South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-01-06
NATIVE CUNNING
PUZZLES TROOPS
Story OF Two Deaths in India
Reveals Surprising
CleVcrneSS.
BY HAROLD SANDERS.
tJnifcd press stan correspondent


ALLAIIABAD. India. Jan. 6.-Thc
day had been quiet aficr q night
81 random snipins hcr, ths ada
cert hills. and as the C-iue sun
d.orpcd slowly b liaG the rocks
.ue LITTLE garrison settled down TO
slecr
The sentry paused in his beat his
sls> glved TO the narrow pass from
which a party or native travellers
Was disgorEing Tie discovered them
ss three men and two women.
They ambled up 90 the wire en-
tanElcmcnts and asked the sepoy TO
get them some swectmcats. prOmis-
iag him portion as "A reward
lie assented and turned 20 the
gate. The next moment he lay dead.
The women" threw off their dis
guises and signalled the pass Fifty
or sixty Mahsuds appeared, seem
iugly from nowhere The guard was
surprised the little garrison over
powered
I'm a few minutes silence settled
over the post again. The tribesmen
disappeared over the hill and I'm
nuilah deep down below the horizon
they counted the spOlls
Fifty-nine rifles and six thousand
rounds OF ammunition
That was in 1917
Ie was lame old man. and he
lowered about the post because the
sepoys gave him food.
Sometimes he would sleep quite
close 10 the miniature fort which
commanded the valley for miles
around. Occasionally he would rest
in the winding road where the guard
passed in regular reiiefs.
One day he got up and Joined
the party. chatting and joking the
while. but the pace soon tired him.
and ne gradually dropped back un-
40 ne was with the last two files
AS they came TO a bend in the
road he asked the baik for a match.
The n. Q. o. paused, and was forag-
ing in his pocket when the old
cripple. with extraordinary dexter
.ty, seized him by the throat and
plunged a knife into his tunic
When the guard came back 20
look for him they coulI no, find
his rifle.
And Tire Old cripple" was gone.
Lieut. H. smiled erimly AS he
observed the welter o. blood which
trickled in a thin. broken line,
GiagOnally from the nullah
And as ne moved cautiously in the
opposite direction he murmured
softly to himself
The same old game. They really
are very simple"
The Wazir had been practising an
old trick. The drive had been sue
cessful. and to lay a false scent they
had cut off the ears of a mule and
driven the bleeding beast in an OPP
positc direction to lure the pursuers
away.
Lieut.. H. however. was no
Ercenhorn. Four years on the from
tier had taught him much For
nearly an hour he led his party eau
tiously over the hilly tracts. Save
FOR a whispered word 10 his havil-
dar major. no one spoke a word.
4 sudden excitement on his left
caused him to turn. and glanciur
up tbs nuIlah he saw two of his
party throttling one OF the raiders
He called them off and saw thai
the man was dying. He had beer
badly hit in the early encounter
but. knowing the consequ ences OF
capture. he had struggled on unit
his strength failed.
Lieut.. II. read ali this at
glance. lie admired pluck. anC
knelt down 10 give the raider
drink OF water. But even as he turn
ed the screw of his water bottle h
received a slash across the throa
that nearly severed his head
The heavildar major, reporting
tho affair, stated that the raider ha,
died IN the same manner preciseu
one moment later