Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-01-22
OuirkS of a Wild Girls Heart
By Achned Abdullah

hllltu iNO, ilON, lWO ilOltlS "eSi AiAo
first tooth had come. he had handled
sword and dagger with the skill Of an
expert: how, in all the proud cities
he visited. silken ladders dropped from
screened balconies and henna-stained
fingers tossed roses at his feet; how,
single handed. he had gone into Persia,
levying rowdy war and %conquering the
land between border and border, and
how-a nickname which he invented
on the spur of the moment-he was
known from Delhi to Kandahar as
that bright disaster"
"Wah!" he declared, finishing the
second bottle of Persian wine-'you
might as well try and dam the waters
of the seven e when Terek is under
way to Stay and raid and loot! For
battered 1 am and lusty-hard- bitten
and tough-crafty in strife-never
wearied in crimson adventure"
Thus far into the night. Far into
the night the villagers applause drift
ing out of the hurja, while, in her
fathers house. Hirfa sobbed and
sobbed, repeating to herself.
Il hate him!"
Ah-she thought-he had taken her
in his arms; had offered her his kisses;
had offered them, doubtless, for the
coarse sport and Jest Of it-as he
fought for the coarse sport and Jest
Of it.
How cruel he was-and his arms
SO strong-and his hair 50 curly! And
for there were the strange quirks Of
a wild girls heart-she wondered II
his hair was soft to the touch
Early the next day, leading two
horses, Hamdi Gu Kahn came to the
hujra where Terek had slept.
The finest beasts We have" he said.
But Terek replied:
Take them back. ! shall stay here"
"Oh? How long?"
Maybe q day. Maybe a week. Un-
less with a wolflSh smile, Il am not
welcome?"
LAS welcome as rain after drought"
was the hasty rejoinder.
(Which is as it should be. BY the
way-that girl last night-what is her
name?"
'Hirfa."
And she lives where?"
The chief was jealous. He was angry.
But fear, as he looked at Terek's reck-
less sword. conquered both, and he
answered:
over yonder-at the end of the
village-the small gray house"
Good"
And Terek turned on his heel and,
a few minutes later, bowed to Hirfa.
You have changed your mind?' he
asked.
About what?"
About this business Of my kisses
and yours"
why should I kiss your"
mo reason" was the calm reply,
except my desire"
She blushed, grew furious at him,
more furious at herself for blushing.
She hated him-She thOught-hated
his great strength, his great height,
his great boasting; hated the way he
cooked his bonnet and the way he
dragged his sword; hated his nose, his
eyes, his curly hair. And yet his eyes
as he stared at her-how cloudy-blue
they we're, like rain on the glens and
the wind blowingl And his hair-she
wondered as she had wondered last
night-was it soft to the touch.
Oh-soft as silk or hard as granite
what did she care? She hated him
hated him-and she said SO in a loud
voice:
Il hate you'll"
"Why?"
Because you-you are a rufflan-
cruel, coarse. lawleSs :"
And bold, and fearless! And did
you not say yesterday that you would
follow the bold, fearless lad?"
Even in the matter of a bold, fear
less lad a girl may have her choice"
'You cannot choose better than the
best! You cannot choose better than
myself, oh delight"
Again, as on the preceding evening,
he took her in his arms. Again she
struggled, freed herself, struck him
across the face and cried:
II hate you'll"
She ran into the house; she slammed
the door; and she would have been
surprised had she peered through the
window and taken a look at him.
For, just then, there was about him
little of the tough man OF the sword
Puzzled he seemed, and hurt and IN
happy and rather boyish as, swiftly
at that moment, the knowledge came
to him that she was to him the treasure
of all the women on earth and
morosely, he said to himself:
II love her-but she does not love
me. My heart burns with the flaming
torches Of passion-but her heart /:
as cold as clay. And there you have
a bleak, bitter truth for a bleak, bittel
day!"
Yet it was typical Of him that his
humility did not last long; that, almos'
at once, his cheerful mood returned
and he thought:
"Wah-round and round this broat
world, where is there my equal?
shall ask her again-this afternoon.
He did-to receive the same reply:
II hate you'll"
To ask the same question the mex
day and the next and the next until
exasperated, she shouted:
do you not understand goot
Afghan language, oh great buffalo?
hate you'll Never my lips to. yours