Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-12-10

government / serve. We who serve one
raj are one-One to remember-one to for /
got-One to help each other In good time
1t may be that vengeance against me !
would seem sweeter to you than return
TO your former allegiance. In that case,
Princess you only need betray me to the
mullah, AMI be sure my death would leave
nothing to be desired by the spectators,
At present he does not suspect me
Re assured. however, that not to be-
tray me TO him is to leave me free to serve
my government and well able 10 do so.
Il invite you to return to India with
me. bearing news that the mulah Mu-
hammad Amin and his men are bottled in
Khinjan caves, and to plan with me to
that end.
III you will, then write an answer to
Muhammad Amin, not in Urdu, but in
language he can understand seem to sur
render to him. But to me send a verbal
message, either by the bearer of this or by
some trustier messenger,
india can profit yet by your service If
you will And in that case | pledge my
word to direct the governments attention
only to Sur good service in the matter
1t is not yet too late to choose. 1t is not
impertinent in me TO urge YOU.
Nor can | say now gladly L would
subscribe myself your grateful and loyal
servant"
The mullah pounced on the finished
letter. pretended to read it, and
watched him seal 1t up, smudging the
hot wax with his own great guarded
thumb. Then he shouted for the Orak-
Zai Pathan, who came striding in, all
grins and sWagger.
"There--take it! Make speed T. he
ordered, and with his rifle at the
ready and the letter tucked inside
his shirt, the PathaD favored King
with farewell grin and obeyed.
Get out = the 1nulah snarled then
Immediately. See to the sick. Tell
them | sent thee. Bid them be CRATE
full! !"
King went. He recognized the al
most madness that constituted the null
lahs driving power. 1t is contagious,
that madness, until it destroys itself.
Ii had made several thousand men fol-
low him and believe in him, but it had
once given Yasmini Il chance to fool
him and defeat him, and now it gave
King his chance. He let the muliah
think himself obeyed implicitly.
He became the busiest man in all the
Hills While the mullnh gloWered
over the camp from the cave mouth or
Illuminated from the Duran or fought
with other mullahs with words for
weapons and abuse for argument, he
bandaged and anced and poulticed and
phySicked until his head swan with
WEAKNESS.
The sick swarmed so around him
that he had to have a bOdyguard to
keep them at bay; so he chose twenty
of the least sick from among those
who had talked with the pathan after
sunrise.
And because each of those mon had
friends and it is only human to wish
ones friend in the same boat especial.
~ when the sea, so TO speak, is rough,
the progress through the camp became
Il current of missionary zeal and the
virtues Of the AngIO.lndan raj We're
better spoken of than the Hills had
lrard for years.
Not that there was any effort made
to convert the camp en- masse Far
from it, But the likely few We're
pounced on and were told of a chance
to enlist for Il bounty in India. And
what with winter not so far ahead,
and what with experience of former
lighting against the British army, the
choosing was none SO difficult. From
the day when the Had first feels soft
down upon his face until the old man :
out, the hllman would rather fight
than eat i, but he prefers to fight on the
winning side if he may, and he likes
good treatment.
Before It was dark that night there
were thirty men sworn to hold their
tongues and To wait for the word to
hurry down the Khyber for The pur.
pose of enlistlng in some British-ln.
dian regiment. Some even began TO
urge the hakim not to wait for the
Orakzai pathnn, but to start With what
he had.
"Shal I leave my brother IN the
lurchi' the hakim asked them and
though they murmured, they thought
better of him for it.
Well for him that he had plenty OF
EPSON salts in his Kit, for IN the
"Hills' physic should taste evil and
show very quick results 10 be believed
in. He found n dozen diseases of
which he did not ~ much as know
the name, but half of the sufferers
swore they We're cured after the first
dose. They would have dubbed him
fnQulr and have fosted him to II pillar
of holiness had he cared to let them
Muhammad Amin slept most of the
day. like great animal that scorns
to live by rule. But at evening he
carve to the cave mouth and fulmi-
mated such II sermon as set the whole
camp to roaring. He showed his
power then. The iihad he preached
would have tempted dead men from
their graves tO come and share the
plumber and the curses he called down
on towards and laggnlds aud nnhe-
levers were enough to hnve fright
ened the dead away again