FROM THE OUTPOSTS. THE KHAN'S TREASURE. BY A FINDER. ONE of the only two roads into India that are suitable for an invading army is the Bolan Pass, and right alongside the Bolan Pass runs the frontier of Khelat; also the ground on which stands our great frontier fortress of Quetta belonged to Khelat, and the Government of India used to pay a rental of 50,000 Rs. yearly to the Khan of that country. About thirty years ago the Governors of India began seriously to think when it became known that the Khan of Khelat had been having a series of interviews with certain mysterious strangers from the North; the more so because they, the aforesaid Governors, knew that the Khan was a sordid miser, "argenti sacra fames" being his besetting sin, and quite as likely as not to sell his country and the key to the Western Passes if he could get his price. This Khan, who bore the somewhat humorous name of Khuda Dad, the Gift of God, was a most unpleasant person, being, among other things, a cruel old tyrant, who ground the faces of his subjects into the dust in extracting from them their uttermost farthing; he was peculiar too, in that, VOL. CCXV.-NO. MCCXCIX. quite contrary to the usual custom of the East, he refused to accept his dues in kind, but insisted on having them paid in silver, and in silver rupees at that. We had a very able and experienced administrator in the person of Sir James Browne, who, as the guardian of the Western Passes, was keeping a watchful eye on the doings in Khelat, quite determined, when opportunity offered, to have a go at Khuda Dad, and eliminate him from the sphere of practical politics. Sir James had not very long to wait. Evidently considering that rupees in the hand were better than roubles still in the air, the Khan determined on squeezing yet a little more out of his unfortunate subjects, and summoned his Council to devise the means. The venerable greybearded Councillors, all men of considerable standing in the country, duly assembled, and the Khan, explaining that his Treasury was sorely depleted, put it to them that it was their duty to refill it. The Councillors, horrified at the thought of further taxation, protested that the country could not find another anna; the Khan insisted. The Councillors in all humility demurred. The Khan, D 2 quite unaccustomed to any opposition, began to wax wroth, and the more heated he became the more abject was the humility of the Councillors. But they still demurred. Said the Khan, "It is an order." Said the Councillors, not so briefly but to the same effect, "It is impossible." Then the Khan rose in his wrath, and, losing the last rag of his never too genial temper, sent for his executioner, and had the lot decapitated then and there. (This is a euphemism. They suffered a much worse fate, too gross for publication.) After that things moved with considerable rapidity: a hurried exit from Khelat of the numerous wives of the murdered Councillors, escorted by a large retinue of their infuriated male relatives; a rush for Quetta; and a frenzied appeal to the Lat Sahib " for immediate vengeance on the perpetrator of this dastardly outrage. They found Sir James quite ready to lend an ear to their complaint, even prepared to redress their grievance: "Should such a miscreant be allowed to reign another moment? Perish the thought." (Or the border Chief who entertains suspicious strangers from the North? Not much!) Next morning we were off, a compact little force of all arms, straight across the hills to Khelat, and a mobile column of cavalry down the Bolan, heading for a certain pass which leads from the hinterland of Khelat into Mekran. We were after one Khuda Dad, not his country, hence the stopping of the bolt-hole. Sure enough, the Gift of God, who, though he had raised the whirlwind, had no mind to ride the storm, fled incontinent straight into the arms of the cavalry at the mouth of the pass. In the meanwhile the main column ploughed its weary way over stony "tangi" and sandy plain, unscathed save by thirst and dust and unutterable weariness of the flesh, and camped some two miles from the captial city of Khelat. Seen from a distance Khelat looked rather fascinating, "a walled city of the plain," the flat-roofed houses, packed tight within the massive outer wall, huddling together under the frowning battlements of the Miri, the fortress-palace of the Khan. The Miri, perched on a little mound within the city walls, commanded the whole town as well as the flat country round it. Closer acquaintance dispelled all fond illusions. Fascination fled, conquered by the overpowering acrid smell of camel and unwashed humanity amid streets the narrowness of which had to be seen to be believed. A brief rest and then ensued for a few of us most strenuous times, packed with excitement and monotony in unequal parts, the latter predominating, until the final day when excitement grew to fever-heat as we broke through the last obstacle that hid from us the Khan's Treasure. It all began quietly enough. The Political Officer fronted by some twenty armed with the force got a message from Quetta to the effect that the Khan was supposed to have left a large amount of money in the Treasury. Would he see to it and put it under guard? This seemed very simple, and the Political Officer rode forth without more ado to find the Treasury and arrange for the safeguarding thereof-but there wasn't any Treasury! No one knew anything about such a thing as a Treasury. The Khan Sahib took all their money, and what he did with it was no concern of anybody but the Khan Sahib. Off went a message to Quetta to that effect, and as quick as helio could flash it came the answer, "No doubt of there being much treasure in the Miri; report says much silver, believed gold and jewels; take immediate steps find and remove same." And then the fun began. The Political Officer took his immediate step by handing the message to Lieut.-Colonel A the Officer commanding the Khelat Field Force; Lieut.Colonel A, who in the piping times of peace commanded that same mountain battery which formed the artillery of the force, having assimilated the message, called up his battery officers, and set off with them to prospect. scallawags who called on us to halt and showed that they meant it. It may seem undignified to stand rooted to the ground before a crowd of nondescript ruffians whose diversity of costume was balanced by the similarity of the dirt which encrusted one and all from head to foot, but a loaded Snider at twenty paces is an argument that is not to be gainsaid. Suddenly yet another blackringleted hook-nosed Khelati dashed out of the Miri, and the whole crowd, bunching together, presented arms! Somewhat overcome by this unexpected politeness, we were hesitating as to our next move when we saw, emerging from the Miri, a tall handsome native, resplendent in broadcloth and gold lace and girt with sword and sabretache. This proved to be no less a personage than the Commander-in-Chief of the Khelati army, one Mir Baz, Durani, an Afghan of the Afghans, cousin to the great Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, now wisely putting himself out of reach of that dread potentate, a servant of the Khan of Khelat. With some ceremony Colonel A introduced his little party and explained the object of their visit, whereupon Mir Baz ushered us in and showed us all over the vast pile except the women's quarters, about which, Khelat being a Mahomedan country, we took care to ask no ques Having pushed our way through the motley throng of men, camels, sheep, and goats which packed the narrow streets, we found ourselves con- tions. Of the upper floors it is only necessary to say that they were quite out of keeping with the majestic appearance of the Miri from the outside. But the first floor deserves a fuller description. Interrogated as to treasure, windows at some height from Mir Baz was quite frank. He the floor. knew nothing as to the whereabouts of the Khan's Treasury; that was not his business, but he had often heard that the Khan Sahib had much money hidden away somewhere; in fact, it was said that, many years ago, the Khan Sahib had imported skilled artisans from Hindustan to construct a safe hiding-place; these men had worked long and had been well paid, but, strangely enough (and here Mir Baz, for all his solemnity, had a twinkle in his eyes), as soon as they left the city they were set upon and murdered, and so their secret died with them. With this somewhat meagre information we had to be content. The Miri was a huge pile of sun-dried brick, some four storeys in all. Entering by the great gates, one found oneself in a large hall with a guardroom on one side, and a wide archway on the other leading on to an open courtyard which served as a gun-park for the Khan's artillery. At the back of the hall was the staircase which ran straight up to the first floor. Upwards from the first floor the stairs were arranged in a different way, going up one side of the well to a false landing, and then up the opposite side to the floor above. These false landings were built against the outer wall of the Miri, and were indifferently lighted by small As one stepped on to the landing one saw on the right a heavily - curtained doorway which led to the Zenana, while on the left was a similar doorway opening on to a courtyard. On one side of this courtyard were the Khan's private apartments, on the other the Council Chamber, the scene of the late massacre. The Khan's rooms were much more in accordance with the general idea of a palace than the rest of the building, being lofty, well-proportioned, of considerable size, and well lighted by several large windows, but they were very bare. There were three rooms exactly alike, with a stout door in each dividing wall, each room having a broad shelf running round three sides. of it, a string bedstead, a strip of carpet, and practically nothing else. The shelves were laden with a collection of articles, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Here would be a very dainty gilt travelling clock surrounded by a number of the cheapest alarum atrocities; there a choice bit of china or a beautiful jade vase with, betwixt and between, horrors of the crudest kind; pink and blue vases, gilt-lettered mugs with coloured views, animals nous. One of every kind in every conceivable material, and here, there, and everywhere life-size hens in brown china, sitting on green nests! 66 The beds were the ordinary charpoy" of the East, but had an interesting distinction. The legs of the first one were of wood, very gaudily painted, the second had legs of solid silver, while those of the third were of gold. Next day the treasure-hunt began in earnest. Obviously the treasure had been concealed, and the search would have to be very carefully done, so the original party was increased by the addition of two stalwart gunners from the ranks of the mountain battery, genial giants armed with pick-axe and crowbar. Full of excitement, we started at the top of the Miri and worked our way down, probing here, sounding there, but found no trace of anything resembling treasure, or of any place where treasure could be concealed. It was unpleasant work. The dozens of little rooms on the upper floors were not only dark, but showed very plainly that even the most elementary laws of sanitation were still unknown in this palace of a king. Our excitement gradually cooled, and when, on the second day, further search revealed nothing, and a third day's labour bore equal fruit, the thing became frankly monoto more day was given, always probing a bit deeper and sounding a bit harder, even digging here and there, but all to no avail, so we called a halt, and sent a message to Quetta to say that no trace of any treasure could be found. Back flashed the answer, "No doubt treasure is there; try again." So at it we went again, and for two days we gave that Miri a general battering from roof to basement, but found no signs of treasure. Another reference to Quetta brought the disconcerting order, "Search women's quarters; treasure in Miri somewhere." This was really a very tall order. To break into the Zenana of the Chief of a friendly Mahomedan country was simply to ask for trouble, and the Colonel knew it, and, knowing it, flatly refused to do anything of the kind. Having curtly remarked that he would see So-and-so in Hades before he allowed any one under his command to cross the threshold of the women's quarters, the Colonel proceeded to give orders for a final devastating upheaval of the rest of the Miri, and with that object in view we set forth the next morning. This time, however, we were a much larger party, the two original giants having been reinforced by six others of the same kidney, carrying pick - axes, crow-bars, shovels, and two lanterns. It was pretty obvious that a bulky treasure could not be |