Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-05-03
CHAPTER X.
(Continued.1

Continued
Like swords ! have Scent she
laughed. 1.-TWO cutting edges and
a point, Not to be held save by
the hilt, eh, Ranjoor Singh? Search
Search me for weapons first, and
then. use that dagger in thy hair
| am unarmedl"
Lead on" he commanded in a
voice that grated harshly, for 1t
needed all his willpower Ip prevent
his self-command from &ing out.
He knew that behind temptation or
any kind there lie the iron teeth oil
unexpected consequences.
She let the lantern swing below
her knees and leaned back TO laugh
at him, until the cavern behind her
echoed as If all the underworld
had seen and was amused.
Il called thee a BUFFALO," she
painted. Nay, / was very wrong!
/ laughed at my mistake, Come,
Ranjoor Singh"
With swing of the lantern and
a swerve of her 1.-THE body, she
slipped out Of his reach and danced
down an age-old hevnStone pass-
age, out of which doors seemed to
lead at every six or seven yards;
only the doors we're all made fast
with iron bolts so huge that it
would take two men to manage
them.
He hurried after her. But the
faster he followed the faster she
ran, until it needed little imagina-
ton to conceive her a will-o'-the-
wisp and himself a crazy man.
"Cone!" she kept calling to him.
Gomez"
And then she commenced to sing,
as il dark passages beneath the
Delhi streets were a fit setting for
her skill and loneliness. Ranjoor
Singh had never heard the song
before. 1t was about a tiger who
boosted and fell into a trap. 1t
made him more cautious than he
might have been, and when the
darkness began to grow less
Opaque he slowed into walk. Then
he stood still, for he could noR see
her ANY longer.
1t occurred to him to turn back.
But that thought had not more
than crossed his mind when a moose
was PulICu liSAL al MS iC6R
and a big sheet thrown out of the
darkness, was wrapped and wrap
ped about him until he could Meth
or short nor move. He knew that
they were women who managed
the sheet, because he bit ones fin
gers through it and she screamed.
Then he heard Yasmini's voice
close to his ear.
Thy colonel sahib and another
are outside," she whispered 1T is
not well to wait here, Ranjeor
Singh"
Next he felt a great rush of air.
and after that the roar of fame
was so Observation-Disclosures he
could feel no heat yet-that he
wondered whether he was to 5e
burned alive.
rs it well alight?" asked Vas
mini.
"Yes!" said a maid whose teeth
chartered.
Good! Presently the fools will
come and pour water enough to fill
this passage. Thus none may fol-
low us! Gomez"
Ranjoor Singh was gathered upe
anu Cdl ny
he could feel them trembIe. For a
moment he felt the outer air. and
he caught the shout of a crowd that
had seen flames. Then he was
thrown face downward on the floor
of some sort of carriage and driven
away.
He lost all sense of direction
after moment, though he did not
forget to count, and by his rough
reckoning he was driven through
the streets for about nine minutes
at fast trot. Then the carriage
stopped, and he was carried out
again, up almost endless stairs,
across a floor that seemed yet more
endless, and thrown into a corner
He heard a door shut, and al
most at the same moment his fin
gers, that had never once ceased
working, tore a corner of the sheet
loose.
In another minute he was free.
He threw the sheet from him and
looked about, accustoming his eyes
to darkness. Present, not far from
him, he made out the sheeted figure
of another man., who lay exactly
as he had done and worked with
tired fingers. He drew the dagger
out Of his hair and cut the man
loose.
"Iagut Singh" he exclaimed
The trooper stood up and salut-
ed.
"Who brought thee here?"
Women. sahib, in carriageI"
When"