eting us, and had apparently
been telling her fellow-villagers wonderful stories of what she had
seen and heard in the mission hospital, and of the unaccountable
love and sympathy which had been shown her there, for others of her
neighbours came crowding into her little courtyard, and among them,
though unknown to us, the Mullah who was supposed to be preaching a
crusade against us. He had apparently come in on the quiet to see for
himself what we and our work were like, and was greatly struck at the
undisguised delight with which we were greeted by our old patients; for
when the woman of the house begged us to stop while she prepared us a
meal, he came forward and disclosed himself, saying: "No; my house is
in the next village, and it is my prerogative to entertain the Padre
Sahib. He must come on to my house." At the same time he took up some
Pashtu Gospels which we had been giving away, but which the people, for
fear of theological displeasure, had been afraid to take openly, and
said: "This is Kalam Ullah [Word of God], and is a good book." Thus,
in a moment, by this providential presence of the Mullah, the whole
attitude of our reception was changed. Word was passed on from village
to village that we had become the guests and eaten the bread of the
Mullah himself, and that he had pronounced in favour of our books,
telling the people that we were Ahl-el-Kitab, or people of the Book,
the term which Muhammadan theologians apply to Christians and Jews
when they wish to speak of them in a friendly spirit.

We were not always equally fortunate, especially in our earlier years
on the frontier.

About two years after I first went to Bannu I went out on a short
itineration with my assistant Jahan Khan, an account of whom is given
in Chapter XVI.

We came to one village where the Mullahs had been exciting the feelings
of the people against us, and telling them that any food or vessel
we touched was thereby defiled. We found it difficult to get food or
drinking-vessel even on payment, and some of the patients who came
to us were induced to go away, and in some cases to throw away the
medicine they had already received.

With some difficulty we got a lodging for the night, and early next
morning we started off to look for a village where we might get a
more hospitable reception. But the minds of the people had already
been poisoned against us.

We went into the courtyard of the Patwar-Khana (village bailiff),
and sat do