The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-04-05

Okuckcus oAU VAN ~ A-A-C - t--S
ready" and the letter tucked inside
his shirt, the Pathan favored King
with farewell grin and obeyed.
| "Get out |" the mullah snarled then
Immediately. "See to the sick. Tell
them sent thee. Bid them be CRATE
fulr'
King went. He recognized the al
most madness that constituted the null
labs driving power. 1t is contagious,
that madness, until 1t destroys itself.
1t had made several thousand men fol-
low him and believe in him, but 1t had
once given Yasmini a chance to fool
him and defeat him, and now 1t gave
King his chance. He let the mullah
think himself obeyed implicitly.
He became the busiest man in all the
"Hills." While the mullah 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 lanced 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 men 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
a current of missionary zeal and the
virtues Of the Anglo-Indian raj were
better spoken of than the "Hills' had
heard for years.
Not that there was any effort made
to convert the camp en- masse. Far
from it. But the likely few were
pounced on and were told of a chance
to enlist for bounty in India. And
what with winter not SO far ahead,
and what with experience of former
| fighting against the British army, the
choosing was none so difficult. From
the day when the lad first feels soft
down upon his face until the old mans
beard turns white and his teeth shake
out, the hillman would rather fight
than eat; 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 enlisting in some British-In-
dian regiment. Some even began to
urge the hakim not to wait for the
Orakzai Pathan, but to start with what
he had.
"Shall I leave my brother in the
lurch?" 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 to be believed
in. He found dozen diseases of
which he did not so much as know
the name, but half of the sufferers
swore they were cured after the first
dose. They would have dubbed him
faquir and have foisted him to 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
came to the cave mouth and fulmi-
mated such sermon as set the whole
camp to roaring. He showed his
power then. The jihad 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 laggards ana unbe-
levers were enough. to have fright
ened the dead away again.
In-twenty minutes he had undone all
Kings missionary work. And then in
ten more, feeling his power and their
response, and being at heart fool
as all rogues are, he built it up again.
He began to make promises too def
mite. He wanted Khinjan caves. More.
ne needed them. So he promised them
they should all be free of Khlnjan
caves within q day or two, to come
and go and live there at their pleasure.
lie promised them they should leave
their wives and children and belong
ings safe In the caves while they them
selves went down to plumber India. He
overlooked the fact that Khinjan caves
for centuries had been a secret to be
spoken of in whispers, and that pros
pect of its violation came to them as
a shock.
Half of them did not believe him.
such thing was impossible, and if
ne We're lying as to one point, why
not as to all the others, too?
And the army veterans, who had
been converted by Kings talk of par
dons, and almost reconverted by the
sermon, shook their heads at the talk
OF taking Khinjan. Why waste time
trying to do what never had been done,
with her to reckon against. when
place in the sun was waiting for them
| in Inflf g.