Part 17 (1/2)
”Well two days ago,” said Courtenay ”What's your general plan?”
”Hunt!” said King ”Hunt for x and report Hunt for the spirit of the co it! Live in the open when I can, sleep with the lice when it rains or snows, eat dead goat and bad bread, I expect; scratch , and take a tub at the first opportunity When you see me on my way back, have a bath made ready for me, will you-and keep to ard!”
”Certainly!” said Courtenay ”What's the Rangar going to do with that mare of his? Suppose he'll leave her at Ali Masjid? He'll have to leave her sohtest notion yet! I'llher fro down the Pass!”
”Here's wishi+ng you luck!” said King ”It's tio, sir”
He rose, and Courtenay walked with him to where his party waited in the dark, chilled by the cold histling down the Khyber Rewa Gunga sat, mounted, at their head, and close to him his personal servant rode another horse Behind them were the mules, and then in a cluster, each with a load of some sort on his head, were the thirty prisoners, and Ise of theht the letter down the Pass, kept close to Is asked, as soon as he could see the whites of the Rangar's eyes through the gloohed
King a's side and shook hands with hiood luck!”
”Forward! March!” King ordered, and the little procession started
”Oh, hosts!” jeered Courtenay, as they all filed past hied!”
nobody answered They strode behind the horses, with the swift silent strides ofhome to the ”Hills”; but even they, born in the ”Hills”' and knowing theloo's voice was the first to break the silence, and he did not speak until Courtenay was out of ear-shot Then:
”Men of the 'Hills'!” he called ”Kuch dar nahin hai!”
”Nahin hai! Hah!” shouted Ismail ”So speaks a man! Hear that, yeas fear!'”
In his place in the lead, King whistled softly to himself; but he drew an automatic pistol from its place beneath his armpit and transferred it to a readier position
Fear or no fear, Khyber-mouth is haunted after dark by the o homan very likely waits a mile or two farther south It is one of the few places in the world where a pistol is better than a thick stick
Boulder, crag and loose rock faded into glooinning to close in; and the wind, whose home is in Allah's refuse heap, whistled as it searched busily a the black ravines Then presently the shadow of the thousand-foot-high Khyber walls began to cover the drew rein to count thele after that point would be tantamount to a ”You've got the only other pistol, haven't you?”
Darya Khan, who had brought the letter, had a rifle; so King gave hiht flank
They ain after five hosts in search of so's cheroot, and the lesser, quicker fire of Rewa Gunga's cigarette, betrayed hu's horse would put a foot wrong and be spoken to
”Hold up!”
But froht have been a new note in the gaining wind or even nothing