EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

trading on the ignorance of his countrymen. They could
supply rifles that would put to shame the Afghan-made
carbines of great expense and short lives. They could
introduce artillery which would make the Afghan Army
a power in international armaments.

Thus he dreamed, but there was little encouragement
for his ideals. He found sluggards at headquarters. He
found men in high places whose lives were concentrated
on the need of forcing the last penny from Government
contracts. He found bribery on a scale never before
known in history. He found apathy in his father.

" The Afghans have always been like that/' said his
father. " You can never rid us of corruption.5*

The infamous saying was quoted in his face :

" Afghan, Afghan, be imam, be imam ! "
" Fie, fie, faithless Afghan ! "

He did not lose faith.

Then came war.

The rumours were right, then. The whole world was
at war. The British were in, the Turks were in, the
Germans and the Russians were in. News came over the
passes, strangely divergent news according to whether
it came from north or from south. Travellers came
down from the north with the tales of whole continents
under the grip of the war fever. Stories came up from
the south telling how India was depleted of armed men,
all gone over the Black Water.

Perhaps it was then that Amantdlah, reviewing his
troops and finding them good, looked down toward the
south, and thought of the lush valleys and the wealthy
cities of India. Weak, luxury-loving people down there,
if the tales from the caravans were true* Once you got

2T