h the hillman
decks his person for war. Their long oiled hair was tied in a sort of
rude knot, new and fuller turbans adorned the head, and on the feet were
stout slippers of Bokhara make. Lewis had keen eyesight, and he strove
to read the marks on the boxes of cartridges which stood in a corner.
It was not the well-known Government mark which usually brands stolen
ammunition. The three crosses with the crescent above--he had seen them
before, but his memory failed him. It might have been at Bardur in the
inn; it might have been at home in the house of some great traveller.
At any rate the sight boded no good to himself or the border peace. He
thought of George waiting alone at Nazri, and then obediently warning
the people at Khautmi. By this time Andover would know he was missing,
and men would be out on a very hopeless search. At any rate he had done
some good, for if the Badas meant marching they would find the garrisons
prepared.

About noon there was a bustle in the square and Fazir Khan with a dozen
of his tail swaggered in. He came straight to the hut, and two men
entered and brought out the prisoner. Lewis stiffened his back and
prepared not reluctantly for a change in the situation. He had no
special fear of this smiling, sinister chieftain. So far he had been
spared, and now it seemed unlikely that in the midst of this bustle of
war there would be room for the torture which alone he dreaded. So he
met the chief's look squarely, and at the moment he thanked the lot
which had given him two more inches of height.

"I have sent for thee, my son," said Fazir Khan, "that you may see how
great my people is."

"I have seen," said Lewis, looking round. "You have a large collection
of jackals, but you will not bring many back."

The notion tickled Fazir Khan and he laughed with great good-humour.
"So, so," he cried. "Behold how great is the wisdom of youth. I will
tell you a secret, my son. In a little the Bada-Mawidi, my people, will
be in Bardur and a little later in the fat corn lands of the south, and
I, Fazir Khan, will sit in King's palaces." He looked contemptuously
round at his mud walls, his heart swelling with pride.

"What the devil do you mean?" Lewis asked with rising suspicion. This
was not the common talk of a Border cateran.

"I mean what I mean," said the other. "In a little all the world shall
see. But because I have a liking for a bold cockerel like thee, I will
speak unwisely. The days of your