The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-17
An Adventure OF Sirdar MOhamnled Khan. p

I ability pointed to the three of us CIV
| ing cur lives in a vain attempt at res
| cue.
Bingham rode on in a state of quiet
| frenzy but the sirdar kept his prisoner
| taut at the end Of a heel-rope, fastened
to neck and wrists, with a calm certainty
| of getting the best of Chundu that
! shamed me into silence when L would
| have questioned the outcome Of our eX-
petition. For arms, Bingham and l had
| each a couple of revolvers, and the slrdar
carried his inseparable sword and sheath
knife.
After nearly three hours of plodd!ng
| march we reached a wooded valley, Wlde,
| precipitous and sombre, with torrent
dashing noisiy through a tree-hidden
] channel. and snow-capped peaks glintlng
! in the moonbeams beyond its confines.
Pointing to the eastern hillside, our
| captive explained that within 100 yards
| OF the crest there was a hollow which
| would shelter regiment, but it was so
effectually screened by the trees that 1t
| could never be noted from any point OF
view The approach was steep, though
| pract icable for hill ponies, and within It's
| shelter the dacoit and his gang, with
| their captives, were resting until dawn
He had barely finished his recital when
| Mohanmed Khan without the slightest
warning fell upon him, gagged him ana
trussed him like fowl for the spit.
Thou canst not betray twice. he mutt
tered 'If thy tale be false we will kill
! thee on our return.
The man indicated with his rolling, ter
ror-striclSen eyes that he had not m1s1n-
formed him, and 1 believed him, but the
sirdar's precautions were nevertheless
soldier-like.
| "And nOw?" I said.
LET us attack them" said Bingham.
| LET US look first and fight afterwards,
said the cool-headed native
We tethered our horses and commenced
to climb. Once I held Bingham, VINO
| would have vainiy spent his breath, ana
once 1 nearly shouted aloud, for rock
snake wrapped his coils round my leg.
and it needed all my resolution to crush
! him quietly with the disengaged foot.
We had not understood from our guides
patois that the dacoit's hiding place was
! a glade denuded of trees and We should
| have blundered into the moonlit space
! had we not been warned by a slight de-
| scent that we were close to it.
| Sure enough, there were eight ponies
| grazing within a few yards Of US On the
| further side close to the wood. were a
number of recumbent figures around the
cmbers of a fire, and in the shade We
could see Browne and his daughter lying
| en- the roots Of two trees. to which, pre-
sumabiy, they were tied.
It was a close thing Edith's involun-
| tary Shrek Of terror when someone bent
over her with a glittering knife in his
| hand brought half dozen Of the robbers
| to their feet. Four of them fell at once.
The survivors, thinking that they were
! attacked in force, ran off at top speed.
Indeed, I thought the fray over, when
ora of the wounded recovering from the
| first shock of a bullet through his thigh.
rose to his knees, seized a rife. and aim
| ed deliberately at Edith Browne. There
| could be no manner of doubt concerning
| his motive.
Vengeeul as an Infatuated tiger, he pos
| sessed the more terrible attribute Of de-
| based humanity. and sought to inflict the
greatest injury upon his assailants by
numbering her whom they came to sue
| cor.
We all saw him. I fred. but in my
| anxiety missed. Bingham, too made an
| Intellectual effort to stop him. and at the
! same moment jumped in front of the
| girl, who lad risen, and was gazing with
wildly 0ilated eyes at her would-b
| slayer.
4 Chundu pressed the trigged as Reggie
made his spring. and the latter spun
| round and fell. But the famous dacoit' S
.
! sirdar came within striking distance ere
! the rifle left his shoulder
Edith had long since recognized her
| lover, and when she saw him tumble over
as one dead I expected to see her scream
or faint, or burst into tears.
Had 1 guessed for the rest of my life ]
should never have approached within
measurable distance Of her real actions.
She knelt down and looked into Bing-
| inSPnSihIa no nd
walked to the place where her father
| who had witnessed the whole Incident
| was lying in a hopeless struggle with the
ropes that bound him. Bending down,
and gazing steadily at him, she said:
IF he is dead 1t is you who have killed
him, and I shall never own you again
He has given his life for me, and I am
his, his only, forever!"
Her voice was clear and sharp as the
clink of ice in glass. From that mo-
lnent the hard ironmaster and his daugh-
ter exchanged characters. The girl ruled
and 1 verify believed he liked it.
Meanwhile the sirdar was the only
strategist on the field. To hurry up the
retreat he turned the enemy's ordnance
| upon them. One of the flying gang pitch
| ed headiong into the grass and remained
! there, while a yell from another as he
! plunged into the forest showed that his
flight had been momentarily accelerated
All danger of renewed attack had now
passed. Binghan's head was pillowed on
| Edith's lap, and I suppose there was
| some electrical influence in her touch, for
TO my anlazement, he opened his eyes
and murrnUred, with the ghost Of smile:
Its all right. Only my collar-bone
Beastly nuisance"
| Then Edith began to cry.
With some difficulty we got him on tc
one of the ponies, and gained our horses.
The rest Of the story is orthodox. Reg
gle and the fox terrier were eonvalescent
together, both being sedueusly nursed by
Edith; Browne was very proud Of his
prospective son-in-law; the sirdar drew
among other sums the big reward placed
by the government on Chundu's head
and l-got a gentle wigging from the
chief for being absent without leave fol
forty-eight hours.