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‘I loved him, and thou art a dog and cattlethief coming by night. Strike!’ And I, being still blinded by her beauty, for, O my friend, the women of the Abazai are very fair, said: ‘Hast thou no fear?’ And she answered: ‘None—but only the fear that I do not die.’ Then said I ‘Have no fear.’ And she bowed her head, and I smote it off at the neck-bone so that it leaped between my feet |
This is from “Dray Wara Yow Dee – ‘All three are one’ – collected in In Black and White and in Soldiers Three and Other Stories, an implacable tale of revenge. The story-teller, Shafiz Ullah, a Pathan horse-dealer, had married a young and beautiful wife. He had come home early rom a journey and found her with a lover. He immediately slaughtered her. Now his life is dominated by the thirst for vengeance on her lover Daoud Shah, whom he has vowed to kill, to wipe out the stain on his honour. He has pursued him from the frontier to Delhi and beyond, and is pursuing him still. |
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