Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-05-04
CHAPTER XXI.
lCoutinuedl

"Panthan turban," he ordered;
and his servant brought him one.
"Sheepskin cloak"
In a moment the upper half OF
him would have passed in the dark
| for that of a rather portly northern
trader. He decided that a rug
would do the rest, and shatched one
as he ran for the carriage with the
| turban under his arm. He gave
no order to the driver other than
"Cheloh." and that means Go
ahead" so the driver, who was
Sikh. went ahead as the guns go
| into action, asway and aswing, re-
gardless of everything but speed.
{ "Yasmini'si" said the general, at
/ the end of hundred yards; and the
Sikh took a square, right-angle
turn at full gallop with a neatness
| the horse artillery could not have
bettered. There seemed to be no
need of further instructions, for the
Sikh pulled up unbidden at the
| private door that Is to all appear
ance only a mark on the dirty-look-
ing wall.
With a rug around his middle,
there shot out then what watch
/ ing small boy described afterward
as "a fat hill-rajah on his way to
/ be fieeced." The carriage drove on.
for coachmen who wait outside
/ Yasmini's door are likely to be
| butts for questions. The door OPP
ened without any audible signal.
and the man with the rug around
his middle disappeared.
| He had ceased to bear any re-
| semblance to any one but a stout
/ English general in messdress by
| the time he reached the dark stair
| head; and Yasmini took the precau-
ton of being there alone to meet
him She held a candle-lantern.
Whom have you?" he demanded.
They seemed to understand each
other-these two. He paid her no
compliments, and she expected
none: she made no attempt at all
| to fiatter him or deceive him. But,
being Yasmini, it did not lie in her
| to answer straightly.
81 set a trap and buffalo blum
dered into it! He will do better
than any other!'
| w nom nave you
"Risaldar-M Major Ranjoor Singh!"
The general whistled softly.
"Of the Sikh Light Cavalry" he
asked.
Zone of Kirby sahib's officers,
and trooper into the bargain!"
7 The general whistled again.
There were two troopers whom
I meant to CATCH" she said hur
riedly, for it was evident that the
general did not at all approve of
the turn affairs had taken. Il had
a trap for them at the House-of-
Eight-Half-b and some
| hillmen in there ready to rush out
and seize them as they passed. But
a fool Afridi murdered one, and l
! only got there in the nick of time
to save the others life. / meant
that RanjOor Singh, who is a buff.
falo, should be troubled about his
troopers and suspected on his own
account, for he and | have a pri-
vate quarrel. l did not mean to
catch him, or make use of him. But
he walked into the trap. What
| shall be done with him? Let the
sahib say the word and"
Her gesture was inimitable. Not
so the gurgle that she gave, for a
mans breath bubbling through the
! blood of a slit throat makes the
| same shudderSome sound exactly.
The general took no notice what
ever of that, for wise men of the
west understand the casts attempts
| to scandalize them. 1t is the ever
lasting amusement of Yasmini and
a thousand others, to pretend that
| the English are even more blood
careless than themselves, just as it
is their practice to build confident
ly on the opposite fact.
did you fire the House-of-the-
! observation-disclosures" asked the
general suddenly.
"Am l a sweeper" she retorted.
did you order it done?"
Did Jumna rise when the rain
| came? There were six good CO.
bras of mine burned alive, to say
nothing of the bones of a dead
! Afridi! Nay, sahib, I ordered a
clear trail left from there to here,
connecting me ami thee and Ran,
! joor Singh to the Germans and a
/ dog of an Afridi murderer / left
trail that even the police could
| followi"
Whose property is that house,"
Whose? Ask the lawyers, They
| have fought about it in the courts
until lawyers own every stick and
stone of it, and now the lawyers
! fight one another The govern
/