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bringing about his fall. The Marshal felt
disappointed at the receipt of such a foolish
reply and decided to proceed without
them.
The Bacha on his side was not slow
in realizing the danger from the south. He
knew that every day that passed lessened
his chances and lowered his prestige in the
public eye. He could not bear to see the
Marshal and his brothers working in the
south. True, Amanullah Khan was advanc-
ing towards Ghazni, but he had no apprehen-
sion from that quarter, as he was aware
of the waning prestige of the ex-King and
also counted on the timely help of his
powerful allies—the Sulaiman Khels. In the
south, too, he had allies and powerful ones,
but here he had to face an experienced general
—a man of exceptional ability and held in
great esteem. He was, therefore, compelled
to devote his immediate attention to this
side. An army about ten thousand strong,
well equipped and well supplied with arms,
was ordered to proceed straight towards
Gardez and take the Marshal and his men
by surprise. Another was sent via Khushi
125
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.