Cloak & Box Trick

Lean, wiry Bacha Sakao, "The Water Carrier," bandit King of Afghanistan sat, unconcerned, in the capital city of Kabul last fortnight while the King he drove from the throne, plump, oily Amanullah, prestidigitated in far off Kandahar to show his fitness to rule.

To suspicious Kandahar Afghans plump Amanullah promised last fortnight to show the famed Khirkai Shereef (Prophet's Cloak), a religious relic of great potency kept in a locked box which only "a man fit to be King" can open. The holy cloak has rarely been seen for the last 200 years. Bearded Afghans assembled by thousands for the show.

On a platform in Kandahar's largest square stood throneless King Amanullah and a small ironbound box. Seizing the box firmly, plump Amanullah struggled with the iron hasp. Loudly he grunted, stoutly he tugged. So entertaining was the fat man's performance that though he sweated and wrestled on the platform for two full hours, the entire audience remained. Finally when his most vigorous contortions and loudest grunts began to pall, Amanullah paused, cried aloud to Mohammed for assistance. A final tug, and the box flew open. Perspiring Amanullah held high Mohammed's sacred cloak. Convinced, the Afghan audience prostrated themselves in the dust.

In the royal palace at Kabul, Padishah Habibullah, as the muscular Bacha Sakao now calls himself, opened no boxes, neither tugged nor grunted. He, debonair, wears tight kid gloves to show his gentility, brandishes two loaded rifles to show his dexterity, wears plentiful ammunition against emergencies, rules most of Afghanistan.