unexplainedly; he wanted to sing and dance, as once David did + before the ark. He did not feel in the least like a prisoner. + </p> + <p> + They marched downward through interminable tunnels and along ledges poised + between earth and heaven, until they came at last to the tunnel leading to + the one entrance into Khinjan Caves. Just before they entered it two more + of the mullah's men came up with them, leading horses. One horse was for + the mullah, and they helped King mount the other, showing him more respect + than is usually shown a prisoner in the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + Then the mullah led the way into the tunnel, and he seemed in deadly fear. + The echo of the hoof-beats irritated him. He eyed each hole in the roof as + if Yasmini might be expected to shoot down at him or drench him with + boiling oil and hurried past each of them at a trot, only to draw rein + immediately afterward because the noise was too great. + </p> + <p> + It became evident that his men had been at work here too, for at intervals + along the passage lay dead bodies. Yasmini must have posted the men there, + but where was she? Each of them lay dead with a knife wound in his back, + and the mullah's men possessed themselves of rifles and knives and + cartridges, wiping off blood that had scarcely cooled yet. + </p> + <p> + When they came to the end of the tunnel it was to find the door into the + mosque open in front of them, and twenty more of Muhammad Anim's men + standing guard over the eyelashless mullah. They had bound and gagged him. + At a word from Muhammad Anim they loosed him; and at a threat the hairless + one gave a signal that brought the great stone door sliding forward on its + oiled bronze grooves. + </p> + <p> + Then, with a dozen jests thrown to the hairless one for consolation, and + an utter indifference to the sacredness of the mosque floor, they sought + outer air, and Muhammad Anim led them up the Street of the Dwellings + toward Khinjan's outer ramparts. They reached the outer gate without + incident and hurried into the great dry valley beyond it. As they rode + across the valley the mullah thumbed a long string of beads. Unlike + Yasmini, he was praying to one god; but he seemed to have many prayers. + His back was a picture of determined treachery--the backs of his men + were expressions of the creed that “He shall keep who can!” King rode all + but last now and had a good view of their unconsciously vaunted + blackguardism. There was not a hint of honor or tenderness among the lot, + man, woman or mullah. Yet his heart sang within him as if he were riding + to his own marriage feast! + </p> + <p> + Last of all, close behind him, marched his friend, the Orakzai Pathan, and + as they picked their way among the boulders across the mile-wide moat the + two contrived to fall a little to the rear. The Pathan began speaking in a + whisper and King, riding with lowered head as if he were studying the + dangerous track, listened with both ears. + </p> + <p> + “She sent her man Rewa Gunga toward the Khyber with a message,” he + whispered. “He took a few men with him, and he is to send them with the + message when they reach the Khyber, but he is to come back. All he went + for is to make sure the message is not intercepted, for Bull-with-a-beard + is growing reckless these days. He knew what was doing and said at once + that she is treating with the British, but there were few who believed + that. There are more who wonder where she hides while the message is on + its way. None has seen her. Men have swarmed into the Cavern of Earth's + Drink and howled for her, but she 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 was all gone. And there was no proof of who had taken it! + </p> + <p> + “Hakim, there be some who say--and Bull-with-a-beard is one of them--that + she is afraid and hides. Men say she fears vengeance for the stolen + ammunition, because it was plenty for a conquest of India. So men say. So + say these here, for I have asked them.” + </p> + <p> + “And thou?” asked King, struggling to keep the note of exultation from his + voice. He did not believe she was hiding. She might be staring into a + crystal in some secret cave--she might be planning new mischief of + any kind. But afraid she was surely not. And just as surely he could vow + she was working out her own undoing. + </p> + <p> + “I?” said the Pathan. “I swear she is afraid of nothing. If she has taken + all the ammunition, then we shall hear from it again and from her too!” + </p> + <p> + “And what of me?” asked King. “What will the mullah do with me?” + </p> + <p> + “His men say he is desperate. His own are losing faith in him. He snatched + thee to be a bait for her, having it in mind that a man whom she hides in + her private part of Khinjan must be of great value to her. He has sworn to + have thee skinned alive on a hot rock should she fail to come to terms!” + </p> + <p> + That being not such a comforting reflection, King rode in silence for a + while, with the Pathan trudging solemnly beside his stirrup keeping + semblance of guard over him. When they reached the steep escarpment he had + to dismount, although the mullah in the lead tried to make his own beast + carry him up the lower spur and was mad--angry with his men for + laughing when the horse fell back with him. + </p> + <p> + Far in the rear King and the Pathan shoved and hauled and nearly lost + their horse a dozen times at that. But once at the top the mullah set a + furious pace and the laden women panted in their efforts to keep up, the + men taking less notice of them than if they had been animals. + </p> + <p> + The march went on in single file until the sun died down in splendid fury. + Then there began to be a wind that they had to lean against, but the women + were allowed no rest. + </p> + <p> + At last at a place where the trail began to widen, the mullah beckoned + King to ride beside him. It was not that he wished to be communicative, + but there were things King knew that he did not know, and he had his own + way of asking questions. + </p> + <p> + “Damned hakim!” he growled. “Pill-man! Poulticer! That is a sweeper's + trade of thine! Thou shalt apply it at my camp! I have some wounded and + some sick.” + </p> + <p> + King did not answer, but buttoned his coat closer against the keen wind. + The mullah mistook the shudder for one of another kind. + </p> + <p> + “Did she choose thee only for thy face?” he asked. “Did she not consider + thy courage? Does she love thee well enough to ransom thee?” + </p> + <p> + Again King did not answer, but he watched the mullah's face keenly in the + dark and missed nothing of its expression. He decided the man was in doubt---even + racked by indecision. + </p> + <p> + “Should she not ransom thee, hakim, thou shall have a chance to show my + men how a man out of India can die! By and by I will lend thee a messenger + to send to her. Better make the message clear and urgent! Thou shalt state + my terms to her and plead thine own cause in the same letter. My camp lies + yonder.” + </p> + <p> + He motioned with one sweep of his arm toward a valley that lay in shadow + far below them. As far as the slope leading down to it was visible in the + moonlight it was littered with what the “Hills” call “hell-stones,” that + will neither lie flat nor keep on rolling, and are dangerous to man and + beast alike. Nothing else could be made out through the darkness but a few + twisted tamarisk trees, that served to make the savagery yet more savage + and the loneliness more desolate. The gloom below the trees was that of + the very underdepths of hell itself. + </p> + <p> + The mullah pointed to a rock that rose like a shadow from the deeper + blackness. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said King, “I have seen.” And the mullah stared at him. Then he + shouted, and the top of the rock turned into a man, who gave them leave to + advance, leaning on his rifle as one who had assured himself of their + identity long minutes ago. + </p> + <p> + As they approached it the rock clove in two and became two great pillars, + with a man on each. And between the pillars they looked down into a valley + lit by fires that burned before a thousand hide tents, with shadows by the + hundred flitting back and forth between them. A dull roar, like the voice + of an army, rose out of the gorge. + </p> + <p> + “More than four thousand men!” said the mullah proudly. + </p> + <p> + “What are four thousand for a raid into India?” sneered King, greatly + daring. + </p> + <p> + “Wait and see!” growled the mullah; but he seemed depressed. + </p> + <p> + He led the way downward, getting off his horse and giving the reins to a + man. King copied him, and part-way sliding, part stumbling down they found + their way along the dry bed of a water-course between two spurs of a + hillside, until they stood at last in the midst of a cluster of a dozen + sentries, close 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. + </p> + <p> + Without a word to the sentries the mullah led on down a lane through the + midst of the camp, toward a great open cave at the far side, in which a + bonfire cast fitful light and shadow. Watchers sitting by the thousand + tents yawned at them, but took no particular notice. + </p> + <p> + The mouth of the cave was like a lion's, fringed with teeth. There were + men in it, ten or eleven of them, all armed, squatting round the fire. + </p> + <p> + “Get out!” growled the mullah. But they did not obey. They sat and stared + at him. + </p> + <p> + “Have ye tents?” the mullah asked, in a voice like thunder. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” But they did not go yet. + </p> + <p> + One of the men, he nearest the mullah, got on his feet, but he had to step + back a pace, for the mullah would not give ground and their breath was in + each other's faces. + </p> + <p> + “Where are the bombs? And the rifles? And the many cartridges?” he + demanded. “We have waited long, Muhammad Anim. Where are they now?” + </p> + <p> + The others got up, to lend the first man encouragement. They leaned on + rifles and surrounded the mullah, so that King could only get a glimpse of + him between them. They seemed in no mood to be treated cavalierly--in + no mood to be argued with. And the Mullah did not argue. + </p> + <p> + “Ye dogs!” he growled at them, and he strode through them to the fire and + chose himself a good, thick burning brand. “Ye sons of nameless mothers!” + </p> + <p> + Then he charged them suddenly, beating them over head and face and + shoulders, driving them in front of him, utterly reckless of their rifles. + His own rifle lay on the ground behind him, and King kicked its stock + clear of the fire. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I shall pray for you this night!” Muhammad Anim snarled. “What a + curse I shall beg for you! Oh, what a burning of the bowels ye shall have! + What a sickness! What running of the eyes! What sores! What boils! What + sleepless nights and faithless women shall be yours! What a prayer I will + pray to Allah!” + </p> + <p> + They scattered into outer gloom before his rage, and then came back to + kneel to him and beg him withdraw his curse. He kicked them as they knelt + and drove them away again. Then, silhouetted in the cave mouth, with the + glow of the fire behind him, he stood with folded arms and dared them + shoot. He lacked little in that minute of being a full-grown brute at bay. + King admired him, with reservations. + </p> + <p> + After five minutes of angry contemplation of the camp he turned on a + contemptuous heel and came back to the fire, throwing on more fuel from a + great pile in a corner. There was an iron pot in the embers. He seized a + stick and stirred the contents furiously, then set the pot between his + knees and ate like an animal. He passed the pot to King when he had + finished, but fingers had passed too many times through what was left in + it and the very thought of eating the mess made his gorge rise; so King + thanked him and set the pot aside. + </p> + <p> + Then, “That is thy place!” Muhammad Anim growled, pointing over his + shoulder to a ledge of rock, like a shelf in the far wall. There was a bed + upon it, of cotton blankets stuffed with dry grass. King walked over and + felt the blankets and found them warm from the last man who had lain + there. They smelt of him too. He lifted them and laughed. Taking the whole + in both hands he carried it to the fire and threw it in, and the sudden + blaze made the mullah draw away a yard; but it did not make him speak. + </p> + <p> + “Bugs!” King explained, but the mullah showed no interest. He watched, + however, as King went back to the bed, and subsequent proceedings seemed + to fascinate him. + </p> + <p> + Out of the chest that one of the women had set down King took soap. There + was a pitcher of water between him and the fire; he carried it nearer. + With an improvised scrubbing brush of twigs he proceeded to scrub every + inch of the rock-shelf, and when he had done and had dried it more or + less, he stripped and began to scrub himself. + </p> + <p> + “Who taught thee thy squeamishness?” the mullah asked at last, getting up + and coming nearer. It was well that King's skin was dark (although it was + many shades lighter than his face, that had been stained so carefully). + The mullah eyed him from head to foot and looked awfully suspicious, but + something prompted King and he answered without an instant's hesitation. + </p> + <p> + “Why ask a woman's questions?” he retorted. “Only women ask when they know + the answer. When I watched thee with the firebrand a short while ago, oh, + mullah, I mistook thee for a man.” + </p> + <p> + The mullah grunted and began to tug his beard. But King said no more and + went on washing himself. + </p> + <p> + “I forgot,” said the mullah then, “that thou art her pet. She would not + love thee unless thy smell was sweet.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said King quite cheerfully--going it blind, for he did not know + what had possessed him to take that line, but knew he might as well be + hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. “No, if I stank like thee she would not + love me.” + </p> + <p> + The mullah snorted and went back to the fire, but he took King's cake of + soap with him and sat examining it. + </p> + <p> + “Tauba!” he swore suddenly as if he had made a gruesome discovery. “Such + filthy stuff is made from the fat of pigs!” + </p> + <p> + “Doubtless!” said King. “That is why she uses it, and why I use it. She is + a better Muhammadan than thou. She would surely cleanse her skin with the + fat of pigs!” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a shameless one!” said the mullah, shaking his head like a bear. + </p> + <p> + “I am what Allah made me!” answered King, and then, for the sake of the + impression, he went through the outward form of muslim prayer, spreading a + mat and omitting none of the genuflections. When he had finished he + unfolded his own blankets that a woman had thrown down beside the chest + and spread them carefully on the rock-shelf. But though he was allowed to + climb up and lie there, he was not allowed to sleep--nor did he want + to sleep--for more than an hour to come. + </p> + <p> + The mullah came over from the fire again and stood beside him, glaring + like a great animal and grumbling in his beard. + </p> + <p> + “Does she surely love thee?” he asked at last, and King nodded, because he + knew he was on the trail of information. + </p> + <p> + “So thou art to ape the Sleeper in his bronze mail, eh? Thou art to come + to life, as she was said to come to life, and the two of you are to + plunder India? Is that it?” + </p> + <p> + King nodded again, for a nod is less committal than a word; and the nod + was enough to start the mullah off again. + </p> + <p> + “I saw the Sleeper and his bride before she knew of either! It was I who + let her into Khinjan! It was I who told the men she is the 'Heart of the + Hills' come to life! She tricked me! But this is no hour for bearing + grudges. She has a plan and I am minded to help.” + </p> + <p> + King lay still and looked up at him, sure that treachery was the ultimate + end of any plan the mullah Muhammad Anim had. India has been saved by the + treachery of her enemies more often than ruined by false friends. So has + the world, for that matter. + </p> + <p> + “A jihad when the right hour comes will raise the tribes,” the mullah + growled. “She and thou, as the Sleeper and his mate, could work wonders. + But who can trust her? She stole that head! She stole all the ammunition! + Does she surely love thee?” + </p> + <p> + King nodded again, for modesty could not help him at that juncture. Love + and boastfulness go together in the “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + “She shall have thee back, then, at a price!” + </p> + <p> + King did not answer. His brown eyes watched the mullah's, and he drew his + breath in little jerks, lest by breathing aloud he should miss one word of + what, was coming. + </p> + <p> + “She shall have thee back against Khinjan and the ammunition! She and thou + shall have India, but I shall be the power behind you! She must give me + Khinjan and the ammunition! She must admit me to the inner caves, whence + her damned guards expelled me. I must have the reins in my two hands so! + Then, thou and she shall have the pomp and glitter while I guide!” + </p> + <p> + King did not answer. + </p> + <p> + “Dost understand?” + </p> + <p> + King murmured something unintelligible. + </p> + <p> + “Otherwise, I and my men will storm Khinjan, and she and thou shall go + down into Earth's Drink lashed together!” + </p> + <p> + King shuddered, not because he felt afraid, but because some instinct told + him to make the mullah think him afraid. He was far too interested to be + fearful. + </p> + <p> + “Ye shall both be tortured before the plunge into the river! She shall be + tortured in the Cavern of Earth's Drink before the men!” + </p> + <p> + King shuddered again, this time without an effort. He could imagine the + thousands watching grimly while the flayer used his knife. + </p> + <p> + “I have men in Khinjan! I have as many as she! On the day I march there + will be a revolt within. She would better agree to terms!” + </p> + <p> + King lay looking at him, like a prisoner on the rack undergoing + examination. He did not answer. + </p> + <p> + “Write thou a letter. Since she loves thee, state thine own case to her. + Tell her that I hold thee hostage, and that Khinjan is mine already for a + little fighting. In a month she can not pick out my men from among her + own. Her position is undermined. Tell her that. Tell her that if she obeys + she shall have India and be queen. If she disobeys, she shall die in the + Cavern of Earth's Drink!” + </p> + <p> + “She is a proud woman, mullah,” answered King. “Threats to such as she--?” + </p> + <p> + The mullah mumbled and strode back and forth three times between King's + bed and the fire, with his fists knotted together behind him and his head + bent, as Napoleon used to walk. When he stood beside the bed again at last + it was with his mind made up, as his clenched fists and his eyes + indicated. + </p> + <p> + “Make thine own terms with her!” he growled. “Write the letter and send + it! I hold thee; she holds Khinjan and the ammunition. I am between her + and India. So be it. She shall starve in there! She shall lie in there + until the war is over and take what terms are offered her in the end! + Write thine own letter! State the case, and bid her answer!” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said King. He began to see now definitely how India was to be + saved. It was none of his business to plan yet, but to help others' plans + destroy themselves and to sow such seed in the broken ground as might bear + fruit in time. + </p> + <p> + The mullah left him, to squat and gaze into the fire, and mutter, and King + lay still. After a while the mullah went and carried a great water bowl + nearer to the fire and, as King had done, stripped himself. Then he heaped + great fagots on the fire--wasteful fagots, each of which had cost + some woman hours of mountain climbing. And in the glow of the leaping + flame he scrubbed himself from head to foot with King's soap. Finally, + with a feat of strength that nearly forced an exclamation out of King, he + lifted the great water bowl in both hands and emptied the whole contents + over himself. Then he resumed his smelly garments without troubling to dry + his body, and got out a Quran from a corner and began to read it in a + nasal singsong that would have kept dead men awake. King lay and watched + and listened. + </p> + <p> + Reading scripture only seemed to fire the mullah's veins. For him sleep + was either out of reach or despicable, perhaps both. He seemed in a mood + to despise anything but conquest and strode back and forth up and down the + cave like a caged bear, muttering to himself. + </p> + <p> + After a time he went to the mouth of the cave, to stand and stare out at + the camp where the thousand fires were dying fitfully and wood smoke + purged the air of human nastiness. The stars looked down on him, and he + seemed to try to read them, standing with fists knotted together at his + back. + </p> + <p> + And as he stood so, six other mullahs came to him and began to argue with + him in low tones, he browbeating them all with furious words hissed + between half-closed teeth. They were whispering still when King fell + asleep. It was courage, not carelessness, that let him sleep--courage + and a great hope born of the mullah's perplexity. + </p> + <p> + He dreamed that he was writing, writing, writing, while the torturers made + a hot fire ready in the Cavern of Earth's Drink and whetted knives on the + bridge end while the organ played The Marseillaise. He dreamed Yasmini + came to him and whispered the solution to it all, but what she whispered + he could not catch, although she whispered the same words again and again + and seemed to be angry with him for not listening. + </p> + <p> + And when he awoke at last he had fragments of his blanket in either hand, + and the sun was already shining into the jaws of the cave. The camp was + alive and reeked of cooking food. But the mullah was gone, and so was all + the money the women had brought, together with his medicines and things + from Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + When the last evil jest has been made, and the rest + Of the ink of hypocrisy spilt, + When the awfully right have elected to fight + Lest their own should discover their guilt; + When the door has been shut on the “if” and the “but” + And it's up to the men with the guns, + On their knees in that day let diplomatists pray + For forgiveness from prodigal sons. +</pre> + <p> + Instead of the mullah, growling texts out of a Quran on his lap, the + Orakzai Pathan sat and sunned himself in the cave mouth, emitting + worldlier wisdom unadulterated with divinity. As King went toward him to + see to whom he spoke he grinned and pointed with his thumb, and King + looked down on some sick and wounded men who sat in a crowd together on + the ramp, ten feet or so below the cave. + </p> + <p> + They seemed stout soldierly fellows. Men of another type were being kept + at a distance by dint of argument and threats. Away in the distance was + Muhammad Anim with his broad back turned to the cave, in altercation with + a dozen other mullahs. For the time he was out of the reckoning. + </p> + <p> + “Some of these are wounded,” the Pathan explained. “Some have sores. Some + have the belly ache. Then again, some are sick of words, hot and cold by + day and night. All have served in the army. All have medals. All are + deserters, some for one reason, some for another and some for no reason at + all. Bull-with-a-beard looks the other way. Speak thou to them about the + pardon that is offered!” + </p> + <p> + So King went down among them, taking some of the tools of his supposed + trade with him and trying to crowd down the triumph that would well up. + The seed he had sown had multiplied by fifty in a night. He wanted to + shout, as men once did before the walls of Jericho. + </p> + <p> + A man bared a sword cut. He bent over him, and if the mullah had turned to + look there would have been no ground for suspicion. So in a voice just + loud enough to reach them all, he repeated what he had told the Pathan the + day before. + </p> + <p> + “But who art thou?” asked one of them suspiciously. Perhaps there had been + a shade too much cocksureness in the hakim's voice, but he acted + faultlessly when he answered. Voice, accent, mannerism, guilty pride, were + each perfect. + </p> + <p> + “Political offender. My brother yonder in the cave mouth”--(The + Pathan smirked. He liked the imputation)--“suggested I seek pardon, + too. He thinks if I persuade many to apply for pardon then the sirkar may + forgive me for service rendered.” + </p> + <p> + The Pathan's smirk grew to a grin. He liked grandly to have the notion + fathered on himself; and his complacency of course was suggestive of the + hakim's trustworthiness. But the East is ever cautious. + </p> + <p> + “Some say thou art a very great liar,” remarked a man with half a nose. + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” answered King. “Liar I may be, but I am one against many. Which of + you would dare stand alone and lie to all the others? Nay, sahibs, I am a + political offender, not a soldier!” + </p> + <p> + They all laughed at that and seizing the moment when they were in a pliant + mood the Orakzai Pathan proceeded to bring proposals to a head. + </p> + <p> + “Are we agreed?” he asked. “Or have we waggled our beards all night long + in vain? Take him with us, say I. Then, if pardons are refused us he at + least will gain nothing by it. We can plunge our knives in him first, + whatever else happens.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + That was reasonable and they approved in chorus. Possibility of pardon and + reinstatement, though only heard of at second hand, had brought unity into + being. And unity brought eagerness. + </p> + <p> + “Let us start to-night!” urged one man, and nobody hung back. + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Aye! Aye!” they chorused. And eagerness, as always in the “Hills,” + brought wilder counsel in its wake. + </p> + <p> + “Who dare stab Bull-with-a-beard? He has sought blood and has let blood. + Let him drink his own.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay! He is too well guarded.” + </p> + <p> + “Not he!” + </p> + <p> + “Let us stab him and take his head with us; there well may be a price on + it.” + </p> + <p> + They took a vote on it and were agreed; but that did not suit King at all, + whatever Muhammad Anim's personal deserts might be. To let him be stabbed + would be to leave Yasmini without a check on her of any kind, and then + might India defend herself! Yet to leave the mullah and Yasmini both at + large would be almost equally dangerous, for they might form an alliance. + There must be some other way, and he set out to gain time. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, nay, sahibs!” he urged. “Nay, nay!” + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” + </p> + <p> + “Sahibs, I have wife and children in Lahore. Same are most dear to me and + I to them. I find it expedient to make great effort for my pardon. Ye are + but fifty. Ye are less than fifty. Nay, let us gather a hundred men.” + </p> + <p> + “Who shall find a hundred?” somebody demanded, and there was a chorus of + denial. “We be all in this camp who ate the salt.” + </p> + <p> + It was plain, though, that his daring to hold out only gave them the more + confidence in him. + </p> + <p> + “But Khinjan,” he objected. The crimes of the Khinjan men were not to the + point. Time had to be gained. + </p> + <p> + “Aye,” they agreed. “There be many in Khinjan!” Mere mention of the place + made them regard Orakzai Pathan and hakim with new respect, as having + right of entry through the forbidden gate. + </p> + <p> + “Then I have it!” the Pathan announced at once, for he was awake to + opportunity. “Many of you can hardly march. Rest ye here and let the hakim + treat your belly aches. Bull-with-a-beard bade me wait here for a letter + that must go to Khinjan to-day. Good. I will take his letter. And in + Khinjan I will spread news about pardons. It is likely there are fifty + there who will dare follow me back, and then we shall march down the + Khyber like a full company of the old days! Who says that is not a good + plan?” + </p> + <p> + There were several who said it was not, but they happened to have nothing + the matter with them and could have marched at once. The rest were of the + other way of thinking and agreed in asserting that Khinjan men were a + higher caste of extra-ultra murderers whose presence doubtless would bring + good luck to the venture. These prevailed after considerable argument. + </p> + <p> + Strangely enough, none of them deemed the proposition beneath Khinjan + men's consideration. Pardon and leave to march again behind British + officers loomed bigger in their eyes than the green banner of the Prophet, + which could only lead to more outrageous outlawry. They knew Khinjan men + were flesh and blood--humans with hearts--as well as they. But + caution had a voice yet. + </p> + <p> + “She will catch thee in Khinjan Caves,” suggested the man with part of his + nose missing. “She will have thee flayed alive!” + </p> + <p> + “Take note then, I bequeath all the women in the world to thee! Be thou + heir to my whole nose, too, and a blessing!” laughed the Pathan, and the + butt of the jest spat savagely. In the “Hills” there is only one + explanation given as to how one lost his nose, and they all laughed like + hyenas until the mullah Muhammad Anim came rolling and striding back. + </p> + <p> + By that time King had got busy with his lancet, but the mullah called him + off and drove the crowd away to a distance; then he drove King into the + cave in front of him, his mouth working as if he were biting bits of + vengeance off for future use. + </p> + <p> + “Write thy letter, thou! Write thy letter! Here is paper. There is a pen--take + it! Sit! Yonder is ink--ttutt--ttutt!--Write, now, write!” + </p> + <p> + King sat at a box and waited, as if to take dictation, but the mullah, + tugging at his beard, grew furious. + </p> + <p> + “Write thine own letter! Invent thine own argument! Persuade her, or die + in a new way! I will invent a new way for thee!” + </p> + <p> + So King began to write, in Urdu, for reasons of his own. He had spoken + once or twice in Urdu to the mullah and had received no answer. At the end + of ten minutes he handed up what he had written, and Muhammad Anim made as + if to read it, trying to seem deliberate, and contriving to look + irresolute. It was a fair guess that he hated to admit ignorance of the + scholars' language. + </p> + <p> + “Are there any alterations you suggest?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, what care I what the words are? If she be not persuaded, the worse + for thee!” + </p> + <p> + He held it out, and as he took it King contrived to tear it; he also + contrived to seem ashamed of his own clumsiness. + </p> + <p> + “I will copy it out again,” he said. + </p> + <p> + The mullah swore at him, and conceiving that some extra show of authority + was needful, growled out: + </p> + <p> + “Remember all I said. Set down she must surrender Khinjan Caves or I swear + by Allah I will have thee tortured with fire and thorns--and her, + too, when the time comes!” + </p> + <p> + Now he had said that, or something very like it, in the first letter. + There was no doubt left that the Mullah was trying to hide ignorance, as + men of that fanatic ambitious mold so often will at the expense of better + judgment. If fanatics were all-wise, it would be a poor world for the + rest. + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” King said quietly. And with great pretense of copying the + other letter out on fresh paper he now wrote what he wished to say, taking + so long about it (for he had to weigh each word), that the mullah strode + up and down the cave swearing and kicking things over. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Greeting,”' he wrote, “to the most beautiful and very + wise Princess Yasmini, in her palace in the Caves in + Khinjan, from her servant Kurram Khan the hakim, in + the camp of the mullah Muhammad Anim, a night's march + distant in the hills. + + “The mullah Muhammad Anim makes his stand and demands + now surrender to himself of Khinjan Caves; and of all + his ammunition. Further, he demands full control of + you and of me and of all your men. He is ready to + fight for his demands and already--as you must well + know--he has considerable following in Khinjan Caves. + He has at least as many men as you have, and he has + four thousand more here. + + “He threatens as a preliminary to blockade Khinjan + Caves, unless the answer to this prove favorable, + letting none enter, but calling his own men out to + join him. This would suit the Indian government, + because while the 'Hills' fight among themselves + they can not raid India, and while he blockades + Khinjan Caves there will be time to move against him. + + “Knowing that he dares begin and can accomplish what + he threatens, I am sorry; because I know it is said + how many services you have rendered of old to the + government I serve. We who serve one raj are One--one + to remember--one to forget--one to help each other in + good time. + + “I have not been idle. Some of Muhammad Anim's men + are already mine. With them I can return to India, + taking information with me that will serve my government. + My men are eager to be off. + + “It may be that vengeance against me would seem sweeter + to you than return to your former allegiance. In that + case, Princess, you only need betray me to the mullah, + and be sure my death would leave nothing to be desired + by the spectators. At present he does not suspect me. + + “Be assured, however, that not to betray me to him is + to leave me free to serve my government and well able + to do so. + + “I invite you to return to India with me, bearing news + that the mullah Muhammad Anim and his men are bottled + in Khinjan Caves, and to plan with me to that end. + + “If you will, then write an answer to Muhammad Anim, + not in Urdu, but in a language he can understand; seem + to surrender to him. But to me send a verbal message, + either by the bearer of this or by some trustier messenger. + + “India can 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 is not impertinent in me + to urge you. + + “Nor can I say how gladly I would subscribe myself your + grateful and loyal servant.” + </pre> + <p> + The mullah pounced on the finished letter, pretended to read it, and + watched him seal it up, smudging the hot wax with his own great gnarled + thumb. Then he shouted for the Orakzai Pathan, who came striding in, all + grins and swagger. + </p> + <p> + “There--take it! Make speed!” he ordered, and with his rifle at the + “ready” and the letter tucked inside his shirt, the Pathan favored King + with a farewell grin and obeyed. + </p> + <p> + “Get out!” the mullah snarled then immediately. “See to the sick. Tell + them I sent thee. Bid them be grateful!” + </p> + <p> + King went. He recognized the almost madness that constituted the mullah's + driving power. It is contagious, that madness, until it destroys itself. + It had made several thousand men follow him and believe in him, but it had + once given Yasmini a chance to fool him and defeat him, and now it gave + King his chance. He let the mullah think himself obeyed implicitly. + </p> + <p> + He became the busiest man in all the “Hills.” While the mullah glowered + over the camp from the cave mouth or fulminated from the Quran or fought + with other mullahs with words for weapons and abuse for argument, he + bandaged and lanced and poulticed and physicked until his head swam with + weariness. + </p> + <p> + The sick swarmed so around him that he had to have a body-guard to keep + them at bay; so he chose twenty of the least sick from among those who had + talked with him after sunrise. + </p> + <p> + And because each of those men had friends, and it is only human to wish + one's friend in the same boat, especially when the sea, so to speak, is + rough, the progress through the camp became a current of missionary zeal + and the virtues of the Anglo-Indian raj were better spoken of than the + “Hills” had heard for years. + </p> + <p> + Not that there was any effort made to convert the camp en masse. Far from + it. But the likely few were 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 + was none so difficult. From the day when the lad first feels soft down + upon his face until the old man's beard turns white and his teeth shake + out, the Hillman would rather fight than eat; but he prefers to fight on + the winning side if he may, and he likes good treatment. + </p> + <p> + Before if was dark that night there were thirty men sworn to hold their + tongues and to wait for the word to hurry down the Khyber for the purpose + of enlisting in some British-Indian regiment. Some even began to urge the + hakim not to wait for the Orakzai Pathan, but to start with what he had. + </p> + <p> + “Shall I leave my brother in the lurch?” the hakim asked them; and though + they murmured, they thought better of him for it. + </p> + <p> + Well for him that 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. He found a dozen diseases of which he did not so much as know + the name, but half of the sufferers swore they were cured after the first + dose. They would have dubbed him faquir and have foisted him to a pillar + of holiness had he cared to let them. + </p> + <p> + Muhammad Anim slept most of the day, like a great animal that scorns to + live by rule. But at evening he came to the cave mouth and fulminated such + a sermon as set the whole camp to roaring. He showed his power then. The + jihad he preached would have tempted dead men from their graves to come + and share the plunder, and the curses he called down on cowards and + laggards and unbelievers were enough to have frightened the dead away + again. + </p> + <p> + In twenty minutes he had undone all King's missionary work. And then in + ten more, feeling his power and their response, and being at heart a fool + as all rogues are, he built it up again. + </p> + <p> + He began to make promises too definite. He wanted Khinjan Caves. More, he + needed them. So he promised them they should all be free of Khinjan Caves + within a day or two, to come and go and live there at their pleasure. He + promised them they should leave their wives and children and belongings + safe in the Caves while they themselves went down to plunder India. He + overlooked the fact that Khinjan Caves for centuries had been a secret to + be spoken of in whispers, and that prospect of its violation came to them + as a shock. + </p> + <p> + Half of them did not believe him. Such a thing was impossible, and if he + were lying as to one point, why not as to all the others, too? + </p> + <p> + And the army veterans, who had been converted by King's talk of pardons, + and almost reconverted by the sermon, shook their heads at the talk of + taking Khinjan. Why waste time trying to do what never had been done, with + her to reckon against, when a place in the sun was waiting for them down + in India, to say nothing of the hope of pardons and clean living for a + while? They shook their heads and combed their beards and eyed one another + sidewise in a way the “Hills” understand. + </p> + <p> + That night, while the mullah glowered over the camp like a great old owl, + with leaping firelight reflected in his eyes, the thousands under the skin + tents argued, so that the night was all noise. But King slept. + </p> + <p> + All of another day and part of another night he toiled among the sick, + wondering when a message would come back. It was nearly midnight when he + bandaged his last patient and came out into the starlight to bend his back + straight and yawn and pick his way reeling with weariness back to the + mullah's cave. He had given his bag of medicines and implements to a man + to carry ahead of him and had gone perhaps ten paces into the dark when a + strong hand gripped him by the wrist. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” said a voice that seemed familiar. + </p> + <p> + He turned swiftly and looked straight into the eyes of the Rangar Rewa + Gunga! + </p> + <p> + “How did you get here?” he asked in English. + </p> + <p> + “Any fool could learn the password into this camp! Come over here, sahib. + I bring word from her.” + </p> + <p> + The ground was criss-crossed like a man's palm by the shadows of + tent-ropes. The Rangar led him to where the tents were forty feet apart + and none was likely to overhear them. There he turned like a flash. + </p> + <p> + “She sends you this!” he hissed. + </p> + <p> + In that same instant King was fighting for his life. + </p> + <p> + In another second they were down together among the tent-pegs, King + holding the Rangar's wrist with both hands and struggling to break it, and + the Rangar striving for another stroke. The dagger he held had missed + King's ribs by so little that his skin yet tingled from its touch. It was + a dagger with bronze blade and a gold hilt--her dagger. It was her + perfume in the air. + </p> + <p> + They rolled over and over, breathing hard. King wanted to think before he + gave an alarm, and he could not think with that scent in his nostrils and + creeping into his lungs. Even in the stress of fighting be wondered how + the Rangar's clothes and turban had come to be drenched in it. He admitted + to himself afterward that it was nothing else than jealousy that suggested + to him to make the Rangar prisoner and hand him over to the mullah. + </p> + <p> + That would have been a ridiculous thing to do, for it would have forced + his own betrayal to the mullah. But as if the Rangar had read his mind he + suddenly redoubled his efforts and King, weary to the point of sickness, + had to redouble his own or die. Perhaps the jealousy helped put venom in + his effort, for his strength came back to him as a madman's does. The + Rangar gave a moan and let the knife fall. + </p> + <p> + And because jealousy is poison King did the wrong thing then. He pounced + on the knife instead of on the Rangar. He could have questioned him--knelt + on him and perhaps forced explanations from him. But with a sudden swift + effort like a snake's the Rangar freed himself and was up and gone before + King could struggle to his feet--gone like a shadow among shadows. + </p> + <p> + King got up and felt himself all over, for they had fought on stony ground + and he was bruised. But bruises faded into nothing, and weariness as well, + as his mind began to dwell on the new complication to his problem. + </p> + <p> + It was plain that the moment he had returned from his message to the + Khyber the Rangar had been sent on this new murderous mission. If Yasmini + had told the truth a letter had gone into India describing him, King, as a + traitor, and from her point of view that might be supposed to cut the very + ground away from under his feet. + </p> + <p> + Then why so much trouble to have him killed? Either Rewa Gunga had never + taken the first letter, or--and this seemed more probable--Yashiini + had never believed the letter would be treated seriously by the + authorities, and had only sent it in the hope of fooling him and + undermining his determination. In that case, especially supposing her to + have received his ultimatum on the mullah's behalf before sending Rewa + Gunga with the dagger, she must consider him at least dangerous. Could she + be afraid? If so her game was lost already! + </p> + <p> + Perhaps she saw her own peril. Perhaps she contemplated--gosh! what a + contingency!--perhaps she contemplated bolting into India with a + story of her own, and leaving the mullah to his own devices! In such a + case, before going she would very likely try to have the one man stabbed + who could give her away most completely. In fact, would she dare escape + into India and leave himself alive behind her? + </p> + <p> + He rather thought she would dare do anything. And that thought brought + reassurance. She would dare, and being what she was she almost surely + would seek vengeance on the mullah before doing anything else. + </p> + <p> + Then why the dagger for himself? She must believe him in league with the + mullah against her. She might believe that with him out of the way the + mullah would prove an easier prey for her. And that belief might be + justifiable, but as an explanation it failed to satisfy. + </p> + <p> + There was an alternative, the very thought of which made him fearfully + uneasy, and yet brought a thrill with it. In all eastern lands, love + scorned takes to the dagger. He had half believed her when she swore she + loved him! The man who could imagine himself loved by Yasmini and not be + thrilled to his core would be inhuman, whatever reason and caution and + caste and creed might whisper in imagination's wake. + </p> + <p> + Reeling from fatigue (he felt like a man who had been racked, for the + Rangar's strength was nearly unbelievable), he started toward where the + mullah sat glowering in the cave mouth. He found the man who had carried + his bag asleep at the foot of the ramp, and taking the bag away from him, + let him lie there. And it took him five minutes to drag his hurt weary + bones up the ramp, for the fight had taken more out of him than he had + guessed at first. + </p> + <p> + The mullah glared at him but let him by without a word. It was by the fire + at the back of the cave, where he stooped to dip water from the mullah's + enormous crock that the next 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 hair, like spun gold, that caressed his shoulder + and descended down one arm. One thread of hair that conjured up a million + thoughts, and in a second upset every argument! + </p> + <p> + If Rewa Gunga had been near enough to her and intimate enough with her not + only to become scented with her unmistakable perfume but even to get her + hair on his person, then gone was all imagination of her love for himself! + Then she had lied from first to last! Then she had tried to make him love + her that she might use him, and finding she had failed, she had sent her + true love with the dagger to make an end! + </p> + <p> + In a moment he imagined a whole picture, as it might have been in a + crystal, of himself trapped and made to don the Roman's armor and forced + to pose to the savage 'Hills'--or fooled into posing to them--as + her lover, while Rewa Gunga lurked behind the scenes and waited for the + harvest in the end. And what kind of harvest? + </p> + <p> + And what kind of man must Rewa Gunga be who could lightly let go all the + prejudices of the East and submit to what only the West has endured + hitherto with any complacency--a “tertium quid”? + </p> + <p> + Yet what a fool he, King, had been not to appreciate at once that Rewa + Gunga must be her lover. Why should he not be? Were they not alike as + cousins? And the East does not love its contrary, but its complement, + being older in love than the West, and wiser in its ways in all but the + material. He had been blind. He had overlooked the obvious--that from + first to last her plan had been to set herself and this Rewa Gunga on the + throne of India! + </p> + <p> + He washed and went through the mummery of muslim prayers for the watchful + mullah's sake, and climbed on to his bed. But sleep seemed out of the + question. He lay and tossed for an hour, his mind as busy as a terrier in + hay. And when he did fall asleep at last it was so to dream and mutter + that the mullah came and shook him and preached him a half-hour sermon + against the mortal sins that rob men of peaceful slumber by giving them a + foretaste of the hell to come. + </p> + <p> + All that seemed kinder and more refreshing than King's own thoughts had + been, for when the mullah had done at last and had gone striding back to + the cave mouth, he really did fall sound asleep, and it was after dawn + when he awoke. The mullah's voice, not untuneful was rousing all the + valley echoes in the call to prayer. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Allah is Almighty! Allah is Almighty! + I declare there is no God but Allah! + I declare Muhammad is his prophet! + Hie ye to prayer! + Hie ye to salvation! + Prayer is better than sleep! + Prayer is better than sleep! + There is no God but Allah! +</pre> + <p> + And while King knelt behind the mullah and the whole camp faced Mecca in + forehead-in-the-dust abasement there came a strange procession down the + midst--not strange to the “Hills,” where such sights are common, but + strange to that camp and hour. Somebody rose and struck them, and they + knelt like the rest; but when prayer was over and cooking had begun and + the camp became a place of savory smell, they came on again--seven + blind men. + </p> + <p> + They were weary, ragged, lean--seven very tatter-demalions--and + the front man led them, tapping the ground with a long stick. The others + clung to him in line, one behind the other. He was the only clean-shaven + one, and he was the tallest. He looked as if he had not been blind so + long, for his physical health was better. All seven men yelled at the + utmost of their lungs, but he yelled the loudest. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, the hakim--the good hakim!” they wailed. “Where is the famous + hakim? We be blind men--blind we be--blind--blind! Oh, pity + us! Is any kismet worse than ours? Oh, show us to the hakim! Show us the + way to him! Lead us to him! Oh, the famous, great, good hakim who can heal + men's eyes!” + </p> + <p> + The mullah looked down on them like a vulture waiting to see them die, and + seeing they did not die, turned his back and went into his cave. Close to + the ramp they stopped, and the front man, cocking his head to one side as + only birds and the newly blind do, gave voice again in nasal singsong. + </p> + <p> + “Will none tell me where is the great, good, wise hakim Kurram Khan?” + </p> + <p> + “I am he,” said King, and he stepped down toward him, calling to an + assistant to come and bring him water and a sponge. The blind man's face + looked strangely familiar, though it was partly disguised by some gummy + stuff stuck all about the eyes. Taking it in both hands be tilted the eyes + to the light and opened one eye with his thumb. There was nothing whatever + the matter with it. He opened the other. + </p> + <p> + “Rub me an ointment on!” the man urged him, and he stared at the face + again. + </p> + <p> + “Ismail!” he said. “You?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye! Father of cleverness! Make play of healing my eyes!” + </p> + <p> + So King dipped a sponge in water and sent back for his bag and made a + great show of rubbing on ointment. In a minute Ismail, looking almost like + a young man without his great beard, was dancing like a lunatic with both + fists in the air, and yelling as if wasps had stung him. + </p> + <p> + “Aieee--aieee--aieee!” he yelled. “I see again! I see! My eyes + have light in them! Allah! Oh, Allah heap riches on the great wise hakfim + who can heal men's eyes! Allah reward him richly, for I am a beggar and + have no goods!” + </p> + <p> + The other six blind men came struggling to be next, and while King rubbed + ointment on their eyes and saw that there was nothing there he could cure + the whole camp began to surge toward him to see the miracle, and his + chosen body-guard rushed up to drive them back. + </p> + <p> + “Find your way down the Khyber and ask for the Wilayti dakitar. He will + finish the cure.” + </p> + <p> + The six blind men, half-resentful, half-believing, turned away, mainly + because Ismail drove them with words and blows. And as they went a tall + Afridi came striding down the camp with a letter for the mullah held out + in a cleft stick in front of him. + </p> + <p> + “Her answer!” said Ismail with a wicked grin. + </p> + <p> + “What is her word? Where is the Orakzai Pathan?” + </p> + <p> + But Ismail laughed and would not answer him. It seemed to King that he + scented climax. So did his near-fifty and their thirty friends. He chose + to take the arrival of the blind men as a hint from Providence and to “go + it blind” on the strength of what he had hoped might happen. Also he chose + in that instant to force the mullah's hand, on the principle that hurried + buffaloes will blunder. + </p> + <p> + “To Khinjan!” he shouted to the nearest man. “The mullah will march on + Khinjan!” + </p> + <p> + They murmured and wondered and backed away from him to give him room. + Ismail watched him with dropped jaw and wild eye. + </p> + <p> + “Spread it through the camp that we march on Khinjan! Shout it! Bid them + strike the tents!” + </p> + <p> + Somebody behind took up the shout and it went across the camp in leaps, as + men toss a ball. There was a surge toward the tents, but King called to + his deserters and they clustered back to him. He had to cement their + allegiance now or fail altogether, and he would not be able to do it by + ordinary argument or by pleading; he had to fire their imagination. And he + did. + </p> + <p> + “She is on our side!” That was a sheer guess. “She has kept our man and + sent another as hostage for him in token of good faith! Listen! Ye saw + this man's eyes healed. Let that be a token! Be ye the men with new eyes! + Give it out! Claim the title and be true to it and see me guide you down + the Khyber in good time like a regiment, many more than a hundred strong!” + </p> + <p> + They jumped at the idea. The “Hills”--the whole East, for that matter--are + ever ready to form a new sect or join a new band or a new blood-feud. + Witness the Nikalseyns, who worship a long-since dead Englishman. + </p> + <p> + “We see!” yelled one of them. + </p> + <p> + “We see!” they chorused, and the idea took charge. From that minute they + were a new band, with a war-cry of their own. + </p> + <p> + “To Khinjan!” they howled, scattering through the camp, and the mullah + came out to glare at them and tug his beard and wonder what possessed + them. + </p> + <p> + “To Khinjan!” they roared at him. “Lead us to Khinjan!” + </p> + <p> + “To Khinjan, then!” he thundered, throwing up both arms in a sort of + double apostolic blessing, and then motioning as if he threw them the + reins and leave to gallop. They roared back at him like the sea under the + whip of a gaining wind. And Ismail disappeared among them, leaving King + alone. Then the mullah's eyes fell on King and he beckoned him. + </p> + <p> + King went up with an effort, for he ached yet from his struggle of the + night before. Up there by the ashes of the fire the mullah showed him a + letter he had crumpled in his fist. There were 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 strongly of her perfume. + </p> + <p> + “Come, then. Bring all your men, and I will let you and them enter Khinjan + Caves. We will strike a bargain in the Cavern of Earth's Drink.” + </p> + <p> + That was all, but the fire in the mullah's eyes showed that he thought it + was enough. He did not doubt that once he should have his extra four + thousand in the caves Khinjan would be his; and he said so. + </p> + <p> + “Khinjan is mine!” he growled. “India is mine!” + </p> + <p> + And King did not answer him. He did not believe Yasmini would be fool + enough to trust herself in any bargain with Muhammad Anim. Yet he could + see no alternative as yet. He could only be still and be glad he had set + the camp moving and so had forced the mullah's hand. + </p> + <p> + “The old fatalist would have suspected her answer otherwise!” he told + himself, for he knew that he himself suspected it. + </p> + <p> + While he and the mullah watched the tents began to fall and the women + labored to roll them. The men began firing their rifles, and within the + hour enough ammunition had been squandered to have fought a good-sized + skirmish; but the mullah did not mind, for he had Khinjan Caves in view, + and none knew better than he what vast store of cartridges and dynamite + was piled in there. He let them waste. + </p> + <p> + Watching his opportunity, King slipped down the ramp and into the crowd, + while the mullah was busy with personal 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 the midst of his nearly eighty men, + who half believed him a sending from the skies. + </p> + <p> + “We see! we see!” they yelled and danced around him. + </p> + <p> + Before ever the mullah gave an order they got under way and started + climbing the steep valley wall. The mullah on his brown mule thrust + forward, trying to get in the lead, and King and his men hung back, to + keep at a distance from him. It was when the mullah had reached the top of + the slope and was not far from being in the lead that Ismail appeared + again, leading King's horse, that he had found in possession of another + man. That did not look like enmity or treachery. King mounted and thanked + him. Ismail wiped his knife, that had blood on it, and stuck his tongue + through his teeth, which did not look quite like treachery either. Yet the + Afridi could not be got to say a word. + </p> + <p> + Two or three miles along the top of the escarpment the mullah sent back + word that he wanted the hakim to be beside him. Doubtless he had looked + back and had seen King on the horse, head and shoulders above the baggage. + </p> + <p> + But King's men treated the messenger to open scorn and sent him packing. + </p> + <p> + “Bid the mullah hunt himself another hakim! Be thou his hakim! Stay, we + will give thee a lesson in how to use a knife!” + </p> + <p> + The man ran, lest they carry out their threat, for men joke grimly in the + “Hills.” + </p> + <p> + Ismail came and held King's stirrup, striding beside him with the easy + Hillman gait. + </p> + <p> + “Art thou my man at last?” King asked him, but Ismail laughed and shook + his head. + </p> + <p> + “I am her man.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, who am I that I should know?” + </p> + <p> + “But she sent thee?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, she sent me.” + </p> + <p> + “To what purpose?”' + </p> + <p> + “To her purpose!” the Afridi answered, and King could not get another word + out of him. He fell behind. + </p> + <p> + But out of the corner of his eye, and once or twice by looking back + deliberately, King saw that Ismail was taking the members of his new band + one by one and whispering to them. What he said was a mystery, but as they + talked each man looked at King. And the more they talked the better + pleased they seemed. And as the day wore on the more deferential they + grew. By midday if King wanted to dismount there were three at least to + hold his stirrup and ten to help him mount again. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + + + + + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + By the sweat of your brow; by the ache of your bones; + In the sun, in the wind, in the chill of the rains, + Ye sowed as ye knew. And ye know it was blown + To be trodden and burned--aye, and that by your own + Who sneered at lean furrows and mocked at the stones. + But ye stayed and sowed on. And a little remains. + Ye shall have for your faith. Ye shall reap for your pains. +</pre> + <p> + Four thousand men with women and children and baggage do not move so + swiftly as one man or a dozen, especially in the “Hills,” where discipline + is reckoned beneath a proud man's honor. There were many miles to go + before Khinjan when night fell and the mullah bade them camp. He bade them + camp because they would have done it otherwise in any case. + </p> + <p> + “And we,” said King to his all but eighty who crowded around him, “being + men with new eyes and with a great new hope in us, will halt here and eat + the evening meal and watch for an opportunity.” + </p> + <p> + “Opportunity for what?” they asked him. + </p> + <p> + “An opportunity to show how Allah loves the brave!” said King, and they + had to be content with that, for he would say no more to them. Seeing he + would not talk, they made their little fires all around him and watched + while their women cooked the food. The mullah would not let them eat until + he and the whole camp had prayed like the only righteous. + </p> + <p> + When the evening meal was eaten, and sentries had been set at every + vantage point, and the men all sat about cleansing their beards and + fingers the mullah sent for the hakim again. Only this time he sent twenty + men to fetch him. + </p> + <p> + There was so nearly a fight that the skin all down King's back was + gooseflesh, for a fight at that juncture would have ruined everything. At + the least he would have been made a hopeless helpless prisoner. But in the + end the mullah's men drew off snarling, and before they could have time to + receive new orders or reinforcements, King's die was cast. + </p> + <p> + There came another order from the mullah. The women and children were to + be left in camp next dawn, and to remain there until sent for. There was + murmuring at that around the camp, and especially among King's contingent. + But King laughed. + </p> + <p> + “It is good!” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Why? How so?” they asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Bid your women make for the Khyber soon after the mullah marches + tomorrow. Bid them travel down the Khyber until we and they meet!” + </p> + <p> + “But--” + </p> + <p> + “Please yourselves, sahibs!” The hakim's air was one of supremest + indifference. “As for me, I leave no women behind me in the mountains. I + am content.” + </p> + <p> + They murmured a while, but they gave the orders to their women, and King + watched the women nod. And all that while Ismail watched him with + carefully disguised concern, but undisguised interest. And King + understood. Enlightenment comes to a man swiftly, when it does come, as a + rule. + </p> + <p> + He recalled that Yasmini had not done much to make his first entry into + Khinjan easy. On the contrary, she had put him on his mettle and had set + Rewa Gunga to the task of frightening him and had tested him and tried him + before tempting him at last. + </p> + <p> + She must be watching him now, for even the East repeats itself. She had + sent Ismail for that purpose. It might be Ismail's business to drive a + knife in him at the first opportunity, but he doubted that. It was much + more likely that, having failed in an attempt to have him murdered, she + was superstitiously remorseful. Her course would depend on his. If he + failed, she was done with him. If he succeeded in establishing a strong + position of his own, she would yield. + </p> + <p> + All of which did not explain Ismail's whisperings and noddings and chin + strokings with King's contingent. But it explained enough for King's + present purpose, and he wasted no time on riders to the problem. With or + without Ismail's aid, with or without his enmity, he must control his + eighty men and give the slip to the mullah, and he went at once about the + best way to do both. + </p> + <p> + “We will go now,” he said quietly. “That sentry in yonder shadow has his + back turned. He has over-eaten. We will rush him and put good running + between us and the mullah.” + </p> + <p> + Surprised into obedience, and too delighted at the prospect of action to + wonder why they should obey a hakim so, they slung on their bandoliers and + made ready. Ismail brought up King's horse and he mounted. And then at + King's word all eighty made a sudden swoop on the drowsy sentry and took + him unawares. They tossed him over the cliff, too startled to scream an + alarm; and though sentries on either hand heard them and shouted, they + were gone into outer darkness like wind-blown ghosts of dead men before + the mullah even knew what was happening. + </p> + <p> + They did not halt until not one of them could run another yard, King + trusting to his horse to find a footing along the cliff-tops, and to the + men to find the way. + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” one whispered to him. + </p> + <p> + “To Khinjan!” he answered; and that was enough. Each whispered to the + other, and they all became fired with curiosity more potent than money + bribes. + </p> + <p> + When he halted at last and dismounted and sat down and the stragglers + caught up, panting, they held a council of war all together, with Ismail + sitting at King's back and leaning a chin on his shoulder in order to hear + better. Bone pressed on bone, and the place grew numb; King shook him off + a dozen times; but each time Ismail set his chin back on the same spot, as + a dog will that listens to his master. Yet he insisted he was her man, and + not King's. + </p> + <p> + “Now, ye men of the Hills,” said King, “listen to me who am + political-offender-with-reward-for-capture-offered!” That was a gem of a + title. It fired their imaginations. “I know things that no soldier would + find out in a thousand years, and I will tell you some of what I know.” + </p> + <p> + Now he had to be careful. If he were to invent too much they might + denounce him as a traitor to the “Hills” in general. If he were to tell + them too little they would lose interest and might very well desert him at + the first pinch. He must feel for the middle way and upset no prejudices. + </p> + <p> + “She has discovered that this mullah Muhammad Anim is no true muslim, but + an unbelieving dog of a foreigner from Farangistan! She has discovered + that he plans to make himself an emperor in these Hills, and to sell + Hillmen into slavery!” Might as well serve the mullah up hot while about + it! Beyond any doubt not much more than a mile away the mullah was getting + even by condemning the lot of them to death. “An eye for the risk of an + eye!” say the unforgiving Hills. + </p> + <p> + “If one of us should go back into his camp now he would be tortured. Be + sure of that.” + </p> + <p> + Breathing deeply in the darkness, they nodded, as if the dark had eyes. + Ismail's chin drove a fraction deeper into his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “Now ye know--for all men know--that the entrance into Khinjan + Caves is free to any man who can tell a lie without flinching. It is the + way out again that is not free. How many men do ye know that have entered + and never returned?” + </p> + <p> + They all nodded again. It was common knowledge that Khinjan was a very + graveyard of the presumptuous. + </p> + <p> + “She has set a trap for the mullah. She will let him and all his men enter + and will never let them out again!” + </p> + <p> + “How knowest thou?” This from two men, one on either hand. + </p> + <p> + “Was I never in Khinjan Caves?” he retorted. “Whence came I? I am her man, + sent to help trap the mullah! I would have trapped all you, but for being + weary of these 'Hills' and wishful to go back to India and be pardoned! + That is who I am! That is how I know!” + </p> + <p> + Their breath came and went sibilantly, and the darkness was alive with the + excitement they thought themselves too warrior-like to utter. + </p> + <p> + “But what will she do then?” asked somebody. + </p> + <p> + King searched his memory, and in a moment there came back to him a picture + of the hurrying jezailchi he had held up in the Khyber Pass, and + recollection of the man's words. + </p> + <p> + “Know ye not,” he said, “that long ago she gave leave to all who ate the + salt to be true to the salt? She gave the Khyber jezailchis leave to fight + against her. Be sure, whatever she does, she will stand between no man and + his pardon!” + </p> + <p> + “But will she lead a jihad? We will not fight against her!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” said King, drawing his breath in. Ismail's chin felt like a knife + against his collar bone, and Ismail's iron fingers clutched his arm. It + was time to give his hostage to dame Fortune. “She will go down into India + and use her influence in the matter of the pardons!” + </p> + <p> + “I believe thou art a very great liar indeed!” said the man who lacked + part of his nose. “The Pathan went, and he did not come back. What proof + have we.” + </p> + <p> + “Ye have me!” said King. “If I show you no proof, how can I escape you?” + </p> + <p> + They all grunted agreement as to that. King used his elbow to hit Ismail + in the ribs. He did not dare speak to him; but now was the time for Ismail + to carry information to her, supposing that to be his job. And after a + minute Ismail rolled into a shadow and was gone. King gave him twenty + minutes start, letting his men rest their legs and exercise their tongues. + </p> + <p> + Now that he was out of the mullah's clutches--and he suspected + Yasmini would know of it within an hour or two, and before dawn in any + event--he began to feel like a player in a game of chess who foresees + his opponent mate in so many moves. + </p> + <p> + If Yasmini were to let the mullah and his men into the Caves and to join + forces with him in there, he would at least have time to hurry back to + India with his eighty men and give warning. He might have time to call up + the Khyber jezailchis and blockade the Caves before the hive could swarm, + and he chuckled to think of the hope of that. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, if there was to be a battle royal between Yasmini and + the mullah he would be there to watch it and to comfort India with the + news. + </p> + <p> + “Now we will go on again, in order to be close to Khinjan at break of + day,” he said, and they all got up and obeyed him as if his word had been + law to them for years. Of all of them he was the only man in doubt--he + who seemed most confident of all. + </p> + <p> + They swung along into the darkness under low-hung stars, trailing behind + King's horse, with only half a dozen of them a hundred yards or so ahead + as an advance guard, and all of them expecting to see Khinjan loom above + each next valley, for distances and darkness are deceptive in the “Hills,” + even to trained eyes. Suddenly the advance guard halted, but did not + shoot. And as King caught up with them he saw they were talking with some + one. + </p> + <p> + He had to ride up close before he recognized the Orakzai Pathan. + </p> + <p> + “Salaam!” said the fellow with a grin. “I bring one hundred and eleven!” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke graveyard shadows rose out of the darkness all around and + leaned on rifles. + </p> + <p> + “Be ye men all ex-soldiers of the raj?” King asked them. + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” they growled in chorus. + </p> + <p> + “What will ye?” + </p> + <p> + “Pardons!” They all said the word together. + </p> + <p> + “Who gave you leave to come?” King asked. + </p> + <p> + “None! He told us of the pardons and we came!” + </p> + <p> + “Aye!” said the Orakzai Pathan, drawing King aside. “But she gave me leave + to seek them out and tempt them!” + </p> + <p> + “And what does she intend?” King asked him suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “She? Ask Allah, who put the spirit in her! How should I know?” + </p> + <p> + “We will march again, my brothers!” King shouted, and they streamed along + behind him, now with no advance guard, but with the Orakzai Pathan + striding beside King's horse, with a great hand on the saddle. Like the + others, he seemed decided in his mind that the hakim ought not to be + allowed much chance to escape. + </p> + <p> + Just as the dawn was tinting the surrounding peaks with softest rose they + topped a ridge, and Khinjan lay below them across the mile-wide bone-dry + valley. They all stood and stared at it, leaning on their guns. All the + “Men with New Eyes” saw it now for the first time, and it held them + speechless, for with its patchwork towers and high battlements it looked + like a very city of the spirits that their tales around the fire on winter + nights so linger on. + </p> + <p> + And while they watched, and the Khinjan men were beginning to murmur (for + they needed no last view of the place to satisfy any longings!) none else + than Ismail rose from behind a rock and came to King's stirrup. He tugged + and King backed his horse until they stood together apart. + </p> + <p> + “She sends this message,” said Ismail, showing his teeth in the most + peculiar grin that surely the Hills ever witnessed. And then, omitting the + message, he proceeded first to give some news. “Many of her men who have + never been in the army, are none the less true to her, and she will not + leave them to the mullah's mercy. They will leave the Caves in a little + while and will come up here. They are to go down into India and be made + prisoners if the sirkar will not enlist them. You are to wait for them + here.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that all her message?” King asked him. + </p> + <p> + “Nay. That is none of it! This is her message. THOU SHALT KNOW THIS DAY, + THOU ENGLISHMAN, WHETHER OR NOT SHE TRULY LOVED THEE! THERE SHALL BE + PROOF, SUCH AS EVEN THOU SHALT UNDERSTAND!”' + </p> + <p> + “What does that mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, who am I that I should know?” + </p> + <p> + Ismail slipped away and lost himself among the men, and none of them + seemed to notice that he had been away and had come again. On King's + advice a dozen men climbed near-by eminences and began to watch for the + mullah's coming. The Khinjan men murmured openly; they wanted to be off. + </p> + <p> + “But no,” said King. “Go if ye will, but she has sent word that other men + are coming. I wait for them here.” + </p> + <p> + After a great deal of resentful argument they consented to lie hidden for + an hour or two “but no longer,” and King hid his horse in a hollow and + persuaded three of them to gather grass for him. It was a little more than + an hour after dawn and the chilled rocks were beginning to grow warmer + when the head of a procession came out of Khinjan Gate and started toward + them over the valley. In all more than five hundred men emerged and about + a hundred women and children, and King's men were kept busy for half an + hour counting them and quarreling about the exact number. Some of them + were burdened heavily, and there was much discussion as to whether to loot + them or not. Then: + </p> + <p> + “Muhammad Anim comes!” shouted a voice from a crag top. + </p> + <p> + They snuggled into better hiding, and there was no thought now of leaving + before the mullah should go by. There began to be wagers as to whether her + men would be hidden out of sight before the mullah could top the rise; and + then, when the last man was safe across the valley and up the cliff and in + hiding, there was endless argument as to how much each had betted and to + whom he had lost. It needed an effort to quiet them when the mullah rose + into view at last above the rise and paused for a minute to stare across + at Khinjan before leading his four thousand down and onward. He was silent + as an image, but his men roared like a river in flood and he made no + effort to check them. He was like a man who has made up his mind to + victory in any event. He seemed to be speculating three or four moves + ahead of this one, and to hold this one such a foregone conclusion in his + mind that it had ceased to interest. He was admirable, there was no doubt + of that. In his own way, like an old boar sniffing up the wind for + trouble, he could command a decent man's respect. + </p> + <p> + He dismounted, for he had to, and tossed his reins to the nearest man with + the air of an emperor. And he led the way dawn the cliffside without + hesitation, striding like a mountaineer. His men followed him noisily, + holding hands to make human chains at the difficult places and shouting a + great deal; but not quite naturally now. They were too impressed by the + seriousness of what they undertook, and in their hearts too much afraid. + The noise was bravado. + </p> + <p> + It was a weary long wait, watching from the crevices until the last man's + back departed down the cliff, and the procession--Pied Piper of + Hamelin and rats, (but no music!)--wound across the valley. At last + Khinjan Gate opened and the mullah led in. The gate did not shut after the + last man, King noted that. + </p> + <p> + “Let us go now!” shouted fifty voices, and every man of King's party + showed himself and stretched. “Let us go! Why wait?” + </p> + <p> + But King would not go. Nor would he explain why he would not go. Nor could + he tell himself what held him, gazing at Khinjan, except that he thought + of Yasmini and ached to know what she was doing. + </p> + <p> + It was thirty minutes after the last of the mullahs men had vanished + through the gate, and his own men in dozens and twenties were scattered + along the cliff-top arguing against delay with growing rancor, when a lone + horseman galloped out of Khinjan Gate and started across the valley. He + rode recklessly. He was either panic-stricken or else bolder than the + devil. + </p> + <p> + In a minute King had recognized the mare, and so had the eyes of fifty men + around him. No man with half an eye for a horse could have failed to + recognize that black mare, having ever seen her once. She came like a goat + among the rocks, just as she had once dived into darkness in the Khyber + with King following. In another two minutes King had recognized the + Rangar's silken turban. And now there was no need to restrain the men; + they all stood and watched, to know what new turn affairs were taking. + </p> + <p> + Most of them were staring downward at the Rangar's head as he urged the + mare up the cliff path, when the explanation of Yasmini's message came. It + was only King, urged by some intuition, who had his eyes fixed on Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + There came a shock that actually swayed the hill they stood on. The mare + on the path below missed her footing and fell a dozen feet, only to get up + again and scramble as if a thousand devils were behind her, the Rangar + riding her grimly, like a jockey in a race. Three more shocks followed. A + great slice of Khinjan suddenly caved in with a roar, and smoke and dust + burst upward through the tumbling crust. + </p> + <p> + There was a pause after that, as if the waiting elements were gathering + strength. For ten minutes they watched and scarcely breathed. Rewa Gunga + gained the summit and, dismounting, stood by King with the reins over his + arm. The mare was too blown to do anything but stand and tremble. And King + was too enthralled to do anything but stare. + </p> + <p> + “That is what a woman can do for a man!” said Rewa Gunga grimly. “She set + a fuse and exploded all the dynamite. There were tons of it! The galleries + must have fallen in, one on the other! A thousand men digging for a + thousand years could never get into Khinjan now, and the only way out is + down Earth's Drink! She bade me come and bid you good-by, sahib. I would + have stayed in there, but she commanded me. She said, 'Tell King sahib my + love was true. Tell him I give him India and all Asia that were at my + mercy!'” + </p> + <p> + While the Rangar spoke there came three more earth tremors in swift + succession, and a thunder out of Khinjan as if the very “Hills” were + coming to an end. The mare grew frantic and the Rangar summoned six men to + hold her. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, right over the top of Khinjan's upper rim, where only the eagles + ever perched, there burst a column of water, immeasurable, huge, that for + a moment blotted out the sun. It rose sheer upward, curved on itself, and + fell in a million-ton deluge on to Khinjan and into Khinjan valley, + hissing and roaring and thundering. + </p> + <p> + Earth's Drink had been blocked by the explosion and had found a new way + over the barrier before plunging down again into the bowels of the world. + The one sky-flung leap it made as its weight burst down a mountain wall + was enough to blot out Khinjan forever, and what had been a dry mile-wide + moat was a shallow lake with death's rack and rubbish floating on the + surface. + </p> + <p> + The earth rocked. The Hillmen prayed, and King stared, trying to memorize + all that had been. Suddenly it flashed across his mind that the Rangar who + had striven like a fiend to stab him only a matter of hours ago was now + standing behind him, within a yard. + </p> + <p> + He was up on his feet in a second and faced about. The Rangar laughed. + </p> + <p> + “So ends the 'Heart of the Hills!'” he said. “Think kindly of her, sahib. + She thought well enough of you!” + </p> + <p> + He laughed again and sprang on the black mare, and before King could speak + or raise a hand to stop him he was off, hell-bent-for-leather along the + precipice in the direction of the Khyber Pass and India. Two of the men + who had come out of Khinjan mounted and spurred after him. + </p> + <p> + King collected his men and the women and children. It was easy, for they + were numb from what they had witnessed and dazed by fear. In half an hour + he had them mustered and marching. + </p> + <p> + “Let us go back and loot the mullah's camp and take the women!” urged a + dozen men at least. + </p> + <p> + “Go then!” said King. “Go back! But I go on!” + </p> + <p> + “He is afraid! The hakim is afraid of what he saw!” + </p> + <p> + King let them think so. He let them think anything they chose, knowing + well that what had unnerved him had at least rendered them amenable to + leading. They would have no more dared go back without him, and without at + least a hundred others, than they would have dared go and hunt in the + ruins of Khinjan. + </p> + <p> + Even Ismail clang to his stirrup and would not leave him, looking like a + fledgling with his beard all new-sprouted on his jaw, and eyes wider than + any bird's. + </p> + <p> + “Why art thou here?” King asked him. “Had she no true men who would die + with her?” + </p> + <p> + The Afridi scowled, but choked the answer back. + </p> + <p> + “Art thou my man now?” King asked him. But he shook his head. + </p> + <p> + So they marched without talking over the hideous boulder-strewn range that + separates Khinjan from the Khyber, sleeping fitfully whenever King called + a halt, and eating almost nothing at all, for only a few of them had + thought of bringing food. + </p> + <p> + They reached the Khyber famished and were fed at Ali Masjid Fort, after + King had given a certain password and had whispered to the officer + commanding. But he did not change into European clothes yet, and none of + his following suspected him of being an Englishman. + </p> + <p> + “A Rangar on a black mare has gone down the pass ahead of you in a hurry,” + they told him at Ali Masjid. “He had two men with him and food enough. + Only stopped long enough to make his business known.” + </p> + <p> + “What did he say his business is?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “He gave a sign and said a word that satisfied us--on that point!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said King. “Can you signal down the Pass?” + </p> + <p> + “Surely.” + </p> + <p> + “Courtenay still at Jamrud?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. In charge there and growing tired of doing nothing.” + </p> + <p> + “Signal down and ask him to have that bath ready for me that I spoke + about. Good-by.” + </p> + <p> + So he left Ali Masjid at the head of a motley procession that grew noisier + and more confident every hour. Ismail still clung to his stirrup, but + began to grow more lively and to have a good many orders to fling to the + rest. + </p> + <p> + “You mourn like a dog,” King told him. “Three howls and a whine and a + little sulking--and then forgetfulness!” + </p> + <p> + Ismail looked nasty at that but did not answer, although he seemed to have + a hot word ready. And thenceforward he hung his head more, and at least + tried to seem bereaved. But his manner was unconvincing none the less, and + King found it food for thought. + </p> + <p> + The ex-soldiers and would-be soldiers marched in fours behind him, growing + hourly more like drilled men, and talking, with each stride that brought + them nearer India, more as men do who have an interest in law and order. + Behind them tramped the women from Khinjan, carrying their babies and + their husbands loads; and behind them again were the other women, who had + been told they would be overtaken in the Khyber, but who had actually had + to run themselves raw-footed in order to catch up. + </p> + <p> + Down the Khyber have come conquerors, a dozen conquering kings, and as + many beaten armies; but surely no stranger host than this ever trudged + between the echoing walls. The very eagles screamed at them. + </p> + <p> + And as they neared Jamrud Fort the men who sought pardons began to grow + sheepish. They began to remember that the hakim might after all be a + trickster, and to realize how much too friendly--how almost intimate + he had been with the sahibs at Ali Masjid. They began to cluster round him + instead of letting him lead, and by the time they met the farthest + outposts up the Khyber they were as nervous as raw recruits and ready to + turn and bolt at a word--for no one can be more timid than your + Hillman when he is not sure of himself, just as no one can be braver when + he knows his ground. + </p> + <p> + Signals preceded them, and Courtenay himself rode up the Pass to greet + them. But of course he was not very cordial to King, considering his + disguise; and he chose to keep the Hillmen in doubt yet as to their + eventual reception. But one of them, the Orakzai Pathan (for nothing could + completely unman him), shouted to know whether it was true that pardons + had been offered for deserters, and Courtenay nodded. They were less timid + after that. Some of them pulled medals out and pinned them outside their + shirts. + </p> + <p> + At Jamrud they were given food and their rifles were taken away from them + and a guard was set to watch them. But the guard only consisted of two + men, both of whom were Pathans, and they assured them that, ridiculous + though it sounded, the British were actually willing to forgive their + enemies and to pardon all deserters who applied for pardon on condition of + good faith in the future. + </p> + <p> + That night they prayed to Allah like little children lost and found. The + women crooned love-songs to their babies over the clear fires and the men + talked--and talked--and talked until the stars grew big as moons + to weary eyes and they slept at last, to dream of khaki uniforms and + karnel sahibs who knew neither fear nor favor and who said things that + were so. It is a mad world to the Himalayan Hillman where men in authority + tell truth unadorned without shame and without consideration--a mad, + mad world, and perhaps too exotic to be wholesome, but pleasant while the + dream lasts. + </p> + <p> + Over in the fort Courtenay placed a bath at King's disposal and lent him + clean clothes and a razor. But he was not very cordial. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me all the war news!” said King, splashing in the tub. And Courtenay + told him, passing him another cake of soap when the first was finished. + After all there was not much to tell--butchery in Belgium--Huns + and guns--and the everlastingly glorious stand that saved Paris and + France and Europe. + </p> + <p> + “According to the cables our men are going the records one better. I think + that's all,” said Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + “Then why the stuffiness?” asked King. “Why am I talked to at the end of a + tube, so to speak?” + </p> + <p> + “You're under arrest!” said Courtenay. + </p> + <p> + “The deuce I am!” + </p> + <p> + “I'm taking care of you myself to obviate the necessity of putting a + sentry on guard over you.” + </p> + <p> + “Good of you, I'm sure. What's it all about?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't mind telling you, but I'd rather you'd wait. The minute you were + sighted word was wired down to headquarters, and the general himself will + be up here by train any minute.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said King. “Got a cigar? Got a black one? Blacker the + better!” + </p> + <p> + He was out of his bath and remembered that minute that he had not smoked a + cigar since leaving India. Naked, shaved, with some of the stain removed, + he did not look like a man in trouble as he filled his lungs with the + saltpeterish smoke of a fat Trichinopoli. + </p> + <p> + And then the general came and did not wait for King to get dressed but + burst into the bathroom and shook hands with him while he was still naked + and asked ten questions (like a gatling gun) while King was getting on his + trousers, divining each answer after the third word and waving the rest + aside. + </p> + <p> + “And why am I arrested, sir?” asked King the moment he could slip the + question in edgewise. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, of course. Try the case here as well as anywhere. What does this + mean?” + </p> + <p> + Out of his pocket the general produced a letter that smelt strongly of a + scent King recognized. He spread it out on a table, and King read. It was + Yasmini's letter that she had sent down the Khyber to make India too hot + to hold him. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Your Captain King has been too much trouble. He has + taken money from the Germans. He adopted native dress. + He called himself Kurram Khan. He slew his own brother + at night in the Khyber Pass. These men will say that + he carried the head to Khinjan, and their word is true. + I, Yasmini, saw. He used the head for a passport to + obtain admittance. He proclaims a jihad! He urges + invasion of India! He held up his brother's head before + five thousand men and boasted of the murder. The next + you shall hear of your Captain King of the Khyber Rifles + he will be leading a jihad into India. You would have + better trusted me. Yasmini.” + </pre> + <p> + “Too bad about your brother,” said the general. + </p> + <p> + “The body is buried. How much is true about the head?” + </p> + <p> + King told him. + </p> + <p> + “Where's she?” asked the general. + </p> + <p> + King did not answer. The general waited. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask the Rangar,” Courtenay suggested. + </p> + <p> + “Where is he?” asked King. + </p> + <p> + “Caught him coming down the Khyber on his black mare and arrested him. + He's in the next room! I hope he's to be hanged. So that I can buy the + mare,” he added cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + King whistled softly to himself, and the general looked at him through + half-closed eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Go in and talk to him, King. Let me know the result.” + </p> + <p> + He had picked King to go up the Khyber on that errand not for nothing. He + knew King and he knew the symptoms. Without answering him King obeyed. He + went out of the room into a dark corridor and rapped on the door of the + next room to the right. There was a muffled answer from within. Courtenay + shouted something to the sentry outside the door and he called another man + who fitted a key in the lock. King walked into a room in which one lamp + was burning and the door slammed shut behind him. + </p> + <p> + He was in there an hour, and it never did transpire just what passed, for + he can hold his tongue on any subject like a clam, and the general, if + anything, can go him one better. Courtenay was placed under orders not to + talk, so those who say they know exactly what happened in the room between + the time when the door was shut on King and the time when he knocked to + have it opened and called for the general, are not telling the truth. + </p> + <p> + What is known is that finally the general hurried through the door and + ejaculated, “Well, I'm damned!” before it could close again. The sentry + (Punjabi Mussulman) has sworn to that over a dozen camp-fires since the + day. + </p> + <p> + And it is known, too, for the sentry has taken oath on it and has told the + story so many times without much variation that no one who knows the man's + record doubts any longer--it is known that when the door opened again + King and the general walked out, with the Rangar between them. And the + Rangar had no turban on, but carried it unwound in his hand. And his + golden hair fell nearly to his knees and changed his whole appearance. And + he was weeping. And he was not a Rangar at all, but she, and how anybody + can ever have mistaken her for a man, even in man's clothes and with her + skin darkened, was beyond the sentry's power to guess. He for one, etc.... + But nobody believed that part of his tale. + </p> + <p> + As Yussuf bin Ali said over the camp-fire up the Khyber later on, “When + she sets out to disguise herself, she is what she will be, and he who says + he thinks otherwise has two tongues and no conscience!” + </p> + <p> + What is surely true is that the four of them--Yasmini, the general, + Courtenay and King sat up all night in a room in the fort, talking + together, while a succession of sentries overstrained their ears + endeavoring to hear through keyholes. And the sentries heard nothing and + invented very much. + </p> + <p> + But Partan Singh, the Sikh, who carried in bread and cocoa to them at + about five the next morning and found them still talking, heard King say, + “So, in my opinion, sir, there'll be no jihad in these parts. There'll be + sporadic raids, of course, but nothing a brigade can't deal with. The + heart of the holy war's torn out and thrown away.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said the general. “You can get up the Khyber again and join + your regiment.”' + </p> + <p> + But by that time the Rangar's turban was on again and the tears were dry, + and it was Partan Singh who threw most doubt on the sentry's tale about + the golden hair. But, as the sentry said, no doubt Partan Singh was + jealous. + </p> + <p> + There is no doubt whatever that the general went back to Peshawur in the + train at eight o'clock and that the Rangar went with him in a separate + compartment with about a dozen Hillmen chosen from among those who had + come down with King. + </p> + <p> + And it is certain that before they went King had a talk with the Rangar in + a room alone, of which conversation, however, the sentry reported + afterward that he did not overhear one word; and he had to go to the + doctor with a cold in his ear at that. He said he was nearly sure he heard + weeping. But on the other hand, those who saw both of them come out were + certain that both were smiling. + </p> + <p> + It is quite certain that Athelstan King went up the Khyber again, for the + official records say so, and they never lie, especially in time of war. He + rode a coal-black mare, and Courtenay called him “Chikki”--a + “lifter.” + </p> + <p> + Some say the Rangar went to Delhi. Some say Yasmini is in Delhi. Some say + no. But it is quite certain that before he started up the Khyber King + showed Courtenay a great gold bracelet that he had under his sleeve. Five + men saw him do it. + </p> + <p> + And if that was really Rewa Gunga in the general's train, why was the + general so painfully polite to him? And why did Ismail insist on riding in + the train, instead of accepting King's offer to go up the Khyber with him? + </p> + <p> + One thing is very certain. King was right about the jihad. There has been + none in spite of all Turkey's and Germany's efforts. There have been + sporadic raids, much as usual, but nothing one brigade could not easily + deal with, the paid press to the contrary notwithstanding. + </p> + <p> + King of the Khyber Rifles is now a major, for you can see that by turning + up the army list. + </p> + <p> + But if you wish to know just what transpired in the room in Jamrud Fort + while the general and Courtenay waited, you must ask King--if you + dare; for only he knows, and one other. It is not likely you can find the + other. + </p> + <p> + But it is likely that you may hear from both of them again, for “A woman + and intrigue are one!” as India says. The war seems long, and the world is + large, and the chances for intrigue are almost infinite, given such + combination as King and Yasmini and a love affair. + </p> + <p> + And as King says on occasion: “Kuch dar nahin hai! There is no such thing + as fear!” Another one might say, “The roof's the limit!” + </p> + <p> + And bear in mind, for this is important: King wrote to Yasmini a letter, + in Urdu from the mullah's cave, in which he as good as gave her his word + of honor to be her “loyal servant” should she choose to return to her + allegiance. He is no splitter of hairs, no quibbler. His word is good on + the darkest night or wherever he casts a shadow in the sun. + </p> + <p> + “A man and his promise--a woman and intrigue--are one!” + </p> + <p> + The End + </p> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING--OF THE KHYBER RIFLES: A ROMANCE OF ADVENTURE ***</div> + </body> +</html> |