The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1936-01-17

IL xN LIN
IN SAMARk
Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate,
Incorporated
(Copyright: 1885: BY Achmed Abdullah)
ON TWO PARTS-PART TWO)
He ordered another bottle. He drank
deeply; and-being a dreamer as well
az aabS 2 hard ard d see1;na E Feet as sd gea s a
and "Ga ssimmsTsne e 1Soss and, bsl hSsses .
pretty slave girl for a warriors hours
Of rest. But that Is not all I want out
life. For-by the teeth Of the Pro-
phet Mohammed-I want empire and
dominion and the acclaim Of man
kind!"
Yes. Thus, msmilingly, spoke this
lawless bandit whose very shoes had
been pilfered from another mans feet:
claim of mankind! And how can I
fail-with lads like you by my side,
not to mention the other heroes who
are waiting for me outside the Western
Gate? Seventeen men-I don't. mind
telling you-who love me, who stick to
like ticks to a Sleeps back. And
as a knife cuts through cheese. With
each victory we shall gather more
hardy men to our stands. A surprise
attack then-Samarkand taken by
storm-the Grand Khan on his knees
before us, swearing fealty. What next
i. . - Alive turn against Persia
catch .d the s shah unaWaIesI clip sIIoh his ears sfs
women, where he belongs. Then" he
drank deeply, 1--WE go riding into the
west. We humiliate profoundly the en-
peror of the infidel Franks, force him
to pay enormous tribute and" here
spoke the poet in him, the sentimental
list, kiss his youngest daughter under
Again he hiccoughed; then, the prac-
tica1 man coming to the front, stead
'e% Gently sts n does rss'i it! First let us go to
another mans stable and find horses
that will fit our legs -"
The man, you can plainly see, was
It had not been boasting, had been the
truth, when he had claimed he would
pull the Grand Khan's beard.
Indeed, by the end of the month, he
had plundered homeSteadS and VII
lagos everywhere. He had defeated three
of the Grand Khan's patrols. He had
invaded the outskirts of Sam:
been, with swords and dirks to the
fore, the torches flaring red against
the tall, black houses, the bandits fit
ting away gorged with loot and blood,
and the Grand Khan in a towering
rage, ordering his troopers to gallop in
pursuit:
~~@~1I SkE1N, r,IaN n cr1olynSc hood YNrS
out Of a hole you must crush it i'm
mediately-or the tail will be more
than you a manage"
Here was a sound adage, although
of mighty little value since the snakes
head was not to be found. It disap-
peared. And it popped up again 10
days later. many ~ miles fniSoi away, viii with o the
2OO-ambushing the richest aravan of
the year. A caravan bringing silks and
Jewels, raw gold and rugs, and spices
and costly rarities from China and the
Indies, and the merchants, to whom
the goods had been consigned. filling
the Grand Khan'S audience hall, clam
oring for redress, yammering that
and one Of them relating that among
the attackers he had recognized Ali
and Mehmet, and the Grand Khan
exclaiming:
"Let their fathers be bastinadoed and
put on bread and water rations!".
What good will that do?" mildly
inquired a priest. -.
mo good at all, except that 1t will
please me-perSOnally -"
samarkand buzzed with the news.
Men and women, when they met IN
bazaar OF mosque or at street corner,
sifted the gossip through the sieve Of
eager, pursued lips.
As to the two girls-for LONG, days
about the boys absence. Now they
knew; and, at first, smiled.
Trying to prove to us they are" wa
zuleikas right guess, that they are
A silence. Her smile vanished. So
did Fatima's, who said duly:
"Now we have lost them"
home with our nagging and ta%unting."
They blamed themselves bitterly:
They worried. And their worry turned
to bleak despair when, presently, 1t be.
came known that the Red Hawk nae
been killed-had been killed most m
g%loriously, in spite Of his tall boasting,
mare he had stolen; that Ali and Meh-
met were now the leaders Of the ban
dts who, with lawless nomads riding
in from the seven hills and the seven
plains, were steadily increasing in mum
bers and making the whole west coun-
try unsafe for peaceful trade and traf-
fic; that the Grand Khan-his patrols
defeated in skirmish after skirmish-
had decided he would see this thing
through at once and for all, was send
ing the pick of his regiment against the
robbers and had sworn a solemn oath
that Ali and Mehmet would receive
such grisly punishment as never before
had been known in High Tartary.
One afternoon, a camel rider came
out of the west with new to break
hearts and humble great pride. News of
black. disaster that had overcome the
soldiers.
The latter had felt secure in their
steely power. Perhaps too secure. Cross
made bivouac; carelessly 1olling round
the camp fires; unaware that the ban
dts, by circuitous trails known only