Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 116: what you’re looking at

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

_dals well strapped on are removed but af- _ ter he is dead.” ; “ Bismillah!’? The Pindari had the pa- per spread flat upon the black table and saw the seal of the British raj. He seemed to ponder over the document as if the writ- ing were not within his interpretation. Then he said: ‘We men of the sword have not given much thought to the pen, employing scribblers for that purpose, but to-morrow a mullak will make this all plain.” Barlow interrupted the chief. “Shall J read the written word?’”’ “What would it avail? Hereon is the seal of the Englay raj, but as you read the thumb of the raj would not be upon your lip in the way of a seal. The muilak will interpret this to me. Is it of an alliance?” “Tt is, chief.” The Pindari laughed: ‘ Holkar would give me a camel load of gold rupees for this and thy head; Sindhia might add a pro- vince for the same.” “True, chief. And has Amir Khan » heard a whisper of reward and a dress of honor from Sindhia’s Dewan for his head?” “ Afghan, there is always a reward for the head of Amir Khan; but a gift is of little value to a man who has lost his life in the trying. Without are guards ready to run a sword through even a shadow, and here I could kill three.” He raised his black eyes and scanned the form of Ayub Alli. There was a quizzical smile on his lips as he said: “Go back and sit thee upon the divan.”’ When Barlow had taken his place, the chief laughed aloud, saying, ‘‘ Well done, Captain Sahib; thou art perfect as a Patan; even to the manner of sitting down one would have thought that, except for a saddle, thou hadst always sat upon thy heels.” Barlow smiled good humoredly, saying, “Tt is even so; I am Captain Barlow. And is ’-——he tapped the loose, baggy trousers of the Afghan hillman, and the sheepskin h the wool inside—‘ was not im yf deceit, but for protection on the ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. or killed by a Rajput. ceiving of Amir Khan, that he given to a Patan the paper of ad. mittance, or of passing, such as he gave to thee. Even at the audience I was pleased mt thy manner of disguise.” arlow was startled. “Did you — sae that I was a sahib—How ait you ow? “ Because thou wert placed in my hand In the way of protection.” ' Then Barlow surmised that of all out- side his own caste there could be but one and he knew that she was in the camp for he had seen her. “It wasa woman,” “ A rare woman; even I, chief of the Pin- daris—and we are not bred to softness— say that she is a pearl.” “ They call her the Gulab,” Barlow ven- tured. “She is well named the Gulab. The perfume of her is in my nostrils, though it mixes ill with the camel smell. Without offense to Allah I can retain her, for it is in the Koran that a man may have four wives, and I have but two.” ‘ But the Gulab is of a different faith,” Barlow objected, and a chill hung over his heart. The Pindari laughed. ‘ The sakibs have agents for the changing of faith, those who wear the black coat of honor; and a mullah will soon make a good Musselmani of the beautiful little infidel. Of course, sahib, there is the other way of having a man’s desire which is the way of all Pindaris— they consider women as fair loot when the sword is the passport through a land. But as to the Gulab, the flower is most too fair for a crushing. In such a matter as I have spoken of the fragrance is gone, and @ man, when he crushes the weak, has con- flict with himself.” “ It’s a topping old barbarian, this leader of cutthroats!” Barlow admitted to him- self; but in his mind was a horror of the fate meant for the girl. And somehow it was a sacrifice for him, he knew, an en- largement of the love that had shown in the soft, brown eyes. As he listened schemes of stealing the Gulab away, of saving her, were hurtling through his brain. , “ And mark thee, sa/ib, Amir Khan has — comicbooks.com But as to the dé. dost thou SuPpuse