The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-07-11
CHAPTER X

N
They came and changed the guard
wo hours after dawn, to the accom-
paniment of lot Of hawking and spit
ting, orders growled through the mist
and the crash of rifle-butts grounding
on the rock path. King went to the
cave entrance, to look the new man
over; but because he was in Khinjan,
and Khinjan in the Hills, where In
directness Is the key to information,
he stood for a while at gaze, listening
to the thunder of tumbling water and
looking at the cliff-edge six feet away
that was laid like knife in the de-
scending mist.
Out of the corner of his eye he no.
ticed that the new man was Mahsudi
no sweeter to look at and no less
treacherous 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 it 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 at large, or as much as he could
see Of it through the cave mouth. "A
hill is so high, pool so deep, river
so wide. How long, for instance, must
thy watch be-"
What is that to thee?" the fellow
growled.
There is an end to paint" said
King, adjusting his horn-rimmed spec
tacles. II lanced a mans boils last
night, and it hurt him. but he must be
well today"
Get in!" growled the guard "She
says It is sorcery! She says none
are to let thee touch them!'
Plainly, he was in no receptive
mood; orders had been spat into his
hairy ear too recently.
"Get in!" he growled lifting his
rife-butt as if to enforce the order.
81 can heal boils!" said King, retir-
ing into the cave. Then. from safe
distance down the passage, he added
a word or two to sink in as the hours
went by.
ut is good to be able to bend the
neck without pain and to rest easily
at night! 1t is good not to finch at
another's touch Boils are bad! Heal
Ing is easy and good!"
Then, since a quarrel was tho very
last thing he was looking for, he re-
tired into his own gloomy quarters at
the rear, taking care to sit SO that he
could see and overhear what passed
at the entrance Among other things
in the course of the day he noticed
that the watch was changed every
four hours and that there were only
three men in the guard, for the same
man was back again that evening
At intervals throughout the day Vas
mini sent him food by silent messen
gers: so he ate, for "the thing to do,
says Cocker, "is the first that comes
to hand. and the thing not to do Is
wcrry." II Is not easy to worry anc
eat heartily at one and the same time
Having eaten. he rolled up his sleeves
and native-made cotton trousers and
proceeded to clean the cave. After
that he overhauled his stock OF drugs
and instruments, repacking them anc
making ready against opportunity.
LAS told that heather with CUR
out there. there's an end to everything
he reflected MAY this come soon!'
When they changed guard that at
ternoon he had grown weary OF his
own company and Of fruitless specula
ton and was pacing up and down
The second guard proved even less
communicative than the first, up tc
the point when, to lessen his ennui
King began to whistle. Because Sc
cret Service man must be consistent
the tune was not English, but q weirt
minor one to which the Hills have SCI
their favOrite love song Chat is, al
about hate in the concreteD.
The echo of the waterfall within the