The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-06-25

out of train interrupted. How could
you write a letter up yonder!"
THE letter: Oh. the letter! Keep
looking ut me between the eyes, please.
1t was string talk letter that we'd
learned the way Of it from a blind beg
gar in the Punjab.
II sent that letter to DravOt and told
him to come back because this king
dom was growing too big for me to
handle, and then ] struck for the first
valley to see how the priests were
working. They called the village We
took along with the chief Bashkai and
the first village we took Er-Heb. The
priests at Er-Heb was doing all right.
but they had a lot of pending cases
about land to show me, and some men
from another village had been firing
arrows at night. went out and looked
for that village and fired four rounds
at it from a thousand yards. That
used all the cartridges cared to spend.
and waited for Dravot. who had been
away two or three months, and l kept
NY people quiet. One morning l heard
the devils own noise of drums and
horns, and Dan DravOt marches down
the hill, with his army and tail OF
hundreds of men. and which was amaz-
ing-a great gold crown on his head
MY Cord, Carnehan, says Daniel, this
is treulenjus business. and we've got
the whole country as far as it's worth
having. | am the son of Alexander by
Queen Semiramis. and you're my,
younger brother and a god too. I've
got crown for you. l told 'em to
make two of EN- at place called Shu,
where the gold lies in the rock like
suet in mutton. Call up all the priests
and, here, take your crown
"One of the men opens black hair
bag, and | slips the crown on. 1t was
too small and too heavy. but wore it
for the glory. Hammered gold it was,
five pound weight like a hoop of a
barrel.
"'Peachey.' says Dravot, we don't
want to fight no more. The crafts
the trick, SO help me" And he brings
forward that same chief that l left at
Bashkai-BiIIy Fish we called him
dlLtI W di u Dttdu uC NHo ~ linz DAAy
Fish that drove the big tank engine at
Mach on the Bolan in the old days.
Shake hands with him. says Dravot.
And shook hands and nearly dropped,
for Billy Fish gave me the grip. said
nothing. but tried him with the fellow
craft grip He answers, all right. and
l tried the masters grip, but that was
81 ;e-' I tn
Dan. Does be know the word?' He
does,' says Dan, and all the priests
know. But they don't know the third
degree, and they've come to find out
It's Gods truth. A god and a grand
master Of the craft am |. and lodge
in the third degree l will open. and
! we'll raise the head priests and the
! chiefs of the villages
| Its against all the law l says.
| holding a lodge without warrant from
any Que, and we never held Office in
any lodge
Its master stroke of policy says
| Dravot. The women must make aprons
as you show them. III hold levee OF
chiefs tonight and lodge tomorrow.
II was fair run off my legs. but
wasn't such u fool as not to see what
| a null this craft business gave us. We
| took a great square stone in the tenn
pie for the masters chair and little
stones for the officers chairs and paint
| ed the black pavement with white
squares and did what we could to
| make things regular.
"Dravot gives ont that him and me
were gods and sons Of Alexander ana
! past grand masters in the craft and
was come to make katiriStan conn
try where every man should eat IN
peace and drink in quiet and specially
obey us. Then the chiefs came round
to shake hands. and they was SO hairy
and white and fair it was just shaking
hands with Old friends. We gave them
names according as they were like
men we had known in India-Biily
Fish, Holly Dilworth. likky Kergan
that was bazaar master when was at
Mhow. and 50 on, and SO on.
The most amazing miracle was at
lodge next night. One Of the old
| priests was watching us cOuLAAuo"S
and felt uneasy, for knew we'd have
to fudge the ritual, and I didn't know
what the men knew. The old priest
was a stranger come in from beyond
the village of Bashkai He fetches a.
whoop and howl and tries to over
turn the stone that Dravot was sitting
on. It's all up now l says. That
comes Of meddling with the craft with,
out warrant Dravot never wfnked'
an eye. not when ten priests took and
tilted over the grand masters chair
which was to say the stone Of Imbra..
The priest begins rubbing the bottoms
end Of it to clear away the black dirt.
and presently he shows all the other
priests the masters mark, same as was
on Dravot's apron, CIT into the stone.
Not even the priests IF the temple of
1mbra knew it was there The old chap
falls fat on his face at Dravot's feet
and kisses 'em Il uck ao,in cave nra