Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-01-26


open one after another in quick sue
cession.
"Come out |" he growled. "Come
out Come outw although King had
not ordered that.
King went and stood under the cen
ter light with his left arm barred. The
prisoners emerging like dead men out
of tombs, blnked at the bright light
saw him--then the braeelet-and sa-
iuted.
'May God be with thee" growled
each Of them.
They stood still then, awaiting fresh
developments. 1t did not seem to oc-
cur to any one Of them as strange that
a British officer In khaki uniform
should be sporting Yasmini's tallsman;
the thing was apparently sufficient ex-
PLANTATION In Itself.
"Ye all know thisp he asked, hold
ing up his wrist. Whose Is this?'
"Hersl' The answer was monosyl-
liable and instant from all thirty
| Threats.
King lit a cheroot and made mental
note of the wisdom of referring to her
by pronoun, not by name.
sand /? Who am III he asked.
"Her messenger! Who else? Thou
art he who shall take us to the Hills I
She promised
81 shall start for the Hills at dawn"
King said slowly, and he watched their
eyes CLEAN at the news. No Gagged
tiger Is as wretched as a prisoned hill
man. No freed bird wings more wildly
for the open. No moth comes more
foolishly back TO the flame again. 1t
was easy to take pity on them--prob-
ably not one Of whom knew PHYS
meaning.
us there any among you who would
care to GOMEZ"
"Ah-h-h-hw
"Will We obey me and himf" he
asked, laying his hand on Ismail's
shoulder, as much to let them see the
bracelet again as for any other rea-
son.
"Ayei II we fail, Allah do more to
usI"
King laughed. rye shall leave this
place as my prisoners. Here We have
no friends. Here We must obey. But
what when ye come to your Hills at
last7 Can one man hold thirty men
prisoners them In the Hills will We
still obey me?"
The answer to that was unexpected
Ismail knelt--seized his hand--and
pressed the gold bracelet to his lips |
In turn, every one Of them filed by,
knelt reverently and kissed the brace
lett
saw We ever a hillman do that be-
forew asked Ismail. "They will obey
theei Have no fearl"
''Then come !" ordered King, turning
his back confidently on thirty sayages
whom Saunders. for instance, would
have preferred to drive In front of him,
after first seeing them handcuffed.
Each lock has key, but some keys
fit all locks" says the Eastern proverb.
King has been chosen for many tick
llsh errands In his time, and Saunders
Is still In Delhi.
| The prisoners were left squatting
under the eyes and bayonets of very
suspicious prison guard, who made no
secret OF being ready for all concelv-
able emergencies One enthusiast drew
the cartridge out Of his breech cham
Der and licked 1t at intervals Of min
ute or two, to the very great interest
of the hlllmen, who memorlzed every
detail that by any stretch Of magma
ton might be expected to improve
their own shooting when they should
get home again.
King found his way on foot through
maze of streets to a place where he
was admitted through one door after
another by sentries who saluted when
he had whispered to them. He ended
by sitting on the end of the bed Of
gray-headed man who owns three titles
and whose word is law between the
borders Of province. TO him he
talked as one scho0lboy to a bigger
one, because the gray-halred man had
understanding, and hence sympathy.
II don't envy you'll" said he under
the sheet. "There's the release for
your prisoners. Take it--and take
them Whatever possessed you to
want such a gift2"
'Well, sir--flrst place, she doesn't
want to seem to be connected with me.
Second place, she has left Delhi--and |
she did not mean to leave those men.
Third place, If those thirty men had |
been anything but her particular pet
gang they'd either have been over the
border or else in Jail before now--just
like all the others. For some reason
that don't pretend to understand, she
promised 'em more than she has been
able to perform. SO l provide per-
formances. She gets the credit for 1t.
/ get pretty good personal following
at least as far as up the Khybert @.
Il. D., sir =
The man In bed nodded. mot bad"
he said.
Didn't she make some effort to get
those men away from All's?" King
asked him. II mean, didn't she try to
raf than dvx, v1urcad ~, Air. ets,l... = ]