Show jau ja u aj of hyber komlance Ko mance of adventure by TALBOT MUNDY t r i br the bobbt merrall CHAPTER continued fv aca w 3 but out of tha corner pt bis eye and tM rj ka daub brately cra tely king saw that ismail was bembera mem bera 0 ahi new band owl hy one add whispering to them what he said was a mystery but aa they talked each man looked at king aag the more they better used they seemed the day T re on the more iney by midday if to there were three at least to hop fils find en to help mount again I 1 thour thousand men wath women and aad baggage iio ot move so swiftly as one man or n dozen especially in the f where discipline beneath a proud man 9 honor there were clans miles to go bedre when elgh pad tk them amp ue camp because es would baye dooe it otherwise aln any ase ahen the meal as eaten nad sentries had been set ht aery van points arder i the mullah the women and idren were to be left in camp next n and boreman to reman there until sent there aa murmuring ind the camp and gs contingent iut king laughed it Is good I 1 he said why bow sav him bid your women make for ajer soon after the nib TOW bid than grayel ai ber until ie aud aut aw please yourselves sahibo sahibs 1 the s air was one of jn As for biesk Wi esk w len behind me in the ija n content ahey to even as had tested him and harn at last she must ba now for earen ofle feast waca s isel fhe had sent for that purpose it atna thai her course vod depend on lus ife ale wals adne with him it he succeeded in establishing a strong would yield with or without ismail s aid alth must control eighty men and give the fp foiw once boboth wf will go now he said quietly thai gentry in yonder shadow has hll back turned we rush him between and surprised into obedience obed rence and too de at the prospect of action to Ivo why should the ngon their bandoleers bandoliers bando liers and madei ready ismael Is matl brought s bor seand ABS ihen at mada a sudden took him unawares they over the cliff too scream an darm and though gentries on either hand i heard them they like wind biond geots of before ehg mulan what was at w yh y did not halt until not one ot them could run king ng to his hor seto fiad a alon the cliff tops rod tame med to fand he way ai j 4 CHAPTER vl W crl 1 ha anaw tred and 13 enough ther and they all became fired curiosity more potent than money aten hyitt chast and up a coun U or jW niall 13 and leaning a thill on hit shoulder in order to hear better adof cen atme aut ismall set bis cran bacate on the bame as adoc yet te insisted bewab her kanand f 1 not king s ow ys men 0 king listen to me who am pom with reward for offer dl that was a gem of a title 11 fl ed I 1 know la B thousand years and I 1 will tell 1 l 1 aft ba careful if M were to invent too might dano iacco ai la tt tt nil s la kaew I 1 h to ti then they donld in t and might at afie first pinch he must feel io the upset no poeju v ss pt J t r i 6 b ff S ie eathal bulf agh ita but an unbelieving dog of a for agn T from sh hiba csc vered that h plana tona harn wit an to into slavery I 1 might ns op biot waha lt ivil bore than a mile away the mullah was getting even by condemning the lots pi them tp death an byg for of an eye 1 say the unforgiving halls ione back into isse now he would be tortured o breathing deeply in the darkness they nodded as it the dark bad eyes chin drove a traction deeper into hl shoulders derf ow ye geow for all men know that into caves Is free to who can tell a lie without flinching it Is the way out again that Is not free how many men so ya know that have entered and nevera tei they all again it was common fano wedge that was a very graveyard of the presumptuous she has set a trap for the mullah she will let him and all his men enter and wll anever let them out again I 1 how lowest thou this from one on either hand was I 1 never in caves he retorted whence came I 1 I 1 am her man eisent to help trap the mullah I 1 I 1 trapped all of you but for being dearv of these hills and wish fal to go back to india and be pardoned I 1 that Is who I 1 ami that Is howa know I 1 t their breath came and went albl bantly and the darkness was alive with the excitement they thought them selves too warrior like to utter but what will she do then asked somebody king searched bis memory and in a moment there came back to him a picture of the hurrying he had held up in the keyber khyber pass and recollection of the man s w know ye pot be said that long ago she gave leave to all who ate salt to be true to the salt she gave the keyber khyber leave to fight against her be sure whatever she does bhe will stand between no man and bis pardon I 1 but will she lead a we alu not fight against her I 1 nai said king drawing bis breath in chin felt like a knife against bis collar bone and ismaila iron fingers clutched his arm it was time to give his hostage to dame fortune she will go down into india and use her influence in the matter of the pardons 1 1 I believe thou art a very great liar indeed 1 said the man who lacked part of his nose the went and he did not come back what proof have we ye have me I 1 said king if I 1 show you no proof how can I 1 escape you they all grunted agreement as to that king used his elbow to bit Is matl in the ribs he did not dare speak to him but now was the time for ismall to carry information to her supposing that to be bis job and after a minute ismall rolled into a shadow and was gone king gave him twenty minutes start letting bis men rest their legs and exercise their tongues now that he was out of the mullans mullahs mul lahs clutches and he suspected would know of it within an hour or two and before dawn in any event he began to feel like a player in a game of chess who foresees bis opponent mate in so many moves it were to let the mullah and his men into the caves and to join forces with him in there he would at least have time to hurry back to india with his eighty men and give warning ho might have time to call up the khy ber and blockade the caves before the hive could swarm and be chuckled to think of thi hope ot that on the other hand if there was to be a battle royal between and the mullah he would be there to watch it and to comfort india with the news now we will go on again in order to be close to at break of day he said and they all got up and obeyed him as it bis word bad been law to them for years of all of them he was the only man in doubt be who seemed most confident of all they swung along into the darkness under low bung stars trailing behind kings horse with only halt a dozen of them i hundred yards or so ahead as I 1 an advance guard and all of them ex to see loom above each next valley tor distances and darkness are deceptive in the hills even to trained eyes suddenly the advance halted but did not shoot and as king caught up with them saw athey were talking with someone ne had to ride up close before be recognized the salaam 1 said the fellow with a rn 1 I bring one hundred and aleven t As he spoke graveyard shadows rose out of the darkness around and leaned on rifles be ye men all ex soldiers of the raa king asked them aye I 1 they growled in chorus who gave you leave to come king asad none I 1 lie told ua of the pardons and we came 1 ayel imald the ezal drawing king aside but she save to seela them out and tempt them I 1 and what docs she intend king asked him suddenly she ask allah who put the spirit in her I 1 how should I 1 know we will march again my brothers 1 king shouted and they streamed along behind him now with no advance guard but with the striding beside kings horse with a great hand on the saddle like the others he seemed decided in his mind that the hakim ought not to be allowed much chance to escape just as the dawn was tinting the surrounding peaks with softest rose they topped a ridge and lay below them across the mile hide bone dry valley and while they watched and the men were beginning to murmur for they needed no last view of the place to satisfy any long ings 1 none else than isreall rose from behind a rock and came to king s stirrup he tugged and king backed his horse until they stood together apart she sends this message said Is mall showing his teeth in the most peculiar grin that surely the lulls ever witnessed many of her men who have never been in the army are none the less true to her and she will not leave them to the mullah s mercy they will leave the caves in a little while and will come up here they are to go down into india and be made prisoners it the will not enlist them you are to wait for them here Is that all her message r king asked him nay that Is none of it I 1 this Is her message KOW THIS DAY THOU englishman WHETHER SUE LOVED theeb THERE BE PROOF suan AS EVEN THOU understand I 1 ismall slipped away and lost himself among the men and none of them seemed to notice that he had been away and had come again it was a little more than an hour after dawn and the chilled rocks were beginning to grow warmer when the head of a procession came out of gate and started toward them ocr the valley in all more than five hundred men emerged and about a hundred women and children then muhammad anim comes I 1 shouted a voice from a crag top they snuggled into better hiding and there was no thought now of leaving before the mullah should go by it needed an effort to quiet them when the mullah rose into view at last above the rise and paused for a minute to stare across at before lead ing abts four thousand down and on ward he was silent as an image but alg men roared like a river in flood and he made no effort to check them he dismounted for he had to and tossed his reins to the nearest man with the air of an emperor and he led the way down the without hesitation striding like a mountaineer ills men followed him noisily it was thirty minutes after the last of the mullans mullahs men bad vanished through the gate and hla own men in dozens and twenties were scattered thou know this day thou whether or not she truly loves thee along the cliff top arguing against delay with growing rancor when a lone horseman galloped out of gate and started across the valley ue rode recklessly he waa either panic stricken or else bolder than the devil in a minute king had recognized the mare and so had the eyes ot fifty men around him no man with halt an eye for a horse could have failed to recognize that black mare having ever seen her once in another two minutes king bad recognized the ran gars silken turban most of the men were staring downward at the hangars Ran gars bead as he urged the mare up the cliff path when the explanation of s message came it was only king urged by some intuition who had bis eyes fixed on there cime a shock that actually swayed the hill they stood on the ti mare on the path below missed her footing ana fell a dozen feet only to get up again and scramble as it a thou band devils were behind her the ban ear riding her grimly like a jockey in a race three more shocks followed A great slice of suddenly caved in with a roar and smoke and dust burst upward through the tumbling crust there was a pause after that as it the waiting elements were gathering strength for ten minutes they watched and scarcely breathed hewa annga gained the summit and dismounting tood by king with the reins over his arm the mare was too blown to do anything but stand and tremble and king was too enthralled to do anything but stare that Is what a woman can do tor a man I 1 said rewa geoga grimly she set a fuse and exploded all the dynamite there were tons of it the galleries must have fallen in one on the other I 1 A thousand men digging tor a thousand years could never get into now and the only way out Is down earths drink 1 she bade me come and bid you goodby saheb I 1 would have stayed in there but she commanded me she said tell king sahib my love was true tell him I 1 give him india and all asia that were at my mercy I 1 while the hangar spoke there came three more earth tremors in swift succession and a thunder out of as it the very hills were coming to an end the mare grew frantic and the hangar summoned six men to hold her suddenly right over the top of keln jans upper rim where only the eagles ever perched there burst a column of water immeasurable huge that for a moment blotted out the sun it rose sheer upward curved on itself and tell in a million ton deluge on to and into valley hissing and roaring and thundering earths drink had been blocked by the explosion and had found a new way over the barrier before plunging down again into the bowels of the world the one sky flung leap it made as its weight burst down a mountain wall was enough to blot out forever and what bad been a dry mile wide moat was a shallow lake with deaths rack and rubbish floating on the surface the earth rocked king wag vp on his feet in a second and faced about the hangar laughed so ends the heart of the hills he said think kindly of her sahib she thought well enough of you 1 he laughed again and sprang on the black mare and before king could speak or raise a hand to stop him he was off at wondrous speed along the precipice in the direction of the khy ber pass and india two of the men who had come out of mounted and spurred after him king collected bis men and the women and children it waa easy for they were numb from what they had wit hessed and dazed by fear jn half an hour he bad them mustered and marching CHAPTER they reached the keyber khyber famished and were fed at all fort after king had given a certain password and had whispered to the officer commanding but he did not change into en clothes yet and none of his following suspected him of being an englishman A hangar on a black mare has gone down the pass ahead of you in a hurry they told him at alt he had two men with him and food enough only stopped long enough to make his business known what did he say his business Is asked king he gave a sign and said a word that satisfied us on that point 1 ohl said king can yon signal down the pass surely courtenay at bamrud Jam rud yes in charge there and growing tired of doing nothing signal down and ask him to have that bath ready for me that I 1 spoke about goodby so he left all at the bead of a motley procession that grew noisier and more confident every hour isreall began to grow more lively and to have a good many orders to fling to the rest ton mourn like a dog king told him three howls and a whine and a latue sulking and then forgetfulness I 1 ismall looked nasty at that but did not answer although be seemed to have a hot word ready and thenceforward he hung his bead more and at least tried to seem bereaved but his manner was unconvincing none the less and king found it food for thought the es soldiers and would be soldiers marched in four behind him growing hourly more like drilled men and talking with each stride that brought them nearer india more as men do who have an interest in law and order behind them tramped the women from carrying their babied and their husbands loads and behind them again were the other ft omen who had been told they would be overtaken in the khymer but who had actually had to run themselves raw footed in order to catch up down the keyber khyber have come conquerors quer ors a dozen conquering kings and as many beaten armies but surely no stranger host than this ever trudged between the echoing walls the very eagles screamed at them signals preceded them and courtenay Courte nav himself rode up the pasq to greet them at bamrud they were given food and their rifles were taken away from them a guard was set to watch them but the guard only consisted of two men both of whom were mathans Pa thans and they assured them that ridiculous though it sounded the british were actually willing to forgive their enemies and to pardon all deserters who applied for pardon on condition of good faith in the future that they prayed to allah like little children lost and found the women crooned love songs to their |