<^^C^«^<^<«^!^<^<^C^ AMANULLAH of that disastrous policy which Amanullah had brought back from Europe. When the deluge broke Sir Francis Humphrys undoubtedly saved the Legation from a slaughter that would have brought British troops once more into action in Afghanistan, that would have repeated once again the history of the British in Kabul, and might well have changed the face of the East for future years. Perhaps the stuffed woodcock was a symbol as much as the Union Jack. For it was farce, it was humour, and it was anti-climax. And, in the darkest hour, it had been farce and humour which had saved the British Legation. How else could we describe that noble, vulgar, and effective speech made by Sir Francis from the walls to the tense mob below ? With the British evacuated, interest dropped in Afghanistan. There was no news from Kandahar. Kabul was quiet again* Nadir Khan pursued his stately way and his mysterious business in Peshawar, The winter broke, and the green earth was seen again, the land freshened by the moisture of the snow. Very soon it would be burning hot, and the fair land would grow brown and dry. The spring lasted such a little time. The brooks were running fast, and old Kabul River, accustomed now to so many years of blood fouling its depths, ran swift and strong to the plains. The flanks of the hills were showing brown through their white mantles. Soon, only on the peaks of the Hindu Kush, far away, was there snow. As the spring turned into summer, the little outpost of Chaman stirred again with news. Amanullah was coming down to India again. He was going, so they said, to Bombay, perhaps to Europe. He was coming not with the cloak of splendour, to the beat of drums and the boom of the guns' salute, but 248