Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

‘his is the right way,” and the Pin- brought his palm down upon the pov- _ ermment message. “I have heard men say _ that the English were like children in the _ matter of knowing nothing but the speaking of truth; I have heard some laugh at this, accounting it easy to circumvent an enemy when one has knowledge of all his inten- tions, but truth is strength. We have faith in children because they have not yet learned the art of a lie. In two days, Cap- tain Sahib, thou wilt be called to an audi- ence.” He rose from his chair, and, with a hand to his forhead, said: ‘‘ Salaam, sehid. May the protection of Allah be upon you!” “Salaam, chief,” Barlow answered, and he held out a hand with a boyish frankness that caused the Pindari to grasp it, and the two stood, two men looking into each other’s eyes. “Go thou now, se4zb; thou art a man. Go alone and with quiet, for I would view this message and put it in yonder strongbox before others enter.” CHAPTER XXI. THE GHOUL. HEN Captain Barlow had gone Amir Khan took up the message and read it. Once he chuckled, for it was, in his Oriental mind, that the deceiving of Barlow as to his knowledge of writing was rather a joke. Once as he read the heavy silk purdak of the door swayed a little at one side as if a draft of wind had shifted it, and an evil face appeared in the opening. Presently he rose from his chair, took lamp in one hand and the paper in the _and crossed to the iron box in a far of the room. He set the flickering n the floor, and dropping to his his waist band a silver id of which were his seal broad shoulders blanked elicate tracery of the window, Sa = ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. oe the door curtain. glistened the bronze skin of ; crawling thing that was a huge oa ' giant centipede; it was even like a sqilaeel snouted, shovel-headed mugger that had crept up out of the slimy river that circled sluggishly the eastern wall of the palace Once as Amir Khan fitted a key in the lock he checked and knelt, as Silent, as pas- Sive as a bronze Buddha, listening; and the creeping thing was but a blur, a shadow without movement, silent, Then he Taised the lid of the box and paused, holding it with his right hand, the flickering light upon his bronze face showing a smile as his eyes dwelt lovingly upon the gold and jewels within. And again the thing crept, or glided, not even a slipping purr, noiseless, just a drift- ing shadow; only where a ribbon of moon- light from between a lotus and a leaf picked it out was the brown thing of evil marked against the marble. Then the divan blurred it from sight. From behind the divan to the ebony chair, and the wide, black-topped table the shadow drifted; and when Amir Khan had clanged the iron lid closed, and risen, lamp in hand, there was nothing to catch his eye. He placed the lamp that was fashioned like a lotus upon the table, and dropping into his chair, yawned sleepily. Then he raised his voice to call his bearer: <cé Ape’ The name died on his lips, for the brown thing behind the chair had slipped upward with the silent undulation of a panther, and a deadly roomal—towel—had flashed over the chief’s head.and was now a strangling knot about his tawny throat; the knuckles of Hunsa were kneading his spine at the back of the skull with a half twist of the cloth. He was pinioned to the back of the chair: he was in a vise, the jaws of which closed his throat. Just a stifled gurgle es- caped from his lips as his hand clutched at a dagger hilt. The muscles of the naked, brown body behind stood out in knobs of strength. and the face of the strangler, pan- reddened teeth showing in the flickering light as if they had bitten into blood, was the face of a ghoul.