King of the Khyber Rifles | Page 3

I can imagine it."
The general laughed. "That's why I sent for you. I need a man with
imagination! There's a woman you've got to work with on this occasion
who can imagine a shade or two too much. What's worse, she's
ambitious. So I chose you to work with her."
King's lips stiffened under his mustache, and the corners of his eyes
wrinkled into crow's-feet to correspond. Eyes are never coal- black, of
course, but his looked it at that minute.
"You know we've sent men to Khinjan who are said to have entered the
Caves. Not one of 'em has ever returned."
King frowned.
"She claims she can enter the Caves and come out again at pleasure.
She has offered to do it, and I have accepted."
It would not have been polite to look incredulous, so King's expression
changed to one of intense interest a little overdone, as the general did
not fail to notice.
"If she hadn't given proof of devotion and ability, I'd have turned her
down. But she has. Only the other day she uncovered a plot in
Delhi--about a million dynamite bombs in a ruined temple in charge of
a German agent for use by mutineers supposed to be ready to rise
against us. Fact! Can you guess who she is?"
"Not Yasmini?" King hazarded, and the general nodded and flicked his
whip. The horse mistook it for a signal, and it was two minutes before
the speed was reduced to mere recklessness.
The helmet-strap mark, printed indelibly on King's jaw and cheek by
the Indian sun, tightened and grew whiter--as the general noted out of
the corner of his eye.
"Know her?"

"Know of her, of course, sir. Everybody does. Never met her to my
knowledge."
"Um-m-m! Whose fault was that? Somebody ought to have seen to that.
Go to Delhi now and meet her. I'll send her a wire to say you're coming.
She knows I've chosen you. She tried to insist on full discretion, but I
overruled her. Between us two, she'll have discretion once she gets
beyond Jamrud. The 'Hills' are full of our spies, of course, but none of
'em dare try Khinjan Caves any more and you'll be the only check we
shall have on her."
King's tongue licked his lips, and his eyes wrinkled. The general's voice
became the least shade more authoritative.
"When you see her, get a pass from her that'll take you into Khinjan
Caves! Ask her for it! For the sake of appearances I'll gazette you
Seconded to the Khyber Rifles. For the sake of success, get a pass from
her!"
"Very well, sir."
"You've a brother in the Khyber Rifles, haven't you? Was it you or your
brother who visited Khinjan once and sent in a report?"
"I did, sir."
He spoke without pride. Even the brigade of British-Indian cavalry that
went to Khinjan on the strength of his report and leveled its defenses
with the ground, had not been able to find the famous Caves. Yet the
Caves themselves are a by-word.
"There's talk of a jihad (holy war). There's worse than that! When you
went to Khinjan, what was your chief object?"
"To find the source of the everlasting rumors about the so-called 'Heart
of the Hills,' sir."
"Yes, yes. I remember. I read your report. You didn't find anything, did

you? Well. The story is now that the 'Heart of the Hills' has come to life.
So the spies say."
King whistled softly.
"There's no guessing what it means," said the general. "Go and find out.
Go and work with Yasmini. I shall have enough men here to attack
instantly and smash any small force as soon as it begins to gather
anywhere near the border. But Khinjan is another story. We can't prove
anything, but the spies keep bringing in rumors of ten thousand men in
Khinjan Caves, and of another large lashkar not far away from Khinjan.
There must be no jihad, King! India is all but defenseless! We can
tackle sporadic raids. We can even handle an ordinary raid in force. But
this story about a 'Heart of the Hills' coming to life may presage unity
of action and a holy war such as the world has not seen. Go up there
and stop it if you can. At least, let me know the facts."
King grunted. To stop a holy war single-handed would be rather like
stopping the wind--possibly easy enough, if one knew the way. Yet he
knew no general would throw away a man like himself on a useless
venture. He began to look happy.
The general clucked to the mare and the big beast sank an inch between
the shafts. The sais behind set his feet against the drop- board and clung
with