Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1918-07-25

'buii-witil-a-Deard was bie;seu ia
he was careless, and / sent nv nei, to
steal the head from his men needed
evidence for you. And swear to you
II swear to you by my gods who have
brought US two together-that first
knew 1t was your brothers head when
you held 1t up in the Cavern Of Earth's
Drink! Then knew It could not be
anybody else's head!"
"Why bid me throw 1t to them,
thenT he asked her, and he was aware
Of her scorn before the words had left
his lips.
She leaned back again and looked at
him through lowered eyes, as II she
must study him all anew. She seemed
to find it hard to believe that he really
thought SO In the commonplace.
"What Is head to me, or to you
. head with NO life In it--carrion -
compared to what shall BET Would
you have known 1t was his head II you
had thrown 1t to them when / ordered
youi"
was Russian, some Indian. She stood
up. and Of course he stood up, too. SO.
she on the fOOtstO0l Of the throne, her
eyes and his were on level. She laid
hands on his shoulders and looked into
his eyes until he could see his own
twin portraits In hers, that were glow
Ing sunset pools. Heart Of the Hills?
The heart Of all the East seemed to
burn in her. rebelliousl
Are you believing me7' she asked
him.
He nodded, for no man could have
helped believing her. As she knew
the truth, she was telling 1t to him,
as surely as she was doing her skill
full best to mesmerize him. But the
secret service Ii made up Of men
trained against that.
Comet she said, and stepping
down she took his arm.
She led him past the thrones to
other leather curtains in a wall, and
through them into long hewn passages
from cavern to cavern, until even the
Rock Of Gibraltar seemed like q dolls
house In comparison. She showed him
cave containing great FORCES, where
the bronze had been worked, with
charcoal still piled up against the wall
ut one end. There were copper and tin
ingots in there Of shape he had never
seen.
II know where they came FROM"
she told him. II made 1t my business
to know all the Hills know things
the hillmen's great-great-great-gra
fathers forgot! l know old workings
that would make a modern nation rich
We shall have money when we need
1t, never fear! We shall conquer In
dia while the English backs are turned
and the best troops are overseas"
Then She called INN her warrior and
her well-beloved and took him down
long passage, holding his hand all
the way, to show him slots cut in the
floor for the use Of archers.
"You entered khinjan caves by a
tunnel under this floor, well-beloved.
,fhere is no other entrance"
Y this time ''well-beloved" was her
name for him, although there was no
air of tinality about 1t. 1t was as If
she paved the way for use of Athelstsn
and that was u sacred name. 1t was
amazing how she conveyed that Inn
preston without using words.
'"The Sleeper cut these slots for his
archers. Then he had another thought
and set these cauldrOns in place, to
boil Oil to pour down. CotAd any army
force a way through by the route by
which you entered?"
NO" he said, marveling at the tom
weight copper cauldrons, one to each
hole.
And l have more than q thousand
Mauser rifles here, and more than u
million rounds of ammunition
She showed him u cave In which
boxes were stacked In high, square
piles.
dynamite bombs!" she boosted.
'How many boxes? forget! Too
many to count! Women brought them
all the way from the sea. for even
Muhammad Amin could not make
Afridi riiiemen carry loads. I have
wondered what Bull-with-a- benrd will
say when he misses his precious dyna-
mite!'
you've enough in there to blow
the mountain up!" King advised her.
III somebody fired q pistol In here,
the least would be the collapse Of this
floor into the tunnel below with hun
dred thousand tons of rock ON top Of
II. There IL no other way outa"
"Earth's Drink" she said, and he
made u grimace that set her to laugh
ing.
But she looked ut him darkly after
that and he got impression that the
thought was no, new to her, and that
she did not thank him for the advice.
He began to wonder whether there
was anything she had not thought Of
any loophole she had left him for
escape-any issue she had not fore.
| seen.
She showed him where eleven hun.
dred Mauser rifles stood In racks In
another cave. with boxes OF ammuni-
| ton piled beside then--each rifle aud