The Argosy, Vol. 76, No. 3 — page 171: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BADMASHES OF THE “BLOODY BORDER.” constructed outpost on the rim of Wa- ziriland. He was more than pleased with himself. To be selected for outpost duty on the Bloody Border spelled a chance—a real, live, fighting chance— for fame and promotion. It was also a great feather in his cap, for such work was more gener- ally given to older officers, men accus- tomed to the ways of the hills and its infamous peoples. But Andy had soon proved to the entire satisfaction of his superiors that he was a young- ster who had absorbed the lessons of India through book study and careful investigations from those who had served there, and that he was eminent- ly fitted for the work in hand. . It is on the border that the Distin- guished Service Order and the Victo- ria Cross —the British soldier’s two most coveted honors — always dangle — alluringly before the eyes, and no one was more alive to this fact than Andy. Besides, there was a girl in the case, a slender young beauty and the daughter of the commigsioner of pub- lic works at Bombay—whenever isn’t there, when a tall, handsome, red-coat- ed, gold-braided officer is breaking his neck to get his captaincy and a few other coveted distinctions? The plain fact of the matter was that Andy Nugent desired above all things on earth a prefix as well as af- fixes to his name, and more particu- larly a substantial increase in his financial resources, so that he could the sooner embark on the matrimonial sea. Some men might have fretted at being sent so far away from the ob- ject of their avowed adoration; but not Andy. He knew fully well there was no earthly chance for a young subaltern in the gay and giddy haunts of cities; but there was most certainly on the cold and bleak border, where men shot first and inquired your busi- ness afterward. And the girl, accustomed to the ways of men and soldiers from long 641 association with empire building, had sped him on his way with smiling and trustful face, while her heart was filled with forebodings as to his safety. It is the way of the women in India and other corners of the vast British empire to suffer these sacrifices un- complainingly—and it is well for the empire that they do so, Andy had heard a lot about the Waziris—and little to their credit. He knew that they never lacked the leisure nor the desire to rob their neighbors and pillage. He also knew that they generally selected the sea- sons of the rains for their deviltry. The severity of the winter, more or less, kept the badmashes to their hill castles, and the powindahs and bun- niahs ceased their tradings, goings, and comings during the heavy snows. They, therefore, contented themselves during the winter in settling their own internal and bloody feuds in the way best known to themselves—by knife, sword, and rifle. He had only been a matter of a short month at Apozai when the first hint of the rains prepared him for the cessation of the temporary peace. Through his native spies he learned of the coming of the Suleiman Khels to the pasturage of the valleys of Gos- mal and Zhob—and he knew that there was now joy in the hearts of all Waziristan, for the latter tribe were their eternal foes and prey. If they had only known it there was also joy in the hearts of Andy and his men, for their coming foretold the opportunity for real work such as they craved. He took counsel with the political officer who had been sent up to Apo- zai with him. He was a smug, self- complacent man of long service in In- dia, who had acquired a totally un- warranted contempt for the military and their ways, but a wholly unjusti- fied conceit for the effectiveness of the diplomacy popularly supposed to be part. and parcel of the civilian’s duties. COMicdoo S CO@