Part 51 (1/2)

One of the ot on his feet, but he had to step back a pace, for the round and their breath was in each other's faces

”Where are the boes?” he de, Muhaot up, to lend the first ement They leaned on rifles and surrounded the limpse of him between them They seeued with And the Mullah did not argue

”Ye dogs!” he growled at theh the brand ”Ye sons of na the them in front of him, utterly reckless of their rifles His own rifle lay on the ground behind hi kicked its stock clear of the fire

”Oh, I shall pray for you this night!” Muha for you! Oh, what a burning of the bowels ye shall have! What a sickness! What running of the eyes! What sores! What boils! What sleepless nights and faithless women shall be yours! What a prayer I will pray to Allah!”

They scattered into outer gloo him withdraw his curse He kicked theain Then, silhouetted in the cave low of the fire behind him, he stood with folded arms and dared therown brute at bay King adry contemplation of the camp he turned on a conte on reat pile in a corner There was an iron pot in the embers He seized a stick and stirred the contents furiously, then set the pot between his knees and ate like an ani when he had finished, but fingers had passed too ht of eating thethanked him and set the pot aside

Then, ”That is thy place!” Muhae of rock, like a shelf in the far wall There was a bed upon it, of cotton blankets stuffed with dry grass King walked over and felt the blankets and found them warm from the last man who had lain there They s the whole in both hands he carried it to the fire and threw it in, and the sudden blaze made the mullah draay a yard; but it did notexplained, but thewent back to the bed, and subsequent proceedings seemed to fascinate him

Out of the chest that one of the wo took soap There was a pitcher of water between him and the fire; he carried it nearer With an is he proceeded to scrub every inch of the rock-shelf, and when he had done and had dried it an to scrub hiht thee thy squea nearer It ell that King's skin was dark (although it was hter than his face, that had been stained so carefully) The mullah eyed him fro pro and he answered without an instant's hesitation

”Why ask a woman's questions?” he retorted ”Only women ask when they know the answer When I watched thee with the firebrand a short while ago, oh, runted and began to tug his beard But King said no ot,” said the mullah then, ”that thou art her pet She would not love thee unless thy s it blind, for he did not knohat had possessed hied for a sheep as for a lamb ”No, if I stank like thee she would not love me”

The 's cake of soap with hi it

”Tauba!” he swore suddenly as if he had ruesos!”

”Doubtless!” said King ”That is why she uses it, and why I use it She is a better Muhammadan than thou She would surely cleanse her skin with the fat of pigs!”

”Thou art a sha his head like a bear

”I a, and then, for the sake of the ih the outward forenuflections When he had finished he unfolded his own blankets that a woman had thron beside the chest and spread theh he was allowed to climb up and lie there, he was not allowed to sleep-nor did he want to sleep-for more than an hour to coain and stood beside hi in his beard

”Does she surely love thee?” he asked at last, and King nodded, because he kneas on the trail of information

”So thou art to ape the Sleeper in his bronze mail, eh? Thou art to come to life, as she was said to come to life, and the two of you are to plunder India? Is that it?”

King nodded again, for a nod is less coh to start the ain

”I saw the Sleeper and his bride before she knew of either! It was I who let her into Khinjan! It was I who told the men she is the 'Heart of the Hills' corudges She has a plan and I a lay still and looked up at him, sure that treachery was the ultimate end of any plan the mullah Muhammad Anim had India has been saved by the treachery of her enemies more often than ruined by false friends So has the world, for that ht hour corowled ”She and thou, as the Sleeper and his mate, could onders But who can trust her? She stole that head! She stole all the aain, for modesty could not help hiether in the ”Hills”