^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

he whole of his State, there would come afresh a new
Letermination to cleanse the structure of his Govern-
ment. His punishments became more severe. His
listrust of all and sundry became more deeply rooted.
le prosecuted his inquiries yet deeper into every
joupling and joint of the State machine, working, on
;he surface, so methodically. He knew now that its
iasy run depended on the oil of graft which had flowed
:or so many years.

But he was not concerned only with domestic affairs.
He retained his ambitions. His national pride and
arrogance had increased. And it was not long after he
had risen to the Amir's throne that he began to show
himself arrogant and slightly offensive to the British who
ruled across the formidable barrier of the Khyber Pass*
The British were never in doubt as to the character
of the new Amir, They knew that trouble might be
expected, now that their good friend and ally, Habib-
ullah, was gone. Therefore, when there were sundry
suspicious movements among the foothills on the Indian
Frontier of Afghanistan, arrangements were made to
prepare for the worst in that delicate portion of the
world.

These suspicions were justified when there appeared
one morning, on the neutral side of the Afghan Frontier,
the resplendent figure of the Afghan War Minister,
Nadir Khan, later to be King. Such conduct was
without precedent. The British military authorities
in Peshawar were outraged. The sacred spirit of the
carefully drawn Frontier lines had been violated. And
Nadir Khan was asked for an explanation,

He was indignant. He was inclined to be abusive*
He, a Minister of Afghanistan, was equally aware with
the British as to the sacredness of the Frontier rights.
But could not a conscientious and high-minded

53