Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1918-03-07

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- Notwithstanding 6eluehi Was
Thrust Forward At 4 Run, With
Arms Lashed to His Sides.
mails verbal confederation of q lief
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 wretched-loOking Baluchi
was thrust forward at run, with arms
ed TO his sides and pitlful look
Of terror on his face. Two more Ba-
tlchis were hustled along after him.
protesting a 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 I" he howled. and
| his voice was like VOLTS at hunting
time. "Hear, and be warned!"
The crowd grew very still, but King
saw that some men licked their lips,
as II they well knew what was coming.
'These three men came, and one was
q new man" the mullah howled. 1.-THE
other two were his witnesses! All
three swore that the first man came
from Staying IN unbeliever 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. "GOodl"
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
held! Does any speak for them?"
"Speak for them?" said the roof.
There was silence. Then there was
a murmur of establishment. Over OPP
poslte to where King sat the mullah
stood up, who the Pathan had said
was Observation-Disclosures
Amin.
''The men are miner" he growled.
His voice was like a bears mt bay; II
was low, but 1t carried strangely. And
rs he spoke he swung his great head
between his shoulders. like bear that
means to charge. 1.-THE proof they
brought has been stolen! They had
good proof! I speak for them! The
men are miner
The Pathan nudged King in the ribs
with m elbow like club and tickled
his ear with hot breath.
"Bull-with-a-beard speaks truth I" he
grinned. "Truth and lie together !
Good may It do him and them! They
die. they three Baluchisv'
proof" howled the mullah who had
no hair or eyelashes.
''Proof! Show us proof" yelled the
crowd.
The Pathan next King leaned over to
whisper to him again. but stiffened In
the act. There was great gasp the
same instant, as the whole crowd
caught It's breath all together. The
mullah In the middle froze into i'm.
mobility. Bull-with-a-beard stood
mumbling, swaying his great head from
side to side, no longer suggestive Of q
bear about to charge, but OF one who
hesitates.
The crowd was staring ut the end OF
the bridge. King stared, too. ant
caught his own breath. For Yasmini
stood there, smiling on them all MS the
new moon smiles down on the Khyber
She had come among them like spirit
all unheralded.
So much more beautiful than the one
likeness King had seen of her that fol
Il second he doubted who she was, she
stood there. human and warm and real
who had begun to seem a myth. claC
In gauzy silk transparent stuff that
made no secret of sylphlike shapeli
ness and looking nearly light enough tt
blow away. Her feet---and they were
the most marvelously nodded things
he had ever seen--were naked anG
played restlessly on the naked stone
Not one part Of her was still for q
fraction of n second: yet the whole eff
feet was of insolently lazy ease.
Her eyes blazed brighter than the lit
tie jewels stitched to her gossamel
dress, and when man once looked a,
them he did not find 1t easy to looi
away again. Even mullah Muhamniat
Amin seemed transfixed. like a grea
foolish animal.
But King was staring very hard In
deed ut something else--mentally
cursing the plain glass spectacles h,
wore. that had begun to film over ant
dim his vision. There We're two brace
let's on her arm. both barharic thing.
of solid gold. The smaller Of the two
was on her wrist and the larger on hel
upper arm, but they were SO alike, ex
cept for size, and SO exactly like tn,
one Rewa Gunga had given him in hel
name and that had been stolen from
him In the night that he ran tLa ~ssa