y young hopefuls of the lower classes,
much as we might regard a County Eleven in England--boys who played
in real wilayiti flannels, and had matches with the English officers
of the garrison, and saw that the other boys in the school treated
them with the respect due to their position.

'Alam Gul wondered if ever the day would come when he would find
himself numbered among this favoured throng. It was not long before
the captain of his class told him that he must come and practise, to
see if they could make him one of their class cricket team. He would
have accepted with alacrity had it not been for one circumstance,
which gave his unformed religious ideas a rude shock. The captain of
the party was a Hindu! It seemed to him ignominious, if not subversive
of his religion, that he should subject himself to the orders of a
Hindu class-fellow, and he would have refused had not a Muhammadan
from his district, reading in the class above him, to whom he confided
his scruples, laughed at him, and said: "You silly fellow! we do
not trouble about that here; everyone has his religion ordained by
Fate. What does it matter, be he Muhammadan, Hindu, or Christian,
if he play cricket well?" When his fears had been thus allayed,
'Alam Gul joined his party, and soon became as enthusiastic a member
of it as any.

A year passed, and he was promoted to the first middle class, where he
took up the full curriculum of subjects, learning not only English,
but arithmetic, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, geography, Indian history,
and elementary science.

Before he had been many months in this class he was attacked by
malarial fever, which is so virulent in the Bannu Valley in the autumn
months. His uncle sent a soldier to say that he had sent him back to
his village in charge of a man of his regiment, and that he would
come back after recovering; so his name was entered on the roll of
those absent for sick-leave.

About three weeks later his father himself appeared at the school
one day, and requested to interview the head-master.

After the usual salutations were over, the father began:

"Sir, I have a request to make."

"What is it?"

"I wish you to strike the name of my son off the roll-call of your
school."

"Why so? What has happened?"

"He is ill--very ill."

"But I have given him sick-leave. He can stop at home as long as he is
ill, and then come back to school. His name can remain on the register,
and he return when he is quite w