fellupon
the
rest
.
"
Hârâ
!
Hârî
!
Hârî
!
Hârâ
!
"
There
was
no
mistaking
the
cry
now
.
It
rose
exultant
,
yet
with
that
wailing
note
in
it
still
,
which
lingers
always
in
humanity
's
claim
to
have
found
its
lost
Paradise
,
its
lost
purity
.
Yet
there
was
no
trace
of
doubt
in
the
almost
frantic
joy
on
every
face
in
the
dense
multitude
which
stopped
the
little
cavalcade
,
as
it
entered
the
square
around
the
Pool
of
Immortality
;
stopped
it
hopelessly
,
as
if
the
moving
,
breathing
,
living
mass
had
been
a
dead
wall
.
"
Hârâ
!
Hârî
!
Hârî
!
Hârâ
!
"
It
was
almost
a
yell
.
The
patience
was
gone
utterly
,
and
far
as
the
eye
could
reach
,
in
all
the
wide
square
,
in
every
street
and
alley
converging
to
it
,
there
was
the
restless
ineffectual
movement
of
the
sea
,
when
,
on
a
summer
's
day
,
it
beats
itself
calmly
yet
persistently--rising
and
falling--upon
a
sheer
cliff
,
against
the
impossible
.
There
was
no
one
to
check
the
crowd
now
,
to
prevent
it
from
finding
Death
and
Immortality
at
the
same
time
.
What
matter
?
What
were
a
few
hundreds
of
crushed
bodies
,
when
the
soul
found
what
it
sought
?
The
riders
behind
Roshan
threw
up
their
hands
at
the
sight
.
No
hope
here
for
the
littlenesses
of
life
;
for
principalities
and
powers
,
even
for
political
liberty
.
This
was
the
bed-rock
;
this
,
in
its
unalterable
aspiration--not
for
something
better
,
but
for
the
best--neither
culture
nor
conspiracy
could
touch
;
this
was
as
much
beyond
the
control
of
kith
and
kin
as
of
strangers
and
aliens
.
"
Come
,
Khân-sahib
!
"
they
called
to
the
figure
with
the
lack-lustre
eyes
which
sat
its
horse
like
a
statue
,
staring
at
itself
,
at
its
world
,
conscious
only
of
the
hideous
discords
which
were
,
perforce
,
the
music
of
its
sphere
.
"
Come
!
Nawab-jee
!
There
is
still
a
chance
with
the
'
Teacher
of
Religion
.
'
The
jogi
will
have
held
his
folk
,
for
sure
.
They
will
be
ready
for
blood
,
since
Mai
Kâli
"
--the
speaker
spat
his
Mahomedan
contempt
for
the
idolatry
ere
he
went
on--
"
lets
none
go
.
She
's
a
true
woman
for
that
!
"
So
,
by
back
alleys
and
crooked
ways
,
Roshan--why
he
did
not
know
,
since
he
meant
nothing
by
it--led
the
cavalcade
past
the
palace
,
through
the
archway
into
the
courtyard
with
its
union-jack
of
raised
paths
.
And
found
it
empty
.
Empty
of
all
save
the
jogi
,
Gorakh-nâth
,
who
was
busy
,
resignedly
,
in
rethreading
his
chaplet
of
skulls
,
ere
starting
to
seek
safety
over
the
British
border
in
some
far
recess
of
the
holy
hills
,
whence
,
when
this
affair
had
blown
over
,
he
could
swoop
down
with
added
sanctity
on
some
other
religious
fair
.
"
He
and
his
God
stole
them
from
me
not
the
saying
of
a
rosary
past
,
"
he
said
cheerfully
,
after
he
had
explained
the
position
.
"
They
went
by
yonder
door
to
the
old
road
.
So
what
matter
!
They
are
in
it
.
They
will
come
back
to
Her
by
and
by
.
It
is
so
always
.
Men
follow
other
leads
,
other
loves
.
But
they
do
not
find
what
they
seek
;
so
they
come
back
to
Her
,
to
the
many
named
Woman
.
Jai
!
Kali
Ma
!
"
Those
behind
Roshan
looked
at
each
other
.
"
It
is
the
end
,
"
they
said
briefly
.
"
Come
,
risaldar-jee
--
"
the
change
of
title
was
significant--
"
we
shall
have
to
ride
far
and
fast
if
we
are
to
live
.
"
Once
more
,
every
atom
of
the
man
,
soul
and
body
,
seemed
to
strike
out
furiously
at
the
voice
,
at
the
truth
and
the
untruth
in
it
;
at
the
assertion
of
failure
,
the
linking
of
his
need
with
theirs
.
"
Ride
for
your
lives
if
you
want
them
,
"
he
cried
fiercely
;
"
I
seek
death
.
"
They
left
him
,
after
unavailing
protests
,
and
rode
helter-skelter
on
to
the
Fort
,
warning
their
comrades
that
the
game
was
up
,
so
,
on
towards
safety
.
And
the
jogi
,
naked
but
not
ashamed
,
still
swinging
his
chaplet
of
skulls
,
followed
them
leisurely
;
for
he
knew
himself
safe
in
the
superstition
and
the
devotion
of
every
woman
in
India
.
Since
he
,
Her
servant
,
could
not
fail
of
shelter
in
every
Hindoo
homestead
,
far
or
near
,
in
which
a
woman
's
hand
closed
on
a
man
's
,
holding
him
tight
for
herself
alone
,
as
the
Great
Mother
holds
all
men
.
Roshan
,
thus
left
alone
,
rode
his
horse
on
slowly
to
the
central
plinth
,
dismounted
,
and
,
hitching
the
bridle
over
the
muzzle
of
the
"
Teacher
of
Religion
"
stood
staring
out
dully
at
what
lay
before
him
;
so
quiet
,
so
commonplace
!
Nothing
changed
from
the
day
,
barely
a
month
ago
,
when
he
had
stood
beside
the
old
gun
with
Vincent
Dering
and
Lance
Carlyon
,
contemptuous
of
the
ignorance
of
others
,
satisfied
with
himself
.
And
now
?
--what
had
come
to
him
?
The
madness
,
which
his
wild
gallop
from
the
gaol
had
calmed
somewhat
,
returned
in
a
fierce
rush
,
and
with
it
that
one
desire
for
revenge
;
for
something
by
which
to
show
the
contempt
,
which
was
not
now
merely
for
the
ignorant
;
but
for
those
others
,
self-righteous
,
tyrannical
,
who
had
dared
to
touch
him--dared
to
make
him
what
he
was--a
prey
both
to
ignorance
and
wisdom
,
savagery
and
culture--a
laughing-stock
even
to
himself
!
And
who
had
begun
the
fooling
?
Who
had
taught
him
as
a
boy
?
Pidar
Narâyan
!
Who
else
?
Who
else
had
begun
the
game
giving
some
things
,
withholding
others
?
And
who
else
was
within
reach
?
Who
else
could
be
followed
up
and
forced
to
fair
fight
?
Forced
to
admit
that
the
pupil
was
ahead
now
of
the
master
.
He
laughed
a
laugh
of
absolute
exultation
;
and
a
wave
of
purely
childish
satisfaction
swept
through
the
mind
in
which
there
were
still
so
many
depths
of
childish
ignorance
and
misconception
;
unavoidable
depths
in
the
culture
of
a
bare
score
of
years
.
Leaving
his
horse
tethered
to
the
old
gun
,
he
ran
hastily
across
to
the
palace
,
so
,
finding
the
door
open
,
the
whole
place
quiet
,
went
on
down
the
arched
passage
.
It
was
still
dark
there
,
but
a
glimmer
of
light
showed
the
entrance
to
the
chapel
,
and
to
the
armoury
beside
it
,
which
was
his
goal
.
He
had
no
other
thought
except
for
that
armoury
,
until
,
with
the
tall
tapers
burning
at
the
head
and
feet
,
he
saw
the
dead
body
of
the
woman
who
had
deceived
him
lying
on
the
Altar
steps
.
Then
the
pitifullest
clashing
of
satisfaction
and
despair
,
of
desire
and
disgust
,
came
to
him
that
ever
rent
a
man
in
twain
.
For
a
moment
he
fought
for
bare
reason
between
them
,
then
with
a
savage
cry
,
he
flung
himself
beside
the
dead
girl
,
caught
her
to
him
,
covered
her
with
frantic
,
cruel
kisses
,
and
,
almost
flinging
her
from
him
again
,
ran
on
into
the
armoury
,
the
red
of
her
dress
,
her
bosom
,
in
his
eyes--the
red
of
blood
!
The
armoury
!
Where
he
had
had
his
first
lesson
in
the
foils
!
There
they
were
,
harmless
in
their
buttons
,
crossed
on
the
wall
,
and
above
them
something
more
murderous
;
the
dangerous
delicate
rapiers
to
which
those
others
were
but
the
prelude
.
No
!
one
was
gone
!
One
Father
Ninian
had
used
against
the
jogi
!
One
he
must
have
with
him
.
So
much
the
better
!
He
tore
down
its
fellow
,
and
passing
the
dead
girl
without
a
look
,
dashed
out
into
the
courtyard
again
,
his
last
trace
of
sanity
gone
.
The
next
instant
his
horse
's
feet
were
echoing
madly
along
the
pilgrims
'
road
.
His
enemy
must
have
a
quarter
of
an
hour
's
lead
,
but
that
was
nothing
;
he
could
overtake
him
,
anyhow
,
at
the
first
station
in
the
pilgrimage
,
--a
temple
under
a
vast
banyan
tree
at
the
foot
of
the
first
rise
,
where
the
pious
must
pause
to
make
offerings
.
The
road
was
almost
empty
at
first
;
for
the
news
that
the
miracle
had
only
been
deferred
had
spread
instantly
through
the
unrestful
town
,
so
to
a
space
beyond
it
,
making
those
who
heard
the
tale
turn
back
to
see
for
themselves
.
But
after
a
few
minutes
'
wild
gallop
,
he
came
up
with
those
who
had
been
beyond
recall
,
who
had
gone
on
content
with
that
strange
lead
of
a
strange
God
;
of
a
saint
,
a
sinner
.
Yet
,
after
a
time
,
forgetful
of
that
leadership
utterly
.
For
they
needed
it
no
more
.
The
danger
of
novelty
had
passed
with
their
first
step
along
the
beaten
track
which
their
fathers
had
followed
.
Father
Ninian
,
wise
with
the
wisdom
of
long
years
,
of
secret
sympathy
,
had
known
this
;
had
counted
on
it
in
his
forlorn
hope
of
leading
them
into
familiar
bondage
.
He
had
told
himself
that
he
need
only
go
as
far
as
that
first
station
;
that
then
,
during
the
pause
for
offerings
,
he
might
return
,
as
it
were
,
to
realities
,
to
something
more
consistent
with
the
nineteenth
century
!
But
to
him
,
also
,
as
he
led
the
way
,
chanting
his
offices
for
the
day
,
had
come
a
strange
peace
,
a
strange
desire
to
go
on
to
the
end
of
the
pilgrimage
;
a
strange
desire
to
leave
those
realities
behind
him
in
a
world
from
which
he
was
taking
nothing
,
not
even
his
love
.
Surely
it
was
time
.
Surely
he
was
old
enough
to
claim
rest
.
No
!
not
rest
.
It
was
something
more
than
that
.
Surely
,
now
that
he
had
left
every
atom
of
earth
behind
him
lying
with
a
dead
woman
on
the
Altar
steps
,
he
also
was
free
to
find
the
"
Cradle
of
the
Gods
"
!
"
My
soul
fleeth
unto
the
Lord
!
before
the
morning
watch
I
say
,
before
the
morning
watch
,
"
he
chanted
;
he
had
gone
on
blindly
from
psalm
to
psalm
intent
on
the
desire
to
lead
those
voices
behind
.
"
Have
a
care
,
baba-jee
!
thou
and
thy
God
!
"
said
a
half-tender
,
half-jesting
one
as
he
stumbled
among
the
stones
,
and
a
dark
hand
stretched
itself
out
to
steady
the
old
priest
,
and
a
dark
face
turned
to
nod
approval
at
other
saffron
robes
;
since
here
was
a
true
pilgrim
,
a
true
madman
,
forgetful
of
this
world
,
to
judge
by
the
face
lifted
towards
those
distant
hills
.
Yet
the
desire
in
him
to
reach
them
seemed
to
the
wise
old
heart
something
that
must
be
set
aside
.
He
must
return
.
Yes
!
he
must
return
.
To
do
what
?
What
could
an
old
man
do
who
had
left
life
,
a
useless
life
,
behind
him
?
He
crushed
down
that
thought
also
,
and
stumbled
on
.
"
Man
is
like
a
thing
of
nought
,
his
time
passeth
away
like
a
shadow
!
"
His
voice
spent
itself
tremulously
on
that
one
certainty
,
and
those
behind
him
joined
their
testimony
to
his
all
unwittingly
,
as
they
called
on
Hârâ
or
Hârî
;
on
the
Creator
,
the
Destroyer
,
as
One
and
Indivisible
.
And
in
the
rear
again
,
Roshan
in
his
search
for
Death
,
for
annihilation
,
bore
witness
also
,
as
he
came
,
cursing
those
who
stood
in
his
way
,
his
horse
slithering
among
the
stones
in
its
effort
to
obey
whip
and
spur
,
and
sending
a
dry
clangour
of
hoof-beats
through
the
little
stony
valley
to
startle
the
sleepy
snakes
coiled
on
the
distant
rocks
,
and
drive
them
back
to
their
crannies
with
a
hiss
.
So
,
every
instant
,
the
distance
lessened
between
the
old
man
and
the
young
one
,
both
weary
of
life
.
It
was
broad
daylight
now
,
though
the
sun
was
still
low
on
the
horizon
.
The
mystery
of
dawn
had
left
the
world
,
the
very
pilgrims
,
between
their
recurring
cries
,
were
chattering
,
laughing
,
over
the
every-day
details
of
life
which
would
make
to-day
as
trivial
as
yesterday
,
to-morrow
as
trivial
as
to-day
.
There
had
been
a
"
Breathing
"
in
the
night
,
they
told
each
other
.
Some
shadow
had
fallen
.
Some
God
or
Devil
had
had
power
.
But
the
shackles
of
custom
,
of
familiarity
,
were
back
again
,
the
despotism
of
detail
.
Only
in
those
two
strangely
different
minds
in
the
van
,
in
the
rear
,
the
mystery
still
clouded
the
reality
.
And
the
distance
between
them
lessened
as
Roshan
drove
his
way
through
the
saffron
robes
recklessly
.
Yet
,
fast
as
he
went
,
when
he
reached
the
end
of
the
dry
watercourse
up
which
the
last
part
of
the
rough
track
had
wound
,
and
stood
in
the
hollow
,
backed
by
a
further
rise
of
the
hill
,
where
the
quaint
,
dumpy
,
black
temple
hid
itself
under
the
huge
blotch
of
the
banyan
tree--the
only
green
thing
visible
,
far
or
near--the
figure
he
sought
was
not
to
be
seen
among
the
crowd
.
Akbar
Khân
,
indeed
,
he
saw
,
utilizing
one
of
the
tall
tapers
as
a
pipe-light
before
casting
himself
on
the
ground
to
suck
contentedly
at
the
screwed
banyan
leaf
full
of
tobacco
which
he
had
gathered
by
claiming
a
pinch
in
return
for
the
loan
of
that
same
light
to
others
.
But
with
a
curious
shame
Roshan
avoided
him
,
and
passed
on
in
his
search
among
the
jostling
crowd
,
the
continuous
babel
of
trivial
talk
;
for
this
was
resting-time
,
when
men
and
women
could
be
men
and
women
,
and
forget
that
they
were
on
a
pilgrimage
;
when
they
could
even
dream
themselves
back
in
the
village
under
the
familiar
shelter
of
some
village
tree
,
asking
no
more
than
the
familiar
round
of
life
.
But
above
the
babel
came
every
now
and
again
the
insistent
clang
of
a
bell
,
telling
that
some
new
petitioner
was
seeking
a
favour
of
the
Gods
,
and
making
a
golden
oriole
,
which
sat
in
the
green
leafage
,
flit
to
another
bower
with
a
sudden
fluting
note
,
full
,
joyful
,
mellow
.
"
What
dost
seek
,
Musulmân
?
"
cavilled
a
saint
,
drawing
back
from
Roshan
's
shadow
,
as
he
gabbled
invocations
,
all
he
knew
,
on
a
rosary
,
ere
solacing
himself
with
the
pipe
which
his
disciple
had
prepared
.
"
If
'
tis
the
madman
and
his
God--he
hath
gone
yonder
.
"
He
pointed
to
a
side
track
,
which
was
a
short
cut
to
the
road
above
.
Roshan
flung
himself
from
his
horse
without
a
word
,
and
followed
.
The
distance
lessened
at
every
step
now
,
for
the
old
priest
's
breath
failed
him
at
the
steepness
of
the
rise
.
Still
,
it
would
not
delay
him
long
,
he
told
himself
,
to
take
that
one
look
at
the
soft
,
white
cloud
which
generally
hid
the
goal
of
pilgrimage
,
before
he
turned
back
over
the
hill
,
as
best
he
could
,
to
find
what
task
remained
for
him
in
the
world
.
He
might
have
that
one
look
,
surely
!
So
,
reaching
the
summit
of
this
first
bulwark
of
the
unattainable
,
he
sat
down
,
breathlessly
,
beside
an
upright
black
stone
which
showed
strangely
distinct
amid
the
redness
of
the
surrounding
rock
;
a
plain
black
stone
,
not
three
feet
high
,
chipped
rudely
to
a
blunt
point
.
Father
Ninian
did
not
need
the
scattering
of
dead
marigolds
and
dry
basil
leaves
about
its
base
to
tell
him
that
it
was
a
fragment
of
an
older
faith
than
that
of
the
temple
below
;
a
faith
sterner
,
purer
,
founded
on
a
clearer
perception
of
what
humanity
needed
in
that
search
for
the
lost
Paradise
;
on
a
closer
memory
of
the
cause
which
lost
it
.
He
laid
one
hand
on
the
stone
almost
caressingly
,
as
,
holding
the
pyx
in
the
other
,
he
sat
down
facing
the
distant
peaks
.
But
there
was
no
cloud
upon
them
.
The
day
had
dawned
clear
and
still
,
and
as
he
sat
looking
wistfully
over
the
valleys
on
valleys
,
the
hills
on
hills
,
which
lay
bathed
in
light
between
him
and
the
"
Cradle
of
the
Gods
,
"
a
sunbeam--still
slanting
from
the
curved
edge
of
the
eastern
plains--caught
the
jewelled
star
of
what
he
held
,
and
stayed
there
.
It
was
peaceful
beyond
words
.
The
hurry
,
the
strain
,
not
only
of
that
long
eventful
night
,
but
of
the
whole
long
eventful
life
,
seemed
over
.
All
things
seemed
behind
him
.
The
passion
,
the
pride
,
the
courage
,
the
manhood--all
things
that
had
made
Ninian
Bruce
what
Ninian
Bruce
had
been--where
were
they
?
Only
wisdom
,
only
a
tender
knowledge
,
seemed
to
remain
.
The
clank
of
steel
upon
stone
roused
him
,
the
clank
of
Roshan
's
spurs
upon
the
rocks
;
and
Father
Ninian
turned
to
see
him
,
a
yard
or
two
on
the
path
below
,
outlined
clearly
against
the
distant
view
of
Eshwara
,
against
the
world
in
which
Ninian
Bruce
had
lived
and
loved--the
Ninian
Bruce
whom
he
had
left
behind
.
Behind
!
No
!
It
was
Ninian
Bruce
and
none
other
who
was
on
his
feet
in
a
second
,
a
flush
on
his
face--the
face
that
was
like
the
nether
mill-stone
in
its
stern
passion
,
and
pride
,
and
power
.
For
,
in
a
second
,
the
old
man
's
soul
was
back
in
a
world
where
a
dead
woman
belonging
to
him
lay
waiting
for
revenge
.
His
hand
was
on
his
hidden
rapier
,
as
he
flung
his
first
word
of
defiance
at
the
man
who
had
killed
her
.
"
Murderer
!
"
"
Your
pupil
at
that
,
even
!
"
gasped
Roshan
,
"
you
began
it
!
--your
pupil
whom
you
taught--curse
you--
"
The
words
failed
him--he
paused
inarticulate--but
the
keen
eyes
and
ears
opposite
him
took
in
his
meaning
with
the
swift
comprehension
which
had
been
Pidar
Narâyan
's
always
.
A
sort
of
contemptuous
pity
fought
with
the
passion
of
Ninian
Bruce
's
face
.
"
My
pupil
,
certainly
,
"
he
assented
.
"
Have
you
come
to
ask
me
for
a
final
lesson
?
"
Roshan
glared
at
him
.
"
You
understand--you
always
did--that
is
the
worst
.
Yes
!
I
have
come
"
--here
he
laughed
wildly--
"
for
what
you
taught
me--fair
play
and
no
favour--and
I
mean
to
have
it
.
"
In
his
fierce
excitement
he
pressed
closer
,
flourishing
his
rapier
.
"
Pardon
me
,
"
came
a
cold
,
courteous
voice
;
"
I
did
not
teach
you
that
method
of
assassination
,
surely
?
I
thought
you
desired
fair
play
.
If
so
,
you
might
allow
me
to
meet
you
on
equal
terms
.
"
Roshan
drew
back
with
a
flush
from
the
figure
which
had
stood
its
ground
,
which
looked
at
him
with
bitter
disdain
.
He
scarcely
seemed
to
recognize
it
.
No
wonder
!
For
this
was
Ninian
Bruce
himself
.
Ninian
Bruce
as
he
might
have
spoken
to
an
over-hasty
antagonist
in
the
days
when
he
was
the
most
reckless
swordsman
in
Rome
,
when
the
world
held
him
body
and
soul
.
The
years
,
his
very
priesthood
,
had
slipped
from
him
.
"
I
beg
your
pardon
,
sir
!
"
muttered
Roshan
,
standing
aside
.
There
was
a
savage
satisfaction
in
his
heart
.
This
man
was
not
old
,
the
odds
were
equal
;
there
was
enough
fire
and
passion
here
to
please
any
opponent
.
So
,
after
a
pause
to
lay
aside
the
pyx--it
found
a
strange
resting-place
on
the
blunt
summit
of
that
upright
black
stone--a
slim
,
still
elegant
figure
,
divested
of
its
priestly
robings
,
took
its
stand
,
its
back
to
the
hills
,
its
face
to
the
world
.
Still
upright
,
still
active
,
with
its
black
soutane
caught
up
and
tucked
into
the
sash
to
give
free
play
to
its
limbs
.
"
Now
,
sir
,
"
came
the
courteous
voice
,
"
I
am
ready
.
"
Something
in
the
proud
grace
of
bearing
,
the
reckless
contempt
,
made
Roshan
follow
suit
.
"
The
sun
will
be
in
your
eyes
,
"
he
said
,
"
let
us
fight
lengthwise
to
the
ridge
.
"
"
We
will
--by
and
by
!
"
came
that
icy
voice
,
as
the
speaker
,
without
moving
,
stood
on
guard
.
"
We
can
omit
the
salute
.
If
you
are
ready
,
I
am
.
"
For
an
instant
Roshan
hesitated
,
realizing
what
the
life
that
he
meant
to
take
had
been
,
what
the
man
himself
whom
he
meant
to
kill
had
been
and
was
.
The
man
whose
figure
stood
out
like
a
black
shadow
against
the
distant
blue
of
the
hills
;
and
as
he
realized
the
fine
fibre
of
his
enemy
,
a
sense
of
powerlessness
to
touch
,
to
harm
him
,
kept
Roshan
motionless
.
"
Shall
I
count
five
,
and
give
you
a
start
?
"
The
question
came
with
a
shrug
of
the
shoulders
.
The
taunt
told
.
Roshan
pulled
himself
together
,
and
stood
on
guard
also
.
But
the
sense
of
powerlessness
was
intolerable
;
he
lowered
his
rapier
for
a
word
more--a
word
to
raise
his
own
self-esteem
.
"
I
warn
you
,
"
he
said
haughtily
,
"
that
the
sun
is
in
your
eyes
.
That
I
have
learnt
more
than
you
ever
taught
me--that
this
is
to
the
death
.
"
"
It
could
scarcely
be
anything
else
,
could
it
?
"
came
the
instant
reply
,
in
a
voice
that
vibrated
harshly
,
like
a
harpstring
struck
to
its
fullest
,
"
with
a
dead
woman
between
us
!
Engage
,
you
devil
,
or
I
will
kill
you
as
you
stand
!
"
Roshan
gave
a
short
,
sharp
cry
,
like
a
wild
beast
.
The
next
instant
the
curious
hiss
of
two
meeting
blades
sliding
along
each
other
was
the
only
sound
.
It
is
a
strange
sound
,
which
,
to
the
listeners
,
the
onlookers
,
seems
to
say
"
hush
"
to
the
whole
world
.
"
Hush
--hush--
sh
--
sh
.
"
Then
,
short
and
sharp
as
that
cry
of
Roshan
's
,
came
another
sound
;
the
beaten
,
baffled
clash
when
steel
meets
steel
instead
of
flesh
.
Roshan
,
with
an
inward
curse
,
gripped
his
rapier
closer
.
He
had
almost
been
disarmed
,
--disarmed
in
that
first
encounter
.
Strange
that
he
should
have
forgotten
his
foe
,
--forgotten
the
deadly
insistence
of
the
master
's
blade
,
slack
as
a
snake
in
curves
,
firm
as
a
vice
in
grip
.
Then
that
almost
invisible
turn
of
the
wrist
which
had
so
nearly
done
for
him
.
He
had
forgotten--these
,
in
years
of
meaner
adversaries
.
He
remembered
them
now
,
and
would
not
forget
again
.
And
he
had
such
things
;
ay
!
and
more
,
in
reserve
for
himself
.
So
had
his
master
;
in
reserve
for
both
of
them
,
if
needful
.
And
the
knowledge
that
it
would
be
needful
came
to
Ninian
Bruce
at
the
first
touch
of
his
adversary
's
sword
;
for
there
was
that
in
it
which
told
the
old
hand
that
the
young
one
was
a
master
's
also
.
"
My
pupil
has
improved
,
"
he
said
quietly
,
as
,
abandoning
the
attack
,
he
parried
Roshan
's
furious
onslaught
with
scarcely
a
motion
of
the
hand
,
held
level
to
his
heart
.
That
he
could
do
.
But
the
other
must
surely
come
in
the
end
,
since
he
was
old
,
and
Roshan
young
.
If
in
the
end
,
therefore
,
why
not
now
?
The
sooner
the
better
.
A
minute
after
the
sun
was
no
longer
in
Pidar
Narâyan
's
eyes
.
As
he
had
said
,
they
were
fighting
lengthwise
to
the
ridge
;
and
he
drew
back
,
choosing
his
ground
,
until
under
his
feet
he
felt
the
dead
marigolds
,
the
withered
basil
leaves
that
lay
about
the
upright
stone
,
--that
strange
pedestal
on
which
the
star-shaped
pyx
stood
as
on
an
altar
,
glittering
in
the
sun-rays
.
He
seemed
to
see
it
,
to
feel
it
,
standing
there
between
the
world
below
and
those
faint
,
far
peaks
.
And
the
eyes
which
had
seen
so
much
felt
they
need
see
no
more
.
"
Sta
'
alerta
,
Signor
!
"
he
cried
jibingly
,
flinging
himself
savagely
forward
.
"
And
may
the
Lord
have
mercy
on
your
soul
,
"
he
added
in
a
lower
tone
;
as
,
in
an
attack
which
held
in
it
all
the
wildness
,
the
fire
,
the
passion
of
his
youth
,
he
drove
Roshan
back
a
step
,
--one
step
down
the
faint
slope
on
which
he
had
counted
.
A
fierce
lunge
or
two
,
a
swift
parry
,
and
then
,
--then
an
inch
beyond
safety--given
purposely--yielded
room
for
the
riposte
he
sought
from
that
other
rapier
.
It
came
with
a
quick
cry
of
triumph
,
as
Roshan
felt
that
thin
,
cold
steel
slide
silently
on
through
a
dull
,
faint
resistance
.
A
cry
that
ended
in
a
gasp
,
as
the
hand
which
held
the
rapier
dropped
for
a
second
,
then
flung
itself
upwards
.
For
Pidar
Narâyan
had
given
the
reprise
;
and
'
L'Addio
del
Marito
'
had
done
its
work
.
So
,
for
an
instant--held
upright
by
the
lingering
force
of
the
old
man
's
hand--the
two
stood
within
a
sword
's
length
,
their
faces
glaring
at
each
other
,
--stern
,
implacable
,
the
one
in
death
,
the
other
still
in
life
.
Then
the
strength
,
the
life
,
ebbed
;
the
balance
between
it
and
death
wavered
,
and
Ninian
Bruce
,
overborne
by
his
enemy
's
dead
weight
,
sank
to
his
knee
,
then
backwards
.
But
his
hand
still
gripped
the
rapier
.
So
Roshan
Khân
's
body
,
as
it
fell
forward
,
slithered
down
the
sharp
blade
,
sending
a
little
jet
of
crimson
blood
backwards
,
till
it
stopped
with
a
dull
thud
upon
the
hilt
.
So
he
lay
,
face
downwards
,
beside
the
old
man
,
whose
face
looked
skyward
;
whose
head
rested
among
the
withered
marigolds
and
the
sweet
,
dead
leaves
of
the
basil
,
which
generations
and
generations
of
pilgrims
had
offered
to
an
unknown
wisdom
on
their
way
to
the
"
Cradle
of
the
Gods
.
"
THE
TRUTH
"
And
to
look
at
it
now
,
"
came
the
Commissioner
's
rich
,
round
brogue
,
"
you
would
think
butter
would
n't
melt
in
its
mouth
!
"
He
waved
the
cigar
he
was
smoking
towards
Eshwara
.
It
looked
sleepier
,
more
sun-saturate
than
ever
,
as
it
lay
reflected
in
the
still
lagoon
between
it
and
the
tent
in
which
he
was
sitting
;
a
double-poled
,
Commissioner
's
tent
,
which
two
days
before
had
swooped
down
like
an
avenging
angel
with
broad
white
wings
to
take
possession
of
the
just
and
the
unjust
in
the
name
of
Victoria
Kaiser-i-Hind
.
It
was
pitched
on
the
site
of
the
Viceroy
's
camp
,
for
the
convenience
of
being
close
to
the
gaol
where
the
late
disturbers
of
the
public
peace
had
taken
up
their
residence
.
In
fact
,
the
mast
from
which
the
royal
standard
had
floated
,
still
reared
itself
,
bare
,
undraped
,
from
its
roundel
of
roses
.
But
the
flowers
were
withered
,
dead
.
Even
the
palms
,
their
work
of
welcome
over
,
were
wilting
fast
;
but
they
still
gave
a
doubtful
shade
to
some
groups
of
manacled
men
,
who
,
guarded
by
yellow-legged
constables
,
were
placidly
awaiting
the
Commissioner
's
leisure
and
pleasure
;
both
being
,
at
the
time
,
occupied
with
lunch
and
Dr.
Dillon
.
So
,
the
wide
white
wings
of
the
tent
being
set
open
and
supported
with
bamboos
to
let
in
the
breeze
,
the
representative
of
law
and
order
could
be
seen--his
feet
on
the
table
among
his
law
books--drinking
an
iced
whiskey-and-soda
.
Dr.
Dillon--he
looked
careworn
chiefly
because
in
his
care
for
others
he
had
,
as
yet
,
been
able
to
take
no
rest--nodded
.
"
Yes
;
and
it
does
n't
,
as
a
rule
.
A
more
peaceable
spot
never
was
.
You
ca
n't
account
for
these
sudden
idiotic
outbreaks
.
One
reason
is
as
good
as
another
.
And
so
old
Mother
Campbell
,
with
her
assertion
that
it
all
came
because
Miss
Shepherd
would
talk
about
Jean
Ziska
's
drum--
"
The
Commissioner
smiled
.
"
Yes
,
the
good
lady
has
an
endless
circle
of
unfounded
beliefs
,
all
dependent
on
each
other
for
support
.
It
's
the
most
comfortable
way
of
getting
through
life
.
An
'
miracles
are
like
drams--ye
ca
n't
stop
them
,
once
you
begin
.
Besides
,
on
me
soul
,
it
was
queer--even
Carlyon
said--
"
"
And
if
it
were
true
,
"
interrupted
the
doctor
,
"
we
should
n't
be
any
'
forrader
'
!
We
should
n't
understand
.
And
that
's
our
position
now
.
You
ca
n't
,
in
fact
.
It
's
better
you
should
n't
;
in
India
,
at
any
rate
.
Just
accept
them
,
ignore
them
,
smash
them
,
hush
them
up
"
--here
his
face
clouded--
"
and
in
this
case
there
is
a
good
deal
that
had
better
be
kept
dark--you
'll
do
your
best
,
I
hope
?
"
The
keen
whimsical
face
hardened
.
"
I
shall
follow
the
usual
official
routine
,
sir
,
"
he
said
cynically
;
"
for
,
look
you
,
there
never
was
a
row
like
this
in
India
but
there
is
something
in
it
about
a
woman
,
which
we
've
got
to
hush
up
.
An
'
that
's
God
's
truth
.
Yes
,
we
pay
a
heavy
toll--
"
He
broke
off
,
took
up
a
pen
as
if
to
write
,
threw
it
down
impatiently
,
and
stared
out
into
the
hot
,
yellow
sunshine
.
Dr.
Dillon
sat
twiddling
his
mushroom
hat
round
and
round
in
his
nervous
fingers
,
and
staring
out
into
it
also
.
A
sense
of
being
face
to
face
with
an
unpleasant
truth
was
on
them
both
.
Suddenly
he
laughed
harshly
.
"
We
ought
to
have
got
accustomed
to
the
fact
by
this
time
,
anyhow
,
"
he
said
,
"
for
it
began
early
enough
in
the
history
of
man
.
Well
,
I
'm
off
;
you
wo
n't
want
me
,
will
you
,
this
afternoon
,
now
those
men
have
turned
Queen
's
evidence
?
"
"
Do
n't
think
so
.
Let
's
see
.
"
The
Commissioner
drew
a
list
towards
him
,
and
ran
his
eye
over
it
.
"
I
've
condemned
three
warders
and
seven
prisoners
to
death
for
poor
Dering
's
murder
;
so
I
daresay
penal
servitude
will
see
through
the
rest
.
Then
there
's
jogi
Gorakh-nâth
and
his
gosain
.
They
ought
to
be
hung
,
but
we
have
n't
caught
them
,
and
we
never
shall
;
the
wild
ass
that
snuffeth
up
the
east
wind
is
n't
in
it
with
a
Hindoo
ascetic
in
eluding
captors
!
So
the
lot
out
there
are
really
small
fry
;
for
the
other
ringleaders
are
either
dead
or
departed--even
that
amphibious
brute
,
Gu-gu
.
"
Dr.
Dillon
looked
up
cheerfully
.
"
By
George
!
I
'd
have
given
something
to
see
that
water-fight
between
him
and
Am-ma
!
By
the
way
,
what
are
you
going
to
do
for
that
queer
fish
?
But
for
him
,
we
would
never
have
seen
Lance
Carlyon
's
face
again
.
"
The
Commissioner
's
expression
was
curious
.
"
It
's
a
bit
hard
to
do
anything
for
a
man
who
wants
nothing
but
earth
,
air
,
and
water
,
and
has
got
all
three
;
besides--
"
he
drew
a
paper
out
of
a
file
,
looked
at
it
,
then
looked
at
the
doctor--
"
besides
it
was
n't
altogether
Am-ma
!
"
He
paused
,
smiled
an
infinitely
kind
smile
,
then
went
on
:
"
I
was
a
brute
,
entirely
,
to
talk
about
a
heavy
toll
just
now
.
We
get
its
worth
back
,
me
dear
fellow
,
over
and
over
again
.
See
!
here
is
Am-ma
's
affidavit
.
I
took
it
this
morning
,
and
upon
me
soul
,
Dillon
,
I
should
be
obliged
if
you
would
tell
me
whether
to
hush
it
up
,
or
inform
the
party
concerned
.
"
So
saying
,
his
brogue
took
possession
of
the
sun-bright
,
sun-dry
air--
"
I
,
Am-ma
,
of
the
river
folk
,
solemnly
affirm
that
,
knowing
the
Dee-puk-râg
to
be
in
the
power
of
the
Huzoors
,
I
several
times
warned
Gu-gu
not
to
follow
other
masters
.
But
he
had
learned
books
,
and
become
ignorant
.
He
could
not
even
feel
when
a
current
changed
its
course
;
and
then
he
thought
he
must
die
,
because
of
the
ghost
,
and
that
made
him
wild
.
So
when
I
refused
,
and
set
off
,
as
ordained
,
for
the
raft
,
he
took
the
Brahmin
's
money
and
stopped
the
miracle
.
Of
a
surety
,
the
Awarder
of
Justice
is
right
.
This
slave
knew
what
was
to
come
.
He
did
not
tell
of
it
because
,
where
the
Dee-puk-râg
is
,
there
is
victory
;
so
there
was
no
fear
.
Yet
when
the
Miss-
sahiba
bade
me
help
her
,
I
obeyed
,
because
she
has
power
over
devils
,
and
my
son
,
Huzoor
,
is
still
in
the
first
week
of
life
.
Therefore
,
for
that
reason
,
I
guided
the
raft
.
But
when
I
saw
that
the
Light-bringers
had
smitten
the
darkness
of
evil-doers
,
and
that
the
raft
would
be
needed
no
more
,
I
went
on
with
it
to
the
place
appointed
by
the
Wood-
wallah-sahib
whence
it
could
float
of
itself
.
"
So
I
returned
to
my
home
and
ate
my
bread
.
And
the
day
was
quiet
,
as
the
Huzoor
knows
;
only
the
folk
reviled
,
because
I
had
no
fish
to
sell
.
"
But
,
at
night
,
at
the
waning
of
the
sunset
stars
,
about
the
third
jackal
cry
,
came
the
Miss-
sahiba
to
my
hut
.
"
Dr.
Dillon
ceased
twiddling
his
hat
,
and
looked
up
in
sudden
interest
.
"
To
my
hut
,
"
reiterated
the
reading
voice
.
"
I
deemed
it
because
of
devils
first
;
but
it
was
not
.
It
was
because
of
Carlone-
sahib
who
could
not
be
found
,
--only
his
clothes
and
pistol
on
my
craft
,
stranded
on
a
sand-bank
by
the
mid-channel
.
"
'
He
has
not
been
killed
,
'
said
the
Miss-
sahiba
'
He
would
not
have
fought
with
his
clothes
off
.
Nor
did
he
go
to
fight
.
He
would
not
have
left
the
pistol
if
he
had
.
He
has
gone
swimming
,
to
get
quicker
and
find
help
.
So
he
is
drowned
.
He
is
in
the
river
still
,
and
I
cannot
think
of
it
.
Am-ma
!
you
know
every
inch
of
the
river
.
Find
him
!
Find
him
!
'
"
Then
I
said
:
'
Yea
,
Miss-
sahiba
I
will
find
him
when
his
body
rises
.
No
man
can
find
a
dead
one
in
the
river
till
then
.
'
But
,
as
I
spoke
,
the
son
at
his
mother
's
breast
left
sucking
,
and
cried
aloud
.
The
Miss-
sahiba
said
it
was
but
the
gripes
,
but
we--my
house
and
I--knew
more
than
that
.
We
knew
it
was
the
devils
,
winning
a
way
because
the
Miss
was
not
content
.
So
I
said
:
'
I
will
find
him
while
his
beauty
is
still
on
him
,
for
you
to
see
again
,
'
--since
that
is
in
the
heart
of
all
women
,
O
Awarder
of
Justice
.
Thus
at
the
dawn--the
dawn
after
the
dawn
of
darkness--I
,
Am-ma
,
set
out
with
my
nets
,
seeing
that
fish
,
anyhow
,
could
be
found
,
and
the
market
would
be
dear
,
because
none
had
come
to
the
bazaar
during
the
commotion
.
So
,
remembering
where
my
craft
had
stranded
,
I
went
first
to
mid-channel
;
thus
,
working
up
,
came
to
where
it
had
stranded
once
before
.
Then
,
seeing
footmarks
,
I
followed
them
,
till
in
an
island
,
eating
his
bread
,
I
found
the
evil-begotten
Gu-gu
.
"
He
had
a
knife
in
his
bead
belt
,
at
the
sight
whereof
I
gave
glory
to
gods
and
devils
alike
,
for
I
knew
the
handle
of
it
.
It
was
Carlone-
sahib
's
shikar
knife
,
and
I
had
been
his
shikari
many
a
time
.
"
So
I
said
,
'
Where
gottest
thou
Carlone-
sahib
's
knife
,
Gu-gu
?
'
thinking
to
startle
him
.
And
it
did
.
He
said
no
word
,
but
came
at
me
with
it
.
"
So
we
fought
.
His
right
hand
and
mine
on
the
knife
,
and
our
left
arms
round
each
other
's
throat
,
choking
us
;
and
our
legs
wrestling
.
Till
the
water
grew
too
deep
.
Then
we
swam
with
them
.
But
he
said
nothing
,
nor
did
I
.
There
was
no
need
.
We
understood
,
as
dogs
do
,
that
it
was
foe
and
foe
.
So
it
came
to
the
deep
stream
;
his
right
hand
and
mine
,
with
the
knife
between
them
,
and
our
teeth
fixed
in
each
other
's
shoulders
,
--till
I
bethought
me
of
his
ear
.
"
Then
he
yelled
,
and
let
go
;
but
I
was
after
him
as
he
dived
.
It
was
a
long
race
.
Wherefore
not
?
since
we
are
the
best
swimmers
in
the
river
.
But
I
felt
the
cleave
of
the
water
from
his
foot
at
last
,
and
spent
myself
in
one
stroke
.
So
I
laid
hold
of
his
leg
and
ran
my
hand
up
till
I
found
his
back
.
Then
I
used
Carlone-
sahib
's
knife
on
him
,
and
he
sank
;
and
I
sank
too
,
with
the
blow
.
"
And
when
I
came
up
,
leaving
him
there
,
I
found
how
long
the
race
had
been
,
for
my
right
hand
struck
the
city
wall
.
Then
it
came
to
me
what
the
Miss-
sahiba
had
said
,
of
Carlone-
sahib
wishing
to
go
quick
;
and
I
bethought
me
of
the
secret
passages
,
and
the
knife
,
and
Gu-gu
's
fear
.
And
I
said
to
myself
someone
must
have
restored
the
miracle
.
Not
Gu-gu
;
else
why
was
he
hiding
?
What
if
it
be
Carlone-
sahib
?
But
most
of
all
I
thought
of
my
little
son
,
and
the
devils
longing
for
him
,
and
for
a
woman
longing
for
the
sight
of
a
man
's
beauty
,
and
I
knew
I
must
go
and
see
if
it
lay
there
.
So
I
dived
,
and
found
him
,
as
the
Awarder
of
Justice
knows
,
sitting
high
up
,
with
the
water
about
his
feet
,
waiting
for
death
,
and
brought
him
back
as
I
promised
.
And
Gu-gu
is
dead
,
for
his
body
was
drifting
by
the
tunnel
with
Carlone-
sahib
's
knife
in
the
back
as
we
came
out
.
So
the
Miss
is
pleased
,
and
the
devils
do
not
come
near
my
son
.
"
The
brogue
ceased
,
and
there
was
a
pause
.
"
Well
!
what
do
ye
say
,
Dillon
?
"
asked
the
Commissioner
,
fretfully
.
George
Dillon
rose
and
put
on
his
hat
deliberately
.
"
Nothing
.
Except
that
I
must
really
be
off
.
I
've
to
see
Smith
first
,
and
Carlyon--that
sprained
ankle
of
his
,
which
he
got
trying
to
climb
up
beyond
the
rise
of
the
water
,
will
be
the
deuce
and
all
if
he
uses
it
too
soon
.
And
then
,
if
I
can
,
I
want
to
get
round
and
say
good-by
to--to
the
Miss-
sahiba
.
She
's
off
to
Herrnhut
again
this
evening
.
In
fact
,
Campbell
did
n't
half
like
her
waiting
for
the
funeral
,
he
is
in
such
a
blessed
hurry
to
get
to
his
new
field
,
as
he
calls
it
;
thinks
of
nothing
else
.
They
are
to
be
married
on
Monday
,
I
believe
.
"
The
Commissioner
laid
aside
Am-ma
's
affidavit
with
a
soft
"
damn
,
"
and
Dr.
Dillon
paused
on
his
way
out
at
the
sound
.
"
Quite
so
,
--I
entirely
agree
with
you
,
"
he
said
sympathetically
;
"
but
,
unfortunately
,
there
is
only
one
person
who
has
a
right
to
tell
that
story
,
sir--and
she
wo
n't
!
"
"
Why
not
?
"
interrupted
the
Commissioner
,
militantly--
"
why
the
blazes
should
n't
a
woman
tell
the
truth
?
"
"
Because
women
do
n't
know
it
,
"
broke
in
the
doctor
,
"
or
men
either
,
for
that
matter
.
Because
we
men
and
women
have
got
ourselves
on
such
false
lines
,
into
such
an
absolutely
false
position
towards
each
other
,
that
the
only
course
consistent
with
propriety
and
les
convenances
is
to--to
hush
the
thing
up
!
So
hush-a-bye
baby
,
sir
,
to
your
heart
's
content
.
So
long
as
the
mother
can
tell
her
blessed
infant
that
she
is
a
lady
,
what
does
the
real
fact
matter
?
"
He
spoke
with
a
concentrated
bitterness
,
an
almost
fierce
resentment
,
and
the
Commissioner
nodded
,
finished
his
whiskey-and-soda
at
a
gulp
,
and
returned
to
work
,
tossing
his
papers
about
recklessly
.
"
It
's
a
quare
world
,
certainly
,
"
he
murmured
,
with
a
lack
of
originality
which
sat
ill
on
him
.
Then
,
catching
sight
of
something
in
a
file
,
his
humorous
,
kindly
self
returned
.
"
Listen
to
this
now
,
for
quareness
,
"
he
laughed
,
beginning
to
read
:
--
"
'
The
petition
of
Mussumat
Mumtâza
Mahal'--that
's
Roshan
Khân
's
grandmother
,
you
know--'sister
,
'
etc.
,
etc.
,
'
humbly
sheweth
that
she
has
endured
grievous
wrong
and
hurt
,
by
loss
of
her
grandson
in
the
late
deplorable
mutiny
(
of
which
she
was
utterly
incognizant
,
being
helpless
,
veiled
,
old
woman
perpetually
confined
in
house
)
.
Therefore
prayeth
that
whereas
one
Mussumat
Ashrâf-un-nissa
,
her
neighbour
,
is
in
receipt
of
pension
rupees
twenty-five
per
mensem
for
similar
bereavement
of
male
protector
and
head
of
family
lost
in
'
57
mutiny
,
therefore
her
pension
of
rupees
twenty
per
mensem
,
only
,
for
exile
of
husband
to
Calcutta
,
be
commuted
to
similar
sum
of
twenty-five
,
seeing
that
your
poor
petitioner
is
in
floods
of
tears
and
wholly
heartbroken
through
this
most
nonregulation
,
premature
death
of
promising
young
scion
of
her
noble
house
,
on
whom
,
as
on
blessed
Victoria
,
Queen
,
her
hopes
were
fixed
.
Said
petitioner
being
able
to
prove
alibi
,
absolute
incomplicity
,
and
continuous
remaining
at
home
during
late
devilish
disturbances
.
'
"
"
Poor
old
soul
!
"
laughed
the
doctor
,
"
give
it
to
her
if
you
can
,
sir
.
And
as
for
remaining
at
home
,
everybody
except
the
actual
conspirators
did
that
.
Even
Dya-Ram
,
the
disaffected--though
he
has
preached
armed
resistance
to
tyranny
in
his
paper
for
years
.
He
barricaded
himself
in
with
his
printing-press
.
Fact
;
jammed
his
fingers
in
so
doing
,
and
came
to
me
in
a
blind
funk
for
a
professional
certificate
that
the
wound
could
not
have
been
caused
by
any
lethal
weapon
.
As
if
anyone
could
ever
have
suspected
him
of
taking
part
in
raising
a
row
,
or
even
in
settling
one
!
His
sort
are
simply
negligible
quantities
.
"
"
But
Ramanund
seems
to
have
attempted
a
lead
,
"
put
in
the
Commissioner
,
judicially
.
"
Exactly
.
Attempted
,
and
failed
.
His
sort
are
negligible
quantities
also
,
sir
,
I
'm
sorry
to
say
,
and
will
remain
so
until
they
learn
,
amongst
other
knowledge
,
to
believe
in
something
besides
themselves--
"
here
the
hard
eyes
softened
,
the
hard
voice
paused
.
"
That
is
another
thing
I
should
like
to
have
seen--dear
old
Pidar
Narâyan--
"
The
hard
voice
found
even
softness
too
loud
;
and
in
the
silence
which
fell
between
the
two
men
,
only
the
Commissioner
's
pen
could
be
heard
.
"
You
'll
look
in
at
the
palace
,
perhaps
,
and
see
all
is
right
,
"
came
the
brogue
,
after
a
bit
,
"
and
give
my
love
to
old
Smith
.
I
'm
not
sure
but
that
I
'd
rather
have
seen
him
behind
the
door
than
anything
else
,
for
it
must
have
been
the
hardest
job--
"
"
Considering
the
circumstances
,
yes
!
"
put
in
the
doctor
;
so
,
with
the
pith
hat
turning
him
into
an
animated
mushroom
,
he
passed
out
into
the
blaze
of
dry
yellow
sunshine
,
on
that
dry
yellow
sand
.
The
sky
above
was
molten
with
light
and
heat
,
the
gaol
positively
shimmered
in
the
glare
.
Not
a
sound
,
not
a
sight
,
told
of
that
midsummer
night
's
dream
of
wild
,
useless
revolt
,
save
when
one
of
the
shackled
prisoners
awaiting
trial
sought
a
better
bit
of
shade
under
the
wilted
palms
,
which
,
not
a
week
before
,
had
welcomed
the
Hosts
of
the
Lord-
sahib
on
their
way
to
the
hills
.
The
whole
thing
seemed
incredible
;
yet
,
as
he
crossed
the
road
to
enter
the
Smiths
'
compound
,
the
footsteps
of
those
other
Hosts
who
had
passed
on
to
the
hills
also
remained
to
dimple
the
dry
yellow
sand
.
The
Smiths
'
bungalow
lay
calm
,
peaceful
;
the
drawing-room
,
as
he
entered
it
,
struck
him
with
the
old
,
familiar
sense
of
refinement
,
indexing
the
refinement
of
its
mistress
.
Only
one
change
caught
his
observant
eyes
.
Vincent
Dering
's
photograph
was
no
longer
on
the
mantle-piece
,
whence
it
had
always
looked
out
with
a
certain
challenge
in
its
very
prominence
.
Where
had
it
gone
?
What
matter
?
There
was
no
need
for
such
defiance
now
,
thought
George
Dillon
,
with
that
curious
half-cynical
,
half-resentful
smile
he
kept
for
one
subject
only
.
She
might
keep
the
photograph
where
she
chose
,
now
,
and
none
would
blame
her
.
So
thinking
,
he
set
aside
the
curtain
which
hung
at
his
patient
's
door
,
and
as
he
did
so
,
resentment
,
cynicism
,
vanished
in
quick
sympathy
.
"
Ah
!
fever
again
,
I
see
,
--that
's
a
bore
,
"
he
said
,
going
over
swiftly
to
the
bed
where
Eugene
Smith
's
long
length
lay
visibly
shivering
;
for
something
,
--the
exposure
,
the
excitement
,
the
strain
,
perhaps
,
of
that
awful
inaction
behind
the
door
against
which
Vincent
Dering
was
making
that
heroic
stand
,
--had
knocked
the
big
man
over
,
a
prey
to
an
old
enemy--malarial
fever
.
"
When
did
it
come
on
?
"
Muriel
Smith
,
who
sat
on
the
bed
,
her
hand
in
one
of
her
husband
's
shaking
,
trembling
ones
,
looked
up
.
She
was
very
pale
,
but
very
calm
.
"
Half
an
hour
ago
.
It
is
a
pity
.
We
hoped
it
was
broken
,
did
n't
we
?
But
he
will
fret
himself
so
,
Doctor--
"
Her
eyes
,
on
Dr.
Dillon
's
,
were
telling
their
tale
,
so
that
it
scarcely
needed
the
rambling
,
quivering
voice
to
show
that
the
fresh
onset
of
fever
had
once
more
clouded
the
sick
man
's
brain
.
"
How
can
a
fellow
help
fretting
,
"
murmured
Eugene
,
his
teeth
chattering
,
"
when
he
waits
like
a
coward
behind
a
door
,
where
his
best
friend--
"
The
woman
beside
him
winced
,
but
interrupted
him
bravely
.
"
But
I
tell
him
,
Doctor--and
it
's
true
,
is
n't
it
?
--that
it
was
hardest
for
him
--and
that--that
Vincent
would
rather
have
had
it
so--because
he
had
to
leave
no
one
,
and
Eugene
had
Gladys--and
me
.
"
Her
voice
seemed
to
bring
comfort
,
and
the
glistening
,
feverish
eyes
closed
.
"
Go
on
with
the
mixture
,
"
said
the
doctor
,
vexedly
conscious
of
a
lump
in
his
throat
.
"
This
will
wear
itself
out
in
a
day
or
two
;
and--you
ca
n't
do
more
than
you
're
doing
.
"
"
I
suppose
not
,
"
she
replied
listlessly
.
But
the
tragedy
of
her
face
remained
in
his
memory
as
he
drove
over
the
creaking
,
groaning
bridge
to
Eshwara
.
The
bazaar
was
full
as
ever
with
drifting
humanity
,
busy
in
the
details
of
every-day
life
.
There
was
no
hint
anywhere
of
the
past
storm
;
not
even
in
the
palace
.
It
lay
,
as
ever
,
silent
;
its
blank
walls
seeming
to
hold
the
sunlight
back
from
some
secret
within
,
--from
some
veiled
,
hidden
beauty
.
The
door
was
closed
,
but
old
Akbar
Khân
came
capering
at
his
call
,
his
back
roached
,
in
bowing
,
like
a
caterpillar
's
.
"
The
tomb
is
finished
,
Ge-reeb-pun-wâz
,
"
he
mumbled
,
in
blubbering
importance
.
"
Ala
!
the
sad
day
!
But
this
slave
,
knowing
all
customary
things
,
hath
remained
insistent
on
the
workmen
;
therefore
all
is
befitting
the
noble
people
,
as
the
Huzoor
will
see
.
"
So
,
down
the
shadowy
passage
he
led
the
way
,
crablike
,
to
the
chapel
;
for
hither
,
long
years
before
,
Father
Ninian
had
brought
the
body
of
Pietro
Bonaventura
,
and
here
,
just
in
front
of
the
Altar
steps
,
he
and
Pietro
's
granddaughter--the
last
of
the
old
priest
's
charges
,
--had
been
buried
the
day
before
.
The
masons
had
been
busy
,
building
up
the
vault
again
;
but
,
as
Akbar
Khân
had
said
,
the
work
was
finished
,
the
chapel
restored
to
its
original
state
,
swept
,
and
garnished
.
Even
the
candles
were
lit
on
the
Altar
,
and
four
of
the
tallest
tapers
had
been
placed
,
one
at
each
corner
of
the
stone
slab
on
which
two
more
names
would
have
to
be
cut
;
while
from
these
tapers
long
strings
of
jasmine
flowers
,
such
as
native
women
wear
,
had
been
hung
in
drooping
chains
to
form
an
enclosure
.
On
the
slab
itself
great
bossed
yellow
marigolds
were
laid
to
simulate
a
cross
.
Dr.
Dillon
turned
to
the
cringing
figure
beside
him
sharply
;
but
there
was
something
almost
pathetic
in
its
simper
of
conscious
merit
,
its
certainty
of
satisfaction
.
"
Did
you
do
that
?
"
he
asked
.
"
Ge-reeb-pun-wâz
!
"
There
was
a
world
of
pride
and
of
servitude
in
the
voice
,
and
in
the
folded
,
prayerful
hands
which
shot
out
under
the
bowings
.
"
This
slave
made
it
!
The
Huzoor
will
notice
it
is
,
fitting
.
Even
the
'
crass
'
--
"
he
pointed
his
prayerful
hands
to
the
marigolds--
"
is
not
forgotten
.
Has
not
this
dust-like
one
spent
his
life
in
preparing
amusements
and
spectacles
for
the
noble
people
?
He
knows
that
tombs
require
flowers
,
as
women
do
.
"
Through
the
arches
behind
the
old
pantaloon
Dr.
Dillon
could
catch
a
glimpse
of
the
garden
,
ablaze
with
colour
,
could
smell
the
perfume
of
the
now
fading
orange-blossoms
,
could
see
the
water-maze
,
with
its
marble
ledges
,
among
the
lotus
,
just
wide
enough
for
the
flying
feet
of
a
laughing
girl
.
The
words
,
the
contrast
,
held
him
,
as
the
old
man
went
on
with
an
orthodox
whine
of
petition
in
his
voice
:
--
"
So
,
since
the
Sirkar
will
doubtless
appoint
a
guardian
of
tombs
,
seeing
there
is
none
to
inherit
the
palace
,
if
the
Protector
of
the
Poor
would
intercede
for
this
slave
with
the
Commissioner
?
--if
the
Huzoor
would
say
that
the
dust-like
one
has
provided
the
pleasures
of
palaces
all
his
life
long
for
the
noble
people
;
yea
!
from
the
cradle
to
the
grave
.
If
he
will
say
that--
"
he
flourished
his
hands
towards
the
slab--
"
both
in
the
making
of
garlands
and
the
making
of
'
crasses
,
'
there
is
none
equal--
"
"
For
tombs
require
flowers
,
as
women
do
!
"
The
phrase
asserted
itself
again
,
and
Dr.
Dillon
looked
at
the
wicked
old
face
,
so
comic
,
so
pathetic
,
with
the
hopeless
recognition
of
the
humour
of
tragedy
which
comes
to
all
save
the
invincibly
dull
.
"
You
would
do
as
well
as
anyone
,
"
he
said
gravely
.
"
I
'll
mention
your
name
.
"
"
Ge--reeb-pun--wâz
!
"
The
title
prolonged
itself
abnormally
,
and
Akbar
Khân
,
a
mask
of
toothless
smiles
,
darted
,
in
instant
assumption
of
his
anticipated
office
,
to
remove
a
fallen
jasmine
flower
from
Dr.
Dillon
's
path
as
if
it
had
been
a
deadly
reptile
.
Indeed
,
he
paused
in
the
midst
of
his
parting
salaams
to
ask
if
it
was
in
order
that
the
populace
be
admitted
to
the
sanctuary
,
since
the
missen-miss
(
his
accent
of
disdain
,
tempered
by
reverence
,
was
delicious
)
had
announced
her
desire
to
enter
it
that
afternoon
for
farewell
;
had
,
indeed
,
asked
him
to
be
there
at
four
to
open
the
door
.
Dr.
Dillon
turned
so
sharply
that
the
old
courtier
began
instantly
on
asseverations
that
,
without
orders--
"
Have
everything
ready
,
of
course
,
"
interrupted
the
doctor
,
impatiently
;
so
strode
off
across
the
courtyard
,
his
head
down
,
his
hands
in
his
pockets
,
with
a
jerk
,
as
of
irritation
,
in
his
walk
.
He
found
Lance
Carlyon
in
the
balcony
over
the
river
,
very
apologetic
at
being
caught
there
against
orders
.
But
it
was
so
dreary
keeping
to
one
's
room
,
he
said
;
especially
when
there
were
a
lot
of
dismal
things
to
think
about
;
and
he
really
had
been
most
careful--had
made
two
of
his
pioneers
almost
carry
him
.
"
Does
n't
seem
to
have
done
much
harm
!
"
admitted
the
doctor
,
gruffly
,
as
he
sat
feeling
the
ankle
and
looking
at
Lance
with
the
oddest
air
of
impatience
,
irritation
,
and
kindliness
.
Yet
there
was
nothing
strange
in
Lance
's
wholesome
young
face
,
save
that
it
showed
a
little
older
,
a
little
graver
.
"
It
must
be
beastly
dull
,
too
,
"
went
on
the
doctor
,
loudly
,
suddenly
.
"
You--you
might
get
them
to
help
you
over
to
the
palace
garden
this
afternoon
;
about
four
,
you
know
,
when
it
gets
cool
.
That
would
be
a
change
.
"
Lance
positively
gasped
.
"
Rath-er
!
Why
!
you
told
me
yesterday
I
was
n't
to
move
a
muscle
for
ten
days
!
"
Dr.
Dillon
positively
blushed
,
under
the
brown
.
He
got
up
vexedly
,
walked
to
the
parapet
,
looked
down
the
river
towards
the
mission
house
,
and
came
back
again
.
"
No
more
you
are
!
"
he
said
fiercely
.
"
Not
what
you
call
moving
.
But
gentle
exercise
and--and
congenial
society--and
all
that
!
You
know
the
treatment
!
Besides
the
Hutton-Wharton-Hood
school
do
n't
believe
in
rest
.
And--and--look
here
!
--I
'll
put
you
on
the
stiffest
starch
bandage
ever
made--and--Oh
!
confound
it
,
man
,
one
must
risk
something
sometimes
,
you
know
!
Here
,
orderly
;
go
over
to
the
sahib
's
washerman
and
tell
him
to
make
me
double-extra-white-shirt-front-starch
,
and
if
that
does
n't
counteract
the--the
indiscretion--why--why--I
wash
my
hands
of
the
whole
business
!
"
He
was
at
work
undoing
the
bandages
already
,
and
the
last
part
of
his
remarks
came
,
argumentatively
,
to
himself
.
"
If
you
really
think
it
might
injure
me
permanently
,
"
began
