Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-11-30

"There are strangers :" announced
the mullah, as n man might say, II
smell rat" But he did not look at
anybody in particular; he blinked at
the crowd.
"Bring them ~ he shouted, and King
suppressed a shudder--for what proof
had he of right to be there, beyond Is
malls verbal corroboration of lie7
Would Ismail lie for him again? he
wondered. And If so, would the lie be
any use?
Not far from where King sat there
was an Immediate disturbance in the
crowd, and q wretched-lOOking Baluchi
was thrust forward at a run, with arms
lashed to his sides and pitiful look
of terror on his face. Two more Ba-
luchis were hustled along after him,
protesting little. but looking almost
as hopeless.
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
er obedience. The crowd began to be
noisy again, but the mullah signed for
silence.
These are traitors !" he howled, and
his voice was like a VOLTS at hunting
time. Hear, and be warned r.
The crowd grew very still, but King
saw that some men licked their lips,
as If they well knew what was coming.
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 Staying an unbellever in the teeth
of written law. They said he ran from
the law. So. as the custom is, / let all
three enter"
"Good!" said the crowd. "Good -
They might have been FIVE thousand
judges, judging in equity, so grave they
were. Yet they licked their lips.
"But later, word came to me saying
they are liars. So-again as the Gus.
tom isl ordered them bound and
heidi Does any speak for them?"
Speak for them?" said the roof.
There was silence. Then there was
murmur Of astonishment. Over Cd
posite to where King sat the mullaf
stood up, who the Pathan had said
was Bull-with-a-beard"-
Amin.
"The men ere miner" he growled
His voice was like a hears at bay; Il
was low, but 1t carried strangely. AND
as he spoke he swung his great heaC
between his shoulders, like a bear that
means to charge. 'The proof they
brought has been stolenl They haC
good prOofI / speak for them! TIL,
men are miner
The Pathan nudged King in the rib,
with an elbow like club and tickleC
his ear with hot breath.
Bull-wlth-a-beard speaks truthl' h,
grinned. Truth and a lie together
Good may 1t do him and them The,
die, they three Baluchis!"
, "Proof" howled the mullah who ha,
no hair or eyelashes.
proof Show us proof I" yelled th
crowd.
, The Pathan next King leaned over t
whisper to him again, but stiffened Il
the act. There was a great gasp tn
same instant, as the whole crow
/, caught its breath all together. TIL
mullah in the middle froze into In
. mobility. Bull-with-a-beard stoo
+ mumbling, swaying his great head fror
side to side, no longer suggestive of
bear about to charge, but of one VIII
? hesitates.
= The crowd was staring at the end G
the bridge. King stared. too, an
caught his own breath. For Yasmir
stood there, smiling on them all as til
new moon smiles down on the Khyber
She had come among them like spiri
all unheralded.
SO much more beautiful than the on
likeness King had seen of her that fl
a second he doubted who she was, ST
stood there, human and warm and res
who had begun to seem a myth, cla
in gauzy silk transparent stuff thi
made no secret of sylphlike shapeI
ness and looking nearly light enough
A blow away. Her feet-and they we
4 the most marvelously nodded thin
4 he had ever seen--were naked ~
n played restlessly on the naked stou
Not one part of her was still for
fraction of second; yet the whole {
feet was of insolently lazy ease.
Her eyes blazed brighter than the |
\ tie jewels stitched to her gossam
q dress, and when man once looked
them he did not find ii easy to 10
away again. Even mullah Muhamm
Amin seemed transfixed, like a gre
foolish animal.
f But King was staring very hard
deed at something else-menta
-. cursing the plain glass spectacles
~ wore, that had begun to film over a
dim his vision. There were two bra
lets on her arm, both barbaric thir
"a of solid gold. The smaller of the t
nd was on her wrist and the larger on |
ng upper arm, but they were so alike.
me cept for size, and so exactly like
one Rewa Gunga had given him in
ed. name and that had been stolen fir
m; him in the night, that he ran the r
es. of removing the glasses a moment
tw stare with unimpeded eyes. Even Il
an the distance was too great. He co
is not quite see.
the But her eyes began to search
ur- crowd In his direction, and then
knew two things absolutely. He '
Gus sitting where she had ordered Ism
uld to place him; for she picked him
ah, almost instantly, and laughed as
old somebody had struck a silver bell. /
be one of those bracelets was the one
too he had worn; for she flaunted it
rom him, moving her arm so that the Ii