New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-12-28
CHAPTER XII.

They came and changed the guard
two hours after dawn, to the accom-.
paniment of orders growled through
the mist, and the crash of rife-butts
grounding on the rock path. King went
to the cave entrance, to look the new
man over; he IA a Mahsudi-nO
sweeter to look at and no less treacher-
u 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 1t is
an i'll wind that blows no good to the
secret service.
"There is an end to everything" he
remarked presently, addressing the
world ut large, or as much as he could
see of it through the ave mouth. "A
hill Is so high, a pool so deep, a river
so wide. There Is an end to pain !" he
went on, adjusting his horn-rimmed
spectacles. 81 lanced a mans boils
last night, and it hurt him, but he must
be well today"
$50 in" grOwled the guard. "She
says it is sorcery! She says none are
to let thee touch them"
81 can heal boils!" said King, retir-
ing 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. At intervals throughout the
day Yasmini sent him food by silent
messengers. 1t 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 trou-
sers and proceeded to clean the cave.
After that he Overhauled his stock of
drugs and instruments, repacking'them
and making ready against opportunity.
"As ! told that heather with a gun
out there, there's an end to every
thing!" he reflected. May this come
soon :"
The second guard that afternoon
proved even less communicative than
the first, up to the point when, to les
sen his ennui, King began to whistle.
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 rufiian began to sing the
words to it, in a voice like a forgotten
dogs. So King stopped at the entrance
and saw then a blood-soaked bandage
on the right of his neck, not very far
from the jugular.
"Hah :" said King. "Was that wound
got in the Khyber the other day?"
NAY. Here in Khinjan."
"a man told me last night" said
King, drawing on Imagination without
any conjunction at all. that the fight
in the Khyber was because q jihad is
launched already"
''That man lied! said the guard.
to talk too much.
$50 l told him !" answered King. 81
told him there never will be another
Then thou art a greater liar than
he :" the guard answered holly. There
will be a jihad when she is ready. such
m n as never yet was! India shall
bleed for all the fat years she has lain
Not a throat of an I'M
believer i'm the world shall be left un.
slit! No jihad? Thou liar! Get In
out of my sight"
So King retired into the cave, with
new TO think about. Was
planning the jihad! Or pretending
10 plan one? Every once in a while
the guard leaned far into the cave
mouth and hurled adjectives at him,
he mildest of which was q well of in
If his temper was the tenn
per of the Hills" 1t was easy to read
disappointment for a jihad that should
have been already but had been post
1oned. King let him alone and paced
he cave for hours.
He was squatting on his bed-end
n the dark. like a specialized image of
Buddha, when the first of the three
men came on guard again and at last
small came for him holding a pitchy
orch that filled the dim passage full
# acrid smoke and made both of them
Ismail was red-eyed with It.
"Come J" he growled. Come, little