Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-11-02
CHAPTER VII.

iONc. ONtiHtdu shy WAS ike DldCh
velvet, pierced with silver holes.
you see. you can't call our end of
this business war-it's sport" said
Courtenay. 1.-Two battalions of Khy-
ber 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 today, and all
perfectly well aware that q 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. 1
haven't found out yet how Yasmini
got up the pass without my knowl-
edge. l 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 hav-
ing seen her go! What dyou think of
that?"
For awhile, 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.
"How many men have you at the
fort?" he asked at last.
1.-TWO hundred-all natives"
Like 'em?"
whats the use of .talking?" an
swered 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"
King nodded. "Die with you, eh ~
''TO the last man." said Courtenay
quietly with that conviction that can
only be arrived at in one way, and
| that not the easiest.
'Pd die alone" said King. It'll be
lonely in the Hills Got any more
| Quail?"
And that was all he ever did sax
on that subject, then or at any Other
| time
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"
mot sure" said King. May anC
may not. I'd like to see him. Havenp
seen the old chap in donkey's age
How is he?"
well two days ago." said Courte
nay.
Here's wishing you luck!" sait
King. ITS time to go, SIR"
He rose, and Courtenay walked will
him to where his party waited in tn,
dark, chilled by the cold wind whis
ting down the Khyber. Rewa Gung,
sat, mounted, at their head, and clos,
to him his personal servant rode an
other horse. Behind them were tn
mules, and then in a cluster, eacl
with load of some sort on his head
were the thirty prisoners, and Ismai
took charge of them officiously
Darya Khan, the man who ha,
brought the letter down the pass, KEEP
close to Ismail.
King mounted, and Courtenay shool
hands; then he went to Rewa Gunga'
side and shook hands with him, too.
Forward ! Marchl" King ordered
and the little procession started.
"Oh, men of the Hills ye look lik
ghosts like graveyard ghosts
jeered Courtenay. as they all file
past him. "Ye look like dead mel
going to be judged!"
Nobody answered. They strod
, behind the horses, with the swift, S
} lent strides of men who are goin
, home to the Hills" but even the,
born in the Hills" and knowing thel
as a wolf-pack knows its huntin
ground, were awed by the gloom {
Khyber mouth ahead. Kings voiC
was the first to break the silence, an
he did not speak until Courtenay ws
out of earshot. Then:
: Men of the Hills =" he Gale
"Kuch dar nahin hal I"
''Nahin hal Hah! ~ shouted Isma
$50 speaks a man! Hear that, !
mountain folk! He says, There
no such thing as fearp"
In his place in the lead, King viii
- tied softly to himself; but he drew ;
automatic pistol from it's place b
n meath his armpit and transferred it
v reader position.
II Fear or no fear, Khyber mouth
# haunted after dark by the men who
k blood feuds are too reeking raw
r let them dare go home and for who
the British hangman very likely wal
- a mile or two farther south. 1t is o
T. of the few places in the world whe
a a pistol is better than a thick stit
o. Boulder, .crag and loose ro
faded into gloom behind; in front
IL both hands ragged hillsides were
ie ginning to close in; and the viii
le whose home is in Allahs refuse hei
eu whistled as it searched busily amo
ss the black ravines. Then presen
7u the shadow of the thousand-foot- hi
III Khyber walls began to cover the
IL After a while Kings cheroot VIZ
+ out, and he threw it away. A lit
y later Rewa Gunga threw away
cigarette. After that, the veriest fl
be year-old among the Zakka KIT
is watching sleepless over the rim
T' some stone watch tower, could hi
he taken oath that the Khyber's unb
ist led dead were prowling in search
,y empty graves. Probably their
w. canny silence was their best prot
ton; but Rewa Gunga chose to brt
~, it after a time.
"King sahibl" he called softly,
ed, peating 1t louder and more loudly
my til King heard him. SLOWLY Not
be fastI There are men among th
boulders, and to go too fast is to N