CHAPTER II

A KULEK'S DEATH, AND A YOUNG MAN'S IMPULSE—LIFE WITH
THE AFGHAN ARMY—SPORT IN THE WILD HILLS-
KABUL, COCKPIT OF THE EAST

CURING the World War, Amanullah learnt
! much. He was at the age that can see world
events in their proper perspective. He was
twenty-four, possessed a clear, determined brain, and
was beginning to look at history from a slant peculiarly
his own.

Every phase of the War; every breach of faith and
every betrayal of national characteristic; every feat
of arms or triumph of patriotic fervour; all found a
niche in his brain for his future guidance.

Nothing swerved him from his path of violent national-
ism. Even when his critics were at their busiest, it was
never suggested that he had sinned in any way save
against the laws of tact* He did all for his country,
He believed in himself and his countrymen* Amanullah's
energy and ambition were entirely guided by good
intentions.

It was not an edifying spectacle that he saw over
half the world. The timid admiration for all things
modern, which had been growing in his breast, suffered
a slight setback when lie saw how modern nations
conduct their squabbles* His military mind reeled at
the facts of a slaughter which put even the old massacres
of his country's history to shame- He realised that he
would never attain a position equal in any respect to
that gained by the Powers across the sea, if universal

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