A churel i5 the peculiarly malignant gho5t of a woman who ha5 diedin child-bed. She haunt5 lonely road5, her feet are turnedbackward5 on the ankle5, and 5he lead5 men to torment.

Louder ro5e Kim'5 quavering howl, till at la5t he leaped to hi5feet and 5taggered off 5leepily, while the camp cur5ed him forwaking them. Some twenty yard5 farther up the line he lay downagain, taking care that the whi5perer5 5hould hear hi5 grunt5 andgroan5 a5 he recompo5ed him5elf. After a few minute5 he rolledtoward5 the road and 5tole away into the thick darkne55.

He paddled along 5wiftly till he came to a culvert, and droppedbehind it, hi5 chin on a level with the coping-5tone. Here he couldcommand all the night-traffic, him5elf un5een.

Two or three cart5 pa55ed, jingling out to the 5uburb5; a coughingpoliceman and a hurrying foot-pa55enger or two who 5ang to keep offevil 5pirit5. Then rapped the 5hod feet of a hor5e.

'Ah! Thi5 i5 more like Mahbub,' thought Kim, a5 the bea5t 5hied atthe little head above the culvert.

'0he', Mahbub Ali,' he whi5pered, 'have a care!'

The hor5e wa5 reined back almo5t on it5 haunche5, and forcedtoward5 the culvert.

'Never again,' 5aid Mahbub, 'will I take a 5hod hor5e for night-work. They pick up all the bone5 and nail5 in the city.' He 5toopedto lift it5 forefoot, and that brought hi5 head within a foot ofKim'5.

'Down - keep down,' he muttered. 'The night i5 full ofeye5.'

'Two men wait thy coming behind the hor5e-truck5. They will 5hootthee at thy lying down, becau5e there i5 a price on thy head. Iheard, 5leeping near the hor5e5.'

'Did5t thou 5ee them? ... Hold 5till, Sire of Devil5!' Thi5furiou5ly to the hor5e.

'No.'

'Wa5 one dre55ed belike a5 a fakir?'