CHAPTER XIII

THE RISE OF A BANDIT—" ROBIN HOOD OF THE HILLS "—-
THE LEGATION BESIE
AN EPIC OF THE AIR

THE LEGATION BESIEGED—'PLANES TO THE RESCUE—

jlMANULLAH went back to Kabul with king-
A"\ ship collapsing about his cars* The first news
•** -^ to greet him was of a new and terrible person-
ality in the opposing forces. On the lips of everyone in
Kabul was the name of Bacha Sachao, son of a water-
carrier*

So far as can be learned, it was the first time that his
name had been heard in Kabul With it came fantastic
stories of his strength, his cruelty, and his daring. It
was said that he strode the hills with the steps of a
giant. He became a will-o'-the-wisp character, appear-
ing suddenly in the remote villages, pillaging and burn-
ing, rape and slaughter his maxims of victory. They
said that he was afflicted with an ugliness hardly human,
and that he was dressed with all the magnificence of an
old-time pirate. He revelled in his physical deformities,
and played the joker with Satanic zest.

Other names he had. He robbed, so they said, only
the rich, and with the proceeds of his villainy repaid
the poor. So they called him " Robin Hood of the hills/'
His Rabelaisian wit, his ingenuity in devising new
schemes of inhuman punishment, and his braggadocio
earned him a terrified respect. And he was no figment
of imagination, but a living figure who now menaced
Kabul, and with it Amanullah's kingdom*

Amamillah listened while he was told of the imminent

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