Title: Mr. Isaacs
Author: Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909
Language: English
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MR. ISAACS
A TALE OF MODERN INDIA

BY F. MARION CRAWFORD


1882



BY F. MARION CRAWFORD



CHAPTER I.


In spite of Jean-Jacques and his school, men are not everywhere born
free, any more than they are everywhere in chains, unless these be of
their own individual making. Especially in countries where excessive
liberty or excessive tyranny favours the growth of that class most
usually designated as adventurers, it is true that man, by his own
dominant will, or by a still more potent servility, may rise to any
grade of elevation; as by the absence of these qualities he may fall to
any depth in the social scale.

Wherever freedom degenerates into license, the ruthless predatory
instinct of certain bold and unscrupulous persons may, and almost
certainly will, place at their disposal the goods, the honours, and the
preferment justly the due of others; and in those more numerous and
certainly more unhappy countries, where the rule of the tyrant is
substituted for the law of God, the unwearying flatterer, patient under
blows and abstemious under high-feeding, will assuredly make his way to
power.

Without doubt the Eastern portion of the world, where an hereditary, or
at least traditional, despotism has never ceased since the earliest
social records, and where a mode of thought infinitely more degrading
than any feudalism has become ingrained in the blood and soul of the
chief races, presents far more favourable conditions to the growth and
development of the true adventurer than are offered in any free country.
For in a free country the majority can rise and overthrow the favourite
of fortune, whereas in a despotic country they cannot. Of Eastern
countries in this condition, Russia is the nearest to us; though perhaps
we understand the Chinese character better than the Russian. The Ottoman
empire and Persia are, and always have been, swayed by a clever band of
flatterers acting through their nominal master; while India, under the
kindly British rule, is a perfect instance of a ruthless military
despotism, where neither blood nor stratagem have been spared in
exacting the uttermost farthing from the miserable serfs--they are
nothing else--and in robbing and defrauding the rich of their just and
lawful possessions. All these countries teem with stories of adventurers
risen from the ranks to the command of armies, of itinerant merchants
wedded to princesses, of hardy sailors promoted to admiralties, of
half-educated younger sons of English peers dying in the undisputed
possession of ill-gotten millions. With the strong personal despotism of
the First Napoleon began a new era of adventurers in France; not of
elegant and accomplished adventurers like M. de St. Germain, Cagliostro,
or the Comtesse de la Motte, but regular rag-tag-and-bobtail cut-throat
moss-troopers, who carved and slashed themselves into notice by sheer
animal strength and brutality.

There is infinitely more grace and romance about the Eastern adventurer.
There is very little slashing and hewing to be done there, and what
there is, is managed as quietly as possible. When a Sultan must be rid
of the last superfluous wife, she is quietly done up in a parcel with a
few shot, and dropped into the Bosphorus without more ado. The good
old-fashioned Rajah of Mudpoor did his killing without scandal, and when
the kindly British wish to keep a secret, the man is hanged in a quiet
place where there are no reporters. As in the Greek tragedies, the
butchery is done behind the scenes, and there is no glory connected with
the business, only gain. The ghosts of the slain sometimes appear in the
columns of the recalcitrant Indian newspapers and gibber a feeble little
"Otototoi!" after the manner of the shade of Dareios, but there is very
little heed paid to such visitations by the kindly British. But though
the "raw head and bloody bones" type of adventurer is little in demand
in the East, there is plenty of scope for the intelligent and wary
flatterer, and some room for the honest man of superior gifts, who is
sufficiently free from Oriental prejudice to do energetically the thing
which comes in his way, distancing all competitors for the favours of
fortune by sheer industry and unerring foresight.

I once knew a man in the East who was neither a flatterer nor
freebooter, but who by his own masterly perseverance worked his way to
immense wealth, and to such power as wealth commands, though his high
view of the social aims of mankind deterred him from mixing in political
questions. _Bon chien chasse de race_ is a proverb which applies to
horses, cattle, and men, as well as to dogs; and in this man, who was a
noble type of the Aryan race, the qualities which have made that race
dominant were developed in the highest degree. The sequel, indeed, might
lead the ethnographer into a labyrinth of conjecture, but the story is
too tempting a one for me to forego telling it, although the said
ethnographer should lose his wits in striving to solve the puzzle.

In September, 1879, I was at Simla in the lower Himalayas,--at the time
of the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari at Kabul,--being called there in
the interests of an Anglo-Indian newspaper, of which I was then editor.
In other countries, notably in Europe and in America, there are hundreds
of spots by the sea-shore, or on the mountain-side, where specific ills
may be cured by their corresponding antidotes of air or water, or both.
Following the aristocratic and holy example of the Bishops of Salzburg
for the last eight centuries, the sovereigns of the Continent are told
that the air and waters of Hofgastein are the only nenuphar for the
over-taxed brain in labour beneath a crown. The self-indulgent sybarite
is recommended to Ems, or Wiesbaden, or Aix-la-Chapelle, and the
quasi-incurable sensualist to Aix in Savoy, or to Karlsbad in Bohemia.
In our own magnificent land Bethesdas abound, in every state, from the
attractive waters of lotus-eating Saratoga to the magnetic springs of
Lansing, Michigan; from Virginia, the carcanct of sources, the heaving,
the warm, the hot sulphur springs, the white sulphur, the alum, to the
hot springs of Arkansas, the Ultima Thule of our migratory and
despairing humanity. But in India, whatever the ailing, low fever, high
fever, "brandy pawnee" fever, malaria caught in the chase of tigers in
the Terai, or dysentery imbibed on the banks of the Ganges, there is
only one cure, the "hills;" and chief of "hill-stations" is Simla.

On the hip rather than on the shoulder of the aspiring Himalayas,
Simla--or Shumla, as the natives call it--presents during the wet
monsoon period a concourse of pilgrims more varied even than the
Bagnères de Bigorre in the south of France, where the gay Frenchman asks
permission of the lady with whom he is conversing to leave her abruptly,
in order to part with his remaining lung, the loss of the first having
brought him there. "Pardon, madame," said he, "je m'en vais cracher mon
autre poumon."

To Simla the whole supreme Government migrates for the summer--Viceroy,
council, clerks, printers, and hangers-on. Thither the high official
from the plains takes his wife, his daughters, and his liver. There the
journalists congregate to pick up the news that oozes through the
pent-house of Government secrecy, and failing such scant drops of
information, to manufacture as much as is necessary to fill the columns
of their dailies. On the slopes of "Jako"--the wooded eminence that
rises above the town--the enterprising German establishes his
concert-hall and his beer-garden; among the rhododendron trees Madame
Blavatzky, Colonel Olcott and Mr. Sinnett move mysteriously in the
performance of their wonders; and the wealthy tourist from America, the
botanist from Berlin, and the casual peer from Great Britain, are not
wanting to complete the motley crowd. There are no roads in Simla proper
where it is possible to drive, excepting one narrow way, reserved when I
was there, and probably still set apart, for the exclusive delectation
of the Viceroy. Every one rides--man, woman, and child; and every
variety of horseflesh may be seen in abundance, from Lord Steepleton
Kildare's thoroughbreds to the broad-sterned equestrian vessel of Mr.
Currie Ghyrkins, the Revenue Commissioner of Mudnugger in Bengal. But I
need not now dwell long on the description of this highly-favoured spot,
where Baron de Zach might have added force to his demonstration of the
attraction of mountains for the pendulum. Having achieved my orientation
and established my servants and luggage in one of the reputed hotels, I
began to look about me, and, like an intelligent American observer, as I
pride myself that I am, I found considerable pleasure in studying out
the character of such of the changing crowd on the verandah and on the
mall as caught my attention.

At last the dinner-hour came. With the rest I filed into the large
dining-room and took my seat. The place allotted to me was the last at
one side of the long table, and the chair opposite was vacant, though
two remarkably well-dressed servants, in turbans of white and gold,
stood with folded arms behind it, apparently awaiting their master. Nor
was he long in coming. I never remember to have been so much struck by
the personal appearance of any man in my life. He sat down opposite me,
and immediately one of his two servants, or _khitmatgars_, as they are
called, retired, and came back bearing a priceless goblet and flask of
the purest old Venetian mould. Filling the former, he ceremoniously
presented his master with a brimming beaker of cold water. A
water-drinker in India is always a phenomenon, but a water-drinker who
did the thing so artistically was such a manifestation as I had never
seen. I was interested beyond the possibility of holding my peace, and
as I watched the man's abstemious meal,--for he ate little,--I
contrasted him with our neighbours at the board, who seemed to be vying,
like the captives of Circe, to ascertain by trial who could swallow the
most beef and mountain mutton, and who could absorb the most
"pegs"--those vile concoctions of spirits, ice, and soda-water, which
have destroyed so many splendid constitutions under the tropical sun. As
I watched him an impression came over me that he must be an Italian. I
scanned his appearance narrowly, and watched for a word that should
betray his accent. He spoke to his servant in Hindustani, and I noticed
at once the peculiar sound of the dental consonants, never to be
acquired by a northern-born person.

Before I go farther, let me try and describe Mr. Isaacs; I certainly
could not have done so satisfactorily after my first meeting, but
subsequent acquaintance, and the events I am about to chronicle, threw
me so often in his society, and gave me such ample opportunities of
observation, that the minutest details of his form and feature, as well
as the smallest peculiarities of his character and manner, are indelibly
graven in my memory.

Isaacs was a man of more than medium stature, though he would never be
spoken of as tall. An easy grace marked his movements at all times,
whether deliberate or vehement,--and he often went to each extreme,--a
grace which no one acquainted with the science of the human frame would
be at a loss to explain for a moment. The perfect harmony of all the
parts, the even symmetry of every muscle, the equal distribution of a
strength, not colossal and overwhelming, but ever ready for action, the
natural courtesy of gesture--all told of a body in which true proportion
of every limb and sinew were at once the main feature and the pervading
characteristic. This infinitely supple and swiftly-moving figure was but
the pedestal, as it were, for the noble face and nobler brain to which
it owed its life and majestic bearing. A long oval face of a wondrous
transparent olive tint, and of a decidedly Oriental type. A prominent
brow and arched but delicate eyebrows fitly surmounted a nose smoothly
aquiline, but with the broad well-set nostrils that bespeak active
courage. His mouth, often smiling, never laughed, and the lips, though
closely meeting, were not thin and writhing and cunning, as one so often
sees in eastern faces, but rather inclined to a generous Greek fullness,
the curling lines ever ready to express a sympathy or a scorn which, the
commanding features above seemed to control and curb, as the stern,
square-elbowed Arab checks his rebellious horse, or gives him the rein,
at will.

But though Mr. Isaacs was endowed with exceptional gifts of beauty by a
bountiful nature, those I have enumerated were by no means what first
attracted the attention of the observer. I have spoken of his graceful
figure and perfect Iranian features, but I hardly noticed either at our
first meeting. I was enthralled and fascinated by his eyes. I once saw
in France a jewel composed of six precious stones, each a gem of great
value, so set that they appeared to form but one solid mass, yielding a
strange radiance that changed its hue at every movement, and multiplied
the sunlight a thousand-fold. Were I to seek a comparison for my
friend's eyes, I might find an imperfect one in this masterpiece of the
jeweler's art. They were dark and of remarkable size; when half closed
they were long and almond-shaped; when suddenly opened in anger or
surprise they had the roundness and bold keenness of the eagle's sight.
There was a depth of life and vital light in them that told of the
pent-up force of a hundred generations of Persian magii. They blazed
with the splendour of a god-like nature, needing neither meat nor strong
drink to feed its power.

My mind was made up. Between his eyes, his temperance, and his dental
consonants, he certainly might be an Italian. Being myself a native of
Italy, though an American by parentage, I addressed him in the language,
feeling comparatively sure of his answer. To my surprise, and somewhat
to my confusion, he answered in two words of modern Greek--"[Greek: _den
enoêsa_]"--"I do not understand." He evidently supposed I was speaking a
Greek dialect, and answered in the one phrase of that tongue which he
knew, and not a good phrase at that.

"Pardon me," said I in English, "I believed you a countryman, and
ventured to address you in my native tongue. May I inquire whether you
speak English?"

I was not a little astonished when he answered me in pure English, and
with an evident command of the language. We fell into conversation, and
I found him pungent, ready, impressive, and most entertaining,
thoroughly acquainted with Anglo-Indian and English topics, and
apparently well read. An Indian dinner is a long affair, so that we had
ample time to break the ice, an easy matter always for people who are
not English, and when, after the fruit, he invited me to come down and
smoke with him in his rooms, I gladly availed myself of the opportunity.
We separated for a few moments, and I despatched my servant to the
manager of the hotel to ascertain the name of the strange gentleman who
looked like an Italian and spoke like a fellow of Balliol. Having
discovered that he was a "Mr. Isaacs," I wended my way through verandahs
and corridors, preceded by a _chuprassie_ and followed by my
pipe-bearer, till I came to his rooms.

The fashion of the hookah or narghyle in India has long disappeared from
the English portion of society. Its place has been assumed and usurped
by the cheroot from Burmah or Trichinopoli, by the cigarette from Egypt,
or the more expensive Manilla and Havana cigars. I, however, in an early
burst of Oriental enthusiasm, had ventured upon the obsolete fashion,
and so charmed was I by the indolent aromatic enjoyment I got from the
rather cumbrous machine, that I never gave it up while in the East. So
when Mr. Isaacs invited me to come and smoke in his rooms, or rather
before his rooms, for the September air was still warm in the hills, I
ordered my "bearer" to bring down the apparatus and to prepare it for
use. I myself passed through the glass door in accordance with my new
acquaintance's invitation, curious to see the kind of abode in which a
man who struck me as being so unlike his fellows spent his summer
months. For some minutes after I entered I did not speak, and indeed I
hardly breathed. It seemed to me that I was suddenly transported into
the subterranean chambers whither the wicked magician sent Aladdin in
quest of the lamp. A soft but strong light filled the room, though I did
not immediately comprehend whence it came, nor did I think to look, so
amazed was I by the extraordinary splendour of the objects that met my
eyes. In the first glance it appeared as if the walls and the ceiling
were lined with gold and precious stones; and in reality it was almost
literally the truth. The apartment, I soon saw, was small,--for India at
least,--and every available space, nook and cranny, were filled with
gold and jeweled ornaments, shining weapons, or uncouth but resplendent
idols. There were sabres in scabbards set from end to end with diamonds
and sapphires, with cross hilts of rubies in massive gold mounting, the
spoil of some worsted rajah or Nawab of the mutiny. There were narghyles
four feet high, crusted with gems and curiously wrought work from
Baghdad or Herat; water flasks of gold and drinking cups of jade;
yataghans from Bourn and idols from the far East. Gorgeous lamps of the
octagonal Oriental shape hung from the ceiling, and, fed by aromatic
oils, shed their soothing light on all around. The floor was covered
with a rich soft pile, and low divans were heaped with cushions of
deep-tinted silk and gold. On the floor, in a corner which seemed the
favourite resting-place of my host, lay open two or three superbly
illuminated Arabic manuscripts, and from a chafing dish of silver near
by a thin thread of snow-white smoke sent up its faint perfume through
the still air. To find myself transported from the conventionalities of
a stiff and starched Anglo-Indian hotel to such a scene was something
novel and delicious in the extreme. No wonder I stood speechless and
amazed. Mr. Isaacs remained near the door while I breathed in the
strange sights to which he had introduced me. At last I turned, and from
contemplating the magnificence of inanimate wealth I was riveted by the
majestic face and expression of the beautiful living creature who, by a
turn of his wand, or, to speak prosaically, by an invitation to smoke,
had lifted me out of humdrum into a land peopled with all the effulgent
phantasies and the priceless realities of the magic East. As I gazed, it
seemed as if the illumination from the lamps above were caught up and
flung back with the vitality of living fire by his dark eyes, in which
more than ever I saw and realised the inexplicable blending of the
precious stones with the burning spark of a divine soul breathing
within. For some moments we stood thus; he evidently amused at my
astonishment, and I fascinated and excited by the problem presented me
for solution in his person and possessions.

"Yes," said Isaacs, "you are naturally surprised at my little Eldorado,
so snugly hidden away in the lower story of a commonplace hotel. Perhaps
you are surprised at finding me here, too. But come out into the air,
your hookah is blazing, and so are the stars."

I followed him into the verandah, where the long cane chairs of the
country were placed, and taking the tube of the pipe from the solemn
Mussulman whose duty it was to prepare it, I stretched myself out in
that indolent lazy peace which is only to be enjoyed in tropical
countries. Silent and for the nonce perfectly happy, I slowly inhaled
the fragrant vapour of tobacco and aromatic herbs and honey with which
the hookah is filled. No sound save the monotonous bubbling and
chuckling of the smoke through the water, or the gentle rustle of the
leaves on the huge rhododendron-tree which reared its dusky branches to
the night in the middle of the lawn. There was no moon, though the stars
were bright and clear, the foaming path of the milky way stretching
overhead like the wake of some great heavenly ship; a soft mellow lustre
from the lamps in Isaacs' room threw a golden stain half across the
verandah, and the chafing dish within, as the light breeze fanned the
coals, sent out a little cloud of perfume which mingled pleasantly with
the odour of the _chillum_ in the pipe. The turbaned servant squatted on
the edge of the steps at a little distance, peering into the dusk, as
Indians will do for hours together. Isaacs lay quite still in his chair,
his hands above his head, the light through the open door just falling
on the jeweled mouthpiece of his narghyle. He sighed--a sigh only half
regretful, half contented, and seemed about to speak, but the spirit did
not move him, and the profound silence continued. For my part, I was so
much absorbed in my reflections on the things I had seen that I had
nothing to say, and the strange personality of the man made me wish to
let him begin upon his own subject, if perchance I might gain some
insight into his mind and mode of thought. There are times when silence
seems to be sacred, even unaccountably so. A feeling is in us that to
speak would be almost a sacrilege, though we are unable to account in
any way for the pause. At such moments every one seems instinctively to
feel the same influence, and the first person who breaks the spell
either experiences a sensation of awkwardness, and says something very
foolish, or, conscious of the odds against him, delivers himself of a
sentiment of ponderous severity and sententiousness. As I smoked,
watching the great flaming bowl of the water pipe, a little coal, forced
up by the expansion of the heat, toppled over the edge and fell tinkling
on the metal foot below. The quick ear of the servant on the steps
caught the sound, and he rose and came forward to trim the fire. Though
he did not speak, his act was a diversion. The spell was broken.

"The Germans," said Isaacs, "say that an angel is passing over the
house. I do not believe it."

I was surprised at the remark. It did not seem quite natural for Mr.
Isaacs to begin talking about the Germans, and from the tone of his
voice I could almost have fancied he thought the proverb was held as an
article of faith by the Teutonic races in general.

"I do not believe it," he repeated reflectively. "There is no such thing
as an angel 'passing'; it is a misuse of terms. If there are such things
as angels, their changes of place cannot be described as motion, seeing
that from the very nature of things such changes must be instantaneous,
not involving time as a necessary element. Have you ever thought much
about angels? By-the-bye, pardon my abruptness, but as there is no one
to introduce us, what is your name?"

"My name is Griggs--Paul Griggs. I am an American, but was born in
Italy. I know your name is Isaacs; but, frankly, I do not comprehend how
you came by the appellation, for I do not believe you are either,
English, American, or Jewish of origin."

"Quite right," he replied, "I am neither Yankee, Jew, nor beef-eater; in
fact, I am not a European at all. And since you probably would not guess
my nationality, I will tell you that I am a Persian, a pure Iranian, a
degenerate descendant of Zoroaster, as you call him, though by religion
I follow the prophet, whose name be blessed," he added, with an
expression of face I did not then understand. "I call myself Isaacs for
convenience in business. There is no concealment about it, as many know
my story; but it has an attractive Semitic twang that suite my
occupation, and is simpler and shorter for Englishmen to write than
Abdul Hafizben-Isâk, which is my lawful name."

"Since you lay sufficient store by your business to have been willing to
change your name, may I inquire what your business is? It seems to be a
lucrative one, to judge by the accumulations of wealth you have allowed
me a glimpse of."

"Yes. Wealth is my occupation. I am a dealer in precious stones and
similar objects of value. Some day I will show you my diamonds; they are
worth seeing."

It is no uncommon thing to meet in India men of all Asiatic
nationalities buying and selling stones of worth, and enriching
themselves in the business. I supposed he had come with a caravan by way
of Baghdad, and had settled. But again, his perfect command of English,
as pure as though he had been educated at Eton and Oxford, his extremely
careful, though quiet, English dress, and especially his polished
manners, argued a longer residence in the European civilisation of his
adopted home than agreed with his young looks, supposing him to have
come to India at sixteen or seventeen. A pardonable curiosity led me to
remark this.

"You must have come here very young," I said. "A thoroughbred Persian
does not learn to speak English like a university man, and to quote
German proverbs, in a residence of a few years; unless, indeed, he
possess the secret by which the initiated absorb knowledge without
effort, and assimilate it without the laborious process of intellectual
digestion."

"I am older than I look--considerably. I have been in India twelve
years, and with a natural talent for languages, stimulated by constant
intercourse with Englishmen who know their own speech well, I have
succeeded, as you say, in acquiring a certain fluency and mastery of
accent. I have had an adventurous life enough. I see no reason why I
should not tell you something of it, especially as you are not English,
and can therefore hear me with an unprejudiced ear. But, really, do you
care for a yarn?"

I begged him to proceed, and I beckoned the servant to arrange our
pipes, that we might not be disturbed. When this was done, Isaacs began.

"I am going to try and make a long story short. We Persians like to
listen to long stories, as we like to sit and look on at a wedding
nautch. But we are radically averse to dancing or telling long tales
ourselves, so I shall condense as much as possible. I was born in
Persia, of Persian parents, as I told you, but I will not burden your
memory with names you are not familiar with. My father was a merchant in
prosperous circumstances, and a man of no mean learning in Arabic and
Persian literature. I soon showed a strong taste for books, and every
opportunity was given me for pursuing my inclinations in this respect.
At the early age of twelve I was kidnapped by a party of slave-dealers,
and carried off into Roum--Turkey you call it. I will not dwell upon my
tears and indignation. We travelled rapidly, and my captors treated me
well, as they invariably do their prizes, well knowing how much of the
value of a slave depends on his plump and sleek condition when brought
to market. In Istamboul I was soon disposed of, my fair skin and
accomplishments as a writer and a singer of Persian songs fetching a
high price.

"It is no uncommon thing for boys to be stolen and sold in this way. A
rich pacha will pay almost anything. The fate of such slaves is not
generally a happy one." Isaacs paused a moment, and drew in two or three
long breaths of smoke. "Do you see that bright star in the south?" he
said, pointing with his long jewel-set mouthpiece.

"Yes. It must be Sirius."

"That is my star. Do you believe in the agency of the stars in human
affairs? Of course you do not; you are a European: how should you? But
to proceed. The stars, or the fates or Kâli, or whatever you like to
term your kismet, your portion of good and evil, allotted me a somewhat
happier existence than generally falls to the share of young slaves in
Roum. I was bought by an old man of great wealth and of still greater
learning, who was so taken with my proficiency in Arabic and in writing
that he resolved to make of me a pupil instead of a servant to carry his
coffee and pipe, or a slave to bear the heavier burden of his vices.
Nothing better could have happened to me. I was installed in his house
and treated with exemplary kindness, though he kept me rigorously at
work with my books. I need not tell you that with such a master I made
fair progress, and that at the age of twenty-one I was, for a Turk, a
young man of remarkably good education. Then my master died suddenly,
and I was thrown into great distress. I was of course nothing but a
slave, and liable to be sold at any time. I escaped. Active and
enduring, though never possessing any vast muscular strength, I bore
with ease the hardships of a long journey on foot with little food and
scant lodging. Falling in with a band of pilgrims, I recognised the
wisdom of joining them on their march to Mecca. I was, of course, a
sound Mohammedan, as I am to this day, and my knowledge of the Koran
soon gained me some reputation in the caravan. I was considered a
creditable addition, and altogether an eligible pilgrim. My exceptional
physique protected me from the disease and exhaustion of which not a few
of our number died by the wayside, and the other pilgrims, in
consideration of my youth and piety, gave me willingly the few handfuls
of rice and dates that I needed to support life and strength.

"You have read about Mecca; and your _hadji_ barber, who of course has
been there, has doubtless related his experiences to you scores of times
in the plains, as he does everywhere. As you may imagine, I had no
intention of returning towards Roum with my companions. When I had
fulfilled all the observances required, I made my way to Yeddah and
shipped on board an Arabian craft, touching at Mocha, and bearing coffee
to Bombay. I had to work my passage, and as I had no experience of the
sea, save in the caïques of the Golden Horn, you will readily conceive
that the captain of the vessel had plenty of fault to find. But my
agility and quick comprehension stood me in good stead, and in a few
days I had learned enough to haul on a rope or to reef the great latteen
sails as well as any of them. The knowledge that I was just returning
from a pilgrimage to Mecca obtained for me also a certain respect among
the crew. It makes very little difference what the trade, business, or
branch of learning; in mechanical labour, or intellectual effort, the
educated man is always superior to the common labourer. One who is in
the habit of applying his powers in the right way will carry his system
into any occupation, and it will help him as much to handle a rope as to
write a poem.

"At last we landed in Bombay. I was in a wretched condition. What little
clothes I had had were in tatters; hard work and little food had made me
even thinner than my youthful age and slight frame tolerated. I had in
all about three pence money in small copper coins, carefully hoarded
against a rainy day. I could not speak a word of the Indian dialects,
still less of English, and I knew no one save the crew of the vessel I
had come in, as poor as I, but saved from starvation by the slender
pittance allowed them on land. I wandered about all day through the
bazaars, occasionally speaking to some solemn looking old shopkeeper or
long-bearded Mussulman, who, I hoped, might understand a little Arabic.
But not one did I find. At evening I bathed in the tank of a temple full
from the recent rains, and I lay down supperless to sleep on the steps
of the great mosque. As I lay on the hard stones I looked up to my star,
and took comfort, and slept. That night a dream came to me. I thought I
was still awake and lying on the steps, watching the wondrous ruler of
my fate. And as I looked he glided down from his starry throne with an
easy swinging motion, like a soap-bubble settling to the earth. And the
star came and poised among the branches of the palm-tree over the tank,
opalescent, unearthly, heart shaking. His face was as the face of the
prophet, whose name be blessed, and his limbs were as the limbs of the
Hameshaspenthas of old. Garments he had none, being of heavenly birth,
but he was clothed with light as with a garment, and the crest of his
silver hair was to him a crown of glory. And he spoke with the tongues
of a thousand lutes, sweet strong tones, that rose and fell on the night
air as the song of a lover beneath the lattice of his mistress, the song
of the mighty star wooing the beautiful sleeping earth. And then he
looked on me and said: 'Abdul Hafiz, be of good cheer. I am with thee
and will not forsake thee, even to the day when thou shalt pass over the
burning bridge of death. Thou shalt touch the diamond of the rivers and
the pearl of the sea, and they shall abide with thee, and great shall be
thy wealth. And the sunlight which is in the diamond shall warm thee and
comfort thy heart; and the moonlight which is in the pearl shall give
thee peace in the night-time, and thy children shall be to thee a
garland of roses in the land of the unbeliever.' And the star floated
down from the palm-branches and touched me with his hand, and breathed
upon my lips the cool breath of the outer firmament, and departed. Then
I awoke and saw him again in his place far down the horizon, and he was
alone, for the dawn was in the sky and the lesser lights were
extinguished. And I rose from the stony stairway that seemed like a bed
of flowers for the hopeful dream, and I turned westward, and praised
Allah, and went my way.

"The sun being up, all was life, and the life in me spoke of a most
capacious appetite. So I cast about for a shop where I might buy a
little food with my few coppers, and seeing a confectioner spreading out
his wares, I went near and took stock of the queer balls of flour and
sugar, and strange oily-looking sweetmeats. Having selected what I
thought would be within my modest means, I addressed the shopkeeper to
call his attention, though I knew he would not understand me, and I
touched with my hand the article I wanted, showing with the other some
of the small coins I had. As soon as I touched the sweetmeats the man
became very angry, and bounding from his seat called his neighbours
together, and they all shouted and screamed at me, and called a man I
thought to be a soldier, though he looked more like an ape in his long
loose trousers of dirty black, and his untidy red turban, under which
cumbrous garments his thin and stunted frame seemed even blacker and
more contemptible than nature had made them. I afterwards discovered him
to be one of the Bombay police. He seized me by the arm, and I, knowing
I had done no wrong, and curious to discover, if possible, what the
trouble was, accompanied him whither he led me. After waiting many hours
in a kind of little shed where there were more policemen, I was brought
before an Englishman. Of course all attempts at explanation were
useless. I could speak not a word of anything but Arabic and Persian,
and no one present understood either. At last, when I was in despair,
trying to muster a few words of Greek I had learned in Istamboul, and
failing signally therein, an old man with a long beard looked curiously
in at the door of the crowded court. Some instinct told me to appeal to
him, and I addressed him in Arabic. To my infinite relief he replied in
that tongue, and volunteered to be interpreter. In a few moments I
learned that my crime was that I had _touched_ the sweetmeats on the
counter.

"In India, as you who have lived here doubtless know, it is a criminal
offence, punishable by fine or imprisonment, for a non-Hindu person to
defile the food of even the lowest caste man. To touch one sweetmeat in
a trayful defiles the whole baking, rendering it all unfit for the use
of any Hindu, no matter how mean. Knowing nothing of caste and its
prejudices, it was with the greatest difficulty that the _moolah_, who
was trying to help me out of my trouble, could make me comprehend
wherein my wrong-doing lay, and that the English courts, being obliged
in their own interest to uphold and protect the caste practices of the
Hindus, at the risk of another mutiny, could not make any exception in
favour of a stranger unacquainted with Indian customs. So the Englishman
who presided said he would have to inflict a fine, but being a very
young man, not yet hardened to the despotic ways of Eastern life, he
generously paid the fine himself, and gave me a rupee as a present into
the bargain. It was only two shillings, but as I had not had so much
money for months I was as grateful as though it had been a hundred. If I
ever meet him I will requite him, for I owe him all I now possess.

"My case being dismissed, I left the court with the old _moolah_, who
took me to his house and inquired of my story, having first given me a
good meal of rice and sweetmeats, and that greatest of luxuries, a
little pot of fragrant Mocha coffee; he sat in silence while I ate,
ministering to my wants, and evidently pleased with the good he was
doing. Then he brought out a package of _birris_, those little
cigarettes rolled in leaves that they smoke in Bombay, and I told him
what had happened to me. I implored him to put me in the way of
obtaining some work by which I could at least support life, and he
promised to do so, begging me to stay with him until I should be
independent. The day following I was engaged to pull a punkah in the
house of an English lawyer connected with an immense lawsuit involving
one of the Mohammedan principalities. For this irksome work I was to
receive six rupees--twelve shillings--monthly, but before the month was
up I was transferred, by the kindness of the English lawyer and the good
offices of my co-religionist the _moolah_, to the retinue of the Nizam
of Haiderabad, then in Bombay. Since that time I have never known want.

"I soon mastered enough of the dialects to suit my needs, and applied
myself to the study of English, for which opportunities were not
lacking. At the end of two years I could speak the language enough to be
understood, and my accent from the first was a matter of surprise to
all; I had also saved out of my gratuities about one hundred rupees.
Having been conversant with the qualities of many kinds of precious
stones from my youth up, I determined to invest my economies in a
diamond or a pearl. Before long I struck a bargain with an old
_marwarri_ over a small stone, of which I thought he misjudged the
value, owing to the rough cutting. The fellow was cunning and hard in
his dealings, but my superior knowledge of diamonds gave me the
advantage. I paid him ninety-three rupees for the little gem, and sold
it again in a month for two hundred to a young English 'collector and
magistrate,' who wanted to make his wife a present. I bought a larger
stone, and again made nearly a hundred per cent on the money. Then I
bought two, and so on, until having accumulated sufficient capital, I
bade farewell to the Court of the Nizam, where my salary never exceeded
sixteen rupees a month as scribe and Arabic interpreter, and I went my
way with about two thousand rupees in cash and precious stones. I came
northwards, and finally settled in Delhi, where I set up as a dealer in
gems and objects of intrinsic value. It is now twelve years since I
landed in Bombay. I have never soiled my hands with usury, though I have
twice advanced large sums at legal interest for purposes I am not at
liberty to disclose; I have never cheated a customer or underrated a gem
I bought of a poor man, and my wealth, as you may judge from what you
have seen, is considerable. Moreover, though in constant intercourse
with Hindus and English, I have not forfeited my title to be called a
true believer and a follower of the prophet, whose name be blessed."

Isaacs ceased speaking, and presently the waning moon rose pathetically
over the crest of the mountains with that curiously doleful look she
wears after the full is past, as if weeping over the loss of her better
half. The wind rose and soughed drearily through the rhododendrons and
the pines; and Kiramat Ali, the pipe-bearer, shivered audibly as he drew
his long cloth uniform around him. We rose and entered my friend's
rooms, where the warmth of the lights, the soft rugs and downy cushions,
invited us temptingly to sit down and continue our conversation. But it
was late, for Isaacs, like a true Oriental, had not hurried himself over
his narrative, and it had been nine o'clock when we sat down to smoke.
So I bade him good-night, and, musing on all I had heard and seen,
retired to my own apartments, glancing at Sirius and at the
unhappy-looking moon before I turned in from the verandah.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER II.


In India--in the plains--people rise before dawn, and it is not till
after some weeks' residence in the cooler atmosphere of the mountains
that they return to the pernicious habit of allowing the sun to be
before them. The hours of early morning, when one either mopes about in
loose flannel clothes, or goes for a gallop on the green _maidán_, are
without exception the most delicious of the day. I shall have occasion
hereafter to describe the morning's proceedings in the plains. On the
day after the events recorded in the last chapter I awoke as usual at
five o'clock, and meandered out on to the verandah to have a look at the
hills, so novel and delicious a sight after the endless flats of the
northwest provinces. It was still nearly dark, but there was a faint
light in the east, which rapidly grew as I watched it, till, turning the
angle of the house, I distinguished a snow-peak over the tops of the
dark rhododendrons, and, while I gazed, the first tinge of distant
dawning caught the summit, and the beautiful hill blushed, as a fair
woman, at the kiss of the awakening sun. The old story, the heaven
wooing the earth with a wondrous shower of gold.

"Prati 'shya sunarî janî"--the exquisite lines of the old Vedic hymn to
the dawn maiden, rose to my lips. I had never appreciated or felt their
truth down in the dusty plains, but here, on the free hills, the glad
welcoming of the morning light seemed to run through every fibre, as
thousands of years ago the same joyful thrill of returning life inspired
the pilgrim fathers of the Aryan race. Almost unconsciously, I softly
intoned the hymn, as I had heard my old Brahmin teacher in Allahabad
when he came and sat under the porch at daybreak, until I was ready for
him--

    The lissome heavenly maiden here,
    Forth flashing from her sister's arms,
    High heaven's daughter, now is come.

    In rosy garments, shining like
    A swift bay mare; the twin knights' friend,
    Mother of all our herds of kine.

    Yea, thou art she, the horseman's friend;
    Of grazing cattle mother thou,
    All wealth is thine, thou blushing dawn.

    Thou who hast driven the foeman back,
    With praise we call on thee to wake
    In tender reverence, beauteous one.

    The spreading beams of morning light
    Are countless as our hosts of kine,
    They fill the atmosphere of space.

    Filling the sky, thou openedst wide
    The gates of night, thou glorious dawn--
    Rejoicing-run thy daily race!

    The heaven above thy rays have filled,
    The broad belovèd room of air,
    O splendid, brightest maid of morn!

I went indoors again to attend to my correspondence, and presently a
gorgeously liveried white-bearded _chuprassie_ appeared at the door, and
bending low as he touched his hand to his forehead, intimated that "if
the great lord of the earth, the protector of the poor, would turn his
ear to the humblest of his servants, he would hear of something to his
advantage."

So saying, he presented a letter from the official with whom I had to
do, an answer to my note of the previous afternoon, requesting an
interview. In due course, therefore, the day wore on, and I transacted
my business, returned to "tiffin," and then went up to my rooms for a
little quiet. I might have been there an hour, smoking and dreaming over
a book, when the servant announced a sahib who wanted to see me, and
Isaacs walked in, redolent of the sunshine without, his luminous eyes
shining brightly in the darkened room. I was delighted, for I felt my
wits stagnating in the unwonted idleness of the autumn afternoon, and
the book I had taken up was not conducive to wakefulness or brilliancy.
It was a pleasant surprise too. It is not often that an hotel
acquaintance pushes an intimacy much, and besides I had feared my
silence during the previous evening might have produced the impression
of indifference, on which reflection I had resolved to make myself
agreeable at our next meeting.

Truly, had I asked myself the cause of a certain attraction I felt for
Mr. Isaacs, it would have been hard to find an answer. I am generally
extremely shy of persons who begin an acquaintance by making
confidences, and, in spite of Isaacs' charm of manner, I had certainly
speculated on his reasons for suddenly telling an entire stranger his
whole story. My southern birth had not modified the northern character
born in me, though it gave me the more urbane veneer of the Italian; and
the early study of Larochefoucauld and his school had not predisposed me
to an unlimited belief in the disinterestedness of mankind. Still there
was something about the man which seemed to sweep away unbelief and
cynicism and petty distrust, as the bright mountain freshet sweeps away
the wretched little mud puddles and the dust and impurities from the bed
of a half dry stream. It was a new sensation and a novel era in my
experience of humanity, and the desire to get behind that noble
forehead, and see its inmost workings, was strong beyond the strength of
puny doubts and preconceived prejudice. Therefore, when Isaacs appeared,
looking like the sun-god for all his quiet dress of gray and his
unobtrusive manner, I felt the "little thrill of pleasure" so aptly
compared by Swinburne to the soft touch of a hand stroking the outer
hair.

"What a glorious day after all that detestable rain!" were his first
words. "Three mortal months of water, mud, and Mackintoshes, not to
mention the agreeable sensation of being glued to a wet saddle with your
feet in water-buckets, and mountain torrents running up and down the
inside of your sleeves, in defiance of the laws of gravitation; such is
life in the monsoon. Pah!" And he threw himself down on a cane chair and
stretched out his dainty feet, so that the sunlight through the crack of
the half-closed door might fall comfortingly on his toes, and remind him
that it was fine outside.

"What have you been doing all day?" I asked, for lack of a better
question, not having yet recovered from the mental stagnation induced by
the last number of the serial story I had been reading.

"Oh--I don't know. Are you married?" he asked irrelevantly.

"God forbid!" I answered reverently, and with some show of feeling.

"Amen," was the answer. "As for me--I am, and my wives have been
quarreling."

"Your wives! Did I understand you to use the plural number?"

"Why, yes. I have three; that is the worst of it. If there were only
two, they might get on better. You know 'two are company and three are
none,' as your proverb has it." He said this reflectively, as if
meditating a reduction in the number.

The application of the proverb to such a case was quite new in my
recollection. As for the plurality of my friend's conjugal relations, I
remembered he was a Mohammedan, and my surprise vanished. Isaacs was
lost in meditation. Suddenly he rose to his feet, and took a cigarette
from the table.

"I wonder"--the match would not light, and he struggled a moment with
another. Then he blew a great cloud of smoke, and sat down in a
different chair--"I wonder whether a fourth would act as a fly-wheel,"
and he looked straight at me, as if asking my opinion.

I had never been in direct relations with a Mussulman of education and
position. To be asked point-blank whether I thought four wives better
than three on general principles, and quite independently of the
contemplated spouse, was a little embarrassing. He seemed perfectly
capable of marrying another before dinner for the sake of peace, and I
do not believe he would have considered it by any means a bad move.

"Diamond cut diamond," I said. "You too have proverbs, and one of them
is that a man is better sitting than standing; better lying than
sitting; better dead than lying down. Now I should apply that same
proverb to marriage. A man is, by a similar successive reasoning, better
with no wife at all than with three."

His subtle mind caught the flaw instantly. "To be without a wife at all
would be about as conducive to happiness as to be dead. Negative
happiness, very negative."

"Negative happiness is better than positive discomfort."

"Come, come," he answered, "we are bandying terms and words, as if empty
breath amounted to anything but inanity. Do you really doubt the value
of the institution of marriage?"

"No. Marriage is a very good thing when two people are so poor that they
depend on each other, mutually, for daily bread, or if they are rich
enough to live apart. For a man in my own position marriage would be the
height of folly; an act of rashness only second to deliberate suicide.
Now, you are rich, and if you had but one wife, she living in Delhi and
you in Simla, you would doubtless be very happy."

"There is something in that," said Isaacs. "She might mope and beat the
servants, but she could not quarrel if she were alone. Besides, it is so
much easier to look after one camel than three. I think I must try it."

There was a pause, during which he seemed settling the destiny of the
two who were to be shelved in favour of a monogamic experiment.
Presently he asked if I had brought any horses, and hearing I had not,
offered me a mount, and proposed we should ride round Jako, and perhaps,
if there were time, take a look at Annandale in the valley, where there
was polo, and a racing-ground. I gladly accepted, and Isaacs despatched
one of my servants, the faithful Kiramat Ali, to order the horses.
Meantime the conversation turned on the expedition to Kabul to avenge
the death of Cavagnari. I found Isaacs held the same view that I did in
regard to the whole business. He thought the sending of four Englishmen,
with a handful of native soldiers of the guide regiment to protect them,
a piece of unparalleled folly, on a par with the whole English policy in
regard to Afghanistan.

"You English--pardon me, I forgot you did not belong to them--the
English, then, have performed most of their great acts of valour as a
direct consequence of having wantonly exposed themselves in situations
where no sane man would have placed himself. Look at Balaclava; think of
the things they did in the mutiny, and in the first Afghan war; look at
the mutiny itself, the result of a hair-brained idea that a country like
India could be held for ever with no better defences than the
trustworthiness of native officers, and the gratitude of the people for
the 'kindly British rule.' Poor Cavagnari! when he was here last summer,
before leaving on his mission, he said several times he should never
came back. And yet no better man could have been chosen, whether for
politics or fighting; if only they had had the sense to protect him."

Having delivered himself of this eulogy, my friend dropped his exhausted
cigarette, lit another, and appeared again absorbed in the triangulation
of his matrimonial problem. I imagined him weighing the question whether
he should part with Zobeida and Zuleika and keep Anima, or send Zuleika
and Amina about their business, and keep Zobeida to be a light in his
household. At last Kiramat Ali, on the watch in the verandah, announced
the saices with the horses, and we descended.

I had expected that a man of Isaacs' tastes and habits would not be
stingy about his horseflesh, and so was prepared for the character of
the animals that awaited us. They were two superb Arab stallions, one of
them being a rare specimen of the weight-carrying kind, occasionally
seen in the far East. Small head, small feet, and feather-tailed, but
broad in the quarters and deep in the chest, able to carry a
twelve-stone man for hours at the stretching, even gallop, that never
trembles and never tires; surefooted as a mule, and tender-tempered as a
baby.

So we mounted the gentle creatures and rode away. The mountain on which
Simla is situated has a double summit, like a Swiss peak, the one higher
than the other. On the lower height and the neck between the two is
built the town, and the bungalows used as offices and residences for the
Government officials cover a very considerable, area. "Jako," the higher
eminence, is thickly covered with a forest of primeval rhododendrons and
pines, and though there are outlying bungalows and villas scattered
about among the trees near the town, they are so far back from the main
road, reserved as I have said for the use of the Viceroy, as far as
driving is concerned, that they are not seen in riding along the shady
way; and on the opposite side, where the trees are thin, the magnificent
view looks far out over the spurs of the mountains, the only human
habitation visible being a Catholic convent, which rears its little
Italian _campanile_ against the blue sky, and rather adds to the beauty
of the scene than otherwise. As we rode along we continued our talk
about the new Afghan war, though neither of us was very much in the
humour for animated conversation. The sweet scent of the pines, the
matchless motion of the Arab, and the joyous feeling that the worst part
of the tropical year was passed, were enough for me, and I drank in the
high, rarefied air, with the intense delight of a man who has been
smothered with dust and heat, and then steamed to a jelly by a spring
and summer in the plains of Hindustan.

The road abounds in sharp turns, and I, as the heavier mount, rode on
the inside as we went round the mountain. On reaching the open part on
the farther side, we drew rein for a moment to look down at the deep
valleys, now dark with the early shade, at the higher peaks red with the
westering sun, and at the black masses of foliage, through which some
giant trunk here and there caught a lingering ray of the departing
light. Then, as we felt the cool of the evening coming on, we wheeled
and scampered along the level stretch, stirrup to stirrup and knee to
knee. The sharp corner at the end pulled us up, but before we had quite
reined in our horses, as delighted as we to have a couple of minutes'
straight run, we swung past the angle and cannoned into a man ambling
peaceably along with his reins on one finger and his large gray felt hat
flapping at the back of his neck. There was a moment's confusion,
profuse apologies on our part, and some ill-concealed annoyance on the
part of the victim, who was, however, only a little jostled and taken by
surprise.

"Really, sir," he began. "Oh! Mr. Isaacs. No harm done, I assure you,
that is, not much. Bad thing riding fast round corners. No harm, no
harm, not much. How are you?" all in a breath.

"How d'ye do! Mr. Ghyrkins; my friend Mr. Griggs."

"The real offender," I added in a conciliatory tone, for I had kept my
place on the inside.

"Mr. Griggs?" said Mr. Currie Ghyrkins. "Mr. Griggs of Allahabad? _Daily
Howler?_ Yes, yes, corresponded; glad to see you in the flesh."

I did not think he looked particularly glad. He was a Revenue
Commissioner residing in Mudnugger; a rank Conservative; a regular old
"John Company" man, with whom I had had more than one tiff in the
columns of the _Howler,_ leading to considerable correspondence.

"I trust that our collision in the flesh has had no worse results than
our tilts in print, Mr. Ghyrkins?"

"Not at all. Oh don't mention it. Bad enough, though, but no harm done,
none whatever," pulling up and looking at me as he pronounced the hist
two words with a peculiarly English slowness after a very quick
sentence.

While he was speaking, I was aware of a pair of riders walking their
horses toward us, and apparently struggling to suppress their amusement
at the mishap to the old gentleman, which they must have witnessed. In
truth, Mr. Ghyrkins, who was stout and rode a broad-backed obese "tat,"
can have presented no very dignified appearance, for he was jerked half
out of the saddle by the concussion, and his near leg, returning to its
place, had driven his nether garment half way to his knee, while the
large felt hat was settling back on to his head at a rakish angle, and
his coat collar had gone well up the back of his neck.

"Dear uncle," said the lady as she rode up, "I hope you are not hurt?"
She was very handsome as she sat there trying not to laugh. A lithe
figure in a gray habit and a broad-brimmed hat, fair as a Swede, but
with dark eyes and heavy lashes. Just then she was showing her brilliant
teeth, ostensibly in delight at her dear uncle's escape, and her whole
expression was animated and amused. Her companion was a soldierly
looking young Englishman, with a heavy moustache and a large nose. A
certain devil-may-care look about his face was attractive as he sat
carelessly watching us. I noticed his long stirrups and the curb rein
hanging loose, while he held the snaffle, and concluded he was a cavalry
officer. Isaacs bowed low to the lady and wheeled his horse. She replied
by a nod, indifferent enough; but as he turned, her eyes instantly went
back to him, and a pleasant thoughtful look passed over her face, which
betrayed at least a trifling interest in the stranger, if stranger he
were.

All this time Mr. Ghyrkins was talking and asking questions of me. When
had I come? what brought me here? how long would I stay? and so on,
showing that whether friendly or not he had an interest in my movements.
In answering his questions I found an opportunity of calling the Queen
the "Empress," of lauding Lord Beaconsfield's policy in India, and of
congratulating Mr. Ghyrkins upon the state of his district, with which
he had nothing to do, of course; but he swallowed the bait, all in a
breath, as he seemed to do everything. Then he introduced us.

"Katharine, you know Mr. Isaacs; Mr. Griggs, Miss Westonhaugh, Lord
Steepleton Kildare, Mr. Isaacs."

We bowed and rode back together over the straight piece we passed before
the encounter. Isaacs and the Englishman walked their horses on each
side of Miss Westonhaugh, and Ghyrkins and I brought up the rear. I
tried to turn the conversation to Isaacs, but with little result.

"Yes, yes, good fellow Isaacs, for a fire-worshipper, or whatever he is.
Good judge of a horse. Lots of rupees too. Queer fish. By-the-bye, Mr.
Griggs, this new expedition is going to cost us something handsome, eh?"

"Why, yes. I doubt whether you will get off under ten millions sterling.
And where is it to come from? You will have a nice time making your
assessments in Bengal, Mr. Ghyrkins, and we shall have an income-tax and
all sorts of agreeable things."

"Income-tax? Well, I think not. You see, Mr. Griggs, it would hit the
members of the council, so they won't do it, for their own sakes, and
the Viceroy too. Ha, ha, how do you think Lord Lytton would like an
income-tax, eh?" And the old fellow chuckled.

We reached the end of the straight, and Isaacs reined in and bid Miss
Westonhaugh and her companion good evening. I bowed from where I was,
and took Mr. Ghyrkins' outstretched hand. He was in a good humour again,
and called out to us to come and see him, as we rode away. I thought to
myself I certainly would; and we paced back, crossing the open stretch
for the third time.

It was almost dark under the trees as we re-entered the woods; I pulled
out a cheroot and lit it. Isaacs did the same, and we walked our horses
along in silence. I was thinking of the little picture I had just seen.
The splendid English girl on her thoroughbred beside the beautiful Arab
steed and his graceful rider. What a couple, I thought: what noble
specimens of great races. Why did not this fiery young Persian, with his
wealth, his beauty, and his talents, wed some such wife as that, some
high-bred Englishwoman, who should love him and give him home and
children--and, I was forced to add, commonplace happiness? How often
does it happen that some train of thought, unacknowledged almost to
ourselves, runs abruptly into a blind alley; especially when we try to
plan out the future life of some one else, or to sketch for him what we
should call happiness. The accidental confronting of two individuals
pleases the eye, we unite them in our imagination, carrying on the
picture before us, and suddenly we find ourselves in a quagmire of
absurd incongruities. Now what could be more laughable than to suppose
the untamed, and probably untameable young man at my side, with his
three wives, his notions about the stars and his Mussulman faith, bound
for life to a girl like Miss Westonhaugh? A wise man of the East trying
to live the life of an English country gentleman, hunting in pink and
making speeches on the local hustings! I smiled to myself in the dark
and puffed at my cigar.

Meanwhile Isaacs was palpably uneasy. First he kicked his feet free of
the stirrups, and put them back again. Then he hummed a few words of a
Persian song and let his cigar go out, after which he swore loudly in
Arabic at the eternal matches that never would light. Finally he put his
horse into a hand gallop, which could not last on such a road in the
dark, and at last he broke down completely in his efforts to do
impossible things, and began talking to me.

"You know Mr. Ghyrkins by correspondence, then?"

"Yes, and by controversy. And you, I see, know Miss Westonhaugh?"

"Yes; what do you think of her?"

"A charming creature of her type. Fair and English, she will be fat at
thirty-five, and will probably paint at forty, but at present she is
perfection--of her kind of course," I added, not wishing to engage my
friend in the defence of his three wives on the score of beauty.

"I see very little of Englishwomen," said Isaacs. "My position is
peculiar, and though the men, many of whom I know quite intimately,
often ask me to their houses, I fancy when I meet their women I can
detect a certain scorn of my nationality, a certain undefinable manner
toward me, by which I suppose they mean to convey to my obtuse
comprehension that I am but a step better than a 'native'--a 'nigger' in
fact, to use the term they love so well. So I simply avoid them, as a
rule, for my temper is hasty. Of course I understand it well enough;
they are brought up or trained by their fathers and husbands to regard
the native Indian as an inferior being, an opinion in which, on the
whole, I heartily concur. But they go a step farther and include all
Asiatics in the same category. I do not choose to be confounded with a
race I consider worn out and effete. As for the men, it is different.
They know I am rich and influential in many ways that are useful to them
now, and they hope that the fortunes of war or revolution may give them
a chance of robbing me hereafter, in which they are mistaken. Now there
is our stout friend, whom we nearly brought to grief a few minutes ago;
he is always extremely civil, and never meets me that he does not renew
his invitation to visit him."

"I should like to see something more of Mr. Currie Ghyrkins myself. I do
not believe he is half as bad as I thought. Do you ever go there?"

"Sometimes. Yes, on second thoughts I believe I call on Mr. Currie
Ghyrkins pretty often." Then after a pause he added, "I like her."

I pointed out the confusion of genders. Isaacs must have smiled to
himself in the gloom, but he answered quietly--

"I mean Miss Westonhaugh. I like her--yes, I am quite sure I do. She is
beautiful and sensible, though if she stays here much longer she will be
like all the rest. We will go and see them to-morrow. Here we are; just
in time for dinner. Come and smoke afterwards."

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER III.


A loose robe of light material from Kashmir thrown around him, Isaacs
half sat, half lay, on the soft dark cushions in the corner of his outer
room. His feet were slipperless, Eastern fashion, and his head covered
with an embroidered cap of curious make. By the yellow light of the
hanging lamps he was reading an Arabic book, and his face wore a puzzled
look that sat strangely on the bold features. As I entered the book fell
back on the cushion, sinking deep into the down by its weight, and one
of the heavy gold clasps clanged sharply as it turned. He looked up, but
did not rise, and greeted me, smiling, with the Arabic salutation--

"Peace be with you!"

"And with you, peace," I answered in the same tongue. He smiled again at
my unfamiliar pronunciation. I established myself on the divan near him,
and inquired whether he had arrived at any satisfactory solution of his
domestic difficulties.

"My father," he said, "upon whom be peace, had but one wife, my mother.
You know Mussulmans are allowed four lawful wives. Here is the passage
in the beginning of the fourth chapter, 'If ye fear that ye shall not
act with equity towards orphans of the female sex, take in marriage of
such other women as please you, two, or three, or four, and not more.
But, if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably towards so many, marry one
only, or the slaves which ye shall have acquired.'

"The first part of this passage," continued Isaacs, "is disputed; I mean
the words referring to orphans. But the latter portion is plain enough.
When the apostle warns those who fear they 'cannot act equitably towards
so many,' I am sure that in his wisdom he meant something more by
'equitable' treatment than the mere supplying of bodily wants. He meant
us to so order our households that there should be no jealousies, no
heart-burnings, no unnecessary troubling of the peace. Now woman is a
thing of the devil, jealous; and to manage a number of such creatures so
that they shall be even passably harmonious among themselves is a
fearful task, soul-wearying, heart-hardening, never-ending, leading to
no result."

"Just what I told you; a man is better with no wife at all than with
three. But why do you talk about such matters with me, an unbeliever, a
Christian, who, in the words of your prophet, 'shall swallow down
nothing but fire into my belly, and shall broil in raging flames' when I
die? Surely it is contrary to the custom of your co-religionists; and
how can you expect an infidel Frank to give you advice?"

"I don't," laconically replied my host.

"Besides, with your views of women in general, their vocation, their
aims, and their future state, is it at all likely that we should ever
arrive at even a fair discussion of marriage and marriage laws? With us,
women have souls, and, what is a great deal more, seem likely to have
votes. They certainly have the respectful and courteous service of a
large proportion of the male sex. You call a woman a thing of the devil;
we call her an angel from heaven; and though some eccentric persons like
myself refuse to ally themselves for life with any woman, I confess, as
far as I am concerned, that it is because I cannot contemplate the
constant society of an angel with the degree of appreciation such a
privilege justly deserves; and I suspect that most confirmed bachelors,
knowingly or unconsciously, think as I do. The Buddhists are not
singular in their theory that permanent happiness should be the object."

"They say," said Isaacs, quickly interrupting, "that the aim of the
ignorant is pleasure; the pursuit of the wise, happiness. Pray, under
which category would you class marriage? I suppose it comes under one or
the other."

"I cannot say I see the force of that. Look at your own case, since you
have introduced it."

"Never mind my own case. I mean with your ideas of one wife, and
heavenly woman, and voting, and domestic joy, and all the rest of it.
Take the ideal creature you rave about--"

"I never rave about anything."

"Take the fascinating female you describe, and for the sake of argument
imagine yourself very poor or very rich, since you would not enter
wedlock in your present circumstances. Suppose you married your object
of 'courteous service and respectful adoration;' which should you say
you would attain thereby, pleasure or happiness?"

"Pleasure is but the refreshment that cheers us in the pursuit of true
happiness," I answered, hoping to evade the direct question by a
sententious phrase.

"I will not let you off so easily. You shall answer my question," he
said. He looked full at me with a deep searching gaze that seemed hardly
warranted by the lightness of the argument. I hesitated, and he
impatiently leaned forward, uncrossing his legs and clasping his hands
over one knee to bring himself nearer to me.

"Pleasure or happiness?" he repeated, "which is it to be?"

A sudden light flashed over my obscured intellect.

"Both," I answered. "Could you see the ideal woman as I would fain paint
her to you, you would understand me better. The pleasure you enjoy in
the society of a noble and beautiful woman should be but the refreshment
by the wayside as you journey through life together. The day will come
when she will be beautiful no longer, only noble and good, and true to
you as to herself; and then, if pleasure has been to you what it should
be, you will find that in the happiness attained it is no longer
counted, or needed, or thought of. It will have served its end, as the
crib holds the ship in her place while she is building; and when your
white-winged vessel has smoothly glided off into the great ocean of
happiness, the crib and the stocks and the artificial supports will fall
to pieces and be forgotten for ever. Yet have they had a purpose, and
have borne a very important part in the life of your ship."

Having heard me attentively till I had finished, Isaacs relaxed his hold
on his knee and threw himself back on the cushions, as if to entrench
himself for a better fight. I had made an impression on him, but he was
not the man to own it easily. Presumably to gain time, he called for
hookahs and sherbet, and though the servants moved noiselessly in
preparing them, their presence was an interruption.

When we were settled again he had taken a nearly upright position on the
couch, and as he pulled at the long tube his face assumed that stolid
look of Oriental indifference which is the most discouraging shower-bath
to the persuasive powers. I had really no interest in converting him to
my own point of view about women. Honestly, was it my own point of view
at all? Would anything under heaven induce me, Paul Griggs, rich, or
poor, or comfortably off, to marry any one--Miss Westonhaugh, for
instance? Probably not. But then my preference for single blessedness
did not prevent me from believing that women have souls. That morning
the question of the marriage of the whole universe had been a matter of
the utmost indifference, and now I, a confirmed and hopelessly contented
bachelor, was trying to convince a man with three wives that matrimony
was a most excellent thing in its way, and that the pleasure of the
honeymoon was but the faint introduction to the bliss of the silver
wedding. It certainly must be Isaacs' own doing. He had launched on a
voyage of discovery and had taken me in tow. I had a strong suspicion
that he wanted to be convinced, and was playing indifference to soothe
his conscience.

"Well," said I at last, "have you any fault to find with my reasoning or
my simile?"

"With your simile--none. It is faultlessly perfect. You have not mixed
up your metaphors in the least. Crib, stocks, ocean, ship--all correct,
and very nautical. As for your reasoning, I do not believe there is
anything in it. I do not believe that pleasure leads to happiness; I do
not believe that a woman has a soul, and I deny the whole argument from
beginning to end. There," he added with a smile that belied the
brusqueness of his words, "that is my position. Talk me out of it if you
can; the night is long, and my patience as that of the ass."

"I do not think this is a case for rigid application of logic. When the
feelings are concerned--and where can they be more concerned than in our
intercourse with women?--the only way to arrive at any conclusion is by
a sort of trying-on process, imagining ourselves in the position
indicated, and striving to fancy how it would suit us. Let us begin in
that way. Suppose yourself unmarried, your three wives and their
children removed--"

"Allah in his mercy grant it!" ejaculated Isaacs with great fervour.

"--removed from the question altogether. Then imagine yourself thrown
into daily conversation with some beautiful woman who has read what you
have read, thought what you have thought, and dreamed the dreams of a
nobler destiny that have visited you in waking and sleeping hours. A
woman who, as she learned your strange story, should weep for the pains
you suffered and rejoice for the difficulties overcome, who should
understand your half spoken thoughts and proudly sympathise in your
unuttered aspirations; in whom you might see the twin nature to your
own, and detect the strong spirit and the brave soul, half revealed
through the feminine gentleness and modesty that clothe her as with a
garment. Imagine all this, and then suppose it lay in your power, was a
question of choice, for you to take her hand in yours and go through
life and death together, till death seem life for the joy of being
united for ever. Suppose you married her--not to lock her up in an
indolent atmosphere of rosewater, narghyles, and sweetmeats, to die of
inanition or to pester you to death with complaints and jealousies and
inopportune caresses; but to be with you and help your life when you
most need help, by word and thought and deed, to grow more and more a
part of you, an essential element of you in action or repose, to part
from which would be to destroy at a blow the whole fabric of your
existence. Would you not say that with such a woman the transitory
pleasure of early conversation and intercourse had been the
stepping-stone to the lasting happiness of such a friendship as you
could never hope for in your old age among your sex? Would not her
faithful love and abounding sympathy be dearer to you every day, though
the roses in her cheek should fade and the bright hair whiten with the
dust of life's journey? Would you not feel that when you died your
dearest wish must be to join her where there should be no parting--her
from whom there could be no parting here, short of death itself? Would
you not believe she had a soul?"

"There is no end of your 'supposing,' but it is quite pretty. I am half
inclined to 'suppose' too." He took a sip of sherbet from the tall
crystal goblet the servant had placed on a little three-legged stool
beside him, and as he drank the cool liquid slowly, looked over the
glass into my eyes, with a curious, half earnest, half smiling glance; I
could not tell whether my enthusiastic picture of conjugal bliss amused
him or attracted him, so I waited for him to speak again.

"Now that you have had your cruise in your ship of happiness on the
waters of your cerulean imagination, permit me, who am land-born and a
lover of the chase, to put my steed at a few fences in the difficult
country of unadorned facts over which I propose to hunt the wily fox,
matrimony. I have never hunted a fox, but I can quite well imagine what
it is like.

"In the first place, it is all very well to suppose that it had pleased
Allah in his goodness to relieve me of my three incumbrances--meanwhile,
there they are, and they are very real difficulties I assure you.
Nevertheless are there means provided us by the foresight of the
apostle, by which we may ease ourselves of domestic burdens when they
are too heavy for us to bear. It would be quite within the bounds of
possibility for me to divorce them all three, without making any special
scandal. But if I did this thing, do you not think that my experience of
married life has given me the most ineradicable prejudices against women
as daily companions? Am I not persuaded that they all bicker and chatter
and nibble sweetmeats alike--absolutely alike? Or if I looked abroad--"

"Stop," I said, "I am not reasoner enough to persuade you that all women
have souls. Very likely in Persia and India they have not. I only want
you to believe that there may be women so fortunate as to possess a
modicum of immortality. Well, pardon my interruption, 'if you looked
abroad,' as you were saying?--"

"If I looked abroad, I should probably discover little petty traits of
the same class, if not exactly identical. I know little of Englishmen,
and might be the more readily deceived. Supposing, if you will, that,
after freeing myself from all my present ties, in order to start afresh,
I were to find myself attracted by some English girl here"--there must
have been something wrong with the mouthpiece of his pipe, for he
examined it very attentively-- "attracted," he continued, "by some one,
for instance, by Miss Westonhaugh--" he stopped short.

So my inspiration was right. My little picture, framed as we rode
homeward, and indignantly scoffed at by my calmer reason, had visited
his brain too. He had looked on the fair northern woman and fancied
himself at her side, her lover, her husband. All this conversation and
argument had been only a set plan to give himself the pleasure of
contemplating and discussing such a union, without exciting surprise or
comment. I had been suspecting it for some time, and now his sudden
interest in his mouthpiece, to conceal a very real embarrassment, put
the matter beyond all doubt.

He was probably in love, my acquaintance of two days. He saw in me a
plain person, who could not possibly be a rival, having some knowledge
of the world, and he was in need of a confidant, like a school-girl. I
reflected that he was probably a victim for the first time. There is
very little romance in India, and he had, of course, married for
convenience and respectability rather than for any real affection. His
first passion! This man who had been tossed about like a bit of
driftwood, who had by his own determination and intelligence carved his
way to wealth and power in the teeth of every difficulty. Just now, in
his embarrassment, he looked very boyish. His troubles had left no
wrinkles on his smooth forehead, his bright black hair was untinged by a
single thread of gray, and as he looked up, after the pause that
followed when he mentioned the name of the woman he loved, there was a
very really youthful look of mingled passion and distress in his
beautiful eyes.

"I think, Mr. Isaacs, that you have used a stronger argument against the
opinions you profess to hold than I could have found in my whole armoury
of logic."

As he looked at me, the whole field of possibilities seemed opened. I
must have been mistaken in thinking this marriage impossible and
incongruous. What incongruity could there be in Isaacs marrying Miss
Westonhaugh? My conclusions were false. Why must he necessarily return
with her to England, and wear a red coat, and make himself ridiculous at
the borough elections? Why should not this ideal couple choose some
happy spot, as far from the corrosive influence of Anglo-Saxon prejudice
as from the wretched sensualism of prosperous life east of the
Mediterranean? I was carried away by the idea, returning with redoubled
strength as a sequel to what I had argued and to what I had guessed.
"Why not?" was the question I repeated to myself over and over again in
the half minute's pause after Isaacs finished speaking.

"You are right," he said slowly, his half-closed eyes fixed on his feet.
"Yes, you are right. Why not? Indeed, indeed, why not?"

It must have been pure guess-work, this reading of my thoughts. When he
was last speaking his manner was all indifference, scorn of my ideas,
and defiance of every western mode of reasoning. And now, apparently by
pure intuition, he gave a direct answer to the direct question I had
mentally asked, and, what is more, his answer came with a quiet,
far-away tone of conviction that had not a shade of unbelief in it. It
was delivered as monotonously and naturally as a Christian says "Credo
in unum Deum," as if it were not worth disputing; or as the devout
Mussulman says "La Illah illallah," not stooping to consider the
existence of any one bold enough to deny the dogma. No argument, not
hours of patient reasoning, or weeks of well directed persuasion, could
have wrought the change in the man's tone that came over it at the mere
mention of the woman he loved. I had no share in his conversion. My
arguments had been the excuse by which he had converted himself. Was he
converted? was it real?

"Yes--I think I am," he replied in the same mechanical monotonous
accent.

I shook myself, drank some sherbet, and kicked off one shoe impatiently.
Was I dreaming? or had I been speaking aloud, really putting the
questions he answered so quickly and appositively? Pshaw! a coincidence.
I called the servant and ordered my hookah to be refilled. Isaacs sat
still, immovable, lost in thought, looking at his toes; an expression,
almost stupid in its vacancy, was on his face, and the smoke curled
slowly up in lazy wreaths from his neglected narghyle.

"You are converted then at last?" I said aloud. No answer followed my
question; I watched him attentively.

"Mr. Isaacs!" still silence, was it possible that he had fallen asleep?
his eyes were open, but I thought he was very pale. His upright
position, however, belied any symptoms of unconsciousness.

"Isaacs! Abdul Hafiz! what is the matter!" He did not move. I rose to my
feet and knelt beside him where he sat rigid, immovable, like a statue.
Kiramat Ali, who had been watching, clapped his hands wildly and cried,
"Wah! wah! Sahib margyâ!"--"The lord is dead." I motioned him away with
a gesture and he held his peace, cowering in the corner, his eyes fixed
on us. Then I bent low as I knelt and looked under my friend's brows,
into his eyes. It was clear he did not see me, though he was looking
straight at his feet. I felt for his pulse. It was very low, almost
imperceptible, and certainly below forty beats to the minute. I took his
right arm and tried to put it on my shoulder. It was perfectly rigid.
There was no doubt about it--the man was in a cataleptic trance. I felt
for the pulse again; it was lost.

I was no stranger to this curious phenomenon, where the mind is
perfectly awake, but every bodily faculty is lulled to sleep beyond
possible excitation, unless the right means be employed. I went out and
breathed the cool night air, bidding the servants be quiet, as the sahib
was asleep. When sufficiently refreshed I re-entered the room, cast off
my slippers, and stood a moment by my friend, who was as rigid as ever.

Nature, in her bountiful wisdom, has compensated me for a singular
absence of beauty by endowing me with great strength, and with one of
those exceptional constitutions which seem constantly charged with
electricity. Without being what is called a mesmerist, I am possessed of
considerable magnetic power, which I have endeavoured to develop as far
as possible. In many a long conversation with old Manu Lal, my Brahmin
instructor in languages and philosophy while in the plains, we had
discussed the trance state in all its bearings. This old pundit was
himself a distinguished mesmerist, and though generally unwilling to
talk about what is termed occultism, on finding in me a man naturally
endowed with the physical characteristics necessary to those pursuits,
he had given me several valuable hints as to the application of my
powers. Here was a worthy opportunity.

I rubbed my feet on the soft carpet, and summoning all my strength,
began to make the prescribed passes over my friend's head and body. Very
gradually the look of life returned to his face, the generous blood
welled up under the clear olive skin, the lips parted, and he sighed
softly. Animation, as always happens in such cases, began at the precise
point at which it had been suspended, and his first movement was to
continue his examination of the mouthpiece in his hand. Then he looked
up suddenly, and seeing me standing over him, gave a little shake, half
turning his shoulders forward and back, and speaking once more in his
natural voice, said--

"I must have been asleep! Have I? What has happened? Why are you
standing there looking at me in that way?" Then, after a short
interrogatory silence, his face changed and a look of annoyance shaded
his features as he added in a low tone, "Oh! I see. It has happened to
me once before. Sit down. I am all right now." He sipped a little
sherbet and leaned back in his old position. I begged him to go to bed,
and prepared to withdraw, but he would not let me, and he seemed so
anxious that I should stay, that I resumed my place. The whole incident
had passed in ten minutes.

"Stay with me a little longer," he repeated. "I need your company,
perhaps your advice. I have had a vision, and you must hear about it."

"I thought as I sat here that my spirit left my body and passed out
through the night air and hovered over Simla. I could see into every
bungalow, and was conscious of what passed in each, but there was only
one where my gaze rested, for I saw upon a couch in a spacious chamber
the sleeping form of one I knew. The masses of fair hair were heaped as
they fell upon the pillow, as if she had lain down weary of bearing the
burden of such wealth of gold. The long dark lashes threw little shadows
on her cheeks, and the parted lips seemed to smile at the sweetness of
the gently heaving breath that fanned them as it came and went. And
while I looked, the breath of her body became condensed, as it were, and
took shape and form and colour, so that the image of herself floated up
between her body and my watching spirit. Nearer and nearer to me came
the exquisite vision of beauty, till we were face to face, my soul and
hers, high up in the night. And there came from her eyes, as the long
lids lifted, a look of perfect trust, and of love, and of infinite joy.
Then she turned her face southward and pointed to my life star burning
bright among his lesser fellows; and with a long sweet glance that bid
me follow where she led, her maiden soul floated away, half lingering at
first, as I watched her; then, with dizzy speed, vanishing in the
firmament as a falling star, and leaving no trace behind, save an
infinitely sad regret, and a longing to enter with her into that
boundless empire of peace. But I could not, for my spirit was called
back to this body. And I bless Allah that he has given me to see her
once so, and to know that she has a soul, even as I have, for I have
looked upon her spirit and I know it."

Isaacs rose slowly to his feet and moved towards the open door. I
followed him, and for a few moments we stood looking out at the scene
below us. It was near midnight, and the ever-decreasing moon was
dragging herself up, as if ashamed of her waning beauty and tearful
look.

"Griggs," said my friend, dropping the formal prefix for the first time,
"all this is very strange. I believe I am in love!"

"I have not a doubt of it," I replied. "Peace be with you!"

"And with you peace."

So we parted.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER IV.


In Simla people make morning calls in the morning instead of after dark,
as in more civilised countries. Soon after dawn I received a note from
Isaacs, saying that he had business with the Maharajah of Baithopoor
about some precious stones, but that he would be ready to go with me to
call on Mr. Currie Ghyrkins at ten o'clock, or soon after. I had been
thinking a great deal about the events of the previous evening, and I
was looking forward to my next meeting with Isaacs with intense
interest. After what had passed, nothing could be such a test of his
true feelings as the visit to Miss Westonhaugh, which we proposed to
make together, and I promised myself to lose no gesture, no word, no
expression, which might throw light on the question that interested
me--whether such a union were practical, possible, and wise.

At the appointed time, therefore, I was ready, and we mounted and
sallied forth into the bright autumn day. All visits are made on
horseback in Simla, as the distances are often considerable. You ride
quietly along, and the saice follows you, walking or keeping pace with
your gentle trot, as the case may be. We rode along the bustling mall,
crowded with men and women on horseback, with numbers of gorgeously
arrayed native servants and _chuprassies_ of the Government offices
hurrying on their respective errands, or dawdling for a chat with some
shabby-looking acquaintance in private life; we passed by the crowded
little shops on the hill below the church, and glanced at the
conglomeration of grain-sellers, jewellers, confectioners, and dealers
in metal or earthen vessels, every man sitting knee-deep in his wares,
smoking the eternal "hubble-bubble;" we noted the keen eyes of the
buyers and the hawk's glance of the sellers, the long snake-like fingers
eagerly grasping the passing coin, and seemingly convulsed into
serpentine contortion when they relinquished their clutch on a single
"pi;" we marked this busy scene, set down, like a Punch and Judy show,
in the midst of the trackless waste of the Himalayas, as if for the
delectation and pastime of some merry _genius loci_ weary of the solemn
silence in his awful mountains, and we chatted carelessly of the sights
animate and inanimate before us, laughing at the asseverations of the
salesmen, and at the hardened scepticism of the customer, at the
portentous dignity of the superb old messenger, white-bearded and clad
in scarlet and gold, as he bombastically described to the knot of poor
relations and admirers that elbowed him the splendours of the last
entertainment at "Peterhof," where Lord Lytton still reigned. I smiled,
and Isaacs frowned at the ancient and hairy ascetic believer, who
suddenly rose from his lair in a corner, and bustled through the crowd
of Hindoos, shouting at the top of his voice the confession of his
faith--"Beside God there is no God, and Muhammad is his apostle!" The
universality of the Oriental spirit is something amazing. Customs,
dress, thought, and language, are wonderfully alike among all Asiatics
west of Thibet and south of Turkistan. The greatest difference is in
language, and yet no one unacquainted with the dialects could
distinguish by the ear between Hindustani, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish.

So we moved along, and presently found ourselves on the road we had
traversed the previous evening, leading round Jako. On the slope of the
hill, hidden by a dense growth of rhododendrons, lay the bungalow of Mr.
Currie Ghyrkins, and a board at the entrance of the ride--drive there
was none--informed us that the estate bore the high-sounding title of
"Carisbrooke Castle," in accordance with the Simla custom of calling
little things by big names.

Having reached the lawn near the house, we left our horses in charge of
the saice and strolled up the short walk to the verandah. A charming
picture it was, prepared as if on purpose for our especial delectation.
The bungalow was a large one for Simla, and the verandah was deep and
shady; many chairs of all sorts and conditions stood about in natural
positions, as if they had just been sat in, instead of being ranged in
stiff rows against the wall, and across one angle hung a capacious
hammock. Therein, swinging her feet to the ground, and holding on by the
edge rope, sat the beautiful Miss Westonhaugh, clad in one of those
close-fitting unadorned costumes of plain dark-blue serge, which only
suit one woman in ten thousand, though, when they clothe a really
beautiful young figure, I know of no garment better calculated to
display grace of form and motion. She was kicking a ball of worsted with
her dainty toes, for the amusement and instruction of a small tame
jackal--the only one I ever saw thoroughly domesticated. A charming
little beast it was, with long gray fur and bright twinkling eyes,
mischievous and merry as a gnome's. From a broad blue ribbon round its
neck was suspended a small silver bell that tinkled spasmodically, as
the lively little thing sprang from side to side in pursuit of the ball,
alighting with apparent indifference on its head or its heels.

So busy was the girl with her live plaything that she had not seen us
dismount and approach her, and it was not till our feet sounded on the
boards of the verandah that she looked up with a little start, and tried
to rise to her feet. Now any one who has sat sideways in a netted
hammock, with feet swinging to the ground, and all the weight in the
middle of the thing, knows how difficult it is to get out with grace, or
indeed in any way short of rolling out and running for luck. You may
break all your bones in the feat, and you both look and feel as if you
were going to. Though we both sprang forward to her assistance, Miss
Westonhaugh had recognised the inexpediency of moving after the first
essay, and, with a smile of greeting, and the faintest tinge of
embarrassment on her fair cheek, abandoned the attempt; the quaint
little jackal sat up, backing against the side of the house, and, eyeing
us critically, growled a little.

"I'm so glad to see you, Mr. Isaacs. How do you do, Mr.----"

"Griggs," murmured Isaacs, as he straightened a rope of the hammock by
her side.

"Mr. Griggs?" she continued. "We met last night, briefly, but to the
point, or at least you and my uncle did. I am alone; my uncle is gone
down towards Kalka to meet my brother, who is coming up for a fortnight
at the end of the season to get rid of the Bombay mould. Bring up some
of those chairs and sit down. I cannot tell what has become of the
'bearer' and the 'boy,' and the rest of the servants, and I could not
make them understand me if they were here. So you must wait on
yourselves."

I was the first to lay hands on a chair, and as I turned to bring it I
noticed she was following Isaacs with the same expression I had seen on
her face the previous evening; but I could see it better now. A pleasant
friendly look, not tender so much as kind, while the slightest possible
contraction of the eyes showed a feeling of curiosity. She was evidently
going to speak to him as soon as he turned his face.

"You see I have been giving him lessons," she said, as he brought back
the seat he had chosen.

Isaacs looked at the queer small beast sitting up against the boards
under the window, his brush tail curled round him, and his head turned
inquiringly on one side.

"He seems to be learning manners, at all events," said my friend.

"Yes; I think I may say now, with safety, that his bark is worse than
his bite."

"I am sure you could not have said so the last time I came. Do you
remember what fearful havoc he made among my nether garments? And yet he
is my god-child, so to speak, for I gave him into your care, and named
him into the bargain."

"Don't suppose I am ungrateful for the gift," answered Miss Westonhaugh.
"Snap! Snap! here! come here, darling, to your mistress, and be petted!"
In spite of this eloquent appeal Snap, the baby jackal, only growled
pleasantly and whisked his brush right and left. "You see," she went on,
"your sponsorship has had no very good results. He will not obey any
more than you yourself." Her glance, turning towards Isaacs, did not
reach him, and, in fact, she could not have seen anything beyond the
side of his chair. Isaacs, on the contrary, seemed to be counting her
eyelashes, and taking a mental photograph of her brows.

"Snap!" said he. The jackal instantly rose and trotted to him, fawning
on his outstretched hand.

"You malign me, Miss Westonhaugh. Snap is no less obedient than I."

"Then why did you insist on playing tennis left-handed the other day,
though you know very well how it puzzles me?"

"My dear Miss Westonhaugh," he answered, "I am not a tennis-player at
all, to begin with, and as I do not understand the _finesse_ of the
game, to use a word I do not understand either, you must pardon my
clumsiness in employing the hand most convenient and ready."

"Some people," I began, "are what is called ambidexter, and can use
either hand with equal ease. Now the ancient Persians, who invented the
game of polo----"

"I do not quarrel so much with you, Mr. Isaacs--" as she said this, she
looked at me, though entirely disregarding and interrupting my
instructive sentence--"I don't quarrel with you so much for using your
left hand at tennis as for employing left-handed weapons when you speak
of other things, or beings, for you are never so left-handed and so
adroit as when you are indulging in some elaborate abuse of our sex."

"How can you say that?" protested Isaacs. "You know with what respectful
and almost devotional reverence I look upon all women, and," his eyes
brightening perceptibly, "upon you in particular."

English women, especially in their youth, are not used to pretty
speeches. They are so much accustomed to the men of their own
nationality that they regard the least approach to a compliment as the
inevitable introduction to the worst kind of insult. Miss Westonhaugh
was no exception to this rule, and she drew herself up proudly.

There was a moment's pause, during which Isaacs seemed penitent, and she
appeared to be revolving the bearings of the affront conveyed in his
last words. She looked along the floor, slowly, till she might have seen
his toes; then her eyes opened a moment and met his, falling again
instantly with a change of colour.

"And pray, Mr. Isaacs, would you mind giving us a list of the ladies you
look upon with 'respectful and devotional reverence?'" One of the horses
held by the saice at the corner of the lawn neighed lowly, and gave
Isaacs an opportunity of looking away.

"Miss Westonhaugh," he said quietly, "you know I am a Mussulman, and
that I am married. It may be that I have borrowed a phrase from your
language which expresses more than I would convey, though it would ill
become me to withdraw my last words, since they are true."

It was my turn to be curious now. I wondered where his boldness would
carry him. Among his other accomplishments, this man was capable of
speaking the truth even to a woman, not as a luxury and a _bonne
bouche_, but as a matter of habit. As I looked, the hot blood mantled up
to his brows. She was watching him, and womanlike, seeing he was in
earnest and embarrassed, she regained her perfect natural composure.

"Oh, I had forgotten!" she said. "I forgot about your wife in Delhi."
She half turned in the hammock, and after some searching, during which
we were silent, succeeded in finding a truant piece of worsted work
behind her. The wool was pulled out of the needle, and she held the
steel instrument up against the light, as she doubled the worsted round
the eye and pushed it back through the little slit. I observed that
Isaacs was apparently in a line with the light, and that the threading
took some time.

"Mr. Griggs," she said slowly, and by the very slowness of the address I
knew she was going to talk to me, and at my friend, as women will; "Mr.
Griggs, do you know anything about Mohammedans?"

"That is a very broad question," I answered; "almost as broad as the
Mussulman creed." She began making stitches in the work she held, and
with a little side shake settled herself to listen, anticipating a
discourse. The little jackal sidled up and fawned on her feet. I had no
intention, however, of delivering a lecture on the faith of the prophet.
I saw my friend was embarrassed in the conversation, and I resolved, if
possible, to interest her.

"Among primitive people and very young persons," I continued, "marriage
is an article of faith, a moral precept, and a social law."

"I suppose you are married, Mr. Griggs," she said, with an air of
childlike simplicity.

"Pardon me, Miss Westonhaugh, I neither condescend to call myself
primitive, nor aspire to call myself young."

She laughed. I had put a wedge into my end of the conversation.

"I thought," said she, "from the way in which you spoke of 'primitive
and young persons' that you considered their opinion in regard to--to
this question, as being the natural and proper opinion of the original
and civilised young man."

"I repeat that I do not claim to be very civilised, or very
young--certainly not to be very original, and my renunciation of all
these qualifications is my excuse for the confirmed bachelorhood to
which I adhere. Many Mohammedans are young and original; some of them
are civilised, as you see, and all of them are married. 'There, is no
God but God, Muhammad is his prophet, and if you refuse to marry you are
not respectable,' is their full creed."

Isaacs frowned at my profanity, but I continued--"I do not mean to say
anything disrespectful to a creed so noble and social. I think you have
small chance of converting Mr. Isaacs."

"I would not attempt it," she said, laying down her work in her lap, and
looking at me for a moment. "But since you speak of creeds, to what
confession do you yourself belong, if I may ask?"

"I am a Roman Catholic," I answered; adding presently--"Really, though,
I do not see how my belief in the papal infallibility affects my opinion
of Mohammedan marriages."

"And what _do_ you think of them?" she inquired, resuming her work and
applying herself thereto with great attention.

"I think that, though justified in principle by the ordinary
circumstances of Eastern life, there are cases in which the system acts
very badly. I think that young men are often led by sheer force of
example into marrying several wives before they have sufficiently
reflected on the importance of what they are doing. I think that both
marriage and divorce are too easily managed in consideration of their
importance to a man's life, and I am convinced that no civilised man of
Western education, if he were to adopt Islam, would take advantage of
his change of faith to marry four wives. It is a case of theory _versus_
practice, which I will not attempt to explain. It may often be good in
logic, but it seems to me it is very often bad in real life."

"Yes," said Isaacs; "there are cases----" He stopped, and Miss
Westonhaugh, who had been very busy over her work, looked quietly up,
only to find that he was profoundly interested in the horses cropping
the short grass, as far as the saice would let them stretch their necks,
on the other side of the lawn.

"I confess," said Miss Westonhaugh, "that my ideas about Mohammedans are
chiefly the result of reading the Arabian Nights, ever so long ago. It
seems to me that they treat women as if they had no souls and no minds,
and were incapable of doing anything rational if left to themselves. It
is a man's religion. My uncle says so too, and he ought to know."

The conversation was meandering in a kind of vicious circle. Both Isaacs
and I were far too deeply interested in the question to care for such
idle discussion. How could this beautiful but not very intellectual
English girl, with her prejudices and her clumsiness at repartee or
argument, ever comprehend or handle delicately so difficult a subject? I
was disappointed in her. Perhaps this was natural enough, considering
that with two such men as we she must be entirely out of her element.
She was of the type of brilliant, healthy, northern girls, who depend
more on their animal spirits and enjoyment of living for their happiness
than upon any natural or acquired mental powers. With a horse, or a
tennis court, or even a ball to amuse her, she would appear at her very
best; would be at ease and do the right thing. But when called upon to
sustain a conversation, such as that into which her curiosity about
Isaacs had plunged her, she did not know what to do. She was
constrained, and even some of her native grace of manner forsook her.
Why did she avoid his eyes and resort to such a petty little trick as
threading a needle in order to get a look at him? An American girl, or a
French woman, would have seen that her strength lay in perfect
frankness; that Isaacs' straightforward nature would make him tell her
unhesitatingly anything she wanted to know about himself, and that her
position was strong enough for her to look him in the face and ask him
what she pleased. But she allowed herself to be embarrassed, and though
she had been really glad to see him, and liked him and thought him
handsome, she was beginning to wish he would go, merely because she did
not know what to talk about, and would not give him a chance to choose
his own subject. As neither of us were inclined to carry the analysis of
matrimony any farther, nor to dispute the opinions of Mr. Currie
Ghyrkins as quoted by his niece, there was a pause. I struck in and
boldly changed the subject.

"Are you going to see the polo this afternoon, Miss Westonhaugh? I heard
at the hotel that there was to be a match to-day of some interest."

"Oh yes, of course. I would not miss it for anything. Lord Steepleton is
coming to tiffin, and we shall ride down together to Annandale. Of
course you are going too; it will be a splendid thing. Do you play polo,
Mr. Griggs? Mr. Isaacs is a great player, when he can be induced to take
the trouble. He knows more about it than he does about tennis."

"I am very fond of the game," I answered, "but I have no horses here,
and with my weight it is not easy to get a mount for such rough work."

"Do not disturb yourself on that score," said Isaacs; "you know my
stable is always at your disposal, and I have a couple of ponies that
would carry you well enough. Let us have a game one of those days,
whenever we can get the ground. We will play on opposite sides and match
the far west against the far east."

"What fun!" cried Miss Westonhaugh, her face brightening at the idea,
"and I will hold the stakes and bestow the crown on the victor."

"What is to be the prize?" asked Isaacs, with a smile of pleasure. He
was very literal and boyish sometimes.

"That depends on which is the winner," she answered.

There was a noise among the trees of horses' hoofs on the hard path, and
presently we heard a voice calling loudly for a saice who seemed to be
lagging far behind. It was a clear strong voice, and the speaker abused
the groom's female relations to the fourth and fifth generations with
considerable command of the Hindustani language. Miss Westonhaugh, who
had not been in the country long, did not understand a word of the very
free swearing that was going on in the woods, but Isaacs looked annoyed,
and I registered a black mark against the name of the new-comer, whoever
he might be.

"Oh! it is Lord Steepleton," said the young girl. "He seems to be always
having a row with his servants. Don't go," she went on as I took up my
hat; "he is such a good fellow, you ought to know him."

Lord Steepleton Kildare now appeared at the corner of the lawn, hotly
pursued by his breathless groom, who had been loitering on the way, and
had thus roused his master's indignation. He was, as I have said, a fine
specimen of a young Englishman, though being Irish by descent he would
have indignantly denied any such nationality. I saw when he had
dismounted that he was tall and straight, though not a very heavily
built man. He carried his head high, and looked every inch a soldier as
he strode across the grass, carefully avoiding the pegs of the tennis
net. He wore a large gray felt hat, like every one else, and he shook
hands all round before he took it off, and settled himself in an easy
chair as near as he could get to Miss Westonhaugh's hammock.

"How are ye? Ah--yes, Mr. Isaacs, Mr. Griggs of Allahabad. Jolly day,
isn't it?" and he looked vaguely at the grass. "Really, Miss
Westonhaugh, I got in such a rage with my rascal of a saice that I did
not remember I was so near the house. I am really very sorry I talked
like that. I hope you did not think I was murdering him?"

Isaacs looked annoyed.

"Yes," said he, "we thought Mahmoud was going to have a bad time of it.
I believe Miss Westonhaugh does not understand Hindustani."

A look of genuine distress came into the Englishman's face.

"Really," said he, very simply. "You don't know how sorry I am that any
one should have heard me. I am so hasty. But let me apologise to you all
most sincerely for disturbing you with my brutal temper."

His misdeed had not been, a very serious crime after all, and there was
something so frank and honest about his awkward little apology that I
was charmed. The man was a gentleman. Isaacs bowed in silence, and Miss
Westonhaugh had evidently never thought much about it.

"We were talking about polo when you came, Lord Steepleton; Mr. Isaacs
and Mr. Griggs are going to play a match, and I am to hold the stakes.
Do you not want to make one in the game?"

"May I?" said the young man, grateful to her for having helped him out.
"May I? I should like it awfully. I so rarely get a chance of playing
with any except the regular set here." And he looked inquiringly at us.

"We should be delighted, of course," said Isaacs. "By the way, can you
help us to make up the number? And when shall it be?" He seemed suddenly
very much interested in this projected contest.

"Oh yes," said Kildare, "I will manage to fill up the game, and we can
play next Monday. I know the ground is free then."

"Very good; on Monday. We are at Laurie's on the hill."

"I am staying with Jack Tygerbeigh, near Peterhof. Come and see us. I
will let you know before Monday. Oh, Mr. Griggs, I saw such a nice thing
about me in the _Howler_ the other day--so many thanks. No, really,
greatly obliged, you know; people say horrid things about me sometimes.
Good-bye, good-bye, delighted to have seen you."

"Good morning, Miss Westonhaugh."

"Good morning; so good of you to take pity on my solitude." She smiled
kindly at Isaacs and civilly at me. And we went our way. As we looked
back after mounting to lift our hats once more, I saw that Miss
Westonhaugh had succeeded in getting out of the hammock and was tying on
a pith hat, while Lord Steepleton had armed himself with balls and
rackets from a box on the verandah. As we bowed they came down the
steps, looking the very incarnation of animal life and spirits in the
anticipation of the game they loved best. The bright autumn sun threw
their figures into bold relief against the dark shadow of the verandah,
and I thought to myself they made a very pretty picture. I seemed to be
always seeing pictures, and my imagination was roused in a new
direction.

We rode away under the trees. My impression of the whole visit was
unsatisfactory. I had thought Mr. Currie Ghyrkins would be there, and
that I would be able to engage him in a political discussion. We could
have talked income-tax, and cotton duties, and Kabul by the hour, and
Miss Westonhaugh and Isaacs would have had a pleasant _tête-à-tête._
Instead of this I had been decidedly the unlucky third who destroys the
balance of so much pleasure in life, for I felt that Isaacs was not a
man to be embarrassed if left alone with a woman, or to embarrass her.
He was too full of tact, and his sensibilities were so fine that, with
his easy command of language, he must be agreeable _quand même_; and
such an opportunity would have given him an easy lead away from the
athletic Kildare, whom I suspected strongly of being a rival for Miss
Westonhaugh's favour. There is an easy air of familiar proprietorship
about an Englishman in love that is not to be mistaken. It is a subtle
thing, and expresses itself neither in word nor deed in its earlier
stages of development; but it is there all the same, and the combination
of this possessive mood, with a certain shyness which often goes with
it, is amusing.

"Griggs," said Isaacs, "have you ever seen the Rajah of Baithopoor?"

"No; you had some business with him this morning, had you not?"

"Yes--some--business--if you call it so. If you would like to see him I
can take you there, and I think you would be interested in the--the
business. It is not often such gems are bought and sold in such a way,
and besides, he is very amusing. He is at least two thousand years old,
and will go to Saturn when he dies. His fingers are long and crooked,
and that which he putteth into his pockets, verily he shall not take it
out."

"A pleasing picture; a good contrast to the one we have left behind us.
I like contrasts, and I should like to see him."

"You shall." And we lit our cheroots.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER V.


"We will go there at four," said Isaacs, coming into my rooms after
tiffin, a meal of which I found he rarely partook. "I said three, this
morning, but it is not a bad plan to keep natives waiting. It makes them
impatient, and then they commit themselves."

"You are Machiavellian. It is pretty clear which of you is asking the
favour."

"Yes, it is pretty clear." He sat down and took up the last number of
the _Howler_ which lay on the table. Presently he looked up. "Griggs,
why do you not come to Delhi? We might start a newspaper there, you
know, in the Conservative interest."

"In the interest of Mr. Algernon Currie Ghyrkins?" I inquired.

"Precisely. You anticipate my thoughts with a true sympathy. I suppose
you have no conscience?"

"Political conscience? No, certainly not, out of my own country, which
is the only one where that sort of thing commands a high salary. No, I
have no conscience."

"You would really write as willingly for the Conservatives as you do for
the Liberals?"

"Oh yes. I could not write so well on the Conservative side just now,
because they are 'in,' and it is more blessed to abuse than to be
abused, and ever so much easier. But as far as any prejudice on the
subject is concerned, I have none. I had as lief defend a party that
robs India 'for her own good,' as support those who would rob her with a
more cynical frankness and unblushingly transfer the proceeds to their
own pockets. I do not care a rush whether they rob Peter to pay Paul, or
fraudulently deprive Paul of his goods for the benefit of Peter."

"That is the way to look at it. I could tell you some very pretty
stories about that kind of thing. As for the journalistic enterprise, it
is only a possible card to be played if the old gentleman is obdurate."

"Isaacs," said I, "I have only known you three days, but you have taken
me into your confidence to some extent; probably because I am not
English. I may be of use to you, and I am sure I sincerely hope so.
Meanwhile I want to ask you a question, if you will allow me to." I
paused for an answer. We were standing by the open door, and Isaacs
leaned back against the door-post, his eyes fixed on me, half closed, as
he threw his head back. He looked at me somewhat curiously, and I
thought a smile flickered round his mouth, as if he anticipated what the
question would be.

"Certainly," he said slowly. "Ask me anything you like. I have nothing
to conceal."

"Do you seriously think of marrying, or proposing to marry, Miss
Katharine Westonhaugh?"

"I do seriously think of proposing to marry, and of marrying, Miss
Westonhaugh." He looked very determined as he thus categorically
affirmed his intention. I knew he meant it, and I knew enough of
Oriental character to understand that a man like Abdul Hafizben-Isâk, of
strong passions, infinite wit, and immense wealth, was not likely to
fail in anything he undertook to do. When Asiatic indifference gives way
under the strong pressure of some master passion, there is no length to
which the hot and impetuous temper beneath may not carry the man. Isaacs
had evidently made up his mind. I did not think he could know much about
the usual methods of wooing English girls, but as I glanced at his
graceful figure, his matchless eyes, and noted for the hundredth time
the commanding, high-bred air that was the breath of his character, I
felt that his rival would have but a poor chance of success. He guessed
my thoughts.

"What do you think of me?" he asked, smiling. "Will you back me for a
place? I have advantages, you must allow--and worldly advantages too.
They are not rich people at all."

"My dear Isaacs, I will back you to win. But as far as 'worldly
advantages' are concerned, do not trust to wealth for a moment. Do not
flatter yourself that there will be any kind of a bargain, as if you
were marrying a Persian girl. There is nothing venal in that young
lady's veins, I am sure."

"Allah forbid! But there is something very venal in the veins of Mr.
Currie Ghyrkins. I propose to carry the outworks one by one. He is her
uncle, her guardian, her only relation, save her brother. I do not think
either of those men would be sorry to see her married to a man of
stainless name and considerable fortune."

"You forget your three incumbrances, as you called them last night."

"No--I do not forget them. It is allowed me by my religion to marry a
fourth, and I need not tell you that she would be thenceforth my only
wife."

"But would her guardian and brother ever think of allowing her to take
such a position?"

"Why not? You know very well that the English in general hardly consider
our marriages to be marriages at all--knowing the looseness of the bond.
That is the prevailing impression."

"Yes, I know. But then they would consider your marriage with Miss
Westonhaugh in the same light, which would not make matters any easier,
as far as I can see."

"Pardon me. I should marry Miss Westonhaugh by the English marriage
service and under English law. I should be as much bound to her, and to
her alone, as if I were an Englishman myself."

"Well, you have evidently thought it out and taken legal advice; and
really, as far as the technical part of it goes, I suppose you have as
good a chance as Lord Steepleton Kildare."

Isaacs frowned, and his eyes flashed. I saw at once that he considered
the Irish officer a rival, and a dangerous one. I did not think that if
Isaacs had fair play and the same opportunities Kildare had much chance.
Besides there was a difficulty in the way.

"As far as religion is concerned, Lord Steepleton is not much better off
than you, if he wants to marry Miss Westonhaugh. The Kildares have been
Roman Catholics since the memory of man, and they are very proud of it.
Theoretically, it is as hard for a Roman Catholic man to marry a
Protestant woman, as for a Mussulman to wed a Christian of any
denomination. Harder, in fact, for your marriage depends upon the
consent of the lady, and his upon the consent of the Church. He has all
sorts of difficulties to surmount, while you have only to get your
personality accepted--which, when I look at you, I think might be done,"
I added, laughing.

"_Jo hoga, so hoga_--what will be, will be," he said; "but religion or
no religion, I mean to do it." Then he lighted a cigarette and said,
"Come, it is time to go and see his Saturnine majesty, the Maharajah of
Baithopoor."

I called for my hat and gloves.

"By-the-bye, Griggs, you may as well put on a black coat. You know the
old fellow is a king, after all, and you had better produce a favourable
impression." I retired to comply with his request, and as I came back he
turned quickly and came towards me, holding out both hands, with a very
earnest look in his face.

"Griggs, I care for that lady more than I can tell you," he said, taking
my hands in his.

"My dear fellow, I am sure you do. People do not go suddenly into
trances at a name that is indifferent to them. I am sure you love her
very honestly and dearly."

"You and she have come into my life almost together, for it was not
until I talked with you last night that I made up my mind. Will you help
me? I have not a friend in the world." The simple, boyish look was in
his eyes, and he stood holding my hands and waiting for my answer. I was
so fascinated that I would have then and there gone through fire and
water for him, as I would now.

"Yes. I will help you. I will be a friend to you."

"Thank you. I believe you." He dropped my hands, and we turned and went
out, silent.

In all my wanderings I had never promised any man my friendship and
unconditional support before. There was something about Isaacs that
overcame and utterly swept away preconceived ideas, rules, and
prejudices. It was but the third day of our acquaintance, and here was I
swearing eternal friendship like a school-girl; promising to help a man,
of whose very existence I knew nothing three days ago, to marry a woman
whom I had seen for the first time yesterday. But I resolved that,
having pledged myself, I would do my part with my might, whatever that
part might be. Meanwhile we rode along, and Isaacs began to talk about
the visit we were going to make.

"I think," he said, "that you had better know something about this
matter beforehand. The way is long, and we cannot ride fast over the
steep roads, so there is plenty of time. Do not imagine that I have idly
asked you to go with me because I supposed it would amuse you. Dismiss
also from your mind the impression that it is a question of buying and
selling jewels. It is a very serious matter, and if you would prefer to
have nothing to do with it, do not hesitate to say so. I promised the
maharajah this morning that I would bring, this afternoon, a reliable
person of experience, who could give advice, and who might be induced to
give his assistance as well as his counsel. I have not known you long,
but I know you by reputation, and I decided to bring you, if you would
come. From the very nature of the case I can tell you nothing more,
unless you consent to go with me."

"I will go," I said.

"In that case I will try and explain the situation in as few words as
possible. The maharajah is in a tight place. You will readily understand
that the present difficulties in Kabul cause him endless anxiety,
considering the position of his dominions. The unexpected turn of
events, following now so rapidly on each other since the English
wantonly sacrificed Cavagnari and his friends to a vainglorious love of
bravado, has shaken the confidence of the native princes in the
stability of English rule. They are frightened out of their senses,
having the fear of the tribes before them if the English should be
worsted; and they dread, on the other hand, lest the English, finding
themselves in great straits, should levy heavy contributions on
them--the native princes--for the consolidation of what they term the
'Empire.' They have not much sense, these poor old kings and boy
princes, or they would see that the English do not dare to try any of
those old-fashioned Clive tactics now. But old Baithopoor has heard all
about the King of Oude, and thinks he may share the same fate."

"I think he may make his mind easy on that score. The kingdom of
Baithopoor is too inconveniently situated and too full of mosquitoes to
attract the English. Besides, there are more roses than rubies there
just now."

"True, and that question interests me closely, for the old man owes me a
great deal of money. It was I who pulled him through the last famine."

"Not a very profitable investment, I should think. Shall you ever see a
rupee of that money again?"

"Yes; he will pay me; though I did not think so a week ago, or indeed
yesterday. I lent him the means of feeding his people and saving many of
them from actual death by starvation, because there are so many
Mussulmans among them, though the maharajah is a Hindoo. As for him, he
might starve to-morrow, the infidel hound; I would not give him a
_chowpatti_ or a mouthful of _dal_ to keep his wretched old body alive."

"Do I understand that this interview relates to the repayment of the
moneys you have advanced?"

"Yes; though that is not the most interesting part of it. He wanted to
pay me in flesh--human flesh, and he offered to make me a king into the
bargain, if I would forgive him the debt. The latter part of the
proposal was purely visionary. The promise to pay in so much humanity he
is able to perform. I have not made up my mind."

I looked at Isaacs in utter astonishment. What in the world could he
mean? Had the maharajah offered him some more wives--creatures of
peerless beauty and immense value? No; I knew he would not hesitate now
to refuse such a proposition.

"Will you please to explain what you mean by his paying you in man?" I
asked.

"In two words. The Maharajah of Baithopoor has in his possession a man.
Safely stowed away under a triple watch and carefully tended, this man
awaits his fate as the maharajah may decide. The English Government
would pay an enormous sum for this man, but Baithopoor fears that they
would ask awkward questions, and perhaps not believe the answers he
would give them. So, as he owes me a good deal, he thinks I might be
induced to take his prisoner and realise him, so to speak; thus
cancelling the debt, and saving him from the alternative of putting the
man to death privately, or of going through dangerous negotiations with
the Government. Now this thing is perfectly feasible, and it depends
upon me to say 'yes' or 'no' to the proposition. Do you see now? It is a
serious matter enough."

"But the man--who is he? Why do the English want him so much?"

Isaacs pressed his horse close to mine, and looking round to see that
the saice was a long way behind, he put his hand on my shoulder, and,
leaning out of the saddle till his mouth almost touched my ear, he
whispered quickly--

"Shere Ali."

"The devil, you say!" I ejaculated, surprised out of grammar and decorum
by the startling news. Persons who were in India in 1879 will not have
forgotten the endless speculation caused by the disappearance of the
Emir of Afghanistan, Shere Ali, in the spring of that year. Defeated by
the English at Ali Musjid and Peiwar, and believing his cause lost, he
fled, no one knew whither; though there is reason to think that he might
have returned to power and popularity among the Afghan tribes if he had
presented himself after the murder of Cavagnari.

"Yes," continued Isaacs, "he has been a prisoner in the palace of
Baithopoor for six weeks, and not a soul save the maharajah and you and
I know it. He came to Baithopoor, humbly disguised as a Yogi from the
hills, though he is a Mussulman, and having obtained a private hearing,
disclosed his real name, proposing to the sovereign a joint movement on
Kabul, then just pacified by the British, and promising all manner of
things for the assistance. Old Baitho, who is no fool, clapped him into
prison under a guard of Punjabi soldiers who could not speak a word of
Afghan, and after due consideration packed up his traps and betook
himself to Simla by short stages, for the journey is not an easy one for
a man of his years. He arrived the day before yesterday, and has
ostensibly come to congratulate the Viceroy on the success of the
British arms. He has had to modify the enthusiasm of his proposed
address, in consequence of the bad news from Kabul. Of course, his first
move was to send for me, and I had a long interview this morning, in
which he explained everything. I told him that I would not move in the
matter without a third person--necessary as a witness when dealing with
such people--and I have brought you."

"But what was his proposal to invest you with a crown? Did he think you
were a likely person for a new Emir of Kabul?"

"Exactly. My faith, and above all, my wealth, suggested to him that I,
as a born Persian, might be the very man for the vacant throne. No
doubt, the English would be delighted to have me there. But the whole
thing is visionary and ridiculous. I think I shall accept the other
proposition, and take the prisoner. It is a good bargain."

I was silent. The intimate way in which I had seen Isaacs hitherto had
made me forget his immense wealth and his power. I had not realised that
he could be so closely connected with intrigues of such importance as
this, or that independant native princes were likely to look upon him as
a possible Emir of Afghanistan. I had nothing to say, and I determined
to keep to the part I was brought to perform, which was that of a
witness, and nothing more. If my advice were asked, I would speak boldly
for Shere Ali's liberation and protest against the poor man being bought
and sold in this way. This train of thought reminded me of Isaacs' words
when we left Miss Westonhaugh that morning. "It is not often," he had
said, "that you see such jewels bought and sold." No, indeed!

"You see," said Isaacs, as we neared our destination, "Baithopoor is in
my power, body and soul, for a word from me would expose him to the
British Government as 'harbouring traitors,' as they would express it.
On the other hand, the fact that you, the third party, are a journalist,
and could at a moment's notice give publicity to the whole thing, will
be an additional safeguard. I have him as in a vice. And now put on your
most formal manners and look as if you were impenetrable as the rock and
unbending as cast iron, for we have reached his bungalow."

I could not but admire the perfect calm and caution with which he was
conducting an affair involving millions of money, a possible indictment
for high treason, and the key-note of the Afghan question, while I knew
that his whole soul was absorbed in the contemplation of a beautiful
picture ever before him, sleeping or waking. Whatever I might think of
his bargaining for the possession of Shere Ali, he had a great, even
untiring, intellect. He had the elements of a leader of men, and I
fondly hoped he might be a ruler some day.

The bungalow in which the Maharajah of Baithopoor had taken up his
residence during his visit was very much like all the rest of the houses
I saw in Simla. The verandah, however, was crowded with servants and
sowars in gorgeous but rather tawdry liveries, not all of them as clean
as they should have been. Horses with elaborate high saddles and
embroidered trappings rather the worse for wear were being led up and
down the walk. As we neared the door there was a strong smell of
rosewater and native perfumes and hookah tobacco--the indescribable
odour of Eastern high life. There was also a general air of wasteful and
tawdry dowdiness, if I may coin such a word, which one constantly sees
in the retinues of native princes and rich native merchants, ill
contrasting with the great intrinsic value of some of the ornaments worn
by the chief officers of the train.

Isaacs spoke a few words in a low voice to the jemadar at the door, and
we were admitted into a small room in the side of the house, opening, as
all rooms do in India, on to the verandah. There were low wooden
charpoys around the walls, and we sat down, waiting till the maharajah
should be advised of our arrival. Very soon a jemadar came in and
informed us that "if the _sahib log_, who were the protectors of the
poor, would deign to be led by him," we should be shown into the royal
presence. So we rose and followed the obsequious official into another
apartment.

The room where the maharajah awaited us was even smaller than the one
into which we had been first shown. It was on the back of the house, and
only half lighted by the few rays of afternoon sun that struggled
through the dense foliage outside. I suppose this apartment had been
chosen as the scene of the interview on account of its seclusion.
Outside the window, which was closed, a sowar paced slowly up and down
to keep away any curious listeners. A heavy curtain hung before the door
through which we had entered. I thought that on the whole the place
seemed pretty safe.

The old maharajah sat cross-legged upon a great pile of dark-red
cushions, his slippers by his side, and a huge hookah before him. He
wore a plain white pugree with a large jewel set on one side, and his
body was swathed and wrapped in dark thick stuffs, as if he felt keenly
the cold autumn air. His face was long, of an ashy yellowish colour, and
an immense white moustache hung curling down over his sombre robe. One
hand protruded from the folds and held the richly-jewelled mouthpiece of
the pipe to his lips, and I noticed that the fingers were long and
crooked, winding themselves curiously round the gold stem, as if
revelling in the touch of the precious metal and the gems. As we came
within his range of vision, his dark eyes shot a quick glance of
scrutiny at me and then dropped again. Not a movement of the head or
body betrayed a consciousness of our presence. Isaacs made a long
salutation in Hindustani, and I followed his example, but he did not
take off his shoes or make anything more than an ordinary bow. It was
quite evident that he was master of the situation. The old man took the
pipe from his mouth and replied in a deep hollow voice that he was glad
to see us, and that, in consideration of our wealth, fame, and renowned
wisdom, he would waive all ceremony and beg us to be seated. We sat down
cross-legged on cushions before him, and as near as we could get, so
that it seemed as if we three were performing some sacred rite of which
the object was the tall hookah that stood in the centre of our triangle.

Being seated, Isaacs addressed the prince, still in Hindustani, and said
that the splendour of his sublime majesty, which was like the sun
dispelling the clouds, so overcame him with fear and trembling, that he
humbly implored permission to make use of the Persian tongue, which, he
was aware, the lord of boundless wisdom spoke with even greater ease
than himself.

Without waiting for an answer, and with no perceptible manifestation of
any such "fear and trembling" as he professed, Isaacs at once began to
speak in his native tongue, and dropping all forms of ceremony or
circumlocution plunged boldly into business. He did not hesitate to
explain to the maharajah the strength of his position, dwelling on the
fact that, by a word to the English of the whereabouts of Shere Ali, he
could plunge Baithopoor into hopeless and endless entanglements, to
which there could be but one issue--absorption into the British Râj. He
dwelt on the large sums the maharajah owed him for assistance lent
during the late famine, and he skilfully produced the impression that he
wanted the money down, then and there.

"If your majesty should refuse to satisfy my just claims, I have ample
weapons by which to satisfy them for myself, and no considerations of
mercy or pity for your majesty will tempt me to abate one rupee in the
account of your indebtedness, which, as you well know, is not swelled by
any usurious interest. You could not have borrowed the money on such
easy terms from any bank in India or England, and if I have been
merciful hitherto, I will be so no longer. What saith the Apostle of
Allah? 'Verily, life for life, and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and
ear for ear, and tooth for tooth, and for wounding retaliation.' And the
time of your promise is expired and you shall pay me. And is not the
wise Frank, who sitteth at my right hand, the ready writer, who giveth
to the public every day a new book to read, the paper of news,
_Khabar-i-Khagaz_ wherein are written the misdeeds of the wicked, and
the dealings of the fraudulent and the unwary receive their just reward?
And think you he will not make a great writing, several columns in
length, and deliver it to the devils that perform his bidding, and shall
they not multiply what he hath written, and sow it broadcast over the
British Râj for the minor consideration of one anna a copy, that all
shall see how the Maharajah of Baithopoor doth scandalously repudiate
his debts, and harbour traitors to the Râj in his palace?"

Isaacs said all this in a solemn and impressive manner, calculated to
inspire awe and terror in the soul of the unhappy debtor. As for the
maharajah, the cold sweat stood on his face, and at the last words his
anxiety was so great that the long fingers uncurled spasmodically and
the jewelled mouthpiece fell back, as the head of a snake, among the
silken coils of the tube at his feet. Instantly, on feeling the grasping
hand empty, his majesty, with more alacrity than I would have expected,
darted forward with outstretched claws, as a hawk on his prey, and
seizing the glittering thing returned it to his lips with a look of
evident relief. It was habit, of course, for we were not exactly the men
to plunder him of his toy, but there was a fierceness about the whole
action that spoke of the real miser. Then there was silence for a
moment. The old man was evidently greatly impressed by the perils of his
situation. Isaacs continued.

"Your majesty well perceives that you have surrounded yourself with
dangers on all sides. No danger threatens me. I could buy you and
Baithopoor to-morrow if I chose. But I am a just man. When the prophet,
whose name be blessed, saith that we shall have eye for eye, and nose
for nose, and for wounding retaliation, he saith also that 'he that
remitteth the same as alms it shall be an atonement unto him.' Now your
majesty is a hard man, and I well know that if I force you to pay me now
you will cruelly tax and oppress your subjects to refill your coffers.
And many of your subjects are true believers, following the prophet,
upon whom be peace; and it is also written 'Thou shalt rob a stranger,
but thou shalt not rob a brother,'--and if I cause you to rob my
brethren is not the sin mine, and the atonement thereof? Now also has
the lawful interest on your bond mounted up to several lakhs of rupees.
But for the sake of my brethren who are in bondage to you, who are an
unbeliever and shall broil everlastingly in raging flames, I will yet
make a covenant with you, and the agreement thereof shall be this:

"You shall deliver into my hand, before the dark half of the next moon,
the man"--Isaacs lowered his voice to a whisper, barely audible in the
still room, where the only sound heard as he paused was the tread of the
sowar on the verandah outside-- "the man Shere Ali, formerly Emir of
Afghanistan, now hidden in your palace of Baithopoor. Him you shall give
to me safe and untouched at the place which I shall choose, northwards
from here, in the pass towards Keitung. And there shall not be an hair
of his head touched, and if it is good in my eyes I will give him up to
the British; and if it is good in my eyes, I will slay him, and you
shall ask no questions. And if you refuse to do this I will go to the
great lord sahib and tell him of your doings, and you will be arrested
before this night and shall not escape. But if you consent and put your
hand to this agreement, I will speak no word, and you shall depart in
peace; and moreover, for the sake of the true believers in your kingdom
I will remit to you the whole of the interest on your debt; and the bond
you shall pay at your convenience. I have spoken, do you answer me."
Isaacs calmly took from his pocket two rolls covered with Persian
writing, and lighting a cigarette, proceeded to peruse them carefully,
to detect any flaw or error in their composition. The face of the old
maharajah betrayed great emotion, but he bravely pulled away at his
hookah and tried to think over the situation. In the hope of delivering
himself from his whole debt he had rashly given himself into the hands
of a man who hated him, though he had discovered that hatred too late.
He had flattered himself that the loan had been made out of friendly
feeling and a desire for his interest and support; he found that Isaacs
had lent the money, for real or imaginary religious motives, in the
interest of his co-religionists. I sat silently watching the varying
passions as they swept over the repulsive face of the old man. The
silence must have lasted a quarter of an hour.

"Give me the covenant," he said at last, "for I am in the tiger's
clutches. I will sign it, since I must. But it shall be requited to you,
Abdul Hafiz; and when your body has been eaten of jackals and wild pigs
in the forest, your soul shall enter into the shape of a despised
sweeper, and you and your off-spring shall scavenge the streets of the
cities of my kingdom and of the kingdom of my son, and son's son, to ten
thousand generations." A Hindoo cannot express scorn more deadly or hate
more lasting than this. Isaacs smiled, but there was a concentrated look
in his face, relentless and hard, as he answered the insult.

"I am not going to bandy words with you. But if you are not quick about
signing that paper I may change my mind, and send for the Angrezi sowars
from Peterhof. So you had better hurry yourself." Isaacs produced a
small inkhorn and a reed pen from his pocket. "Sign," he said, rising to
his feet "before that soldier outside passes the window three times, or
I will deliver you to the British."

Trembling in every joint, and the perspiration standing on his face like
beads, the old man seized the pen and traced his name and titles at the
foot, first of one copy, and then of the other. Isaacs followed, writing
his full name in the Persian character, and I signed my name last, "Paul
Griggs," in large letters at the bottom of each roll, adding the word
"witness," in case of the transaction becoming known.

"And now," said Isaacs to the maharajah, "despatch at once a messenger,
and let the man here mentioned be brought under a strong guard and by
circuitous roads to the pass of Keitung, and let them there encamp
before the third week from to-day, when the moon is at the full. And I
will be there and will receive the man. And woe to you if he come not;
and woe to you if you oppress the true believers in your realm." He
turned on his heel, and I followed him out of the room after making a
brief salutation to the old man, cowering among his cushions, a ceremony
which Isaacs omitted, whether intentionally or from forgetfulness, I
could not say. We passed through the house out into the air, and
mounting our horses rode away, leaving the double row of servants
salaaming to the ground. The duration of our private interview with the
maharajah had given them an immense idea of our importance. We had come
at four and it was now nearly five. The long pauses and the Persian
circumlocutions had occupied a good deal of time.

"You do not seem to have needed my counsel or assistance much," I said.
"With such an armoury of weapons you could manage half-a-dozen
maharajahs."

"Yes--perhaps so. But I have strong reasons for wishing this affair
quickly over, and the editor of a daily paper is a thing of terror to a
native prince; you must have seen that."

"What do you mean to do with your man when he is safely in your hands,
if it is not an indiscreet question?"

"Do with him?" asked Isaacs with some astonishment. "Is it possible you
have not guessed? He is a brave man, and a true believer. I will give
him money and letters, that he may make his way to Baghdad, or wherever
he will be safe. He shall depart in peace, and be as free as air."

I had half suspected my friend of some such generous intention, but he
had played his part of unrelenting hardness so well in our late
interview with the Hindoo prince that it seemed incomprehensible that a
man should be so pitiless and so kind on the same day. There was not a
trace of hardness on his beautiful features now, and as we rounded the
hill and caught the last beams of the sun, now sinking behind the
mountains, his face seemed transfigured as with a glory, and I could
hardly bear to look at him. He held his hat in his hand and faced the
west for an instant, as though thanking the declining day for its
freshness and beauty; and I thought to myself that the sun was lucky to
see such an exquisite picture before he bid Simla good-night, and that
he should shine the brighter for it the next day, since he would look on
nothing fairer in his twelve hours' wandering over the other half of
creation.

"And now," said he, "it is late, but if we ride towards Annandale we may
meet them coming back from the polo match we have missed." His eyes
glowed at the thought. Shere Ali, the maharajah, bonds, principal, and
interest, were all forgotten in the anticipation of a brief meeting with
the woman he loved.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER VI.


"Why did you not come and see the game? After all your enthusiasm about
polo this morning, I did not think you would miss anything so good,"
were the first words of Miss Westonhaugh as we met her and Kildare in
the narrow path that leads down to Annandale. Two men were riding behind
them, who proved to be Mr. Currie Ghyrkins and Mr. John Westonhaugh. The
latter was duly introduced to us; a quiet, spare man, with his sister's
features, but without a trace of her superb colour and animal spirits.
He had the real Bombay paleness, and had been steamed to the bone
through the rains. As we were introduced, Isaacs started and said
quickly that he believed he had met Mr. Westonhaugh before.

"It is possible, quite possible," said that gentleman affably,
"especially if you ever go to Bombay."

"Yes--it was in Bombay--some twelve years ago. You have probably
forgotten me."

"Ah, yes. I was young and green then. I wonder you remember me." He did
not show any very lively interest in the matter, though he smiled
pleasantly.

Miss Westonhaugh must have been teasing Lord Steepleton, for he looked
flushed and annoyed, and she was in capital spirits. We turned to go
back with the party, and by a turn of the wrist Isaacs wheeled his horse
to the side of Miss Westonhaugh's, a position he did not again abandon.
They were leading, and I resolved they should have a chance, as the path
was not broad enough for more than two to ride abreast. So I furtively
excited my horse by a touch of the heel and a quick strain on the curb,
throwing him across the road, and thus producing a momentary delay, of
which the two riders in front took advantage to increase their distance.
Then we fell in, Mr. Ghyrkins and I in front, while the dejected Kildare
rode behind with Mr. John Westonhaugh. Ghyrkins and I, being heavy men,
heavily mounted, controlled the situation, and before long Isaacs and
Miss Westonhaugh were a couple of hundred yards ahead, and we only
caught occasional glimpses of them through the trees as they wound in
and out along the path.

"What are those youngsters talking about, back there? Tigers, I'll be
bound," said Mr. Ghyrkina to me. Sure enough, they were.

"What do you suppose I found when we got back this afternoon, Mr.
Griggs? Why, this hair-brained young Kildare has been proposing to my
niece----" his horse stumbled, but recovered himself in a moment.

"You don't mean it," said I, rather startled.

"Oh no, no, no. I don't mean that at all. Ha! ha! ha! very good, very
good. No, no. Lord Steepleton wants us all to go on a tiger-hunt to
amuse John, and he proposes--ha! ha!--really too funny of me--that Miss
Westonhaugh should go with us."

"I suppose you have no objection, Mr. Ghyrkins? Ladies constantly go on
such expeditions, and they do not appear to be the least in the way."

"Objections? Of course I have objections. Do you suppose I want to drag
my niece to a premature grave? Think of the fever and the rough living
and all, and she only just out from England."

"She looks as if she could stand anything," I said, as just then an open
space in the trees gave us a glimpse of Miss Westonhaugh and Isaacs
ambling along and apparently in earnest conversation. She certainly
looked strong enough to go tiger-hunting that minute, as she sat erect
but half turned to the off side, listening to what Isaacs seemed to be
saying.

"I hope you will not go and tell her so," said Ghyrkins. "If she gets an
idea that the thing is possible, there will be no holding her. You don't
know her. I hardly know her myself. Never saw her since she was a baby
till the other day. Now you are the sort of person to go after tigers.
Why do you not go off with my nephew and Mr. Isaacs and Kildare, and
kill as many of them as you like?"

"I have no objection, I am sure. I suppose the _Howler_ could spare me
for a fortnight, now that I have converted the Press Commissioner, your
new _deus ex machina_ for the obstruction of news. What a motley party
we should be. Let me see.--a Bombay Civil Servant, an Irish nobleman, a
Persian millionaire, and a Yankee newspaper man. By Jove! add to that a
famous Revenue Commissioner and a reigning beauty, and the sextett is
complete." Mr. Ghyrkins looked pleased at the gross flattery of himself.
I recollected suddenly that, though he was far from famous as a revenue
commissioner, I had read of some good shooting he had done in his
younger days. Here was a chance.

"Besides, Mr. Ghyrkins, a tiger-hunting party would not be the thing
without some seasoned Nimrod to advise and direct us. Who so fitted for
the post as the man of many a chase, the companion of Maori, the slayer
of the twelve foot tiger in the Nepaul hills in 1861?"

"You have a good memory, Mr. Griggs," said the old fellow, perfectly
delighted, and now fairly launched on his favourite topic. "By Gad, sir,
if I thought I should get such another chance I would go with you
to-morrow!"

"Why not? there are lots of big man-eaters about," and I incontinently
reeled off half a page of statistics, more or less accurate, about the
number of persons destroyed by snakes and wild beasts in the last year.
"Of course most of those deaths were from tigers, and it is a really
good action to kill a few. Many people can see tigers but cannot shoot
them, whereas your deeds of death amongst them ate a matter of history.
You really ought to be philanthropic, Mr. Ghyrkins, and go with us. We
might stand a chance of seeing some real sport then."

"Why, really, now that you make me think of it, I believe I should like
it amazingly, and I could leave my niece with
Lady--Lady--Stick-in-the-mud; what the deuce is her name? The wife of
the Chief Justice, you know. You ought to know, really--I never remember
names much;" he jerked out his sentences irately.

"Certainly, Lady Smith-Tompkins, you mean. Yes, you might do that--that
is, if Miss Westonhaugh has had the measles, and is not afraid of them.
I heard this morning that three of the little Smith-Tompkinses had them
quite badly."

"You don't say so! Well, well, we shall find some one else, no doubt."

I was certain that at that very moment Isaacs and Miss Westonhaugh were
planning the whole expedition, and so I returned to the question of
sport and inquired where we should go. This led to considerable
discussion, and before we arrived at Mr. Ghyrkins' bungalow--still in
the same order--it was very clear that the old sportsman had made up his
mind to kill one more tiger at all events; and that, rather than forego
the enjoyment of the chase, he would be willing to take his niece with
him. As for the direction of the expedition, that could be decided in a
day or two. It was not the best season for tigers--the early spring is
better--but they are always to be found in the forests of the Terai, the
country along the base of the hills, north of Oude.

When we reached the house it was quite dark, for we had ridden slowly.
The light from the open door, falling across the verandah, showed us
Miss Westonhaugh seated in a huge chair, and Isaacs standing by her side
slightly bending, and holding his hat in his hand. They were still
talking, but as we rode up to the lawn and shouted for the saices,
Isaacs stood up and looked across towards us, and their voices ceased.
It was evident that he had succeeded in thoroughly interesting her, for
I thought--though it was some distance, and the light on them was not
strong--that as he straightened himself and stopped speaking, she looked
up to his face as if regretting that he did not go on. I dismounted with
the rest and walked up to bid Miss Westonhaugh good-night.

"You must come and dine to-morrow night," said Mr. Ghyrkins, "and we
will arrange all about it. Sharp seven. To-morrow is Sunday, you know.
Kildare, you must come too, if you mean business. Seven. We must look
sharp and start, if we mean to come back here before the Viceroy goes."

"Oh in that case," said Kildare, turning to me, "we can settle all about
the polo match for Monday, can't we?"

"Of course, very good of you to take the trouble."

"Not a bit of it. Good-night." We bowed and went back to find our horses
in the gloom. After some fumbling, for it was intensely dark after
facing the light in the doorway of the bungalow, we got into the saddle
and turned homeward through the trees.

"Thank you, Griggs," said Isaacs. "May your feet never weary, and your
shadow never be less."

"Don't mention it, and thanks about the shadow. Only it is never likely
to be less than at the present moment. How dark it is, to be sure!" I
knew well enough what he was thanking me for. I lit a cheroot.

"Isaacs," I said, "you are a pretty cool hand, upon my word."

"Why?"

"Why, indeed! Here you and Miss Westonhaugh have been calmly planning an
extensive tiger-hunt, when you have promised to be in the neighbourhood
of Keitung in three weeks, wherever that may be. I suppose it is in the
opposite direction from here, for you will not find any tigers nearer
than the Terai at this time of year."

"I do not see the difficulty," he answered. "We can be in Oude in two
days from here; shoot tigers for ten days, and be here again in two days
more. That is just a fortnight. It will not take me a week to reach
Keitung. I am much mistaken if I do not get there in three days. I shall
lay a _dâk_ by messengers before I go to Oude, and between a double set
of coolies and lots of ponies wherever the roads are good enough, I
shall be at the place of meeting soon enough, never fear."

"Oh, very well; but I hardly think Ghyrkins will want to return under
three weeks; and--I did not think you would want to leave the party." He
had evidently planned the whole three weeks' business carefully. I did
not continue the conversation. He was naturally absorbed in the
arrangement of his numerous schemes--no easy matter, when affairs of
magnitude have to be ordered to suit the exigencies of a _grande
passion_. I shrank from intruding on his reflections, and I had quite
enough to do in keeping my horse on his feet in the thick darkness.
Suddenly he reared violently, and then stood still, quivering in every
limb. Isaacs' horse plunged and snorted by my side, and cannoned heavily
against me. Then all was quiet. I could see nothing. Presently a voice,
low and musical, broke on the darkness, and I thought I could
distinguish a tall figure on foot at Isaacs' knee. Whoever the man was
he must be on the other side of my companion, but I made out a head from
which the voice proceeded.

"Peace, Abdul Hafiz!" it said.

"Aleikum Salaam, Ram Lal!" answered Isaacs. He must have recognised the
man by his voice.

"Abdul," continued the stranger, speaking Persian. "I have business with
thee this night; thou art going home. If it is thy pleasure I will be
with thee in two hours in thy dwelling."

"Thy pleasure is my pleasure. Be it so." I thought the head disappeared.

"Be it so," the voice echoed, growing faint, as if moving rapidly away
from us. The horses, momentarily startled by the unexpected pedestrian,
regained their equanimity. I confess the incident gave me a curiously
unpleasant sensation. It was so very odd that a man on foot--a Persian,
I judged, by his accent--should know of my companion's whereabouts, and
that they should recognise each other by their voices. I recollected
that our coming to Mr. Ghyrkins' bungalow was wholly unpremeditated, and
I was sure Isaacs had spoken to none but our party--not even to his
saice--since our meeting with the Westonhaughs on the Annandale road an
hour and a half before.

"I wonder what he wants," said my friend, apparently soliloquising.

"He seems to know where to find you, at all events," I answered. "He
must have second sight to know you had been to Carisbrooke."

"He has. He is a very singular personage altogether. However, he has
done me more than one service before now, and though I do not comprehend
his method of arriving at conclusions, still less his mode of
locomotion, I am always glad of his advice."

"But what is he? Is he a Persian?--you called him by an Indian name, but
that may be a disguise--is he a wise man from Iran?"

"He is a very wise man, but not from Iran. No. He is a Brahmin by birth,
a Buddhist by adopted religion, and he calls himself an 'adept' by
profession, I suppose, if he can be said to have any. He comes and goes
unexpectedly, with amazing rapidity. His visits are brief, but he always
seems to be perfectly conversant with the matter in hand, whatever it
be. He will come to-night and give me about twenty words of advice,
which I may follow or may not, as my judgment dictates; and before I
have answered or recovered from my surprise, he will have vanished,
apparently into space; for if I ask my servants where he is gone they
will stare at me as if I were crazy, until I show them that the room is
empty, and accuse them of going to sleep instead of seeing who goes in
and out of my apartment. He speaks more languages than I do, and better.
He once told me he was educated in Edinburgh, and his perfect knowledge
of European affairs and of European topics leads me to think he must
have been there a long time. Have you ever looked into the higher phases
of Buddhism? It is a very interesting study."

"Yes, I have read something about it. Indeed I have read a good deal,
and have thought more. The subject is full of interest, as you say. If I
had been an Asiatic by birth, I am sure I should have sought to attain
_moksha_, even if it required a lifetime to pass through all the degrees
of initiation. There is something so rational about their theories,
disclaiming, as they do, all supernatural power; and, at the same time,
there is something so pure and high in their conception of life, in
their ideas about the ideal, if you will allow me the expression, that I
do not wonder Edwin Arnold has set our American transcendentalists and
Unitarians and freethinkers speculating about it all, and wondering
whether the East may not have had men as great as Emerson and Channing
among its teachers." I paused. My greatest fault is that if any one
starts me upon a subject I know anything about, I immediately become
didactic. So I paused and reflected that Isaacs, being, as he himself
declared, frequently in the society of an "adept" of a high class, was
sure to know a great deal more than I.

"I too," he said, "have been greatly struck, and sometimes almost
converted, by the beauty of the higher Buddhist thoughts. As for their
apparently supernatural powers and what they do with them, I care
nothing about phenomena of that description. We live in a land where
marvels are common enough. Who has ever explained the mango trick, or
the basket trick, or the man who throws a rope up into the air and then
climbs up it and takes the rope after him, disappearing into blue space?
And yet you have seen those things--I have seen them, every one has seen
them,--and the performers claim no supernatural agency or assistance. It
is merely a difference of degree, whether you make a mango grow from the
seed to the tree in half an hour, or whether you transport yourself ten
thousand miles in as many seconds, passing through walls of brick and
stone on your way, and astonishing some ordinary mortal by showing that
you know all about his affairs. I see no essential difference between
the two 'phenomena,' as the newspapers call them, since Madame Blavatsky
has set them all by the ears in this country. It is just the difference
in the amount of power brought to bear on the action. That is all. I
have seen, in a workshop in Calcutta, a hammer that would crack an
eggshell without crushing it, or bruise a lump of iron as big as your
head into a flat cake. 'Phenomena' may amuse women and children, but the
real beauty of the system lies in the promised attainment of happiness.
Whether that state of supreme freedom from earthly care gives the
fortunate initiate the power of projecting himself to the antipodes by a
mere act of volition, or of condensing the astral fluid into articles of
daily use, or of stimulating the vital forces of nature to an abnormal
activity, is to me a matter of supreme indifference. I am tolerably
happy in my own way as things are. I should not be a whit happier if I
were able to go off after dinner and take a part in American politics
for a few hours, returning to business here to-morrow morning."

"That is an extreme case," I said. "No man in his senses ever connects
the idea of happiness with American politics."

"Of one thing I am sure, though." He paused as if choosing his words. "I
am sure of this. If any unforeseen event, whether an act of folly of my
own, or the hand of Allah, who is wise, should destroy the peace of mind
I have enjoyed for ten years, with very trifling interruption,--if
anything should occur to make me permanently unhappy, beyond the
possibility of ordinary consolation,--I should seek comfort in the study
of the pure doctrines of the higher Buddhists. The pursuit of a
happiness, so immeasurably beyond all earthly considerations of bodily
comfort or of physical enjoyment, can surely not be inconsistent with my
religion--or with yours."

"No indeed," said I. "But, considering that you are the strictest of
Mohammedans, it seems to me you are wonderfully liberal. So you have
seriously contemplated the possibility of your becoming one of the
'brethren'--as they style themselves?"

"It never struck me until to-day that anything might occur by which my
life could be permanently disturbed. Something to-day has whispered to
me that such an existence could not be permanent. I am sure that it
cannot be. The issue must be either to an infinite happiness or to a
still more infinite misery. I cannot tell which." His clear, evenly
modulated voice trembled a little. We were in sight of the lights from
the hotel.

"I shall not dine with you to-night, Griggs. I will have something in my
own rooms. Come in as soon as you have done--that is if you are free.
There is no reason why you should not see Ram Lal the adept, since we
think alike about his religion, or school, or philosophy--find a name
for it while you are dining." And we separated for a time.

It had been a long and exciting day to me. I felt no more inclined than
he did for the din and racket and lights of the public dining-room. So I
followed his example and had something in my own apartment. Then I
settled myself to a hookah, resolved not to take advantage of Isaacs'
invitation until near the time when he expected Ram Lal. I felt the need
of an hour's solitude to collect my thoughts and to think over the
events of the last twenty-four hours. I recognised that I was fast
becoming very intimate with Isaacs, and I wanted to think about him and
excogitate the problem of his life; but when I tried to revolve the
situation logically, and deliver to myself a verdict, I found myself
carried off at a tangent by the wonderful pictures that passed before my
eyes. I could not detach the events from the individual. His face was
ever before me, whether I thought of Miss Westonhaugh, or of the
wretched old maharajah, or of Ram Lal the Buddhist. Isaacs was the
central figure in every picture, always in the front, always calm and
beautiful, always controlling the events around him. Then I entered on a
series of trite reflections to soothe my baffled reason, as a man will
who is used to understanding what goes on before him and suddenly finds
himself at a loss. Of course, I said to myself, it is no wonder he
controls things, or appears to. The circumstances in which I find this
three days' acquaintance are emphatically those of his own making. He
has always been a successful man, and he would not raise spirits that he
could not keep well in hand. He knows perfectly well what he is about in
making love to that beautiful creature, and is no doubt at this moment
laughing in his sleeve at my simplicity in believing that he was really
asking my advice. Pshaw! as if any advice could influence a man like
that! Absurd.

I sipped my coffee in disgust with myself. All the time, while trying to
persuade myself that Isaacs was only a very successful schemer, neither
better nor worse than other men, I was conscious of the face that would
not be banished from my sight. I saw the beautiful boyish look in his
deep dark eyes, the gentle curve of the mouth, the grand smooth
architrave of the brows. No--I was a fool! I had never met a man like
him, nor should again. How could Miss Westonhaugh save herself from
loving such a perfect creature? I thought, too, of his generosity. He
would surely keep his promise and deliver poor Shere Ali, hunted to
death by English and Afghan foes, from all his troubles. Had he not the
Maharajah of Baithopoor in his power? He might have exacted the full
payment of the debt, principal and interest, and saved the Afghan chief
into the bargain. But he feared lest the poor Mohammedans should suffer
from the prince's extortion, and he forgave freely the interest,
amounting now to a huge sum, and put off the payment of the bond itself
to the maharajah's convenience. Did ever an Oriental forgive a debt
before even to his own brother? Not in my experience.

I rose and went down to Isaacs. I found him as on the previous evening,
among his cushions with a manuscript book. He looked up smiling and
motioned me to be seated, keeping his place on the page with one finger.
He finished the verse before he spoke, and then laid the book down and
leaned back.

"So you have made up your mind that you would like to see Ram Lal. He
will be here in a minute, unless he changes his mind and does not come
after all."

There was a sound of voices outside. Some one asked if Isaacs were in,
and the servant answered. A tall figure in a gray _caftán_ and a plain
white turban stood in the door.

"I never change my mind," said the stranger, in excellent English,
though with an accent peculiar to the Hindoo tongue when struggling with
European languages. His voice was musical and high in pitch, though soft
and sweet in tone. The quality of voice that can be heard at a great
distance, with no apparent effort to the speaker. "I never change my
mind. I am here. Is it well with you?"

"It is well, Ram Lal. I thank you. Be seated, if you will stay with us a
while. This is my friend Mr. Griggs, of whom you probably know. He
thinks as I do on many points, and I was anxious that you should meet."

While Isaacs was speaking, Ram Lal advanced into the room and stood a
moment under the soft light, a gray figure, very tall, but not otherwise
remarkable. He was all gray. The long _caftán_ wrapped round him, the
turban which I had first thought white, the skin of his face, the
pointed beard and long moustache, the heavy eyebrows--a study of grays
against the barbaric splendour of the richly hung wall--a soft outline
on which the yellow light dwelt lovingly, as if weary of being cast back
and reflected from the glory of gold and the thousand facets of the
priceless gems. Ram Lal looked toward me, and as I gazed into his eyes I
saw that they too were gray--a very singular thing in the East--and that
they were very far apart, giving his face a look of great dignity and
fearless frankness. To judge by his features he seemed to be very thin,
and his high shoulders were angular, though the long loose garment
concealed the rest of his frame from view. I had plenty of time to note
these details, for he stood a full minute in the middle of the room, as
if deciding whether to remain or to go. Then he moved quietly to a divan
and sat down cross-legged.

"Abdul, you have done a good deed to-day, and I trust you will not
change your mind before you have carried out your present intentions."

"I never change my mind, Bam Lai," said Isaacs, smiling as he quoted his
visitor's own words. I was startled at first. What good deed was the
Buddhist referring to if not to the intended liberation of Shere Ali?
How could he know of it? Then I reflected that this man was, according
to Isaacs' declaration, an adept of the higher grades, a seer and a
knower of men's hearts. I resolved not to be astonished at anything that
occurred, only marvelling that it should have pleased this extraordinary
man to make his entrance like an ordinary mortal, instead of through the
floor or the ceiling.

"Pardon me," answered Ram Lal, "if I venture to contradict you. You do
change your mind sometimes. Who was it who lately scoffed at women,
their immortality, their virtue, and their intellect? Will you tell me
now, friend Abdul, that you have not changed your mind? Do you think of
anything, sleeping or waking, but the one woman for whom you _have_
changed your mind? Is not her picture ever before you, and the breath of
her beauty upon your soul? Have you not met her in the spirit as well as
in the flesh? Surely we shall hear no more of your doubts about women
for some time to come. I congratulate you, as far as that goes, on your
conversion. You have made a step towards a higher understanding of the
world you live in."

Isaacs did not seem in the least surprised at his visitor's intimate
acquaintance with his affairs. He bowed his head in silence, acquiescing
to what Bam Lai had said, and waited for him to proceed.

"I have come," continued the Buddhist, "to give you some good
advice--the best I have for you. You will probably not take it, for you
are the most self-reliant man I know, though you have changed a little
since you have been in love, witness your sudden intimacy with Mr.
Griggs." He looked at me, and there was a faint approach to a smile in
his gray eyes. "My advice to you is, do not let this projected
tiger-hunt take place if you can prevent it. No good can come of it, and
harm may. Now I have spoken because my mind would not be at rest if I
did not warn you. Of course you will do as you please, only never forget
that I pointed out to you the right course in time."

"Thank you, Ram Lal, for your friendly concern in my behalf. I do not
think I shall act as you suggest, but I am nevertheless grateful to you.
There is one thing I want to ask you, and consult you about, however."

"My friend, what is the use of my giving you advice that you will not
follow? If I lived with you, and were your constant companion, you would
ask me to advise you twenty times a day, and then you would go and do
the diametric opposite of what I suggested. If I did not see in you
something that I see in few other men, I would not be here. There are
plenty of fools who have wit enough to take counsel of a wise man. There
are few men of wit wise enough to be guided by their betters, as if they
were only fools for the time. Yet because you are so wayward I will help
you once or twice more, and then I will leave you to your own
course--which you, in your blindness, will call your kismet, not seeing
that your fate is continually in your own hands--more so at this moment
than ever before. Ask, and I will answer."

"Thanks, Ram Lal. It is this I would know. You are aware that I have
undertaken a novel kind of bargain. The man you wot of is to be
delivered to me near Keitung. I am anxious for the man's safety
afterwards, and I would be glad of some hint about disposing of him. I
must go alone, for I do not want any witness of what I am going to do,
and as a mere matter of personal safety for myself and the man I am
going to set free, I must decide on some plan of action when I meet the
band of sowars who will escort him. They are capable of murdering us
both if the maharajah instructs them to. As long as I am alive to bring
the old man into disgrace with the British, the captive is safe; but it
would be an easy matter for those fellows to dispose of us together, and
there would be an end of the business."

"Of course they could," replied Ram Lal, adding in an ironical tone "and
if you insist upon putting your head down the tiger's throat, how do you
expect me to prevent the brute from snapping it off? That would be a
'phenomenon,' would it not? And only this evening you were saying that
you despised 'phenomena.'"

"I said that such things were indifferent to me. I did not say I
despised them. But I think that this thing may be done without
performing any miracles."

"If it were not such a good action on your part I would have nothing to
do with it. But since you mean to risk your neck for your own peculiar
views of what is right, I will endeavour that you shall not break it. I
will meet you a day's journey before you reach Keitung, somewhere on the
road, and we will go together and do the business. But if I am to help
you I will not promise not to perform some miracles, as you call them,
though you know very well they are no such thing. Meanwhile, do as you
please about the tiger-hunt; I shall say no more about it." He paused,
and then, withdrawing one delicate hand from the folds of his _caftán_,
he pointed to the wall behind Isaacs and me, and said, "What a very
singular piece of workmanship is that yataghan!"

We both naturally turned half round to look at the weapon he spoke of,
which was the central piece in a trophy of jewelled sabres and Afghan
knives.

"Yes," said Isaacs, turning back to answer his guest, "it is a ----" He
stopped, and I, who had not seen the weapon before, lost among so many,
and was admiring its singular beauty, turned too; to my astonishment I
saw that Isaacs was gazing into empty space. The divan where Ram Lal had
been sitting an instant before, was vacant. He was gone.

"That is rather sudden," I said.

"More so than usual," was the reply. "Did you see him go? Did he go out
by the door?"

"Not I," I answered, "when I looked round at the wall he was placidly
sitting on that divan pointing with one hand at the yataghan. Does he
generally go so quickly?"

"Yes, more or less. Now I will show you some pretty sport." He rose to
his feet and went to the door. "Narain!" he cried. Narain, the bearer,
who was squatting against the door-post outside, sprang up and stood
before his master. "Narain, why did you not show that pundit the way
downstairs? What do you mean? have you no manners?"

Narain stood open mouthed. "What pundit, sahib?" he asked.

"Why, the pundit who came a quarter of an hour ago, you donkey! He has
just gone out, and you did not even get up and make a salaam, you
impertinent vagabond!" Narain protested that no pundit, or sahib, or any
one else, had passed the threshold since Ram Lal had entered. "Ha! you
_budmash_. You lazy dog of a Hindoo! you have been asleep again, you
swine, you son of a pig, you father of piglings! Is that the way you do
your work in my service?" Isaacs was enjoying the joke in a quiet way
immensely.

"Sahib," said the trembling Narain, apparently forgetting the genealogy
his master had thrust upon him, "Sahib, you are protector of the poor,
you are my father and my mother, and my brother, and all my relations,"
the common form of Hindoo supplication, "but, Sri Krishnaji! by the
blessed Krishna, I have not slept a wink."

"Then I suppose you mean me to believe that the pundit went through the
ceiling, or is hidden under the cushions. Swear not by your false idols,
slave; I shall not believe you for that, you dog of an unbeliever, you
soor-be-iman, you swine without faith!"

"Han, sahib, han!" cried Narain, seizing at the idea that the pundit had
disappeared mysteriously through the walls. "Yes, sahib, the pundit is a
great yogi, and has made the winds carry him off." The fellow thought
this was a bright idea, not by any means beneath consideration. Isaacs
appeared somewhat pacified.

"What makes you think he is a yogi, dog?" he inquired in a milder tone.
Narain had no answer ready, but stood looking rather stupidly through
the door at the room whence the unearthly visitor had so suddenly
disappeared. "Well," continued Isaacs, "you are more nearly right than
you imagine. The pundit is a bigger yogi than any your idiotic religion
can produce. Never mind, there is an eight anna bit for you, because I
said you were asleep when you were not." Narain bent to the ground in
thanks, as his master turned on his heel. "Not that he minds being told
that he is a pig, in the least," said Isaacs. "I would not call a
Mussulman so, but you can insult these Hindoos so much worse in other
ways that I think the porcine simile is quite merciful by comparison."
He sat down again among the cushions, and putting off his slippers,
curled himself comfortably together for a chat.

"What do you think of Ram Lal?" he asked, when Narain had brought
hookahs and sherbet.

"My dear fellow, I have hardly made up my mind what to think. I have not
altogether recovered from my astonishment. I confess that there was
nothing startling about his manner or his person. He behaved and talked
like a well educated native, in utter contrast to the amazing things he
said, and to his unprecedented mode of leave-taking. It would have
seemed more natural--I would say, more fitting--if he had appeared in
the classic dress of an astrologer, surrounded with zodiacs, and blue
lights, and black cats. Why do you suppose he wants you to abandon the
tiger-hunt?"

"I cannot tell. Perhaps he thinks something may happen to me to prevent
my keeping the other engagement. Perhaps he does not approve----" he
stopped, as if not wanting to approach the subject of Ram Lal's
disapprobation. "I intend, nevertheless, that the expedition come off,
and I mean, moreover, to have a very good time, and to kill a tiger if I
see one."

"I thought he seemed immensely pleased at your conversion, as he calls
it. He said that your newly acquired belief in woman was a step towards
a better understanding of life."

"Of the world, he said," answered-Isaacs, correcting me. "There is a
great difference between the 'world' and 'life.' The one is a finite,
the other an infinite expression. I believe, from what I have learned of
Ram Lal, that the ultimate object of the adepts is happiness, only to be
attained by wisdom, and I apprehend that by wisdom they mean a knowledge
of the world in the broadest sense of the word. The world to them is a
great repository of facts, physical and social, of which they propose to
acquire a specific knowledge by transcendental methods. If that seems to
you a contradiction of terms, I will try and express myself better. If
you understand me, I am satisfied. Of course I use transcendental in the
sense in which it is applied by Western mathematicians to a mode of
reasoning which I very imperfectly comprehend, save that it consists in
reaching finite results by an adroit use of the infinite."

"Not a bad definition of transcendental analysis for a man who professes
to know nothing about it," said I. "I would not accuse you of a
contradiction of terms, either. I have often thought that what some
people call the 'philosophy of the nineteenth century,' is nothing after
all but the unconscious application of transcendental analysis to the
everyday affairs of life. Consider the theories of Darwin, for instance.
What are they but an elaborate application of the higher calculus? He
differentiates men into protoplasms, and integrates protoplasms into
monkeys, and shows the caudal appendage to be the independent variable,
a small factor in man, a large factor in monkey. And has not the idea of
successive development supplanted the early conception of spontaneous
perfection? Take an illustration from India--the new system of
competition, which the natives can never understand. Formerly the
members of the Civil Service received their warrants by divine
authority, so to speak. They were born perfect, as Aphrodite from the
foam of the sea; they sprang armed and ready from the head of old John
Company as Pallas Athene from the head of Zeus. Now all that is changed;
they are selected from a great herd of candidates by methods of extreme
exactness, and when they are chosen they represent the final result of
infinite probabilities for and against their election. They are all
exactly alike; they are a formula for taxation and the administration of
justice, and so long as you do not attempt to use the formula for any
other purpose, such, for instance, as political negotiation or the
censorship of the public press, the equation will probably be amenable
to solution."

"As I told you," said Isaacs, "I know nothing, or next to nothing, of
Western mathematics, but I have a general idea of the comparison you
make. In Asia and in Asiatic minds, there prevails an idea that
knowledge can be assimilated once and for all. That if you can obtain
it, you immediately possess the knowledge of everything--the pass-key
that shall unlock every door. That is the reason of the prolonged
fasting and solitary meditation of the ascetics. They believe that by
attenuating the bond between soul and body, the soul can be liberated
and can temporarily identify itself with other objects, animate and
inanimate, besides the especial body to which it belongs, acquiring thus
a direct knowledge of those objects, and they believe that this direct
knowledge remains. Western philosophers argue that the only acquaintance
a man can have with bodies external to his mind is that which he
acquires by the medium of his bodily sensea--though thesa, are
themselves external to his mind, in the truest sanse. The senses not
being absolutely reliable, knowledge acquired by means of them is not
absolutely reliable either. So the ultimate difference between the
Asiatic saint and the European man of science is, that while the former
believes all knowledge to be directly within the grasp of the soul,
under certain conditions, the latter, on the other hand, denies that any
knowledge can be absolute, being all obtained indirectly through a
medium not absolutely reliable. The reasoning, by which the Western mind
allows itself to act fearlessly on information which is not (according
to its own verdict) necessarily accurate, depends on a clever use of the
infinite in unconsciously calculating the probabilities of that
accuracy--and this entirely falls in with what you said about the
application of transcendental analysis to the affairs of everyday life."

"I see you have entirely comprehended me," I said. "But as for the
Asiatic mind--you seem to deny to it the use of the ealculus of thought,
and yet you denned adepts as attempting to acquire specific knowledge by
general and transcendental methods. Here is a real contradiction."

"No; I see no confusion, for I do not include the higher adepts in
either class, sinoe they have the wisdom to make use of the learning and
of the methods of both. They seem to me to be endeavouring, roughly
speaking, to combine the two. They believe absolute knowledge
attainable, and they devote much time to the study of nature, in which
pursuit they make use of highly analytical methods. They subdivide
phenomena to an extent that would surprise and probably amuse a Western
thinker. They count fourteen distinct colours in the rainbow, and
invariably connect sound, even to the finest degrees, with shades of
colour. I could name many other peculiarities of their mode of studying
natural phenomena, which displays a much more minute subdivision and
classification of results than you are accustomed to. But beside all
this they consider that the senses of the normal man are susceptible of
infinite refinement, and that upon a greater or less degree of acquired
acuteness of perception the value of his results must depend. To attain
this high degree of sensitiveness, necessary to the perception of very
subtle phenomena, the adepts find it necessary to train their faculties,
bodily and mental, by a life of rigid abstention from all pleasures or
indulgences not indispensable in maintaining the relation between the
physical and intellectual powers."

"The common _fakir_ aims at the same thing," I remarked.

"But he does not attain it. The common _fakir_ is an idiot. He may, by
fasting and self-torture, of a kind no adept would approve, sharpen his
senses till he can hear and see some sounds and sights inaudible and
invisible to you and me. But his whole system lacks any intellectual
basis: he regards knowledge as something instantaneously attainable when
it comes at last; he believes he will have a vision, and that everything
will be revealed to him. His devotion to his object is admirable, when
he is a genuine ascetic and not, as is generally the case, a
good-for-nothing who makes his piety pay for his subsistence; but it is
devotion of a very low intellectual order. The true adept thinks the
training of the mind in intellectual pursuits no less necessary than the
moderate and reasonable mortification of the flesh, and higher Buddhism
pays as much attention to the one as to the other."

"Excuse me," said I, "if I make a digression. I think there are two
classes of minds commonly to be found among thinkers all over the world.
The one seek to attain to knowledge, the others strive to acquire it.
There is a class of commonplace intellects who regard knowledge of all
kinds in the light of a ladder; one ladder for each science, and the
rungs of the ladders are the successive facts mastered by an effort and
remembered in the order they have been passed. These persons think it is
possible to attain to high eminence on one particular ladder, that is,
in one particular science, without having been up any of the other
ladders, that is, without a knowledge of other branches of seience. This
is the mind of the plodder, the patient man who climbs, step by step, in
his own unvarying round of thought; not seeing that it is but the wheel
of a treadmill over which he is labouring, and that though every step
may pass, and repass, beneath his toiling feet, he can never obtain a
birdseye view of what he is doing, because his eyes are continually
fixed on the step in front."

"But," I continued, as Isaacs assented to my simile by a nod, "there is
another class of minds also. There are persons who regard the whole
imaginable and unimaginable knowledge of mankind, past, present, and
future, as a boundless plain over which they hang suspended and can look
down. Immediately beneath them there is a map spread out which
represents, in the midst of the immense desert, the things they
themselves know. It is a puzzle map, like those they make for children,
where each piece fits into its appointed place, and will fit nowhere
else; every piece of knowledge acquired fits into the space allotted to
it, and when there is a piece, that is, a fact, wanting, it is still
possible to define its extent and shape by the surrounding portions,
though all the details of colour and design are lacking. These are the
people who regard knowledge as a whole, harmonious, when every science
and fragment of a science has its appointed station and is necessary to
completeness of perfect knowledge. I hope I have made clear to you what
I mean, though I am conscious of only sketching the outlines of a
distinction which I believe to be fundamental."

"Of course it is fundamental. Broadly, it is the difference between
analytic and synthetic thought; between the subjective and the objective
views; between the finite conception of a limited world and the infinite
ideal of perfect wisdom. I understand you perfectly."

"You puzzle me continually, Isaacs. Where did you learn to talk about
'analytic' and 'synthetic,' and 'subjective' and 'objective,' and
transcendental analysis, and so forth?" It seemed so consistent with his
mind that he should understand the use of philosophical terms, that I
had noi realised how odd it was that a man of his purely Oriental
education should know anything about the subject. His very broad
application of the words 'analytic' and 'synthetic' to my pair of
illustrations attracted my attention and prompted the question I had
asked.

"I read a good deal," he said simply. Then he added in a reflective
tone, "I rather think I have a philosophical mind. The old man who
taught me theology in Istamboul when I was a boy used to talk philosophy
to me by the hour, though I do not believe he knew much about it. He was
a plodder, and went up ladders in search of information, like the man
you describe. But he was very patient and good to me; the peace of Allah
be with him."

It was late, and soon afterwards we parted for the night. The next day
was Sunday, and I had a heap of unanswered letters to attend to, so we
agreed to meet after tiffin and ride together before dining with Mr.
Ghyrkins and the Westonhaughs.

I went to my room and sat a while over a volume of Kant, which I always
travel with--a sort of philosopher's stone on which to whet the mind's
tools when they are dulled with boring into the geological strata of
other people's ideas. I was too much occupied with the personality of
the man I had been talking with to read long, and so I abandoned myself
to a reverie, passing in review the events of the long day.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER VII.


The Sabbatarian tendency of the English mind at home and abroad is
proverbial, and if they are well-behaved on Sunday in London they are
models of virtue in Simla on the same day. Whether they labour and are
well-fed and gouty in their island home, or suffer themselves to be
boiled for gain in the tropical kettles of Ceylon and Singapore; whether
they risk their lives in hunting for the north pole or the northwest
passage, or endanger their safety in the pursuit of tigers in the Terai,
they will have their Sunday, come rain, come shine. On the deck of the
steamer in the Red Sea, in the cabin of the inbound Arctic explorer, in
the crowded Swiss hotel, or the straggling Indian hill station, there is
always a parson of some description, in a surplice of no description at
all, who produces a Bible and a couple of well-thumbed sermons from the
recesses of his trunk or his lunch basket, or his gun-case, and goes at
the work of weekly redemption with a will. And, what is more, he is
listened to, and for the time being--though on week days he is styled a
bore by the old and a prig by the young--he becomes temporarily invested
with a dignity not his own, with an authority he could not claim on any
other day. It is the dignity of a people who with all their faults have
the courage of their opinions, and it is the authority that they have
been taught from their childhood to reverence, whenever their traditions
give it the right to assert itself. Not otherwise. It is a fine trait of
national character, though it is one which has brought upon the English
much unmerited ridicule. One may differ from them in faith and in one's
estimate of the real value of these services, which are often only saved
from being irreverent in their performance by the perfect sincerity of
parson and congregation. But no one who dispassionately judges them can
deny that the custom inspires respect for English consistency and
admiration for their supreme contempt of surroundings.

I presume that the periodical manifestations of religious belief to
which I refer are intimately and indissolubly connected with the staid
and funereal solemnity which marks an Englishman's dress, conversation,
and conduct on Sunday. He is a different being for the nonce, and must
sustain the entire character of his dual existence, or it will fall to
the ground and forsake him altogether. He cannot take his religion in
the morning and enjoy himself the rest of the day. He must abstain from
everything that could remind him that he has a mind at all, besides a
soul. No amusement will he tolerate, no reading of even the most
harmless fiction can he suffer, while he is in the weekly devotional
trance.

I cannot explain these things; they are race questions, problems for the
ethnologist. Certain it is, however, that the partial decay of strict
Sabbatarianism which seems to have set in during the last quarter of a
century has not been attended by any notable development of power in
English thought of that class. The first Republic tried the experiment
of the decimal week, and it was a failure. The English who attempt to
put off even a little of the quaint armour of righteousness, which they
have been accustomed to buckle on every seventh day for so many
generations, are not so successful in the attempt as to attract many to
follow them. They are not graceful in their holiday gambols.

Meditating somewhat on this wise I lay in my long chair by the open door
that Sunday morning in September. It was a little warmer again and the
sun shone pleasantly across the lawn on the great branches and bright
leaves of the rhododendron. The house was very quiet. All the inmates
were gone to the church on the mall, and the servants were basking in
the last few days of warmth they would enjoy before their masters
returned to the plains. The Hindoo servant hates the cold. He fears it
as he fears cobras, fever, and freemasons. His ideal life is nothing to
do, nothing to wear, and plenty to eat, with the thermometer at 135
degrees in the verandah and 110 inside. Then he is happy. His body
swells with much good rice and _dal_, and his heart with pride; he will
wear as little as you will let him, and whether you will let him or not,
he will do less work in a given time than any living description of
servant. So they basked in rows in the sunshine, and did not even
quarrel or tell yarns among themselves; it was quiet and warm and
sleepy. I dozed lazily, dropped my book in my lap, struggled once, and
then fairly fell asleep.

I was roused by Kiramat Ali pulling at my foot, as natives will when
they are afraid of the consequences of waking their master. When I
opened my eyes he presented a card on a salver, and explained that the
gentleman wanted to see me. I looked, and was rather surprised to see it
was Kildare's card. "Lord Steepleton Kildare, 33d Lancers "--there was
no word in pencil, or any message. I told Kiramat to show the sahib in,
wondering why he should call on me. By Indian etiquette, if there was to
be any calling, it was my duty to make the first visit. Before I had
time to think more I heard the clanking of spurs and sabre on the
verandah, and the young man walked in, clad in the full uniform of his
regiment. I rose to greet him, and was struck by his soldierly bearing
and straight figure, as I had been at our first meeting. He took off his
bearskin --for he was in the fullest of full dress--and sat down.

"I am so glad to find you at home," he said: "I feared you might have
gone to church, like everybody else in this place."

"No. I went early this morning. I belong to a different persuasion. I
suppose you are on your way to Peterhof?"

"Yes. There is some sort of official reception to somebody,--I forget
who,--and we had notice to turn out. It is a detestable nuisance."

"I should think so."

"Mr. Griggs, I came to ask you about something. You heard of my proposal
to get up a tiger-hunt? Mr. Ghyrkins was speaking of it."

"Yes. He wanted us to go,--Mr. Isaacs and me,--and suggested leaving his
niece, Miss Westonhaugh, with Lady Smith-Tompkins."

"It would be so dull without a lady in the party. Nothing but tigers and
shikarries and other native abominations to talk to. Do you not think
so?"

"Why, yes. I told Mr. Ghyrkins that all the little Smith-Tompkins
children had the measles, and the house was not safe. If they have not
had them, they will, I have no doubt. Heaven is just, and will not leave
you to the conversational mercies of the entertaining tiger and the
engaging shikarry."

"By Jove, Mr. Griggs, that was a brilliant idea: and, as you say, they
may all get the measles yet. The fact is, I have set my heart on this
thing. Miss Westonhaugh said she had never seen a tiger, except in cages
and that kind of thing, and so I made up my mind she should. Besides, it
will be no end of a lark; just when nobody is thinking about tigers, you
go off and kill a tremendous fellow, fifteen or sixteen feet long, and
come back covered with glory and mosquito bites, and tell everybody that
Miss Westonhaugh shot him herself with a pocket pistol. That will be
glorious!"

"I should like it very much too; and I really see no reason why it
should not be done. Mr. Ghyrkins seemed in a very cheerful humour about
tigers last night, and I have no doubt a little persuasion from you will
bring him to a proper view of his obligations to Miss Westonhaugh." He
looked pleased and bright and hopeful, thoroughly enthusiastic, as
became his Irish blood. He evidently intended to have quite as "good" a
"time" as Isaacs proposed to enjoy. I thought the spectacle of those
rivals for the beautiful girl's favour would be extremely interesting.
Lord Steepleton was doubtless a good shot and a brave man, and would
risk anything to secure Miss Westonhaugh's approval; Isaacs, on the
other hand, was the sort of man who is very much the same in danger as
anywhere else.

"That is what I came to ask you about. We shall all meet there at dinner
this evening, and I wanted to secure as many allies as possible."

"You may count on me, Lord Steepleton, at all events. There is nothing I
should enjoy better than such a fortnight's holiday, in such good
company."

"All right," said Lord Steepleton, rising, "I must be off now to
Peterhof. It is an organised movement on Mr. Ghyrkins this evening,
then. Is it understood?" He took his bearskin from the table, and
prepared to go, pulling his straps and belts into place, and dusting a
particle of ash from his sleeve.

"Perfectly," I answered. "We will drag him forth into the arena before
three days are past." We shook hands, and he went out.

I was glad he had come, though I had been waked from a pleasant nap to
reeeive him. He was so perfectly gay, and natural, and healthy, that one
could not help liking him. You felt at once that he was honest and would
do the right thing in spite of any one, according to his light; that he
would stand by a friend in danger, and face any odds in fight, with as
much honest determination to play fair and win, as he would bring to a
cricket match or a steeple-chase. His Irish blood gave him a somewhat
less formal manner than belongs to the Englishman; more enthusiasm and
less regard for "form," while his good heart and natural courtesy would
lead him right in the long-run. He seemed all sunshine, with his bright
blue eyes and great fair moustache and brown face; the closely fitting
uniform showed off his erect figure and; elastic gait, and the whole
impression was fresh and exhilarating in the extreme. I was sorry he had
gone. I would have liked to talk with him about boating and fishing and
shooting; about athletics and horses and tandem-driving, and many things
I used, to like years ago at college, before I began my wandering life;
I watched him as he swung himself: into the military saddle, and he
threw up his hand in a parting salute as he rode away. Poor fellow! was
he, too, going to be food for powder and Afghan knives in the avenging
army on its way to Kabul? I went back to my books and remained reading
until the afternoon sun slanted in through the open door, and falling
across my book warned me it was time to keep my appointment with Isaacs.

As we passed the church the people were coming out from the evening
service, and I saw Kildare, once more in the garb of a civilian,
standing near the door, apparently watching for some one to appear. I
knew that, with his strict observance of Catholic rules--often depending
more on pride of family than on religious conviction, in the house of
Kildare--he would not have entered the English Church at such a time,
and I was sure he was lying in wait for Miss Westonhaugh, probably
intending to surprise her and join her on her homeward ride. The road
winds down below the Church, so that for some minutes after passing the
building you may get a glimpse of the mall above and of the people upon
it--or at least of their heads--if they are moving near the edge of the
path. I was unaccountably curious this evening, and I dropped a little
behind Isaacs, craning my neck and turning back in the saddle as I
watched the stream of heads and shoulders, strongly foreshortened
against the blue sky above, moving ceaselessly along the parapet over my
head. Before long I was rewarded; Miss Westonhaugh's fair hair and broad
hat entered the field of my vision, and a moment later Lord Steepleton,
who must have pushed through the crowd from the other side, appeared
struggling after her. She turned quickly, and I saw no more, but I did
not think she had changed colour.

I began to be deeply interested in ascertaining whether she had any
preference for one or the other of the two young men. Kildare's visit in
the morning--though he had said very little--had given me a new
impression of the man, and I felt that he was no contemptible rival. I
saw from the little incident I had just witnessed that he neglected no
opportunity of being with Miss Westonhaugh, and that he had the patience
to wait and the boldness to find her in a crowd. I had seen very little
of her myself; but I had been amply satisfied that Isaacs was capable of
interesting her in a _tête-à-tête_ conversation. "The talker has the
best chance, if he is bold enough," I said to myself; but I was not
satisfied, and I resolved that if I could manage it Isaacs should have
another chance that very evening after the dinner. Meanwhile I would
involve Isaacs in a conversation on some one of those subjects that
seemed to interest him most. He had not seen the couple on the mall, and
was carelessly ambling along with his head in the air and one hand in
the pocket of his short coat, the picture of unconcern.

I was trying to make up my mind whether I would open fire upon the
immortality of the soul, matrimony, or the differential calculus, when,
as we passed from the narrow street into the road leading sound Jako,
Isaacs spoke.

"Look here, Griggs," said he, "there is something I want to impress upon
your mind."

"Well, what is it?"

"It is all very well for Ram Lal to give advice about things he
understands. I have a very sincere regard for him, but I do not believe
he was ever in my position. I have set my heart on this tiger-hunt. Miss
Westonhaugh said the other day that she had never seen a tiger, and I
then and there made up my mind that she should."

I laughed. There seemed to be no essential difference of opinion between
the Irishman and the Persian in regard to the pleasures of the chase.
Miss Westonhaugh was evidently anxious to see tigers, and meant to do
it, since she had expressed her wish to the two men most likely to
procure her that innocent recreation. Lord Steepleton Kildare by his
position, and Isaacs by his wealth, could, if they chose, get up such a
tiger-hunt for her benefit as had never been seen. I thought she might
have waited till the spring--but I had learned that she intended to
return to England in April, and was to spend the early months of the
year with her brother in Bombay.

"You want to see Miss Westonhaugh, and Miss Westonhaugh wants to see
tigers! My dear fellow, go in and win; I will back you."

"Why do you laugh, Griggs?" asked Isaacs, who saw nothing particularly
amusing in what he had said.

"Oh, I laughed because another young gentleman expressed the same
opinions to me, in identically the same words, this morning."

"Mr. Westonhaugh?"

"No. You know very well that Mr. Westonhaugh cares nothing about it, one
way or the other. The little plan for 'amusing brother John' is a hoax.
The thing cannot be done. You might as well try to amuse an undertaker
as to make a man from Bombay laugh. The hollowness of life is ever upon
them. No. It was Kildare; he called and said that Miss Westonhaugh had
never seen a tiger, and he seemed anxious to impress upon me his
determination that she should. Pshaw! what does Kildare care about
brother John?"

"Brother John, as you call him, is a better fellow than he looks. I owe
a great deal to brother John." Isaacs' olive skin flushed a little, and
he emphasised the epithet by which I had designated Mr. John Westonhaugh
as if he were offended by it.

"I mean nothing against Mr. Westonhaugh," said I half apologetically. "I
remember when you met yesterday afternoon you said you had seen him in
Bombay a long time ago."

"Do you remember the story I told you of myself the other night?"

"Perfectly."

"Westonhaugh was the young civil servant who paid my fine and gave me a
rupee, when I was a ragged sailor from a Mocha craft, and could not
speak a word of English. To that rupee I ultimately owe my entire
fortune. I never forget a face, and I am sure it is he--do you
understand me now? I owe to his kindness everything I possess in the
world."

"The unpardonable sin is ingratitude," I answered, "of which you will
certainly not be accused. That is a very curious coincidence."

"I think it is something more. A man has always at least one opportunity
of repaying a debt, and, besm Illah! I will repay what I can of it. By
the beard of the apostle, whose name is blessed, I am not ungrateful!"
Isaacs was excited as he said this. He was no longer the calm Mr.
Isaacs, he was Abdul Hafiz the Persian, fiery and enthusiastic.

"You say well, my friend," he continued earnestly, "that the
unpardonable sin is ingratitude. Doubtless, had the blessed prophet of
Allah lived in our day, he would have spoken of the doom that hangs over
the ungrateful. It is the curse of this age; for he who forgets or
refuses to remember the kindness done to him by others sets himself
apart, and worships his miserable self, and he makes an idol of himself,
saying, 'I am of more importance than my fellows in the world, and it is
meet and right that they should give and that I should receive.'
Ingratitude is selfishness, and selfishness is the worship of oneself,
the setting of oneself higher than man and goodness and God. And when
man perishes and the angel Al Sijil, the recorder, rolls up his scroll,
what is written therein is written; and Israfil shall call men to
judgment, and the scrolls shall be unfolded, and he that has taken of
others and not given in return, but has ungratefully forgotten and put
away the remembrance of the kindness received, shall be counted among
the unbelievers and the extortioners and the unjust, and shall broil in
raging flames. By the hairs of the prophet's beard, whose name is
blessed."

I had not seen Isaacs so thoroughly roused before upon any subject. The
flush had left his face and given place to a perfect paleness, and his
eyes shone like coals of fire as he looked upward in pronouncing the
last words. I said to myself that there was a strong element of
religious exaltation in all Asiatics, and put his excitement down to
this cause. His religion was a very beautiful and real thing to him,
ever present in his life, and I mused on the future of the man, with his
great endowments, his exquisite sensitiveness, and his high view of his
obligations to his fellows. I am not a worshipper of heroes, but I felt
that, for the first time in my life, I was intimate with a man who was
ready to stand in the breach and to die for what he thought and believed
to be right. After a pause of some minutes, during which we had ridden
beyond the last straggling bungalows of the town, he spoke again,
quietly, his temporary excitement having subsided.

"I feel very strongly about these things," he said, and then stopped
short.

"I can see you do, and I honour you for it. I think you are the first
grateful person I have ever met; a rare and unique bird in the earth."

"Do not say that."

"I do say it. There is very little of the philosophy of the nineteenth
century about you, Isaacs. Your belief in the obligations of gratitude
and in the general capacity of the human race for redemption, savours
little of 'transcendental analysis.'"

"You have too much of it," he answered seriously. "I do not think you
see how much your cynicism involves. You would very likely, if you are
the man I take you for, be very much offended if I accused you of not
believing any particular dogma of your religion. And yet, with all your
faith, you do not believe in God."

"I cannot see how you get at that conclusion," I replied. "I must deny
your hypothesis, at the risk of engaging you in an argument." I could
not see what he was driving at.

"How can you believe in God, and yet condemn the noblest of His works as
altogether bad? You are not consistent."

"What makes you think I am so cynical?" I inquired, harking back to gain
time.

"A little cloud, a little sultriness in the air, is all that betrays the
coming _khemsin_, that by and by shall overwhelm and destroy man and
beast in its sandy darkness. You have made one or two remarks lately
that show little faith in human nature, and if you do not believe in
human nature what is there left for you to believe in? You said a moment
ago that I was the first grateful person you had ever met. Then the rest
of humanity are all selfish, and worshippers of themselves, and
altogether vile, since you yourself say, as I do, that ingratitude is
the unpardonable sin; and God has made a world full of unpardonable
sinners, and unless you include yourself in the exception you graciously
make in my favour, no one but I shall be saved. And yet you say also
with me that God is good. Do you deny that you are utterly
inconsistent?"

"I may make you some concession in a few minutes, but I am not going to
yield to such logic. You have committed the fallacy of the undistributed
middle term, if you care to know the proper name for it. I did not say
that all men, saving you, were ungrateful. I said that, saving you, the
persons I have met in my life have been ungrateful. You ought to
distinguish."

"All I can say is, then, that you have had a very unfortunate experience
of life," retorted Isaacs warmly.

"I have," said I, "but since you yield the technical point of logic, I
will confess that I made the assertion hastily and overshot the mark. I
do not remember, however, to have met any one who felt so strongly on
the point as you do."

"Now you speak like a rational being," said Isaacs, quite pacified.
"Extraordinary feelings are the result of unusual circumstances. I was
in such distress as rarely falls to the lot of an innocent man of fine
temperament and good abilities. I am now in a position of such wealth
and prosperity as still more seldom are given to a man of my age and
antecedents. I remember that I obtained the first step on my road to
fortune through the kindness of John Westonhaugh, though I could never
learn his name, and I met him at last, as you saw, by an accident. I
call that accident a favour, and an opportunity bestowed on me by Allah,
and the meeting has roused in me those feelings of thankfulness which,
for want of an object upon which to show them, have been put away out of
sight as a thing sacred for many years. I am willing you should say
that, were my present fortune less, my gratitude would be
proportionately less felt--it is very likely--though the original gift
remain the same, one rupee and no more. You are entitled to think of any
man as grateful in proportion to the gift, so long as you allow the
gratitude at all." He made this speech in a perfectly natural and
unconcerned way, as if he were contemplating the case of another person.

"Seriously, Isaacs, I would not do so for the world. I believe you were
as grateful twelve years ago, when you were poor, as you are now that
you are rich." Isaacs was silent, but a look of great gentleness crossed
his face. There was at times something almost angelic in the perfect
kindness of his eyes.

"To return," I said at last, "to the subject from which we started, the
tigers. If we are really going, we must leave here the day after
to-morrow morning--indeed, why not to-morrow?"

"No; to-morrow we are to play that game of polo, which I am looking
forward to with pleasure. Besides, it will take the men three days to
get the elephants together, and I only telegraphed this morning to the
collector of the district to make the arrangements."

"So you have already taken steps? Does Kildare know you have sent
orders?"

"Certainly. He came to me this morning at daybreak, and we determined to
arrange everything and take uncle Ghyrkins for granted. You need not
look astonished; Kildare and I are allies, and very good friends." What
a true Oriental! How wise and far-sighted was the Persian, how bold and
reckless the Irishman! It was odd, I thought, that Kildare had not
mentioned the interview with Isaacs. Yet there was a certain rough
delicacy--contradictory and impulsive--in his silence about this
coalition with his rival. We rode along and discussed the plans for the
expedition. All the men in the party, except Lord Steepleton, who had
not been long in India, had killed tigers before. There would be enough
of us, without asking any one else to join. The collector to whom Isaacs
had telegraphed was an old acquaintance of his, and would probably go
out for a few days with us. It all seemed easy enough and plain sailing.
In the course of time we returned to our hotel, dressed, and made our
way through the winding roads to Mr. Currie Ghyrkins' bungalow.

We were met on the verandah by the old commissioner, who welcomed us
warmly and praised our punctuality, for the clock was striking seven in
the drawing-room, as we divested ourselves of our light top-coats. In
the vestibule, Miss Westonhaugh and her brother came forward to greet
us.

"John," said the young lady, "you know I told you there was some one
here whom you got out of trouble ever so many years ago in Bombay. Here
he is. This is a new introduction. Mr. John Westonhaugh, Mr. Abdul
Hafiz-ben-Isâk, commonly known to his friends as Mr. Isaacs." Her face
beamed with pleasure, and I thought with pride, as she led her brother
to Isaacs, and her eyes rested long on the Persian with a look that, to
me, argued something more than a mere interest. The two men clasped
hands and stood for some seconds looking at each other in silence, but
with very different expressions. Westonhaugh wore a look of utter
amazement, though he certainly seemed pleased. The good heart that had
prompted the good action twelve years before was still in the right
place, above any petty considerations about nationality. His
astonishment gradually changed to a smile of real greeting and pleasure,
as he began to shake the hand he still held. I thought that even the
faintest tinge of blood coloured his pale cheek.

"God bless my soul," said he, "I remember you perfectly well now. But it
is so unexpected; my sister reminded me of the story, which I had not
forgotten, and now I look at you I remember you perfectly. I am so
glad."

As Isaacs answered, his voice trembled, and his face was very pale.
There was a moisture in the brilliant eyes that told of genuine emotion.

"Mr. Westonhaugh, I consider that I owe to you everything I have in the
world. This is a greater pleasure than I thought was in store for me.
Indeed I thank you again."

His voice would not serve him. He stopped short and turned away to look
for something in his coat.

"Indeed," said Westonhaugh, "it was a very little thing I did for you."
And presently the two men went together into the drawing-room,
Wostonhaugh asking all manner of questions, which Isaacs, who was
himself again, began to answer. The rest of us remained in the vestibule
to meet Lord Steepleton, who at that moment came up the steps. There
were more greetings, and then the head _khitmatgar_ appeared and
informed the "_Sahib log_, protectors of the poor, that their meat was
ready." So we filed into the dining-room.

Isaacs was placed at Miss Westonhaugh's right, and her brother sat on
his other side. Ghyrkins was opposite his niece at the other end, and
Kildare and I were together, facing Westonhaugh and Isaacs, a party of
six. Of course Kildare sat beside the lady.

The dinner opened very pleasantly. _I_ could see that Isaacs'
undisguised gratitude and delight in having at last met the man who had
helped him had strongly predisposed John Westonhaugh in his favour. Who
is it that is not pleased at finding that some deed of kindness, done
long ago with hardly a thought, has borne fruit and been remembered and
treasured up by the receiver as the turning-point in his life? Is there
any pleasure greater than that we enjoy through the happiness of
others--in those rare cases where kindness is not misplaced? I had had
time to reflect that Isaacs had most likely told a part of his story to
Miss Westonhaugh on the previous afternoon as soon as he had recognised
her brother. He might have told her before; I did not know how long he
had known her, but it must have been some time. Presently she turned to
him.

"Mr. Isaacs," said she, "some of us know something of your history. Why
will you not tell us the rest now? My uncle has heard nothing of it, and
I know Lord Steepleton is fond of novels."

Isaacs hesitated long, but as every one pressed him in turn, he yielded
at last. And he told it well. It was exactly the narrative he had given
me, in every detail of fact, but the whole effect was different. I saw
how true a mastery he had of the English language, for he knew his
audience thoroughly, and by a little colour here and an altered
expression there he made it graphic and striking, not without humour,
and altogether free of a certain mystical tinge he had imparted to it
when we were alone. He talked easily, with no more constraint than on
other occasions, and his narrative was a small social success. I had not
seen him in evening dress before, and I could not help thinking how much
more thoroughly he looked the polished man of the world than the other
men. Kildare never appeared to greater advantage than in the uniform and
trappings of his profession. In a black coat and a white tie he looked
like any other handsome young Englishman, utterly without individuality.
But Isaacs, with his pale complexion and delicate high-bred features,
bore himself like a noble of the old school. Westonhaugh beside him
looked washed-out and deathly, Kildare was too coarsely healthy, and
Ghyrkins and I, representing different types of extreme plainness,
served as foils to all three.

I watched Miss Westonhaugh while Isaacs was speaking. She had evidently
heard the whole story, for her expression showed beforehand the emotion
she expected to feel at each point. Her colour came and went softly, and
her eyes brightened with a warm light beneath the dark brows that
contrasted so strangely yet delightfully with the mass of flaxen-white
hair. She wore something dark and soft, cut square at the neck, and a
plain circlet of gold was her only ornament. She was a beautiful
creature, certainly; one of those striking-looking women of whom
something is always expected, until they drop quietly out of youth into
middle age, and the world finds out that they are, after all, not
heroines of romance, but merely plain, honest, good women; good wives
and good mothers who love their homes and husbands well, though it has
pleased nature in some strange freak to give them the form and feature
of a Semiramis, a Cleopatra, or a Jeanne d'Arc.

"Dear me, how very interesting!" exclaimed Mr. Ghyrkins, looking up from
his hill mutton as Isaacs finished, and a little murmur of sympathetic
applause went round the table.

"I would give a great deal to have been through all that," said Lord
Steepleton, slowly proceeding to sip a glass of claret.

"Just think!" ejaculated John Westonhaugh. "And I was entertaining such
a Sinbad unawares!" and he took another green pepper from the dish his
servant handed him.

"Upon my word, Isaacs," I said, "some one ought to make a novel of that
story; it would sell like wildfire."

"Why don't you do it yourself, Griggs?" he asked. "You are a pressman,
and I am sure you are welcome to the whole thing."

"I will," I answered.

"Oh do, Mr. Griggs," said the young lady, "and make it wind up with a
tiger-hunt. You could lay the scene in Australia or the Barbadoes, or
some of those places, and put us all in--and kill us all off, if you
like, you know. It would be such fun." Poor Miss Westonhaugh!

"It is easy to see what you are thinking about most, Miss Westonhaugh,"
said Lord Steepleton: "the tigers are uppermost in your mind; and
therefore in mine also," he added gallantly.

"Indeed, no--I was thinking about Mr. Isaacs." She blushed scarlet--the
first time I had ever seen her really embarrassed. It was very natural
that she should be thinking of Isaacs and the strange adventures he had
just recounted; and if she had not cared about him she would not have
changed colour. So I thought, at all events.

"My dear, drink some water immediately, this curry is very hot--deuced
hot, in fact," said Mr. Ghyrkins, in perfectly good faith.

John Westonhaugh, who was busy breaking up biscuits and green peppers
and "Bombay ducks" into his curry, looked up slowly at his sister and
smiled.

"Why, you are quite a griffin, Katharine," said he, "how they will laugh
at you in Bombay!" I was amused; of course the remarks of her uncle and
brother did not make the blush subside--on the contrary. Kildare was
drinking more claret, to conceal his annoyance. Isaacs had a curious
expression. There was a short silence, and for one instant he turned his
eyes to Miss Westonhaugh. It was only a look, but it betrayed to me--who
knew what he felt--infinite surprise, joy, and sympathy. His quick
understanding had comprehended that he had scored his first victory over
his rival.

As her eyes met those of Isaacs, the colour left her cheeks as suddenly
as it had come, leaving her face dead white. She drank a little water,
and presently seemed at ease again. I was beginning to think she cared
for him seriously.

"And pray, John," she asked, "what may a griffin be? It is not a very
pretty name to call a young lady, is it?"

"Why, a griffin," put in Mr. Ghyrkins, "is the 'Mr. Verdant Green' of
the Civil Service. A young civilian--or anybody else--who is just out
from home is called a griffin. John calls you a griffin because you
don't understand eating pepper. You don't find it as _chilly_ as he
does! Ha! ha! ha!" and the old fellow laughed heartily, till he was red
in the face, at his bleared old pun. Of course every one was amused or
professed to be, for it was a diversion welcomed by the three men of us
who had seen the young girl's embarrassment.

"A griffin," said I, "is a thing of joy. Mr. Westonhaugh was a griffin
when he gave Mr. Isaacs that historical rupee." I cast my little
bombshell into the conversation, and placidly went on manipulating my
rice.

Isaacs was in too gay a humour to be offended, and he only said, turning
to Miss Westonhaugh--

"Mr. Griggs is a cynyic, you know. You must not believe anything he
says."

"If doing kind things makes one a griffin, I hope I may be one always,"
said Miss Westonhaugh quickly, "and I trust my brother is as much a
griffin as ever."

"I am, I assure you," said he. "But Mr. Griggs is quite right, and shows
a profound knowledge of Indian life. No one but a griffin of the
greenest ever gave anybody a rupee in Bombay--or ever will now, I should
think."

"Oh, John, are you going to be cynical too?"

"No, Katharine, I am not cynical at all. I do not think you are quite
sure what a 'cynic' is."

"Oh yes, I know quite well. Diogenes was a cynic, and Saint Jerome, and
other people of that class."

"A man who lives in a tub, and abuses Alexander the Great, and that sort
of thing," remarked Kildare, who had not spoken for some time.

"Mr. Griggs," said John Westonhaugh, "since you are the accused, pray
define what you mean by a cynic, and then Mr. Isaacs, as the accuser,
can have a chance too."

"Very well, I will. A man is a cynic if he will do no good to any one
because he believes every one past improvement. Most men who do good
actions are also cynics, because they well know that they are doing more
harm than good by their charity. Mr. Westonhaugh has the discrimination
to appreciate this, and therefore he is not a cynic."

"It is well you introduced the saving clause, Griggs," said Isaacs to me
from across the table. "I am going to define you now; for I strongly
suspect that you are the very ideal of a philosopher of that class. You
are a man who believes in all that is good and beautiful in theory, but
by too much indifference to good in small measures--for you want a thing
perfect, or you want it not at all---you have abstracted yourself from
perceiving it anywhere, except in the most brilliant examples of heroism
that history affords. You set up in your imagination an ideal which you
call the good man, and you are utterly dissatisfied with anything less
perfect than perfection. The result is that, though you might do a good
action from your philosophical longing to approach the ideal in your own
person, you will not suffer yourself to believe that others are
consciously or unconsciously striving to make themselves better also.
And you do not believe that any one can be made a better man by any one
else, by any exterior agency, by any good that you or others may do to
him. What makes you what you are is the fact that you really cherish
this beautiful ideal image of your worship and reverence, and love it;
but for this, you would be the most insufferable man of my acquaintance,
instead of being the most agreeable."

Isaacs was gifted with a marvellous frankness of speech. He always said
what he meant, with a supreme indifference to consequences; but he said
it with such perfect honesty and evident appreciation of what was good,
even when he most vehemently condemned what he did not like, that it was
impossible to be annoyed. Every one laughed at his attack on me, and
having satisfied my desire to observe Miss Westonhaugh, which had
prompted my first remark about griffins, I thought it was time to turn
the conversation to the projected hunt.

"My dear fellow," I said, "I think that in spite of your Parthian shaft,
your definition of a cynic is as complimentary to the school at large as
to me in particular. Meanwhile, however," I added, turning to Mr.
Ghyrkins, "I am inclined to believe with Lord Steepleton that the
subject uppermost in the thoughts of most of us is the crusade against
the tigers. What do you say? Shall we not all go as we are, a neat party
of six?"

"Well, well, Mr. Griggs, we shall see, you know. Now, if we are going at
all, when do you mean to start?"

"The sooner the better of course," broke in Kildare, and he launched
into a host of reasons for going immediately, including the wildest
statistics about the habits of tigers in winter. This was quite natural,
however, as he was a thorough Irishman and had never seen a tiger in his
life. Mr. Currie Ghyrkins vainly attempted to stem the torrent of his
eloquence, but at last pinned him on some erratic statement about tigers
moulting later in the year and their skins not being worth taking.
Kildare would have asserted with equal equanimity that all tigers shed
their teeth and their tails in December; he was evidently trying to
rouse Mr. Ghyrkins into a discussion on the subject of tiger shooting in
general, a purpose very easily accomplished. The old gentleman was soon
goaded to madness by Kildare's wonderful opinions, and before long he
vowed that the youngster had never seen a tiger,--not one in his whole
life, sir,--and that it was high time he did, high time indeed, and he
swore he should see one before he was a week older. Yes, sir, before he
was a week older, "if I have to carry you among 'em like a baby in arms,
sir, by gad, sir--I should think so!"

This was all we wanted, and in another ten minutes we were drinking a
bumper to the health of the whole tiger-hunt and of Miss Westonhaugh in
particular. Isaacs joined with the rest, and though he only drank some
sherbet, as I watched his bright eyes and pale cheek, I thought that
never knight drank truer toast to his lady. Miss Westonhaugh rose and
went out, leaving us to smoke for a while. The conversation was general,
and turned on the chase, of course. In a few minutes Isaacs dropped his
cigarette and went quietly out. I determined to detain the rest as long
as possible, and I seconded Mr. Ghyrkins in passing the claret briskly
round, telling all manner of stories of all nations and peoples--ancient
tales that would not amuse a schoolboy in America, but which were a
revelation of profound wit and brilliant humour to the unsophisticated
British mind. By immense efforts--and I hate to exert myself in
conversation--I succeeded in prolonging the session through a cigar and
a half, but at last I was forced to submit to a move; and with a
somewhat ancient remark from Mr. Ghyrkins, to the effect that all good
things must come to an end, we returned to the drawing-room.

Isaacs and Miss Westonhaugh were looking over some English photographs,
and she was enthusiastically praising the beauties of Gothic
architecture, while Isaacs was making the most of his opportunity, and
taking a good look at her as she bent over the album. After we came in,
she made a little music at the tuneless piano--there never was a piano
in India yet that had any tune in it--playing and singing a little, very
prettily. She sang something about a body in the rye, and then something
else about drinking only with the eyes, to which her brother sang a sort
of second very nicely. I do not understand much about music, but I
thought the allusion to Isaacs' temperance in only drinking with his
eyes was rather pointed. He said, however, that he liked it even better
with a second than when she sang it alone, so I argued that it was not
the first time he had heard it.

"Mr. Isaacs," said she, "you have often promised to sing something
Persian for us. Will you not keep your word now?"

"When we are among the tigers, Miss Westonhaugh, next week. Then I will
try and borrow a lute and sing you something."

It was late for an Indian dinner-party, so we took our departure soon
afterwards, having agreed to meet the following afternoon at Annandale
for the game of polo, in which Westonhaugh said he would also play. He
and Isaacs made some appointment for the morning; they seemed to be very
sympathetic to each other. Kildare mounted and rode homeward with us,
though he had much farther to go than we. If he felt any annoyance at
the small successes Isaacs had achieved during the evening, he was far
too courteous a gentleman to show it; and so, as we groped our way
through the trees by the starlight, chiefly occupied in keeping our
horses on their legs, the snatches of conversation that were possible
were pleasant, if not animated, and there was a cordial "Good-night" on
both sides, as we left Kildare to pursue his way alone.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER VIII.


It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon when Isaacs and I emerged
from the narrow road upon the polo ground. We were clad in the
tight-fitting garments which are necessary for the game, and wrapped in
light top-coats; as we came out on the green we saw a number of other
men in similar costume standing about, and a great many native grooms
leading ponies up and down. Miss Westonhaugh was there in her gray habit
and broad hat, and by her side, on foot, Lord Steepleton Kildare was
making the most of his time, as he waited for the rest of the players.
Mr. Currie Ghyrkins was ambling about on his broad little horse, and
John Westonhaugh stood with his hands in his pockets and a large
Trichinopoli cheroot between his lips, apparently gazing into space.
Several other men, more or less known to us and to each other, moved
about or chatted disconnectedly, and one or two arrived after us. Some
of them wore coloured jerseys that showed brightly over the open collars
of their coats, others were in ordinary dress and had come to see the
game. Farther off, at one side of the ground, one or two groups of
ladies and their escorting cavaliers haunted at a short distance by
their saices in many-coloured turbans and belts, or _cummer-bunds,_ as
the sash is called in India, moved slowly about, glancing from time to
time towards the place where the players and their ponies were preparing
for the contest.

Few games require so little preparation and so few preliminaries as
polo, descended as it is from an age when more was thought of good
horsemanship and quick eye than of any little refinements depending on
an accurate knowledge of fixed rules. Any one who is a firstrate rider
and is quick with his hands can learn to play polo. The stiffest of arms
can be limbered and the most recalcitrant wrist taught to turn nimbly in
its socket; but the essential condition is, that the player should know
how to ride. This being established, there is no reason why anybody who
likes should not play the game, if he will only use a cetrain amount of
caution, and avoid braining the other players and injuring the ponies by
too wild a use of his mallet. Presently it was found that all who were
to play had arrived--eight of us all told. Kildare had arranged the
sides and had brought the other men necessary to make the number
complete, so we mounted and took up our positions on the ground. Kildare
and Isaacs were together, and Westonhaugh and I on the other side, with
two men I knew slightly. We won the charge, and Westonhaugh, who was a
celebrated player, struck the ball off cleverly, and I followed him up
with a rush as he raced after it. Isaacs, on the other side, swept along
easily, and as the ball swerved on striking the ground bent far over
till he looked as though he were out of the saddle and stopped it
cleverly, while Kildare, who was close behind, got a good stroke in just
in time, as Westonhaugh and I galloped down on him, and landed the ball
far to the rear near our goal. As we wheeled quickly, I saw that one of
the other two men on our side had stopped it and was beginning to
"dribble" it along. This was very bad play, both Westonhaugh and I being
so far forward, and it met its reward. Isaacs and Kildare raced down on
him, but the latter soon pulled up on finding himself passed, and
waited. Isaacs rushed upon the temporising player and got the ball away
from him in no time; eluded the other man, and with a neat stroke sent
the ball right between the poles. The game had hardly lasted three
minutes, and a little sound of clapping was heard from where the
spectators were standing, far off on one side. I could see Miss
Westonhaugh plainly, as she cantered with her uncle to where the victors
were standing together on the other side, patting their ponies and
adjusting stirrup and saddle. Isaacs had his back turned, but wheeled
round as he heard the sound of hoofs behind him and bowed low in his
saddle to the fair girl, whose face, I could see even at that distance,
was flushed with pleasure. They remained a few minutes in conversation,
and then the two spectators rode away, and we took up our positions once
more.

The next game was a much longer one. It was the turn of the other party
to hit off, for Kildare won the charge. There were encounters of all
kinds; twice the ball was sent over the line, but outside the goal, by
long sweeping blows from Isaacs, who ever hovered on the edge of the
scrimmage, and, by his good riding, and the help of a splendid pony,
often had a chance where another would have had none. At last it
happened that I was chasing the ball back towards our goal, from one of
his hits, and he was pursuing me. I had the advantage of a long start,
and before he could reach me I got in a heavy "backhander" that sent the
ball far away to one side, where, as good luck would have it,
Westonhaugh was waiting. Quick as thought he carried it along, and in
another minute we had scored a goal, amidst enthusiastic shouts from the
spectators, who had been kept long in suspense by the protracted game.
This time it was to our side that the young girl came, riding up to her
brother to congratulate him on his success. I thought she had less
colour as she came nearer, and though she smiled sweetly as she said,
"It was splendidly played, John," there was not so much enthusiasm in
her voice as the said John, who had really won the game with masterly
neatness, might have expected. Then she sat quietly looking over the
ground, while we dismounted from our ponies, breathless, and foaming,
and lathery, from the hard-fought battle. The grooms ran up with
blankets and handfuls of grass to give the poor beasts a rub, and
covering them carefully after removing the saddles, led them away.

The sun leaves Annandale early, and I put on a coat and lit a cigarette,
while the saice saddled our second mounts. There are few prettier sights
than an English game, of any kind, on a beautiful stretch of turf. The
English live, and move and have their being out of doors. A
cricket-match, tennis, a racecourse, or a game of polo, show them at
their greatest advantage, whether as players or spectators. Their fresh
complexions suit the green of the grass and of the trees as naturally as
a bed of roses, or cyclamens, or any fresh and healthy flower will
combine with the grass and the ferns in garden or glen. The glorious
vitality that belongs to their race seems to blossom freshly in the
contact with their mother earth, and the physical capacity for motion
with which nature endows them makes them graceful and fascinating to
watch, when in some free and untrammelled dress of white they are at
their games, batting and bowling and galloping and running; they have
the same natural grace then as a herd of deer or antelopes; they are
beautiful animals in the full enjoyment of life and vigour, of health
and strength; they are intensely alive. Something of this kind passed
through my mind, in all probability, and, combined with the delightful
sensation any strong man feels in the pause after great exertion,
disposed me well towards my fellows and towards mankind at large.
Besides we had won the last game.

"You look pleased, Mr. Griggs," said Miss Westonhaugh, who had probably
been watching me for a moment or two. "I did not know cynics were ever
pleased."

"I remember who it was that promised to crown the victors of this match,
Miss Westonhaugh, and I cherish some hopes of being one of them. Would
you mind very much?"

"Mind? Oh dear no; you had better try. But if you stand there with your
coat on, you will not have much chance. They are all mounted, and
waiting for you."

"Well, here goes," I said to myself, as I got into the saddle again. "I
hope he may win, but he would find me out in a minute if I tried to play
into his hands." We were only to play the best out of three goals, and
the score was "one all." All eight of us had fresh mounts, and the
experience of each other's play we had got in the preceding games made
it likely that the game would be a long one. And so it turned out.

From the first things went badly. John Westonhaugh's fresh pony was very
wild, and he had to take him a breather half over the ground before he
could take his place for the charge. When at last the first stroke was
made, the ball went low along the ground, spinning and twisting to right
and left. Both Kildare and Isaacs missed it and wheeled across to
return, when a prolonged scrimmage ensued less than thirty yards from
their goal. Every one played his best, and we wheeled and spun round in
a way that reminded one of a cavalry skirmish. Strokes and back-strokes
followed quickly, till at last I got the ball as it came rolling out
between my horse's legs, and, hotly pursued, beyond the possibility of
making a fair stroke, I moved away with it in front of me.

Then began one of those interminable circular games that all polo
players know so well, round and round the battlefield, riding close
together, sometimes one succeeding in driving the ball a little, only to
be foiled by the next man's ill-delivered back-stroke; racing, and
pulling up short, and racing again, till horses and riders were in a
perspiration and a state of madness not to be attained by any peaceful
means. At last, as we were riding near our own goal, some one, I could
not see who, struck the ball out into the open. Isaacs, who had just
missed, and was ahead, rode for it like a madman, his club raised high
for a back-stroke. He was hotly pressed by the man who had roused my
wrath in the first game by his "dribbling" policy. He was a light weight
and had kept his best horse for the last game, so that as Isaacs spun
along at lightning speed the little man was very close to him, his club
well back for a sweeping hit. He rode well, but was evidently not so old
a hand in the game as the rest of us. They neared the ball rapidly and
Isaacs swerved a little to the left in order to get it well under his
right hand, thus throwing himself somewhat across the track of his
pursuer. As the Persian struck with all his force downwards and
backwards, his adversary, excited by the chase, beyond all judgment or
reckoning of his chances, hit out wildly, as beginners will. The long
elastic handle of his weapon struck Isaacs' horse on the flank and
glanced upward, the head of the club striking Isaacs just above the back
of the neck. We saw him throw up his arms, the club in his right hand
hanging to his wrist by the strap. The infuriated little arab pony tore
on, and in a moment more the iron grip of the rider's knees relaxed,
Isaacs swayed heavily in the saddle and fell over on the near side, his
left foot hanging in the stirrup and dragging him along some paces
before the horse finally shook himself clear and scampered away across
the turf. The whole catastrophe occurred in a moment; the man who had
done the mischief threw away his club to reach the injured player the
sooner, and as we thundered after him, my pony stumbled over the long
handle, and falling, threw me heavily over his head. I escaped with a
very slight kick from one of the other horses, and leaving my beast to
take care of himself, ran as fast as I could to where Isaacs lay, now
surrounded by the six players as they dismounted to help him. But there
was some one there before them.

The accident had occurred near the middle of the ground, and opposite
the place where Miss Westonhaugh and her uncle had taken up their stand
to watch the contest. With a shake of the reins and a blow of the hand
that made the thoroughbred bound his length as he plunged into a gallop,
the girl rode wildly to where Isaacs lay, and reining the animal back on
his haunches, sprang to the ground and knelt quickly down, so that
before the others had reached them she had propped up his head and was
rubbing his hands in hers. There was no mistaking the impulse that
prompted her. She had seen many an accident in the hunting-field, and
knew well that when a man fell like that it was ten to one he was badly
hurt.

Isaacs was ghastly pale, and there was a little blood on Miss
Westonhaugh's white gauntlet. Her face was whiter even than his, though
not a quiver of mouth or eyelash betrayed emotion. The man who had done
it knelt on the other side, rubbing one of the hands. Kildare and
Westonhaugh galloped off at full speed, and presently returned bearing a
brandy-flask and a smelling-bottle, and followed by a groom with some
water in a native _lota_. I wanted to make him swallow some of the
liquor, but Miss Westonhaugh took the flask from my hands.

"He would not like it. He never drinks it, you know," she said in a
quiet low voice, and pouring some of the contents on her handkerchief,
moistened all his brows and face and hair with the powerful alcohol.

"Loosen his belt! pull off his boots, some of you!" cried Mr. Currie
Ghyrkins, as he came up breathless. "Take off his belt--damn it, you
know! Dear, dear!" and he got off his _tat_ with all the alacrity he
could muster.

Miss Westonhaugh never took her eyes from the face of the prostrate
man--pressing the wet handkerchief to his brow, and moistening the palm
of the hand she held with brandy. In a few minutes Isaacs breathed a
long heavy breath, and opened his eyes.

"What is the matter?" he said; then, recollecting himself and trying to
move his head--"Oh! I have had a tumble. Give me some water to drink."
There was a sigh of relief from every one present as he spoke, quite
naturally, and I held the _lota_ to his lips. "What became of the ball?"
he asked quickly, as he sat up. Then turning round, he saw the beautiful
girl kneeling at his side. The blood rushed violently to his face, and
his eyes, a moment ago dim with unconsciousness, flashed brightly.
"What! Miss Westonhaugh--you?" he bounded to his feet, but would have
fallen back if I had not caught him in my arms, for he was still dizzy
from the heavy blow that had stunned him. The blood came and went in his
cheeks, and he hung on my arm confused and embarrassed, looking on the
ground.

"I really owe you all manner of apologies--" he began.

"Not a bit of it, my dear boy," broke in Ghyrkins, "my niece was nearest
to you when you fell, and so she came up and did the right thing, like
the brave girl she is." The old fellow helped her to rise as he said
this, and he looked so pleased and proud of her that I was delighted
with him. "And now," he went on, "we must see how much you are hurt--the
deuce of a knock, you know, enough to kill you--and if you are not able
to ride, why, we will carry you home, you know; the devil of a way off
it is, too, confound it all." As he jerked out his sentences he was
feeling the back of Isaacs' head, to ascertain, if he could, how much
harm had been done. All this time the man who had done the mischief was
standing by, looking very penitent, and muttering sentences of apology
as he tried to perform any little office for his victim that came in his
way. Isaacs stretched out his arm, while Ghyrkins was feeling and
twisting his head, and taking the man's hand, held it a moment.

"My dear sir," he said, "I am not in the least hurt, I assure you, and
it was my fault for crossing you at such a moment. Please do not think
anything more about it." He smiled kindly at the young fellow, who
seemed very grateful, and who from that day on would have risked
everything in the world for him. I heard behind me the voice of Kildare,
soliloquising softly.

"Faith," said he, "that fellow is a gentleman if I ever saw one. I am
afraid I should not have let that infernal duffer off so easily.
By-the-bye, Isaacs," he said aloud, coming up to us, "you know you won
the game. Nobody stopped the ball after you hit it, and the saices say
it ran right through the goal. So cheer up; you have got something for
your pains and your tumble." It was quite true; the phlegmatic saices
had watched the ball instead of the falling man. Miss Westonhaugh, who
was really a sensible and self-possessed young woman, and had begun to
be sure that the accident would have no serious results, expressed the
most unbounded delight.

"Thank you, Miss Westonhaugh," said Isaacs; "you have kept your promise;
you have crowned the victor."

"With brandy," I remarked, folding up a scarf which somebody had given
me wherewith to tie a wet compress to the back of his head.

"There is nothing the matter," said Ghyrkins; "no end of a bad bruise,
that's all. He will be all right in the morning, and the skin is only a
little broken."

"Griggs," said Isaacs, who could now stand quite firm again, "hold the
wet handkerchief in place, and give me that scarf." I did as he
directed, and he took the white woollen shawl, and in half a dozen turns
wound it round his head in a turban, deftly and gracefully. It was
wonderfully becoming to his Oriental features and dark eyes, and I could
see that Miss Westonhaugh thought so. There was a murmur of approbation
from the native grooms who were looking on, and who understood the
thing.

"You see I have done it before," he said, smiling. "And now give me my
coat, and we will be getting home. Oh yes! I can ride quite well."

"That man has no end of pluck in him," said John Westonhaugh to Kildare.

"By Jove! yes," was the answer. "I have seen men at home make twice the
fuss over a tumble in a ploughed field, when they were not even stunned.
I would not have thought it."

"He is not the man to make much fuss about anything of that kind."

Isaacs stoutly refused any further assistance, and after walking up and
down a few minutes, he said he had got his legs back, and demanded a
cigarette. He lit it carefully, and mounted as if nothing had happened,
and we moved homeward, followed by the spectators, many of whom, of
course, were acquaintances, and who had ridden up more or less quickly
to make polite inquiries about the accident. No one disputed with Isaacs
the right to ride beside Miss Westonhaugh on the homeward road. He was
the victor of the day, and of course was entitled to the best place. We
were all straggling along, but without any great intervals between us,
so that the two were not able to get away as they had done on Saturday
evening, but they talked, and I heard Miss Westonhaugh laugh. Isaacs was
determined to show that he appreciated his advantage, and though, for
all I know, he might be suffering a good deal of pain, he talked gaily
and sat his horse easily, rather a strange figure in his light-coloured
English overcoat, surmounted by the large white turban he had made out
of the shawl. As we came out on the mall at the top of the hill, Mr.
Ghyrkins called a council of war.

"Of course we shall have to put off the tiger-hunt."

"I suppose so," muttered Kildare, disconsolately.

"Why?" said Isaacs. "Not a bit of it. Head or no head, we will start
to-morrow morning. I am well enough, never fear."

"Nonsense, you know it's nonsense," said Ghyrkins, "you will be in bed
all day with a raging headache. Horrid things, knocks on the back of the
head."

"Not I. My traps are all packed, and my servants have gone down to
Kalka, and I am going to-morrow morning."

"Well, of course, if you really think you can," etc. etc. So he was
prevailed upon to promise that if he should be suffering in the morning
he would send word in time to put off the party. "Besides," he added,
"even if I could not go, that is no reason why you should not."

"Stuff," said Ghyrkins.

"Oh!" said Miss Westonhaugh, looking rather blank.

"That would never do," said John.

"Preposterous! we could not think of going without you," said Lord
Steepleton Kildare loudly; he was beginning to like Isaacs in spite of
himself. And so we parted.

"I shall not dine to-night, Griggs," said Isaacs, as we paused before
his door. "Come in for a moment: you can help me." We entered the richly
carpeted room, and he went to a curious old Japanese cabinet, and after
opening various doors and divisions, showed a small iron safe. This he
opened by some means known to himself, for he used no key, and he took
out a small vessel of jade and brought it to the light. "Now," he said,
"be good enough to warm this little jar in your hands while I go into
the next room and get my boots and spurs and things off. But do not open
it on any account--not on any account, until I come back," he added very
emphatically.

"All right, go ahead," said I, and began to warm the cold thing that
felt like a piece of ice between my hands. He returned in a few minutes
robed in loose garments from Kashmir, with the low Eastern slippers he
generally wore indoors. He sat down among his cushions and leaned back,
looking pale and tired; after ordering the lamps to be lit and the doors
closed, he motioned me to sit down beside him.

"I have had a bad shaking," he said, "and my head is a good deal
bruised. But I mean to go to-morrow in spite of everything. In that
little vial there is a powerful remedy unknown in your Western medicine.
Now I want you to apply it, and to follow with the utmost exactness my
instructions. If you fear you should forget what I tell you, write it
down, for a mistake might be fatal to you, and would certainly be fatal
to me."

I took out an old letter and a pencil, not daring to trust my memory.

"Put the vial in your bosom while you write: it must be near the
temperature of the body. Now listen to me. In that silver box is wax.
Tie first this piece of silk over your mouth, and then stop your
nostrils carefully with the wax. Then open the vial quickly and pour a
little of the contents into your hand. You must be quick, for it is very
volatile. Rub that on the back of my head, keeping the vial closed. When
your hand is dry, hold the vial open to my nostrils for two minutes by
your watch. By that time, I shall be asleep. Put the vial in this pocket
of my _caftán_; open all the doors and windows, and tell my servant to
leave them so, but not to admit any one. Then you can leave me; I shall
sleep very comfortably. Come back and wake me a little before midnight.
You will wake me easily by lifting my head and pressing one of my hands.
Remember, if you should forget to wake me, and I should still be asleep
at one o'clock, I should never open my eyes again, and should be dead
before morning. Do as I tell you, for friendship's sake, and when I wake
I shall bathe and sleep naturally the rest of the night."

I carefully fulfilled his instructions. Before I had finished rubbing
his head he was drowsy, and when I took the vial from his nostrils he
was sound asleep. I placed the precious thing where he had told me, and
arranged his limbs on the cushions. Then I opened everything, and
leaving the servant in charge went my way to my rooms. On removing the
silk and the wax which had protected me from the powerful drug, an
indescribable odour which permeated my clothes ascended to my nostrils;
aromatic, yet pungent and penetrating; I never smelt anything that it
reminded me of, but I presume the compound contained something of the
nature of an opiate. I took some books down to Isaacs' rooms and passed
the evening there, unwilling to leave him to the care of an inquisitive
servant, and five minutes before midnight I awoke him in the manner he
had directed. He seemed to be sleeping lightly, for he was awake in a
moment, and his first action was to replace the vial in the curious
safe. He professed himself perfectly restored; and, indeed, on examining
his bruise I found there was no swelling or inflammation. The odour of
the medicament, which, as he had said, seemed to be very volatile, had
almost entirely disappeared. He begged me to go to bed, saying that he
would bathe and then do likewise, and I left him for the night;
speculating on the nature of this secret and precious remedy.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER IX.


The Himalayan _tonga_ is a thing of delight. It is easily described, for
in principle it is the ancient Persian war-chariot, though the
accommodation is so modified as to allow four persons to sit in it back
to back; that is, three besides the driver. It is built for great
strength, the wheels being enormously heavy, and the pole of the size of
a mast. Harness the horses have none, save a single belt with a sort of
lock at the top, which fits into the iron yoke through the pole, and can
slide from it to the extremity; there is neither breeching nor trace nor
collar, and the reins run from the heavy curb bit directly through loops
on the yoke to the driver's hands. The latter, a wiry, long-bearded
Mohammedan, is armed with a long whip attached to a short thick stock,
and though he sits low, on the same level as the passenger beside him on
the front seat, he guides his half broken horses with amazing dexterity
round sharp curves and by giddy precipices, where neither parapet nor
fencing give the startled mind even a momentary impression of security.
The road from Simla to Kalka at the foot of the hills is so narrow that
if two vehicles meet, the one has to draw up to the edge of the road,
while the other passes on its way. In view of the frequent encounters,
every tonga-driver is provided with a post horn of tremendous power and
most discordant harmony; for the road is covered with bullock carts
bearing provisions and stores to the hill station. Smaller loads, such
as trunks and other luggage, are generally carried by coolies, who
follow a shorter path, the carriage road being ninety-two miles from
Umballa, the railroad station, to Simla, but a certain amount may be
stowed away in the tonga, of which the capacity is considerable.

In three of these vehicles our party of six began the descent on Tuesday
morning, wrapped in linen "dusters" of various shades and shapes, and
armed with countless varieties of smoking gear. The roughness of the
road precludes all possibility of reading, and, after all, the rapid
motion and the constant appearance of danger--which in reality does not
exist--prevent any overpowering _ennui_ from assailing the dusty
traveller. So we spun along all day, stopping once or twice for a little
refreshment, and changing horses every five or six miles. Everybody was
in capital spirits, and we changed seats often, thus obtaining some
little variety. Isaacs, who to every one's astonishment, seemed not to
feel any inconvenience from his accident, clung to his seat in Miss
Westonhaugh's tonga, sitting in front with the driver, while she and her
uncle or brother occupied the seat behind, which is far more
comfortable. At last, however, he was obliged to give his place to
Kildare, who had been very patient, but at last said it "really wasn't
fair, you know," and so Isaacs courteously yielded. At last we reached
Kalka, where the tongas are exchanged for _dâk gharry_ or mail carriage,
a thing in which you can sit up in the daytime and lie down at night,
there being an extension under the driver's box calculated for the
accommodation of the longest legs. When lying down in one of these
vehicles the sensation is that of being in a hearse and playing a game
of funeral. On this occasion, however, it was still early when we made
the change, and we paired off, two and two, for the last part of the
drive. By the well planned arrangements of Isaacs and Kildare, two
carriages were in readiness for us on the express train, and though the
difference in temperature was enormous between Simla and the plains,
still steaming from the late rainy season, the travelling was made easy
for us, and we settled ourselves for the journey, after dining at the
little hotel; Miss Westonhaugh bidding us all a cheery "good-night" as
she retired with her _ayah_ into the carriage prepared for her. I will
not go into tedious details of the journey--we slept and woke and slept
again, and smoked, and occasionally concocted iced drinks from our
supplies, for in India the carriages are so large that the traveller
generally provides himself with a generous basket of provisions and a
travelling ice-chest full of bottles, and takes a trunk or two with him
in his compartment. Suffice it to say that we arrived on the following
day at Fyzabad in Oude, and that we were there met by guides and
shikarries--the native huntsmen--who assured us that there were tigers
about near the outlying station of Pegnugger, where the elephants,
previously ordered, would all be in readiness for us on the following
day. The journey from Fyzabad to Pegnugger was not a long one, and we
set out in the cool of the evening, sending our servants along in that
"happy-go-lucky" fashion which characterises Indian life. It has always
been a mystery to me how native servants manage always to turn up at the
right moment. You say to your man, "Go there and wait for me," and you
arrive and find him waiting; though how he transferred himself thither,
with his queer-looking bundle, and his lota, and cooking utensils, and
your best teapot wrapped up in a newspaper and ready for use, and with
all the other hundred and one things that a native servant contrives to
carry about without breaking or losing one of them, is an unsolved
puzzle. Yet there he is, clean and grinning as ever, and if he were not
clean and grinning and provided with tea and cheroots, you would not
keep him in your service a day, though you would be incapable of looking
half so spotless and pleased under the same circumstances yourself.

On the following day, therefore, we found ourselves at Pegnugger,
surrounded by shikarries and provided with every instrument of the chase
that the ingenuity of man and the foresight of Isaacs and Ghyrkins could
provide. There were numbers of tents, sleeping tents, cooking tents, and
servants' tents; guns and ammunition of every calibre likely to be
useful; _kookries_, broad strong weapons not unlike the famous American
bowie knives (which are all made in Sheffield, to the honour, glory, and
gain, of British trade); there were huge packs of provisions edible and
potable; baskets of utensils for the kitchen and the table, and piles of
blankets and tenting gear for the camp. There was also the little
collector of Pegnugger, whose small body housed a stout heart, for he
had shot tigers on foot before now in company with a certain German
doctor of undying sporting fame, whose big round spectacles seemed to
direct his bullets with unerring precision. But the doctor was not here
now, and so the sturdy Englishman condescended to accept a seat in the
howdah, and to kill his game with somewhat less risk than usual.

This first day was occupied in transferring our party, now swelled by
countless beaters and numerous huntsmen, not to mention all the retinue
of servants necessary for an Indian camp, to the neighbourhood of the
battlefield. There is not much conversation on these occasions, for the
party is apt to become scattered, and there is a general tone of
expectancy in the air, the old hands conversing more with the natives
who know the district than with each other, and the young ones either
wondering how many tigers they will kill, or listening open mouthed to
the tales of adventure reeled off by the yard by the old bearded
shikarry, who has slain the king of the jungle with a _kookrie_ in hand
to hand struggle when he was young, and bears the scars of the deadly
encounter on his brown chest to this day. Old Ghyrkins, who was
evidently in his element, rode about on a little _tat_, questioning
beaters and shikarries, and coming back every now and then to bawl up
some piece of information to the little collector, who had established
himself on one of the elephants and looked down over the edge of the
howdah, the great pith hat on his head making him look like an immense
mushroom with a very thin stem sprouting suddenly from the back of the
huge beast. He smiled pleasantly at the old sportsman from his
elevation, and seemed to know all about it. It so chanced that when he
received Isaacs' telegrams he had been planning a little excursion on
his own account, and had been sending out scouts and beaters for some
days to ascertain where the game lay. This, of course, was so much clear
gain to us, and the little man was delighted at the opportune
coincidence which enabled him, by the unlimited money supplied, to join
in such a hunt as he had not seen since the time when the Prince of
Wales disported himself among the royal game, three years before. As for
Miss Westonhaugh, she was in the gayest of spirits, as she sat with her
brother on an elephant's back, while Isaacs, who loved the saddle,
circled round her and kept up a fire of little compliments and pretty
speeches, to which she was fast becoming inured. Kildare and I followed
them closely on another elephant, discoursing seriously about the hunt,
and occasionally shouting some question to John Westonhaugh, ahead,
about sport in the south.

Before evening we had arrived at our first camping ground, near a small
village on the outskirts of the jungle, and the tents were pitched on a
little elevation covered with grass, now green and waving. The men had
mowed a patch clear, and were busy with the pegs and all the
paraphernalia of a canvas house, and we strolled about, some of us
directing the operations, others offering a sacrifice of cooling liquids
and tobacco to the setting sun. Miss Westonhaugh had heard about living
in tents ever since she came to India, and had often longed to sleep in
one of those temporary chambers that are set up anywhere in the
"compound" of an English bungalow for the accommodation of the bachelor
guests whom the house itself is too small to hold; now she was enchanted
at the prospect of a whole fortnight under canvas, and watched with rapt
interest the driving of the pegs, the raising of the poles, and the
careful furnishing of her dwelling. There was a carpet, and armchairs,
and tables, and even a small bookcase with a few favourite volumes. To
us in civilised life it seems a great deal of trouble to transport a
lunch basket and a novel to some shady glen to enjoy a day's rest in the
open air, and we would almost rather starve than take the trouble to
carry provisions. In India you speak the word, and as by magic there
arises in the wilderness a little village of tents, furnished with every
necessary luxury--and the luxuries necessary to our degenerate age are
many--a kitchen tent is raised, and a skilled dark-skinned artist
provides you in an hour with a dinner such as you could eat in no hotel.
The treasures of the huge portable ice-chest reveal cooling wines and
soda water to the thirsty soul, and if you are going very far beyond the
reach of the large towns, a small ice-machine is kept at work day and
night to increase the supply while you sleep, and to maintain it while
you wake. In the _connât_ or verandah of the tent, long chairs await you
after your meal, and as you smoke the fragrant cigarette and watch the
stars coming out, you feel as comfortable as though you had been dining
in your own spacious bungalow in Mudnugger.

It was not long before all was ready, and having made many ablutions and
a little toilet, we assembled round the dinner table in the eating tent,
the same party that had dined at Mr. Currie Ghyrkins' house on Sunday
night, with the addition of the little collector of Pegnugger, whose
stories of his outlying district were full of humour and anecdote. The
talk bending in the direction of adventure, Kildare, who had been lately
in South Africa with his regiment, told some tales of Zulus and assegais
and Boers in the Hibernian style of hyperbole. The Irish blood never
comes out so strongly as when a story is to be told, and no amount of
English education and Oxford accent will suppress the tendency. The
brogue is gone, but the love of the marvellous is there still. Isaacs
related the experience of "a man he knew," who had been pulled off his
elephant, howdah and all, and had killed the tiger with a revolver at
half arm's length.

"Ah yes," said the little collector, who had not caught the names of all
the party when introduced, "I read about it at the time; I remember it
very well. It happened in Purneah two years ago. The gentleman was a Mr.
Isaacs of Delhi. Queer name too--remember perfectly." There was a roar
of laughter at this, in which the collector joined vociferously on being
informed that the man with the "queer name" was his neighbour at table.

"You see what you get for your modesty," cried old Ghyrkins, laughing to
convulsions.

"And is it really true, Mr. Isaacs?" asked Miss Westonhaugh, looking
admiringly across at the young man, who seemed rather annoyed.

And so the conversation went round and all were merry, and some were
sleepy after dinner, and we sat in long chairs under the awning or
_connât_. There was no moon yet, but the stars shone out as they shine
nowhere save in India, and the evening breeze played pleasantly through
the ropes after the long hot day. Miss Westonhaugh assured everybody for
the hundredth time that day that she rather liked the smell of cigars,
and so we smoked and chatted a little, and presently there was a jerk
and a sputtering sneeze from Mr. Ghyrkins, who, being weary with the
march and the heat and the good dinner, and on the borders of sleep, had
put the wrong end of his cigar in his mouth with destructive results.
Then he threw it away with a small volley of harmless expletives, and
swore he would go to bed, as he could not stand our dulness any longer;
but he merely shifted his position a little, and was soon snoring
merrily.

"What a pity it is we have no piano, Katharine," said John Westonhaugh,
who was fond of music. "Could you not sing something without any
accompaniment?"

"Oh no. Mr. Isaacs," she said, turning her voice to where she could see
the light of his cigarette and the faint outline of his chair in the
starlight, "here we are in the camp. Now where is the 'lute' you
promised to produce for us? I think the time has come at last for you to
keep your promise."

"Well," said he, "I believe there really is an old guitar or something
of the kind among my traps somewhere. But it might wake Mr. Ghyrkins,
who, I understand from his tones, is asleep."

Various opinions were expressed to the effect that Mr. Ghyrkins was not
so easily disturbed, and a voice like Kildare's was heard to mumble that
"it would not hurt him if he was," a sentence no one attempted to
construe. So the faithful Narain was summoned, and instructed to bring
the instrument if he could find it. I was rather surprised at Isaacs'
readiness to sing; but in the first place I had never heard him, and
besides I did not make allowance for the Oriental courtesy of his
character, which would not refuse anything, or make any show of refusal
in order to be pressed. Narain returned with a very modern-looking
guitar-case, and, opening the box, presented his master with the
instrument, which, as Isaacs took it to the light in the door of the
tent to see if it had travelled safely, appeared to be a perfectly new
German guitar. I suspected him of having purchased it at the little
music shop at Simla, for the especial amusement of our party.

"I thought it was a lute you played on," said Miss Westonhaugh, "a real,
lovely, ancient Assyrian lute, or something of that kind."

"Oh, a plain guitar is infinitely better and less troublesome," said
Isaacs as he returned to his seat in the dark and began to tune the
strings softly. "It takes so long to tune one of those old things, and
then nothing will make them stand. Now this one, you see,--or rather you
cannot see,--has an ingenious contrivance of screws by which you may
tune it in a moment." While he was speaking he was altering the pitch of
the strings, and presently he added, "There, it is done now," and two or
three sounding chords fell on the still air. "Now what shall I sing? I
await your commands."

"Something soft, and sweet, and gentle."

"A love-song?" asked he quietly.

"Well yes--a love-song if you like. Why not?" said she.

"No reason in the world that I can think of," I remarked. Whereat Lord
Steepleton Kildare threw his cigar away, and began lighting another a
moment after, as if he had discarded his weed by mistake.

Isaacs struck a few chords softly, and then began a sort of running
accompaniment. His voice, which seemed to me to be very high, was
wonderfully smooth and round, and produced the impression of being much
more powerful than he cared to show. He sang without the least effort,
and yet there was none of that effeminate character that I have noticed
in European male singers when producing high notes very softly. I do not
understand music, but I am sure I never heard an opera tenor with a
voice of such quality. The words of his song were Persian, and the pure
accents of his native tongue seemed well suited to the half passionate,
half plaintive air he had chosen. I afterwards found a translation of
the sonnet by an English officer, which I here give, though it conveys
little idea of the music of the original verse.

    Last night, my eyes being closed in sleep, but my good fortune awake,
    The whole night, the livelong night, the image of my beloved one was the
    companion of my soul.
    The sweetness of her melodious voice still remains vibrating on my soul;
    Heavens! how did the sugared words fall from her sweeter lips;
    Alas! all that she said to me in that dream has escaped from my memory,
    Although it was my care till break of day to repeat over and over her
    sweet words.
    The day, unless illuminated by her beauty, is, to my eyes, of nocturnal
    darkness.
    Happy day that first I gazed upon that lovely face!
    May the eyes of Jami long be blessed with pleasing visions, since they
    presented to his view last night
    The object, on whose account he passed his waking life in
    expectation.[1]

His beautiful voice ceased, and with infinite skill he wove a few
strains of the melody into the final chords he played when he had
finished singing. It was all so entirely novel, so unlike any music most
of us had ever heard, and it was so undeniably good, that every one
applauded and said something to the singer in turn, expressing the
greatest admiration and appreciation. Miss Westonhaugh was the last to
speak.

"It is perfectly lovely," she said. "I wish I could understand the
words--are they as sweet as the music?"

"Sweeter," he answered, and he gave an offhand translation of two or
three verses.

"Beautiful indeed," she said; "and now sing me another, please." There
was no resisting such an appeal, with the personal pronoun in the
singular number. He moved a little nearer, and emphatically sang to her,
and to no one else. A song of the same character as the first, but, I
thought, more passionate and less dreamy, as his great sweet voice
swelled and softened and rose again in burning vibrations and waves of
sound. She did not ask a translation this time, but some one else did,
after the applause had subsided.

"I cannot translate these things," said Isaacs, "so as to do them
justice, or give you any idea of the strength and vitality of the
Persian verses. Perhaps Griggs, who understands Persian very well and is
a literary man, may do it for you. I would rather not try." I professed
my entire inability to comply with the request, and to turn the
conversation asked him where he had learned to play the guitar so well.

"Oh," he answered, "in Istamboul, years ago. Everybody plays in
Istamboul--and most people sing love-songs. Besides it is so easy," and
he ran scales up and down the strings with marvellous rapidity to
illustrate what he said.

"And do you never sing English songs, Mr. Isaacs?" asked the collector
of Pegnugger, who was enchanted, not having heard a note of music for
months.

"Oh, sometimes," he answered. "I think I could sing 'Drink to me only
with thine eyes'--do you know it?" He began to play the melody on the
guitar while he spoke.

"Rather--I should think so!" Kildare was heard to say. He was beginning
to think the concert had lasted long enough.

"Oh, do sing it, Mr. Isaacs," said the young girl, "and my brother and I
will join in. It will be so pretty!"

It certainly sounded very sweetly as he gave the melody in his clear,
high tones, and Miss Westonhaugh and John sang with him. Having heard it
several thousand times myself, I was beginning to recognise the tune
well enough to enjoy it a good deal.

"That is very nice," said Kildare, who was sorry he had made an
impatient remark before, and wanted to atone.

"Eh? what? how's that?" said Mr. Ghyrkins just waking up. "Oh! of
course. My niece sings charmingly. Quite an artist, you know." And he
struggled out of his chair and said it was high time we all went to bed
if we meant to shoot straight in the morning. The magistrate of
Pegnugger concurred in the opinion, and we reluctantly separated for the
night to our respective quarters, Isaacs and I occupying a tent
together, which he had caused to be sent on from Delhi, as being
especially adapted to his comfort.

On the following day at dawn we were roused by the sound of
preparations, and before we were dressed the voices of Mr. Currie
Ghyrkins and the collector were heard in the camp, stirring up the
sleepy servants and ordering us to be waked. The two old sportsmen felt
it their duty to be first on such an occasion as this, and in the calm
security that they would do everything that was right, Isaacs and I
discussed our tea and fruit--the _chota haziri_ or "little breakfast"
usually taken in India on waking--sitting in the door of our tent, while
Kiramat Ali and Narain and Mahmoud and the rest of the servants were
giving a final rub to the weapons of the chase, and making all the
little preparations for a long day. And we sat looking out and sipping
our tea.

In the cool of the dawn Miss Westonhaugh came tripping across the wet
grass to where her uncle was giving his final directions about the
furnishing of his howdah for the day; a lovely apparition of freshness
in the gray morning, all dressed in dark blue, a light pith
helmet-shaped hat pressing the rebellious white-gold hair almost out of
sight. She walked so easily it seemed as if her dainty little feet had
wings, as Hermes' of old, to ease the ground of their feather weight. A
broad belt hung across her shoulder with little rows of cartridges set
all along, and at the end hung a very business-like revolver case of
brown leather and of goodly length. No toy miniature pistol would she
carry, but a full-sized, heavy "six-shooter," that might really be of
use at close quarters. She stood some minutes talking with Mr. Ghyrkins,
not noticing us in the shadow of the tent some thirty yards away; Isaacs
and I watched her intently--with very different feelings, possibly, but
yet intensely admiring the fair creature, so strong and pliant, and yet
so erect and straight. She turned half round towards us, and I saw there
were flowers in the front of her dress. I wondered where they had come
from; they were roses--of all flowers in the world to be blooming in the
desert. Perhaps she had brought them carefully from Fyzabad, but that
was improbable; or from Pegnugger--yes, there would be roses in the
collector's garden there. Isaacs rose to his feet.

"Oh, come along, Griggs. You have had quite enough tea!"

"Go ahead; I will be with you in a moment." But a sudden thought struck
me, and I went with him, bareheaded, to greet Miss Westonhaugh. She
smiled brightly as she held out her hand.

"Good morning, Mr. Isaacs. Thank you so much for the roses. How _did_
you do it? They are _too_ lovely!" So it was just as I thought. Isaacs
had probably despatched a man back to Pegnugger in the night.

"Very easy I assure you. I am so glad you like them. They are not very
fresh after all though, I see," he added depreciatingly, as men do when
they give flowers to people they care about. I never heard a man find
fault with flowers he gave out of a sense of duty. It is perhaps that
the woman best loved of all things in the world has for him a sweetness
and a beauty that kills the coarser hues of the rose, and outvies the
fragrance of the double violets.

"Oh no!" she said, emphasising the negative vigorously. "I think they
are perfectly beautiful, but I want you to tell me where you got them."
I began talking to Ghyrkins, who was intent on the arrangement of his
guns which was going on under his eyes, but I heard the answer, though
Isaacs spoke in a low voice.

"You must not say that, Miss Westonhaugh. You yourself are the most
perfect and beautiful thing God ever made." By a superhuman effort I
succeeded in keeping my eyes fixed on Ghyrkins, probably with a stony,
unconscious stare, for he presently asked what I was looking at. I do
not think Isaacs cared whether I heard him or not, knowing that I
sympathised, but Mr. Ghyrkins was another matter. The Persian had made
progress, for there was no trace of annoyance in Miss Westonhaugh's
answer, though she entirely overlooked her companion's pretty speech.

"Seriously, Mr. Isaacs, if you mean to have one of them for your badge
to-day, you must tell me how you got them." I turned slowly round. She
was holding a single rose in her fingers, and looking from it to him, as
if to see if it would match his olive skin and his Karkee shooting-coat.
He could not resist the bribe.

"If you really want to know I will tell you, but it is a profound
secret," he said, smiling. "Griggs, swear!"

I raised my hand and murmured something about the graves of my
ancestors.

"Well," he continued, "yesterday morning at the collector's house I saw
a garden; in the garden there were roses, carefully tended, for it is
late. I took the gardener apart and said, 'My friend, behold, here is
silver for thee, both rupees and pais. And if thou wilt pick the best of
thy roses and deliver them to the swift runner whom I will send to thee
at supper time when the stars are coming out, I will give thee as much
as thou shalt earn in a month with thy English master. But if thou wilt
not do it, or if thou failest to do it, having promised, I will cause
the grave of thy father to be defiled with the slaughter of swine, and,
moreover, I will return and beat thee with a thick stick!' The fellow
was a Mussulman, and there was a merry twinkle in his eye as he took the
money and swore a great oath. I left a running man at Pegnugger with a
basket, and that is how you got the roses. Don't tell the collector,
that is all."

We all laughed, and Miss Westonhaugh gave the rose to Isaacs, who
touched it to his lips, under pretence of smelling it, and put it in his
buttonhole. Kildare came up at this moment and created a diversion; then
the collector joined us and scattered us right and left, saying it was
high time we were in the howdahs and on the way. So we buckled on our
belts, and those who wore hats put them on, and those who preferred
turbans bent while their bearers wound them on, and then we moved off to
where the elephants were waiting and got into our places, and the
_mahouts_ urged the huge beasts from their knees to their feet, and we
went swinging off to the forest. The pad elephants, who serve as beaters
and move between the howdah animals, joined us, and presently we went
splashing through the reedy patches of fern, and crashing through the
branches, towards the heart of the jungle.

Mr. Currie Ghyrkins, whose long experience had made him as cool when
after tigers as when reading the _Pioneer_ in his shady bungalow at
Simla, had taken Miss Westonhaugh with him in his howdah, and as an
additional precaution for her safety, the little collector of Pegnugger,
who was a dead shot, only allowed two pad elephants to move between
himself and Ghyrkins. As there were thirty-seven animals in all, the
rest of the party were much scattered. I thought there were too many
elephants for our six howdahs, but it turned out that I was mistaken,
for we had capital sport. The magistrate of Pegnugger, who knew the
country thoroughly, was made the despot of the day. His orders were
obeyed unquestioningly and unconditionally, and we halted in long line
or marched onwards, forcing a passage through every obstacle, at his
word. We might have been out a couple of hours, watching every patch of
jungle and blade of long rank grass for a sight of the striped skin,
writhing through the reeds, that we so longed to see, when the quick,
short crack of a rifle away to the right brought us to a halt, and every
one drew a long breath and turned, gun in hand, in the direction whence
the sound had come. It was Kildare; he had met his first tiger, and the
first also of the hunt. He had put up the animal not five paces in front
of him, stealing along in the cool grass and hoping to escape between
the elephants, in the cunning way they often do. He had fired a snap
shot too quickly, inflicting a wound in the flank which only served to
rouse the tiger to madness. With a leap that seemed to raise its body
perpendicularly from the ground, the gorgeous creature flew into the air
and settled right on the head of Kildare's elephant, while the terrified
_mahout_ wound himself round the howdah. It would have been a trying
position for the oldest sportsman, but to be brought into such terrific
encounter at arm's length, almost, at one's very first experience of the
chase, was a terrible test of nerve. Those who were near said that in
that awful moment Kildare never changed colour. The elephant plunged
wildly in his efforts to shake off the beast from his head, but Kildare
had seized his second gun the moment he had discharged the first, and
aiming for one second only, as the tossing head and neck of the tusker
brought the gigantic cat opposite him, fired again. The fearful claws,
driven deep and sure into the thick hide of the poor elephant, relaxed
their hold, the beautiful lithe limbs straightened by their own
perpendicular weight, and the first prize of the day dropped to the
ground like lead, dead, shot through the head.

A great yell of triumph arose all along the line, and the little
_mahout_ crept cautiously back from his lurking-place behind the howdah
to see if the coast were clear. Kildare had behaved splendidly, and
shouts of congratulation reached his ears from all sides. Miss
Westonhaugh waved her handkerchief in token of approbation, every one
applauded, and far away to the left Isaacs, who was in the last howdah,
clapped his hands vigorously, and seat his high clear voice ringing like
a trumpet down the line.

"Well done, Kildare! well done, indeed!" and his rival's praise was not
the least grateful to Lord Steepleton on that day. Meanwhile the
shikarries gathered around the fallen beast. It proved to be a young
tigress some eight feet long, and the clean bright coat showed that she
was no man-eater. So the pad elephant came alongside, to use a nautical
phrase not inappropriate, and kneeling down received its burden
willingly, well knowing that the slain beauty was one of his deadly
foes. The _mahout_ pronounced the elephant on which Kildare was mounted
able to proceed, and only a few huge drops of blood marked where the
tigress had kept her hold. We moved on again, beating the jungle,
wheeling and doubling the long line, wherever it seemed likely that some
striped monster might have eluded us. Marching and counter-marching
through the heat of the day, we picked up another-prize in the
afternoon. It was a large old tiger, nine feet six as he lay; he fell an
easy prey to the gun of the little collector of Pegnugger, who sent a
bullet through his heart at the first shot, and smiled rather
contemptuously as he removed the empty shell of the cartridge from his
gun. He would rather have had Kildare's chance in the morning.

After all, two tigers in a day was not bad sport for the time of year. I
knew Isaacs would be disappointed at not having had a shot, where his
rival in a certain quarter had had so good an opportunity for displaying
skill and courage; and I confessed to myself that I preferred a small
party, say, a dozen elephants and three howdahs, to this tremendous and
expensive _battue_. I had a shot-gun with me, and consoled myself by
shooting a peacock or two as we rolled and swayed homewards. We had
determined to keep to the same camp for a day or two, as we could enter
the forest from another point on the morrow, and might even beat some of
the same ground again with success.

It was past five when we got down to the tents and descended from our
howdahs, glad to stretch our stiffened limbs in a brisk walk. The dead
tigers were hauled into the middle of the camp, and the servants ran
together to see the result of the _sahib log's_ day out. We retired to
dress and refresh ourselves for dinner.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER X.


In Isaacs' tent I was pulling off my turban, all shapeless and crumpled
by the long day, while Isaacs stood disconsolately looking at the clean
guns and unbroken rows of cartridges which Narain deposited on the
table. The sun was very low, and shone horizontally through the raised
door of the tent on my friend's rather gloomy face. At that moment
something intercepted the sunshine, and a dark shadow fell across the
floor. I looked, and saw a native standing on the threshold, salaaming
and waiting to be spoken to. He was not one of our men, but a common
ryot, clad simply in a _dhoti_ or waist-cloth, and a rather dirty
turban.

"Kya chahte ho?"--"What do you want?" asked Isaacs impatiently. He was
not in a good humour by any means. "Wilt thou deprive thy betters of the
sunlight thou enjoyest thyself?"

"The sahib's face is like the sun and the moon," replied the man
deprecatingly. "But if the great lord will listen I will tell him what
shall rejoice his heart."

"Speak, unbeliever," said Isaacs.

"Protector of the poor! you are my father and my mother! but I know
where there lieth a great tiger, an eater of men, hard-hearted, that
delighteth in blood."

"Dog," answered Isaacs, calmly removing his coat, "the tiger you speak
of was seen by you many moons since; what do you come to me with idle
tales for?" Isaacs was familiar with the native trick of palming off old
tigers on the unwary stranger, in the hope of a reward.

"Sahib, I am no liar. I saw the tiger, who is the king of the forest,
this morning." Isaacs' manner relaxed a little, and he sat down and
lighted the eternal cigarette. "Slave," he said meditatively, "if it is
as you say, I will kill the tiger, but if it is not as you say, I will
kill you, and cause your body to be buried with the carcass of an ox,
and your soul shall not live." The man did not seem much moved by the
threat. He moved nearer, and salaamed again.

"It is near to the dwelling of the sahib, who is my father," said the
man, speaking low. "The day before yesterday he destroyed a man from the
village. He has eaten five men in the last moon. I have seen him enter
his lair, and he will surely return before the dawn; and the sahib shall
strike him by his lightning; and the sahib will not refuse me the ears
of the man-eater, that I may make a _jädu_, a charm against sudden
death?"

"Hound! if thou speakest the truth, and I kill the tiger, the monarch of
game, I will make thee a rich man; but thou shalt not have his ears. I
desire the _jädu_ for myself. I have spoken; wait thou here my
pleasure." The ryot bent low to the earth, and then squatted by the
tent-door to wait, in the patient way that a Hindoo can, for Isaacs to
go and eat his dinner. As the latter came out ten minutes later, he
paused and addressed the man once more. "Speak not to any man of thy
tiger while I am gone, or I will cut off thine ears with a pork knife."
And we passed on.

The sun was now set and hovering in the afterglow, the new moon was
following lazily down. I stopped a moment to look at her, and was
surprised by Miss Westonhaugh's voice close behind me.

"Are you wishing by the new moon, Mr. Griggs?" she asked.

"Yes," said I, "I was. And what were you wishing, Miss Westonhaugh, if I
may ask?" Isaacs came up, and paused beside us. The beautiful girl stood
quite still, looking to westward, a red glow on the white-gold masses of
her hair.

"Did you say you were wishing for something, Miss Westonhaugh?" he
asked. "Perhaps I can get it for you. More flowers, perhaps? They are
very easily got."

"No--that is, not especially. I was wishing--well, that a tiger-hunt
might last for ever; and I want a pair of tiger's ears. My old _ayah_
says they keep off evil spirits and sickness; and all sorts of things."

"I know; it is a curious idea. I suppose both those beasts there have
lost theirs already. These fellows cut them off in no time."

"Yes. I have looked. So I suppose I must wait till to-morrow. But
promise me, Mr. Isaacs, if you shoot one to-morrow, let me have the
ears!"

"I will promise that readily enough. I would promise anything you--" The
last part of the sentence was lost to me, as I moved away and left them.

At dinner, of course, every one talked of the day's sport, and
compliments of all kinds were showered on Lord Steepleton, who looked
very much pleased, and drank a good deal of wine. Ghyrkins and the
little magistrate expressed their opinion that he would make a famous
tiger-killer one of these days, when he had learned to wait. Every one
was hungry and rather tired, and after a somewhat silent cigar, we
parted for the night, Miss Westonhaugh rising first. Isaacs went to his
quarters, and I remained alone in a long chair, by the deserted
dining-tent. Kiramat Ali brought me a fresh hookah, and I lay quietly
smoking and thinking of all kinds of things--things of all kinds,
tigers, golden hair, more tigers, Isaacs, Shere Ali, Baithop--, what was
his name--Baithop--p--. I fell asleep.

Some one touched my hand, waking me suddenly. I sprang to my feet and
seized the man by the throat, before I recognised in the starlight that
it was Isaacs.

"You are not a nice person to rouse," remarked he in a low voice, as I
relaxed my grasp. "You will have fever if you sleep out-of-doors at this
time of year. Now look here; it is past midnight, and I am going out a
little way." I noticed that he had a _kookrie_ knife at his waist, and
that his cartridge-belt was on his chest.

"I will go with you," said I, guessing his intention. "I will be ready
in a moment," and I began to move towards the tent.

"No. I must go alone, and do this thing single-handed. I have a
particular reason. I only wanted to warn you I was gone, in case you
missed me. I shall take that ryot fellow with me to show me the way."

"Give him a gun," I suggested.

"He could not use one if I did. He has your _kookrie_ in case of
accidents."

"Oh, very well! do not let me interfere with any innocent and childlike
pastime you may propose for your evening hours. I will attend to your
funeral in the morning. Good-night."

"Good-night; I shall be back before you are up." And he walked quickly
off to where the ryot was waiting and holding his guns. He had the sense
to take two. I was angry at the perverse temerity of the man. Why could
he not have an elephant out and go like a sensible thinking being,
instead of sneaking out with one miserable peasant to lie all night
among the reeds, in as great danger from cobras as from the beast he
meant to kill? And all for a girl --an English girl--a creature all fair
hair and eyes, with no more intelligence than a sheep! Was it not she
who sent him out to his death in the jungle, that her miserable caprice
for a pair of tiger's ears might be immediately satisfied? If a woman
ever loved me, Paul Griggs,--thank heaven no woman ever did,--would I go
out into bogs and desert places and risk my precious skin to find her a
pair of cat's ears? Not I;--wait a moment, though. If I were in his
place, if Miss Westonhaugh loved _me_--I laughed at the conceit. But
supposing she did. Just for the sake of argument, I would allow it. I
think that I would risk something after all. What a glorious thing it
would be to be loved by a woman, once, wholly and for ever. To meet the
creature I described to him the other night, waiting for me to come into
her life, and to be to her all I could be to the woman I should love.
But she has never come; never will, now; still, there is a sort of rest
to me in thinking of rest. Hearth, home, wife, children; the worn old
staff resting in the corner, never to wander again. What a strange thing
it is that men should have all these, and more, and yet never see that
they have the simple elements of earthly happiness, if they would but
use them. And we, outcasts and wanderers, children of sin and darkness,
in whose hands one commandment seems hardly less fragile than another,
would give anything--had we anything to give--for the happiness of a
home, to call our own. How strange it is that what I said to Isaacs
should be true. "Do not marry unless you must depend on each other for
daily bread, or unless you are rich enough to live apart." Yes, it is
true, in ninetynine cases out of a hundred. But then, I should add a
saving clause, "and unless you are quite sure that you love each other."
Ay, there is the _pons asinorum,_ the bridge whereon young asses and old
fools come to such terrible grief. They are perfectly sure they love
eternally; they will indignantly scorn the suggestions of prudence; love
any other woman? never, while I live, answers the happy and
unsophisticated youth. Be sorry I did it? Do you think I am a schoolboy
in my first passion? demands the aged bridegroom. And so they marry, and
in a year or two the enthusiastic young man runs away with some other
enthusiastic man's wife, and the octogenarian spouse finds himself
constituted into a pot of honey for his wife's swarming relations to
settle on, like flies. But a man in strong middle prime of age, like me,
knows his own mind; and--yes, on the whole I was unjust to Isaacs and to
Miss Westonhaugh. If a woman loved me, she should have all the tiger's
ears she wanted. "Still, I hope he will get back safely," I added, in
afterthought to my reverie, as I turned into bed and ordered Kiramat Ali
to wake me half an hour before dawn.

I was restless, sleeping a little and dreaming much. At last I struct a
light and looked at my watch. Four o'clock. It would not be dawn for
more than an hour; I knew Isaacs had made for the place where the tiger
passed his days, certain that he would return near daybreak, according
to all common probability. He need not have gone so early, I thought.
However, it might be a long way off. I lay still for a while, but it
seemed very hot and close under the canvas. I got up and threw a
_caftán_ round me, drew a chair into the _connât_ and sat, or rather
lay, down in the cool morning breeze. Then I dozed again until Kiramat
Ali woke me by pulling at my foot. He said it would be dawn in half an
hour. I had passed a bad night, and went out, as I was, to walk on the
grass. There was Miss Westonhaugh's tent away off at the other end. She
was sleeping calmly enough, never doubting that at that very moment the
man who loved her was risking his life for her pleasure--her slightest
whim. She would be wide awake if she knew it, staring out into the
darkness and listening for the crack of his rifle. A faint light
appeared behind the dining-tent, over the distant trees, like the light
of London seen from twenty or thirty miles' distance in the country, a
faint, suggestive, murky grayness in the sky, making the stars look
dimmer.

The sound of a shot rang true and clear through the chill air; not far
off I thought. I held my breath, listening for a second report, but none
came. So it was over. Either he had killed the tiger with his first
bullet, or the tiger had killed him before he could fire a second. I was
intensely excited. If he were safe I wished him to have the glory of
coming home quite alone. There was nothing for it but to wait, so I went
into my tent and took a bath--a very simple operation where the bathing
consists in pouring a huge jar of water over one's head. Tents in India
have always a small side tent with a ditch dug to drain off the water
from the copious ablutions of the inmate. I emerged into the room
feeling better. It was now quite light, and I proceeded to dress
leisurely to spin out the time. As I was drawing on my boots, Isaacs
sauntered in quietly and laid his gun on the table. He was pale, and his
Karkee clothes were covered with mud and leaves and bits of creeper, but
his movements showed he was not hurt in any way; he hardly seemed tired.

"Well?" I said anxiously.

"Very well, thank you. Here they are," and he produced from the pocket
of his coat the _spolia opima_ in the shape of a pair of ears, that
looked very large to me. There was a little blood on them and on his
hands as he handed the precious trophies to me for inspection. We stood
by the open door, and while I was turning over the ears curiously in my
hands, he looked down at his clothes.

"I think I will take a bath," he said; "I must have been in a dirty
place."

"My dear fellow," I said, taking his hand, "this is absurd. I mean all
this affected calmness. I was angry at your going in that way, to risk
your head in a tiger's mouth; but I am sincerely glad to see you back
alive. I congratulate you most heartily."

"Thank you, old man," he said, his pale face brightening a little. "I am
very glad myself. Do you know I have a superstition that I must fulfil
every wish of--like that--even half expressed, to the very letter?"

"The 'superstition,' as you call it, is worthy of the bravest knight
that ever laid lance in rest. Don't part with superstitions like that.
They are noble and generous things."

"Perhaps," he answered, "but I really am very superstitious," he added,
as he turned into the bathing _connât_. Soon I heard him splashing among
the water jars.

"By-the-bye, Griggs," he called out through the canvas, "I forgot to
tell you. They are bringing that beast home on an elephant. It was much
nearer than we supposed. They will be here in twenty minutes." A
tremendous splashing interrupted him. "You can go and attend to that
funeral you were talking about last night," he added, and his voice was
again drowned in the swish and souse of the water. "He was rather
large--over ten feet--I should say. Measure him as soon as he--" another
cascade completed the sentence. I went out, taking the measuring tape
from the table.

In a few minutes the procession appeared. Two or three matutinal
shikarries had gone out and come back, followed by the elephant, for
which Isaacs had sent the ryot at full speed the moment he was sure the
beast was dead. And so they came up the little hill behind the
dining-tent. The great tusker moved evenly along, bearing on the pad an
enormous yellow carcass, at which the little _mahout_ glanced
occasionally over his shoulder. Astride of the dead king sat the ryot,
who had directed Isaacs, crooning a strange psalm of victory in his
outlandish northern dialect, and occasionally clapping his hands over
his head with an expression of the most intense satisfaction I have ever
seen on a human face. The little band came to the middle of the camp
where the other tigers, now cut up and skinned elsewhere, had been
deposited the night before, and as the elephant knelt down, the
shikarries pulled the whole load over, pad, tiger, ryot and all, the
latter skipping nimbly aside. There he lay, the great beast that had
taken so many lives. We stretched him out and measured him--eleven feet
from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, all but an inch--as a
little more straightening fills the measure, eleven feet exactly.

Meanwhile, the servant and shikarries collected, and the noise of the
exploit went abroad. The sun was just rising when Mr. Ghyrkins put his
head out of his tent and wanted to know "what the deuce all this
_tamäsha_ was about."

"Oh, nothing especial," I called out. "Isaacs has killed an eleven foot
man-eater in the night. That is all."

"Well I'm damned," said Mr. Ghyrkins briefly, and to the point, as he
stared from his tent at the great carcass, which lay stretched out for
all to see, the elephant having departed.

"Clear off those fellows and let me have a look at him, can't you?" he
called out, gathering the tent curtains round his neck; and there he
stood, his jolly red face and dishevelled gray hair looking as if they
had no body attached at all.

I went back to our quarters. Isaacs was putting the ears, which he had
carefully cleansed from blood, into a silver box of beautiful
workmanship, which Narain had extracted from his master's numerous
traps.

"Take that box to Miss Westonhaugh's tent," he said, giving it to the
servant, "with a greeting from me--with 'much peace.'" The man went out.

"She will send the box back," said I. "Such is the Englishwoman. She
will take a pair of tiger's ears that nearly cost you your life, and she
would rather die than accept the bit of silver in which you enclose
them, without the 'permission of her uncle.'"

"I do not care," he said, "so long as she keeps the ears. But unless I
am much mistaken, she will keep the box too. She is not like other
Englishwomen in the least."

I was not sure of that. We had some tea in the door of our tent, and
Isaacs seemed hungry and thirsty, as well he might be. Now that he was
refreshed by bathing and the offices of the camp barber, he looked much
as usual, save that the extreme paleness I had noticed when he came in
had given place to a faint flush beneath the olive, probably due to his
excitement, the danger being past. As we sat there, the rest of the
party, who had slept rather later than usual after their fatigues of the
previous day, came out one by one and stood around the dead tiger,
wondering at the tale told by the delighted ryot, who squatted at the
beast's head to relate the adventure to all comers. We could see the
group from where we sat, in the shadow of the _connât_, and the
different expressions of the men as they came out. The little collector
of Pegnugger measured and measured again; Mr. Ghyrkins stood with his
hands in his coat pockets and his legs apart, then going to the other
side he took up the same position again. Lord Steepleton Kildare
sauntered round and twirled his big moustache, saying nothing the while,
but looking rather serious. John Westonhaugh, who seemed to be the
artistic genius of the party, sent for a chair and made his servant hold
an umbrella over him while he sketched the animal in his notebook, and
presently his sister came out, a big bunch of roses in her belt, and a
broad hat half hiding her face, and looked at the tiger and then round
the party quickly, searching for Isaacs. In her hand she held a little
package wrapped in white tissue paper. I strolled up to the group,
leaving Isaacs in his tent. I thought I might as well play innocence.

"Of course," I remarked, "those fellows have bagged his ears as usual."

"They never omit that," said Ghyrkins.

"Oh no, uncle," broke in Miss Westonhaugh, "he gave them to me!"

"Who?" asked Ghyrkins, opening his little eyes wide.

"Mr. Isaacs. Did not he kill the tiger? He sent me the ears in a little
silver box. Here it is--the box, I mean. I am going to give it back to
him, of course."

"How did Mr. Isaacs know you wanted them?" asked her uncle, getting red
in the face.

"Why, we were talking about them last night before dinner, and he
promised that if he shot a tiger to-day he would give me the ears." Mr.
Ghyrkins was redder and redder in the morning sun. There was a storm of
some kind brewing. We were collected together on the other side of the
dead tiger and exchanged all kinds of spontaneous civilities and
remarks, not wishing to witness Mr. Ghyrkins' wrath, nor to go away too
suddenly. I heard the conversation, however, for the old gentleman made
no pretence of lowering his voice.

"And do you mean to say you let him go off like that? He must have been
out all night. That beast of a nigger says so. On foot, too. I say on
foot! Do you know what you are talking about? Eh? Shooting tigers on
foot? What? Eh? Might have been killed as easily as not! And then what
would you have said? Eh? What? Upon my soul! You girls from home have no
more hearts than a parcel of old Juggernauts!" Ghyrkins was now furious.
We edged away towards the dining-tent, making a great talk about the
terrible heat of the sun in the morning. I caught the beginning of Miss
Westonhaugh's answer. She had hardly appreciated the situation yet, and
probably thought her uncle was joking, but she spoke very coldly, being
properly annoyed at his talking in such a way.

"You cannot suppose for a moment that I meant him to go," I heard her
say, and something else followed in a lower tone. We then went into the
dining-tent.

"Now look here, Katharine," Mr. Ghyrkins' irate voice rang across the
open space, "if any young woman asked me----" John Westonhaugh had risen
from his chair and apparently interrupted his uncle. Miss Westonhaugh
walked slowly to her tent, while her male relations remained talking. I
thought Isaacs had shown some foresight in not taking part in the
morning discussion. The two men went into their tents together and the
dead tiger lay alone in the grass, the sun rising higher and higher,
pouring down his burning rays on man and beast and green thing. And soon
the shikarries came with a small elephant and dragged the carcass away
to be skinned and cut up. Kildare and the collector said they would go
and shoot some small game for dinner. Isaacs, I supposed, was sleeping,
and I was alone in the dining-tent. I shouted for Kiramat Ali and sent
for books, paper, and pens, and a hookah, resolved to have a quiet
morning to myself, since it was clear we were not going out to-day. I
saw Ghyrkins' servant enter his tent with bottles and ice, and I
suspected the old fellow was going to cool his wrath with a "peg," and
would be asleep most of the morning. John would take a peg too, but he
would not sleep in consequence, being of Bombay, iron-headed and
spirit-proof. So I read on and wrote, and was happy, for I like the heat
of the noon-day and the buzzing of the flies, and the smell of the
parched grass, being southern born.

About twelve o'clock, when I was beginning to think I had done enough
work for one day, I saw Miss Westonhaugh's native maid come out of her
mistress's tent and survey the landscape, shading her eyes with her
hand. She was dressed, of course, in spotless white drapery, and there
were heavy anklets on her feet and bangles of silver on her wrist. She
seemed satisfied by her inspection and went in again, returning
presently with Miss Westonhaugh and a large package of work and novels
and letter-writing materials. They came straight to where I was sitting
under the airy tent where we dined, and Miss Westonhaugh established
herself at one side of the table at the end of which I was writing.

"It is so hot in my tent," she said almost apologetically, and began to
unroll some worsted work.

"Yes, it is quite unbearable," I answered politely, though I had not
thought much about the temperature. There was a long silence, and I
collected my papers in a bundle and leaned back in my chair. I did not
know what to say, nor was anything expected of me. I looked occasionally
at the young girl, who had laid her hat on the table, allowing the rich
coils of dazzling hair to assert their independence. Her dark eyes were
bent over her work as her fingers deftly pushed the needle in and out of
the brown linen she worked on.

"Mr. Griggs," she began at last without looking up, "did you know Mr.
Isaacs was going out last night to kill that horrid thing?" I had
expected the question for some time.

"Yes; he told me about midnight, when he started."

"Then why did you let him go?" she asked, looking suddenly at me, and
knitting her dark eyebrows rather fiercely.

"I do not think I could have prevented him. I do not think anybody could
prevent him from doing anything he had made up his mind to. I nearly
quarrelled with him, as it was."

"I am sure I could have stopped him, if I had been you," she said
innocently.

"I have not the least doubt that you could. Unfortunately, however, you
were not available at the time, or I would have suggested it to you."

"I wish I had known," she went on, plunging deeper and deeper. "I would
not have had him go for--for anything."

"Oh! Well, I suppose not. But, seriously, Miss Westonhaugh, are you not
flattered that a man should be willing and ready to risk life and limb
in satisfying your lightest fancy?"

"Flattered?" she looked at me with much astonishment and some anger. I
was sure the look was genuine and not assumed.

"At all events the tiger's ears will always be a charming reminiscence,
a token of esteem that any one might be proud of."

"I am not proud of them in the least, though I shall always keep them as
a warning not to wish for such things. I hope that the next time Mr.
Isaacs is going to do a foolish thing you will have the common sense to
prevent him." She returned to her starting-point; but I saw no use in
prolonging the skirmish, and turned the talk upon other things. And soon
John Westonhaugh joined us, and found in me a sympathetic talker and
listener, as we both cared a great deal more for books than for tigers,
though not averse to a stray shot now and then.

In this kind of life the week passed, shooting to-day and staying in
camp to-morrow. We shifted our ground several times, working along the
borders of the forest and crashing through the jungle after tiger with
varying success. In the evenings, when not tired with the day's work, we
sat together, and Isaacs sang, and at last even prevailed upon Miss
Westonhaugh to let him accompany her with his guitar, in which he proved
very successful. They were constantly together, and Ghyrkins was heard
to say that Isaacs was "a very fine fellow, and it was a pity he wasn't
English," to which Kildare assented somewhat mournfully, allowing that
it was quite true. His chance was gone, and he knew it, and bore it like
a gentleman, though he still made use of every opportunity he had to
make himself acceptable to Miss Westonhaugh. The girl liked his manly
ways, and was always grateful for any little attention from him that
attracted her notice, but it was evident that all her interest ceased
there. She liked him in the same way she liked her brother, but rather
less, if anything. She hardly knew, for she had seen so little of John
since she was a small child. I suppose Isaacs must have talked to her
about me, for she treated me with a certain consideration, and often
referred questions to me, on which I thought she might as well have
consulted some one else. For my part, I served the lovers in every way I
could think of. I would have done anything for Isaacs then as now, and I
liked her for the honest good feeling she had shown about him,
especially in the matter of the tiger's ears, for which she could not
forgive herself--though in truth she had been innocent enough. And they
were really lovers, those two. Any one might have seen it, and but for
the wondrous fascination Isaacs exercised over every one who came near
him, and the circumstances of his spotless name and reputation for
integrity in the large transactions in which he was frequently known to
be engaged, it is certain that Mr. Ghyrkins would have looked askance at
the whole affair, and very likely would have broken up the party.

In the course of time we became a little _blasé_ about tigers, till on
the eighth day from the beginning of the hunt, which was a Thursday, I
remember, an incident occurred which left a lasting impression on the
mind of every one who witnessed it. It was a very hot morning, the
hottest day we had had, and we had just crossed a _nullah_ in the
forest, full from the recent rains, wherein the elephants lingered
lovingly to splash the water over their heated sides, drowning the
swarms of mosquitoes from which they suffer such torments, in spite of
their thick skins. The collector called a halt on the opposite side; our
line of march had become somewhat disordered by the passage, and
numerous tracks in the pasty black mud showed that the _nullah_ was a
favourite resort of tigers--though at this time of day they might be a
long distance off. I had come next to the collector after we emerged
from the stream, the pad elephants having lingered longer in the water,
and Mr. Ghyrkins with Miss Westonhaugh was three or four places beyond
me. It was shady and cool under the thick trees, and the light was not
good. The collector bent over his howdah, looking at some tracks.

"Those tracks look suspiciously fresh, Mr. Griggs," said the collector,
scrutinising the holes, not yet filled by the oozing back water of the
_nullah_. "Don't you think so?"

"Indeed, yes. I do not understand it at all," I replied. At the
collector's call a couple of beaters came forward and stooped down to
examine the trail. One of them, a good-looking young _gowala_, or
cowherd, followed along the footprints, examining each to be sure he was
not going on a false spoor; he moved slowly, scrutinising each hole, as
the traces grew shallower on the rising ground, approaching a bit of
small jungle. My sight followed the probable course of the track ahead
of him and something caught my eyes, which are remarkably good, even at
a great distance. The object was brown and hairy; a dark brown, not the
kind of colour one expects to see in the jungle in September. I looked
closely, and was satisfied that it must be part of an animal; still more
clearly I saw it, and no doubt remained in my mind; it was the head of a
bullock or a heifer. I shouted to the man to be careful, to stop and let
the elephants plough through the undergrowth, as only elephants can. But
he did not understand my Hindustani, which was of the civilised _Urdu_
kind learnt in the North-West Provinces. The man went quickly along, and
I tried to make the collector comprehend what I saw. But the pad
elephants were coming out of the water and forcing themselves between
our beasts, and he hardly caught what I said in the confusion. The track
led away to my left, nearly opposite to the elephant bearing Mr.
Ghyrkins and his niece. The little Pegnugger man was on my right. The
native held on, moving more and more rapidly as he found himself
following a single track. I shouted to him--to Ghyrkins--to everybody,
but they could not make the doomed man understand what I saw--the
freshly slain head of the tiger's last victim. There was little doubt
that the king himself was near by--probably in that suspicious-looking
bit of green jungle, slimy green too, as green is, that grows in sticky
chocolate-coloured mud. The young fellow was courageous, and ignorant of
the immediate danger, and, above all, he was on the look out for
bucksheesh. He reached the reeds and unclean vegetables that grew thick
and foul together in the little patch. He put one foot into the bush.

A great fiery yellow and black head rose cautiously above the level of
the green and paused a moment, glaring. The wretched man, transfixed
with terror, stood stock still, expecting death. Then he moved, as if to
throw himself on one side, and at the same instant the tiger made a dash
at his naked body, such a dash as a great relentless cat makes at a
gold-fish trying to slide away from its grip. The tiger struck the man a
heavy blow on the right shoulder, felling him like a log, and coming
down to a standing position over his prey, with one paw on the native's
right arm. Probably the parade of elephants and bright coloured howdahs,
and the shouts of the beaters and shikarries, distracted his attention
for a moment. He stood whirling his tail to right and left, with half
dropped jaw and flaming eyes, half pressing, half grabbing the fleshy
arm of the senseless man beneath him--impatient, alarmed, and horrible.

"Pack!!! Pi-i-i-i-ing ..." went the crack and the sing of the merry
rifle, and the scene changed.

With a yell like a soul in everlasting torment the great beast whirled
himself into the air ten feet at least, and fell dead beside his victim,
shot through breast and breastbone and heart. A dead silence fell on the
spectators. Then I looked, and saw Miss Westonhaugh holding out a second
gun to Mr. Ghyrkins, while he, seeing that the first had done its work,
leaned forward, his broad face pale with the extremity of his horror for
the man's danger, and his hands gripping at the empty rifle.

"You've done it this time," cried the collector from the right. "Take
six to four the man's dead!"

"Done," called Kildare from the other end. I was the nearest to the
scene, after Ghyrkins. I dropped over the edge of the howdah and made
for the spot, running. I think I reflected as I ran that it was rather
low for men to bet on the poor fellow's life in that way. Tigers are
often very deceptive and always die hard, and I am a cautious person, so
when I was near I pulled out my long army six-shooter, and, going
witihin arm's length, quietly put a bullet through the beast's eye as a
matter of safety. When he was cut up, however, the ball from the rifle
of Mr. Ghyrkins was found in his heart; the old fellow was a dead shot
still. I went up and examined the prostrate man. He was lying on his
face, and so I picked him up and propped his head against the dead
tiger. He was still breathing, but a very little examination proved that
his right collar-bone and the bone of his upper arm were broken. A
little brandy revived him, and he immediately began to scream with pain.
I was soon joined by the collector, who with characteristic promptitude
had torn and hewed some broad slats of bamboo from his howdah, and with
a little pulling and wrenching, and the help of my long, tough
turban-cloth, a real native pugree, we set and bound the arm as best we
could, giving the poor fellow brandy all the while. The collar-bone we
left to its own devices; an injury there takes care of itself.

An elephant came up and received the dead tiger, and the man was carried
off and placed in my howdah. The other animals with their riders had
gathered near the scene, and every one had something to say to Ghyrkins,
who by his brilliant shot and the life he had saved, had maintained his
reputation, and come off the hero of the whole campaign. Miss
Westonhaugh was speechless with horror at the whole thing, and seemed to
cling to her uncle, as if fearing something of the same kind might
happen to her at any moment. Isaacs, as usual the last on the line of
beating, came up and called out his congratulations.

"After saving a life so well, Mr. Ghyrkins, you will not grudge me the
poor honour of risking one, will you?"

"Not I, my boy!" answered the delighted old sportsman, "only if that
mangy old man-eater had got you down the other day, I should not have
been there to pot him!"

"Great shot, sir! I envy you," said Kildare.

"Splendid shot. A hundred yards at least," said John Westonhaugh
meditatively, but in a loud voice.

So we swung away toward the camp, though it was early. Ghyrkins
chuckled, and the man with the broken bones groaned. But between the
different members of the party he would be a rich man before he was
well. I amused myself with my favourite sport of potting peacocks with
bullets; it is very good practice. Isaacs had told me that morning when
we started that he would leave us the next day to meet Shere Ali near
Keitung. We reached camp about three o'clock, in the heat of the
afternoon. The injured beater was put in a servant's tent to be sent off
to Pegnugger in a litter in the cool of the night. There was a doctor
there who would take care of him under the collector's written orders.

The camp was in a shady place, quite unlike the spot where we had first
pitched our tents. There was a little grove of mango-trees, rather
stunted, as they are in the north, and away at one corner of the
plantation was a well with a small temple where a Brahmin, related to
all the best families in the neighbouring village, dwelt and collected
the gifts bestowed on him and his simple shrine by the superstitious,
devout, or worldly pilgrims who yearly and monthly visited him in search
of counsel, spiritual or social. The men had mowed the grass smooth
under the trees, and the shade was not so close as to make it damp. Some
ryots had been called in to dig a ditch and raised a rough _chapudra_ or
terrace, some fifteen feet in diameter, opposite the dining-tent, on
which elevation we could sit, even late at night, in reasonable security
from cobras and other evil beasts. It was a pleasant place in the
afternoon, and pleasanter still at night. As I turned into our tent
after we got back, I thought I would go and sit there when I had bathed,
and send for a hookah and a novel, and go to sleep.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER XI.


I observed that Isaacs was very quick about his toilet, and when I came
out and ascended the terrace, followed by Kiramat Ali with books and
tobacco, I glanced lazily over the quiet scene, settling myself in my
chair, and fully expecting to see my friend somewhere among the trees,
not unaccompanied by some one else. I was not mistaken. Turning my eyes
towards the corner of the grove where the old Brahmin had his shrine, I
saw the two well-known figures of Isaacs and Miss Westonhaugh sauntering
towards the well. Having satisfied the expectations of my curiosity, I
turned over the volume of philosophy, well thumbed and hard used as a
priest's breviary, and I inhaled long draughts of tobacco, debating
whether I should read, or meditate, or dream. Deciding in favour of the
more mechanical form of intellectuality, I fixed on a page that looked
inviting, and followed the lines, from left to right, lazily at first,
then with increased interest, and finally in that absorbed effort of
continued comprehension which constitutes real study. Page after page,
syllogism after syllogism, conclusion after conclusion, I followed for
the hundredth time in the book I love well--the book of him that would
destroy the religion I believe, but whose brilliant failure is one of
the grandest efforts of the purely human mind. I finished a chapter and,
in thought still, but conscious again of life, I looked up. They were
still down there by the well, those two, but while I looked the old
priest, bent and white, came out of the little temple where he had been
sprinkling his image of Vishnu, and dropped his aged limbs from one step
to the other painfully, steadying his uncertain descent with a stick. He
went to the beautiful couple seated on the edge of the well, built of
mud and sun-dried bricks, and he seemed to speak to Isaacs, I watched,
and became interested in the question whether Isaacs would give him a
two-anna bit or a copper, and whether I could distinguish with the naked
eye at that distance between the silver and the baser metal. Curious,
thought I, how odd little trifles will absorb the attention. The
interview which was to lead to the expected act of charity seemed to be
lasting a long time.

Suddenly Isaacs turned and called to me; his high, distinct tones
seeming to gather volume from the hollow of the well. He was calling me
to join them. I rose, rather reluctantly, from my books and moved
through the trees to where they were.

"Griggs," Isaacs called out before I had reached him, "here is an old
fellow who knows something. I really believe he is something of a yogi."

"What ridiculous nonsense," I said impatiently, "who ever heard of a
yogi living in a temple and feeding on the fat of the land in the way
all these men do? Is that all you wanted?" Miss Westonhaugh, peering
down into the depths of the well, laughed gaily.

"I told you so! Never try to make Mr. Griggs swallow that kind of thing.
Besides, he is a 'cynic' you know."

"As far as personal appearance goes, Miss Westonhaugh, I think your
friend the Brahmin there stands more chance of being taken for a
philosopher of that school. He really does not look particularly well
fed, in spite of the riches I thought he possessed." He was a
strange-looking old man, with a white beard and a small badly-rolled
pugree. His black eyes were filmy and disagreeable to look at. I
addressed him in Hindustani, and told him what Isaacs said, that he
thought he was a yogi. The old fellow did not look at me, nor did the
bleared eyes give any sign of intelligence. Nevertheless he answered my
question.

"Of what avail that I do wonders for you who believe not?" he asked, and
his voice sounded cracked and far off.

"It will avail thee several coins, friend," I answered, "both rupees and
pais. Reflect that there may be bucksheesh in store for thee, and do a
miracle."

"I will not do wonders for bucksheesh," said the priest, and began to
hobble away. Isaacs stepped lightly to his side and whispered something
in his ear. The ancient Brahmin turned.

"Then I will do a wonder for you, but I want no bucksheesh. I will do it
for the lady with white hair, whose face resembles Chunder." He looked
long and fixedly at Miss Westonhaugh. "Let the _sáhib log_ come with me
a stone's throw from the well, and let one sáhib call his servant and
bid him draw water that he may wash his hands. And I will do this
wonder; the man shall not draw any water, though he had the strength of
Siva, until I say the word." So we moved away under the trees, and I
shouted for Kiramat Ali, who came running down, and I told him to send a
_bhisti_, a water-carrier, with his leathern bucket. Then we waited.
Presently the man came, with bucket and rope.

"Draw water, that I may wash my hands," said I.

"Achhá, sáhib," and he strode to the well and lowered his pail by the
rope. The priest looked intently at him as he shook the rope to turn the
bucket over and let it fill; then he began to pull. The bucket seemed to
be caught. He jerked, and then bent his whole weight back, drawing the
rope across the edge of the brickwork. The thing was immovable. He
seemed astonished and looked down into the well, thinking the pail was
caught in a stone. I could not resist the temptation to go down and
inspect the thing. No. The bucket was full and lying in the middle of
the round sheet of water at the bottom of the well. The man tugged,
while the Brahmin never took his eyes, now bright and fiery, off him. I
went back to where they all stood. The thing had lasted five minutes.
Then the priest's lips moved silently.

Instantly the strain was released and the stout water-carrier fell
headlong backwards on the grass, his heels in the air, jerking the
bucket right over the edge of the well. He bounded to his feet and ran
up the grove, shouting "Bhût, Bhût," "devils, devils," at the top of his
voice. His obstinacy had lasted so long as the bucket would not move,
but then his terror got the better of him and he fled.

"Did you ever see anything of that kind before, Miss Westonhaugh?" I
inquired.

"No indeed; have you? How is it done?"

"I have seen similar things done, but not often. There are not many of
them that know how. But I cannot tell you the process any more than I
can explain the mango trick, which belongs, distantly, to the same class
of phenomena."

The Brahmin, whose eyes were again dim and filmy, turned to Isaacs.

"I have done a wonder for you. I will also tell you a saying. You have
done wrong in not taking the advice of your friend. You should not have
come forth to kill the king of game, nor have brought the white-haired
lady into the tiger's jaws. I have spoken. Peace be with you." And he
moved away.

"And with you peace, friend," answered Isaacs mechanically, but as I
looked at him he turned white to the very lips.

Miss Westonhaugh did not understand the language, and Isaacs would have
been the last person to translate such a speech as the Brahmin had made.
We turned and strolled up the hill, and presently I bethought me of some
errand, and left them together under the trees. They were so happy and
so beautiful together, the fair lily from the English dale and the deep
red rose of Persian Gulistán. The sun slanted low through the trees and
sank in rose-coloured haze, and the moon, now just at the half, began to
shine out softly through the mangoes, and still the lovers walked,
pacing slowly to and fro near the well. No wonder they dallied long; it
was their last evening together, and I doubted not that Isaacs was
telling her of his sudden departure, necessary for reasons which I knew
he would not explain to her or to any one else.

At last we all assembled in the dining-tent. Mr. Currie Ghyrkins was
among the first, and his niece was the last to enter the room. He was
glorious that evening, his kindly red face beamed on every one, and he
carried himself like a victorious general at a ladies' tea-party. He had
reason to be happy, and his jerky good spirits were needed to
counterbalance the deep melancholy that seemed to have settled upon his
niece. The colour was gone from her cheeks, and her dark eyes, heavily
fringed by the black brows and lashes, shone out strangely; the contrast
between the white flaxen hair, drawn back in simple massive waves like a
Greek statue, and the broad level eyes as dark as night, was almost
startling this evening in the singularity of its beauty. She sat like a
queenly marble at the end of the table, not silent, by any means, but so
evidently out of spirits that John Westonhaugh, who did not know that
Isaacs was going in the morning, and would not have supposed that his
sister could care so much, if he had known, remarked upon her
depression.

"What is the matter, Katharine?" he asked kindly. "Have you a headache
this evening?" She was just then staring rather blankly into space.

"Oh no," she said, trying to smile. "I was thinking."

"Ah," said Mr. Ghyrkins merrily, "that is why you look so unlike
yourself, my dear!" And he laughed at his rough little joke.

"Do I?" asked the girl absently.

But Ghyrkins was not to be repressed, and as Kildare and the Pegnugger
man were gay and wide awake, the dinner was not as dull as might have
been expected. When it was over, Isaacs announced his intention of
leaving early the next morning. Very urgent business recalled him
suddenly, he explained. A messenger had arrived just before dinner. He
must leave without fail in the morning. Miss Westonbaugh of course was
forewarned; but the others were not. Lord Steepleton Kildare, in the act
of lighting a cheroot, dropped the vesuvian incontinently, and stood
staring at Isaacs with an indescribable expression of empty wonder in
his face, while the match sputtered and smouldered and died away in the
grass by the door. John Westonhaugh, who liked Isaacs sincerely, and had
probably contemplated the possibility of the latter marrying Katharine,
looked sorry at first, and then a half angry expression crossed his
face, which softened instantly again. Currie Ghyrkins swore loudly that
it was out of the question--that it would break up the party--that he
would not hear of it, and so on.

"I must go," said Isaacs quietly. "It is a very serious matter. I am
sorry--more sorry than I can tell you; but I must."

"But you cannot, you know. Damn it, sir, you are the life of the party,
you know! Come, come, this will never do!"

"My dear sir," said Isaacs, addressing Ghyrkins, "if, when you were
about to fire this morning to save that poor devil's life, I had begged
you not to shoot, would you have complied?"

"Why, of course not," ejaculated Ghyrkins angrily.

"Well, neither can I comply, though I would give anything to stay with
you all."

"But nobody's life depends on your going away to-morrow morning. What do
you mean? The deuce and all, you know, I don't understand you a bit."

"I cannot tell you, Mr. Ghyrkins; but something dependg on my going,
which is of as great importance to the person concerned as life itself.
Believe me," he said, going near to the old gentleman and laying a hand
on his arm, "I do not go willingly."

"Well, I hope not, I am sure," said Ghyrkins gruffly, though yielding.
"If you will, you will, and there's no holding you; but we are all very
sorry. That's all. Mahmoud! bring fire, you lazy pigling, that I may
smoke." And he threw himself into a chair, the very creaking of the cane
wicker expressing annoyance and dissatisfaction.

So there was an end of it, and Isaacs strode off through the moonlight
to his quarters, to make some arrangement, I supposed. But he did not
come back. Miss Westonhaugh retired also to her tent, and no one was
surprised to see her go. Kildare rose presently and asked if I would not
stroll to the well, or anywhere, it was such a jolly night. I went with
him, and arm in arm we walked slowly down. The young moon was bright
among the mango-trees, striking the shining leaves, that reflected a
strange greenish light. We moved leisurely, and spoke little. I
understood Kildare's silence well enough, and I had nothing to say. The
ground was smooth and even, for the men had cut the grass close, and the
little humped cow that belonged to the old Brahmin cropped all she could
get at.

We skirted round the edge of the grove, intending to go back to the
tents another way. Suddenly I saw something in front that arrested my
attention. Two figures, some thirty yards away. They stood quite still,
turned from us. A man and a woman between the trees, an opening in the
leaves jost letting a ray of moonlight slip through on them. His arm
around her, the tall lissome figure of her bent, and her head resting on
his shoulder. I have good eyes and was not mistaken, but I trusted
Kildare had not seen. A quick twitch of his arm, hanging carelessly
through mine, told me the mischief was done before I could turn his
attention. By a common instinct we wheeled to the left, and passing into
the open strolled back in the direction whence we had come. I did not
look at Kildare, but after a minute he began to talk about the moonlight
and tigers, and whether tigers were ever shot by moonlight, and
altogether was rather incoherent; but I took up the question, and we
talked bravely till we got back to the dining-tent, where we sat down
again, secretly wishing we had not gone for a stroll after all. In a few
minutes Isaacs came from his tent, which he must have entered from the
other side. He was perfectly at his ease, and at once began talking
about the disagreeable journey he had before him. Then, after a time, we
broke up, and he said good-bye to every one in turn, and Ghyrkins told
John to call his sister, if she were still visible, for "Mr. Isaacs
wanted to say good-bye." So she came and took his hand, and made a
simple speech about "meeting again before long," as she stood with her
uncle; and my friend and I went away to our tent.

We sat long in the _connât_. Isaacs did not seem to want rest, and I
certainly did not. For the first half hour he was engaged in giving
directions to the faithful Narain, who moved about noiselessly among the
portmanteaus and gun-cases and boots which strewed the floor. At last
all was settled for the start before dawn, and he turned to me.

"We shall meet again in Simla, Griggs, of course?"

"I hope so. Of course we shall, unless you are killed by those fellows
at Keitung. I would not trust them."

"I do not trust them in the least, but I have an all-powerful ally in
Ram Lal. Did you not think it very singular that the Brahmin should know
all about Ram Lal's warning? and that he should have the same opinion?"

"We live in a country where nothing should astonish us, as I remember
saying to you a fortnight ago, when we first met," I answered. "That the
Brahmin possesses some knowledge of _yog-vidya_ is more clearly shown by
his speech about Ram Lal than by that ridiculous trick with my
water-carrier."

"You are not easily astonished, Griggs. But I agree with you as to that.
I am still at a loss to understand why I should not have come or let the
others come. I was startled at the Brahmin."

"I saw you were; you were as white as a sheet, and yet you turned up
your nose at Ram Lal when he told you not to come."

"The Brahmin said something more than Ram Lal. He said I should not have
brought the white-haired lady into the tiger's jaws. I saw that the
first warning had been on her account, and I suppose the impression of
possible danger for her frightened me."

"It would not have frightened you three weeks ago about any woman," I
said. "It appears to me that your ideas in certain quarters have
undergone some little change. You are as different from the Isaacs I
knew at first as Philip drunk was different from Philip sober. Such is
human nature--scoffing at women the one day, and risking life and soul
for their whims the next."

"I hate your reflections about the human kind, Griggs, and I do not like
your way of looking at women. You hate women so!"

"No. You like my descriptions of the 'ideal creatures I rave about' much
better, it seems. Upon my soul, friend, if you want a criterion of
yourself, take this conversation. A fortnight ago to-day--or to-morrow,
will it be?--I was lecturing you about the way to regard women; begging
you to consider that they had souls and were capable of loving, as well
as of being loved. And here you are accusing me of hating the whole sex,
and without the slightest provocation on my part, either. Here is Birnam
wood coming to Dunsinane with a vengeance!"

"Oh, I don't deny it. I don't pretend to argue about it. I have changed
a good deal in the last month." He pensively crossed one leg over the
other as he lay back on the long chair and pulled at his slipper. "I
suppose I have--changed a good deal."

"No wonder. I presume your views of immortality, the future state of the
fair sex, and the application of transcendental analysis to matrimony,
all changed about the same time?"

"Don't be unreasonable," he answered. "It all dates from that evening
when I had that singular fit and the vision I related to you. I have
never been the same man since; and I am glad of it. I now believe women
to be much more adorable than you painted them, and not half enough
adored." Suddenly he dropped the extremely English manner which he
generally affected in the idiom and construction of his speech, and
dropped back into something more like his own language. "The star that
was over my life is over it no longer. I have no life-star any longer.
The jewel of the southern sky withdraws his light, paling before the
white gold from the northern land. The gold that shall be mine through
all the cycles of the sun, the gold that neither man nor monarch shall
take from me. What have I to do with stars in heaven? Is not my star
come down to earth to abide with me through life? And when life is over
and the scroll is full, shall not my star bear me hence, beyond the
fiery foot-bridge, beyond the paradise of my people and its senseless
sensuality of houris and strong wine? Beyond the very memory of limited
and bounded life, to that life eternal where there is neither limit, nor
bound, nor sorrow? Shall our two souls not unite and be one soul to roam
through the countless circles of revolving outer space? Not through
years, or for times, or for ages--but for ever? The light of life is
woman, the love of life is the love of woman; the light that pales not,
the life that cannot die, the love that can know not any ending; _my_
light, _my_ life, and _my_ love!" His whole soul was in his voice, and
his whole heart; the twining white fingers, the half-closed eyes, and
the passionate quivering tone, told all he had left unsaid. It was
surely a high and a noble thing that he felt, worthy of the man in his
beauty of mind and body. He loved an ideal, revealed to him, as he
thought, in the shape of the fair English girl; he worshipped his ideal
through her, without a thought that he could be mistaken. Happy man!
Perhaps he had a better chance of going through life without any cruel
revelation of his mistake than falls to the lot of most lovers, for she
was surpassingly beautiful, and most good and true hearted. But are not
people always mistaken who think to find the perfect comprehended in the
imperfect, the infinite enchained and made tangible in the finite? Bah!
The same old story, the same old vicious circle, the everlastingly
recurring mathematical view of things that cannot be treated
mathematically; the fruitless attempt to measure the harmonious circle
of the soul by the angular square of the book. What poor things our
minds are, after all. We have but one way of thinking derived from what
we know, and we incontinently apply it to things of which we can know
nothing, and then we quarrel with the result, which is a mere _reductio
ad absurdum_, showing how utterly false and meagre are our hypotheses,
premisses, and so-called axioms. Confucius, who began his system with
the startling axiom that "man is good," arrived at much more really
serviceable conclusions than Schopenhauer and all the pessimists put
together. Meanwhile, Isaacs was in love, and, I supposed, expected me to
say something appreciative.

"My dear friend," I began, "it is a rare pleasure to hear any one talk
like that; it refreshes a man's belief in human nature, and enthusiasm,
and all kinds of things. I talked like that some time ago because you
would not. I think you are a most satisfactory convert."

"I am indeed a convert. I would not have believed it possible, and now I
cannot believe that I ever thought differently. I suppose it is the way
with all converts--in religion as well--and with all people who are
taken up by a fair-winged genius from an arid desert and set down in a
garden of roses." He could not long confine himself to ordinary
language. "And yet the hot sand of the desert, and the cool of the
night, and the occasional patch of miserable, languishing green, with
the little kindly spring in the camel-trodden oasis, seemed all so
delightful in the past life that one was quite content, never suspecting
the existence of better things. But now--I could almost laugh to think
of it. I stand in the midst of the garden that is filled with all things
fair, and the tree of life is beside me, blossoming straight and broad
with the flowers that wither not, and the fruit that is good to the
parched lips and the thirsty spirit. And the garden is for us to dwell
in now, and the eternity of the heavenly spheres is ours hereafter." He
was all on fire again. I kept silence for some time; and his hands
unfolded, and he raised them and clasped them under his head, and drew a
deep long breath, as if to taste the new life that was in him.

"Forgive my bringing you down to earth again," I said after a while,
"but have you made all necessary arrangements? Is there anything I can
do, after you are gone? Anything to be said to these good people, if
they question me about your sudden departure?"

"Yes. I was forgetting. If you will be so kind, I wish you would see the
expedition out, and take charge of the expenses. There are some bags of
rupees somewhere among my traps. Narain knows. I shall not take him with
me--or, no; on second thoughts I will hand you over the money, and take
him to Simla. Then, about the other thing. Do not tell any one where I
have gone, unless it be Miss Westonhaugh, and use your own discretion
about her. We shall all be in Simla in ten days, and I do not want this
thing known, as you may imagine. I do not think there is anything else,
thanks." He paused, as if thinking. "Yes, there is one more
consideration. If anything out of the way should occur in this
transaction with Baithopoor, I should want your assistance, if you will
give it. Would you mind?"

"Of course not. Anything----"

"In that case, if Ram Lal thinks you are wanted, he will send a swift
messenger to you with a letter signed by me, in the Persian
_shikast_--which you read.--Will you come by the way he will direct you,
if I send? He will answer for your safety."

"I will come," I said, though I thought it was rather rash of me, who am
a cautious man, to trust my life in the hands of a shadowy person like
Ram Lal, who seemed to come and go in strange ways, and was in
communication with suspicious old Brahmin jugglers. But I trusted Isaacs
better than his adept friend.

"I suppose," I said, vaguely hoping there might yet be a possibility of
detaining him, "that there is no way of doing this business so that you
could remain here."

"No, friend Griggs. If there were any other way, I would not go now. I
would not go to-day, of all days in the year--of all days in my life.
There is no other way, by the grave of my father, on whom be the peace
of Allah." So we went to bed.

At four o'clock Narain waked us, and in twenty minutes Isaacs was on
horseback. I had ordered a _tat_ to be in readiness for me, thinking I
would ride with him an hour or two in the cool of the morning. So we
passed along by the quiet tents, Narain disappearing in the manner
peculiar to Hindoo servants, to be found at the end of the day's march,
smiling as ever. The young moon had set some time before, but the stars
were bright, though it was dark under the trees.

Twenty yards beyond the last tent, a dark figure swept suddenly out from
the blackness and laid a hand on Isaacs' rein. He halted and bent over,
and I heard some whispering. It only lasted a moment, and the figure
shot away again. I was sure I heard something like a kiss, in the gloom,
and there was a most undeniable smell of roses in the air. I held my
peace, though I was astonished. I could not have believed her capable of
it. Lying in wait in the dusk of the morning to give her lover a kiss
and a rose and a parting word. She must have taken me for his servant in
the dark.

"Griggs," said Isaacs as we parted some six or seven miles farther
on,--"an odd thing happened this morning. I have left something more in
your keeping than money."

"I know. Trust me. Good-bye," and he cantered off.

I confess I was very dejected and low-spirited when I came back into
camp. My acquaintance with Isaacs, so suddenly grown into intimacy, had
become a part of my life. I felt a sort of devotion to him that I had
never felt for any man in my life before. I would rather have gone with
him to Keitung, for a presentiment told me there was trouble in the
wind. He had not talked to me about the Baithopoor intrigue, for
everything was as much settled beforehand as it was possible to settle
anything. There was nothing to be said, for all that was to come was
action; but I knew Isaacs distrusted the maharajah, and that without Ram
Lal's assistance--of whatever nature that might prove to be--he would
not have ventured to go alone to such a tryst.

When I returned the camp was all alive, for it was nearly seven o'clock.
Kildare and the collector, my servant said, had gone off on _tats_ to
shoot some small game. Mr. Ghyrkins was occupied with the shikarries in
the stretching and dressing of the skin he had won the previous day.
Neither Miss Westonhaugh nor her brother had been seen. So I dressed and
rested myself and had some tea, and sat wondering what the camp would be
like without Isaacs, who, to me and to one other person, was
emphatically, as Ghyrkins had said the night before, the life of the
party. The weather was not so warm as on the previous day, and I was
debating whether I should not try and induce the younger men to go and
stick a pig--the shikarry said there were plenty in some place he knew
of--or whether I should settle myself in the dining-tent for a long day
with my books, when the arrival of a mounted messenger with some letters
from the distant post-office decided me in favour of the more peaceful
disposition of my time. So I glanced at the papers, and assured myself
that the English were going deeper and deeper into the mire of
difficulties and reckless expenditure that characterised their campaign
in Afghanistan in the autumn of 1879; and when I had assured myself,
furthermore, by the perusal of a request for the remittance of twenty
pounds, that my nephew, the only relation, male or female, that I have
in the world, had not come to the untimely death he so richly deserved,
I fell to considering what book I should read. And from one thing to
another, I found myself established about ten o'clock at the table in
the dining-tent, with Miss Westonhaugh at one side, worsted work,
writing materials and all, just as she had been at the same table a week
or so before. At her request I had continued my writing when she came
in. I was finishing off a column of a bloodthirsty article for the
_Howler_; it probably would come near enough to the mark, for in India
you may print a leader anywhere within a month of its being written, and
if it was hot enough to begin with, it will still answer the purpose.
Journalism is not so rapid in its requirements as in New York, but, on
the other hand, it is more lucrative.

"Mr. Griggs, are you _very_ busy?"

"Oh dear, no--nothing to speak of," I went on writing--the
unprecedented--folly--the--blatant--charlatanism----

"Mr. Griggs, do you understand these things?"

----Lord Beaconsfield's--"I think so, Miss Westonhaugh"--Afghan
policy----There, I thought,

I think that would rouse Mr. Currie Ghyrkins, if he ever saw it, which I
trust he never will. I had done, and I folded the numbered sheets in an
oblong bundle.

"I beg your pardon, Miss Westonhaugh; I was just finishing a sentence. I
am quite at your service."

"Oh no! I see you are too busy."

"Not in the least, I assure you. Is it that tangled skein? Let me help
you."

"Oh thank you. It is so tiresome, and I am not in the least inclined to
be industrious."

I took the wool and set to work. It was very easy, after all; I pulled
the loops through, and back again and through from the other side, and I
found the ends, and began to wind it up on a piece of paper. It is
singular, though, how the unaided wool can tie itself into every kind of
a knot--reef, carrick bend, bowline, bowline in a bight, not to mention
a variety of hitches and indescribable perversions of entanglement. I
was getting on very well, though. I looked up at her face, pale and
weary with a sleepless night, but beautiful--ah yes--beautiful beyond
compare. She smiled faintly.

"You are very clever with your fingers. Where did you learn it? Have you
a sister who makes you wind her wool for her at home?"

"No. I have no sister. I went to sea once upon a time."

"Were you ever in the navy, Mr. Griggs?"

"Oh no. I went before the mast."

"But you would not learn to unravel wool before the mast. I suppose your
mother taught you when you were small--if you ever were small."

"I never had a mother that I can remember--I learned to do all those
things at sea."

"Forgive me," she said, guessing she had struck some tender chord in my
existence. "What an odd life you must have had."

"Perhaps. I never had any relations that I can remember, except a
brother, much older than I. He died years ago, and his son is my only
living relation. I was born in Italy."

"But when did you learn so many things? You seem to know every language
under the sun."

"I had a good education when I got ashore. Some one was very kind to me,
and I had learned Latin and Greek in the common school in Rome before I
ran away to sea."

I answered her questions reluctantly. I did not want to talk about my
history, especially to a girl like her. I suppose she saw my
disinclination, for as I handed her the card with the wool neatly wound
on it, she thanked me and presently changed the subject, or at least
shifted the ground.

"There is something so free about the life of an adventurer--I mean a
man who wanders about doing brave things. If I were a man I would be an
adventurer like you."

"Not half so much of an adventurer, as you call it, as our friend who
went off this morning."

It was the first mention of Isaacs since his departure. I had said the
thing inadvertently, for I would not have done anything to increase her
trouble for the world. She leaned back, dropping her hands with her work
in her lap, and stared straight out through the doorway, as pale as
death--pale as only fair-skinned people are when they are ill, or hurt.
She sat quite still. I wondered if she were ill, or if it were only
Isaacs' going that had wrought this change in her brilliant looks.
"Would you like me to read something to you, Miss Westonhaugh? Here is a
comparatively new book--_The Light of Asia_, by Mr. Edwin Arnold. It is
a poem about India. Would it give you any pleasure?" She guessed the
kind intention, and a little shadow of a smile passed over her lips.

"You are so kind, Mr. Griggs. Please, you are so very kind."

I began to read, and read on and on through the exquisite rise and fall
of the stanzas, through the beautiful clear high thoughts which seem to
come as a breath and a breeze from an unattainable heaven, from the
Nirvana we all hope for in our inmost hearts, whatever our confession of
faith. And the poor girl was soothed, and touched and lulled by the
music of thought and the sigh of verse that is in the poem; and the
morning passed. I suppose the quiet and the poetry wrought up in her the
feeling of confidence she felt in me, as being her lover's friend, for
after I had paused a minute or two, seeing some one coming toward the
tent, she said quite simply--

"Where is he gone?"

"He is gone to do a very noble deed. He is gone to save the life of a
man he never saw." A bright light came into her face, and all the
chilled heart's blood, driven from her cheeks by the weariness of her
first parting, rushed joyously back, and for one moment there dwelt on
her features the glory and bloom of the love and happiness that had been
hers all day yesterday, that would be hers again--when? Poor Miss
Westonhaugh, it seemed so long to wait.

The day passed somehow, but the dinner was dismal. Miss Westonhaugh was
evidently far from well, and I could not conceive that the pain of a
temporary parting should make so sudden a change in one so perfectly
strong and healthy--even were her nature ever so sensitive. Kildare and
the Pegnugger magistrate tried to keep up the spirits of the party, but
John Westonhaugh was anxious about his sister, and even old Mr. Currie
Ghyrkins was beginning to fancy there must be something wrong. We sat
smoking outside, and the young girl refused to leave us, though John
begged her to. As we sat, it may have been half an hour after dinner, a
messenger came galloping up in hot haste, and leaping to the ground
asked for "Gurregis Sahib," with the usual native pronunciation of my
euphonious name. Being informed, he salaamed low and handed me a letter,
which I took to the light. It was in _shikast_ Persian, and signed
"Abdul Hafiz-ben-Isâk." "Ram Lal," he said, "has met me unexpectedly,
and sends you this by his own means, which are swift as the flight of
the eagle. It is indispensable that you meet us below Keitung, towards
Sultanpoor, on the afternoon of the day when the moon is full. Travel by
Julinder and Sultanpoor; you will easily overtake me, since I go by
Simla. For friendship's sake, for love's sake, come. It is life and
death. Give the money to the Irishman. Peace be with you."

I sighed a sigh of the most undetermined description. Was I glad to
rejoin my friend? or was I pained to leave the woman he loved in her
present condition? I hardly knew.

"I think we had all better go back to Simla," said John, when I
explained that the most urgent business called me away at dawn.

"There will be none of us left soon," said Ghyrkins quite quietly and
mournfully.

I found means to let Miss Westonhaugh understand where I was going. I
gave Kildare the money in charge.

In the dark of the morning, as I cleared the tents, the same shadow I
had seen before shot out and laid a hand on my rein. I halted on the
same spot where Isaacs had drawn rein twenty-four hours before.

"Give him this from me. God be with you!" She was gone in a moment,
leaving a small package in my right hand. I thrust it in my bosom and
rode away.

"How she loves him," I thought, wondering greatly.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER XII.


It was not an agreeable journey I had undertaken. In order to reach the
inaccessible spot, chosen by Isaacs for the scene of Shere Ali's
liberation, in time to be of any use, it was necessary that I should
travel by a more direct and arduous route than that taken by my friend.
He had returned to Simla, and by his carefully made arrangements would
be able to reach Keitung, or the spot near it, where the transaction was
to take place, by constant changes of horses where riding was possible,
and by a strong body of dooly-bearers wherever the path should prove too
steep for four-footed beasts of burden. I, on the other hand, must leave
the road at Julinder, a place I had never visited, and must trust to my
own unaided wits and a plentiful supply of rupees to carry me over at
least two hundred miles of country I did not know--difficult certainly,
and perhaps impracticable for riding. The prospect was not a pleasant
one, but I was convinced that in a matter of this importance a man of
Isaacs' wit and wealth would have made at least some preliminary
arrangements for me, since he probably knew the country well enough
himself. I had but six days at the outside to reach my destination.

I had resolved to take one servant, Kiramat Ali, with me as far as
Julinder, whence I would send him back to Simla with what slender
luggage we carried, for I meant to ride as light as possible, with no
encumbrance to delay me when once I left the line of the railway. I
might have ridden five miles with Kiramat Ali behind me on a sturdy
_tat_, when I was surprised by the appearance of an unknown saice in
plain white clothes, holding a pair of strong young ponies by the halter
and salaaming low.

"Pundit Ram Lal sends your highness his peace, and bids you ride without
sparing. The _dâk_ is laid to the fire-carriages."

The saddles were changed in a moment, Kiramat Ali and I assisting in the
operation. It was clear that Ram Lal's messengers were swift, for even
if he had met Isaacs when the latter reached the railroad, no ordinary
horse could have returned with the message at the time I had received
it. Still less would any ordinary Hindus be capable of laying a _dâk_,
or post route of relays, over a hundred miles long in twelve hours. Once
prepared, it was a mere matter of physical endurance in the rider to
cover the ground, for the relays were stationed every five or six miles.
It was well known that Lord Steepleton Kildare had lately ridden from
Simla to Umballa one night and back the next day, ninety-two miles each
way, with constant change of cattle. What puzzled me was the rapidity
with which the necessary dispositions had been made. On the whole, I was
reassured. If Ram Lal had been able to prepare my way at such short
notice here, with two more days at his disposal he would doubtless
succeed in laying me a _dâk_ most of the way from Julinder to Keitung. I
will not dwell upon the details of the journey. I reached the railroad
and prepared for forty-eight hours of jolting and jostling and broken
sleep. It is true that railway travelling is nowhere so luxurious as in
India, where a carriage has but two compartments, each holding as a rule
only two persons, though four can be accommodated by means of hanging
berths. Each compartment has a spacious bathroom attached, where you may
bathe as often as you please, and there are various contrivances for
ventilating and cooling the air. Nevertheless the heat is sometimes
unbearable, and a journey from Bombay to Calcutta direct during the warm
months is a severe trial to the strongest constitution. On this occasion
I had about forty-eight hours to travel, and I was resolved to get all
the rest in that time that the jolting made possible; for I knew that
once in the saddle again it might be days before I got a night's sleep.
And so we rumbled along, through the vast fields of sugar-cane, now
mostly tied in huge sheaves upright, through boundless stretches of
richly-cultivated soil, intersected with the regularity of a chess-board
by the rivulets and channels of a laborious irrigation. Here and there
stood the high frames made by planting four bamboos in a square and
wickering the top, whereon the ryots sit when the crops are ripening, to
watch against thieves and cattle, and to drive away the birds of the
air. On we spun, past Meerut and Mozuffernugger, past Umballa and
Loodhiana, till we reached our station of Julinder at dawn. Descending
from the train, I was about to begin making inquiries about my next
move, when I was accosted by a tall and well-dressed Mussulman, in a
plain cloth _caftán_ and a white turban, but exquisitely clean and fresh
looking, as it seemed to me, for my eyes were smarting with dust and
wearied with the perpetual shaking of the train.

The courteous native soon explained that he was Isaacs' agent in
Julinder, and that a _târ ki khaber_, a telegram in short, had warned
him to be on the lookout for me. I was greatly relieved, for it was
evident that every arrangement had been made for my comfort, so far as
comfort was possible. Isaacs had asked my assistance, but he had taken
every precaution against all superfluous bodily inconvenience to me, and
I felt sure that from this point I should move quickly and easily
through every difficulty. And so it proved. The Mussulman took me to his
house, where there was a spacious apartment, occupied by Isaacs when he
passed that way. Every luxury was prepared for the enjoyment of the
bath, and a breakfast of no mean taste was served me in my own room.
Then my host entered and explained that he had been directed to make
certain arrangements for my journey. He had laid a _dâk_ nearly a
hundred miles ahead, and had been ordered to tell me that similar steps
had been taken beyond that point as far as my ultimate destination, of
which, however, he was ignorant. My servant, he said, must stay with him
and return to Simla with my traps.

So an hour later I mounted for my long ride, provided with a revolver
and some rupees in a bag, in case of need. The country, my entertainer
informed me, was considered perfectly safe, unless I feared the _tap_,
the bad kind of fever which infests all the country at the base of the
hills. I was not afraid of this. My experience is that some people are
predisposed to fever, and will generally be attacked by it in their
first year in India, whether they are much exposed to it or not, while
others seem naturally proof against any amount of malaria, and though
they sleep out of doors through the whole rainy season, and tramp about
the jungles in the autumn, will never catch the least ague, though they
may have all other kinds of ills to contend with.

On and on, galloping along the heavy roads, sometimes over no road at
all, only a broad green track, where the fresh grass that had sprung up
after the rains was not yet killed by the trampling of the bullocks and
the grinding jolt of the heavy cart. At intervals of seven or eight
miles I found a saice with a fresh pony picketed and grazing at the end
of the long rope. The saice was generally squatting near by, with his
bag of food and his three-sided kitchen of stones, blackened with the
fire from his last meal, beside him; sometimes in the act of cooking his
chowpatties, sometimes eating them, according to the time of day.
Several times I stopped to drink some water where it seemed to be good,
and I ate a little chocolate from my supply, well knowing the
miraculous, sustaining powers of the simple little block of "Menier,"
which, with its six small tablets, will not only sustain life, but will
supply vigour and energy, for as much as two days, with no other food.
On and on, through the day and the night, past sleeping villages, where
the jackals howled around the open doors of the huts; and across vast
fields of late crops, over hills thickly grown with trees, past the
broad bend of the Sutlej river, and over the plateau toward Sultanpoor,
the cultivation growing scantier and the villages rarer all the while,
as the vast masses of the Himalayas defined themselves more and more
distinctly in the moonlight. Horses of all kinds under me, lean and fat,
short and high, roman-nosed and goose-necked, broken and unbroken; away
and away, shifting saddle and bridle and saddle-bag as I left each tired
mount behind me. Once I passed a stream, and pulling off my boots to
cool my feet, the temptation way too strong, so I hastily threw off my
clothes and plunged in and had a short refreshing bath. Then on, with,
the galloping even triplet of the house's hoofs beneath me, as they came
down in quick succession, as if the earth were a muffled drum and we
were beating an untiring _rataplan_ on her breast.

I must have ridden a hundred and thirty miles before dawn, and the pace
was beginning to tell, even on my strong frame. True, to a man used to
the saddle, the effort of riding is reduced to a minimum when every hour
or two gives him a fresh horse. There is then no heed for the welfare of
the animal necessary; he has but his seven or eight miles to gallop, and
then his work is done; there are none of those thousand little cares and
sympathetic shiftings and adjustings of weight and seat to be thought
of, which must constantly engage the attention of a man who means to
ride the same horse a hundred miles, or even fifty or forty. Conscious
that a fresh mount awaits him, he sits back lazily and never eases his
weight for a moment; before he has gone thirty miles he will kick his
feet out of the stirrups about once in twenty minutes, and if he has for
the moment a quiet old stager who does not mind tricks, he will probably
fetch one leg over and go a few miles sitting sideways. He will go to
sleep once or twice, and wake up apparently in the very act to
fall--though I believe that a man will sleep at a full gallop and never
loosen his knees until the moment of waking startles him. Nevertheless,
and notwithstanding Lord Steepleton Kildare and his ride to Umballa and
back in twenty-four hours, when a man, be he ever so strong, has ridden
over a hundred miles, he feels inclined for a rest, and a walk, and a
little sleep.

Once more an emissary of Ram Lal strode to my side as I rolled off the
saddle into the cool grass at sunrise in a very impracticable-looking
country. The road had been steeper and less defined during the last two
hours of the ride, and as I crossed one leg high over the other lying on
my back in the grass, the morning light caught my spur, and there was
blood on it, bright and red. I had certainly come as fast as I could; if
I should be too late, it would not be my fault. The agent, whoever he
might be, was a striking-looking fellow in a dirty brown cloth _caftán_
and an enormous sash wound round his middle. A pointed cap with some
tawdry gold lace on it covered his head, and greasy black love-locks
writhed filthily over his high cheek bones and into his scanty tangled
beard; a suspicious hilt bound with brass wire reared its snake-like
head from the folds of his belt, and his legs, terminating in
thick-soled native shoes, reminded one of a tarantula in boots. He
salaamed awkwardly with a tortuous grin, and addressed me with the
northern salutation, "May your feet never be weary with the march."
Having been twenty-four hours in the saddle, my feet were not that
portion of my body most wearied, but I replied to the effect that I
trusted the shadow of the greasy gentleman might not diminish a
hairsbreadth in the next ten thousand years. We then proceeded to
business, and I observed that the man spoke a very broken and hardly
intelligible Hindustani. I tried him in Persian, but it was of no avail.
He spoke Persian, he said, but it was not of the kind that any human
being could understand; so we returned to the first language, and I
concluded that he was a wandering kábuli.

As an introduction of himself he mentioned Isaacs, calling him Abdul
Hafiz Sáhib, and he seemed to know him personally. Abdul, he said, was
not far off as distances go in the Himalayas. He thought I should find
him the day after to-morrow, _mungkul_. He said I should not be able to
ride much farther, as the pass beyond Sultanpoor was utterly
impracticable for horses; coolies, however, awaited me with a dooly, one
of those low litters slung on a bamboo, in which you may travel swiftly
and without effort, but to the destruction of the digestive organs. He
said also that he would accompany me the next stage as far as the
doolies, and I thought he showed some curiosity to know whither I was
going; but he was a wise man in his generation, and knowing his orders,
did not press me overmuch with questions. I remarked in a mild way that
the saddle was the throne of the warrior, and that the air of the black
mountains was the breath of freedom; but I added that the voice of the
empty stomach was as the roar of the king of the forest. Whereupon the
man replied that the forest was mine and the game therein, whereof I was
lord, as I probably was of the rest of the world, since I was his father
and mother and most of his relations; but that, perceiving that I was
occupied with the cares of a mighty empire, he had ventured to slay with
his own hand a kid and some birds, which, if I would condescend to
partake of them, he would proceed to cook. I replied that the light of
my countenance would shine upon my faithful servant to the extent of
several coins, both rupees and pais, but that the peculiar customs of my
caste forbid me to touch food cooked by any one but myself. I would,
however, in consideration of his exertions and his guileless heart,
invite the true follower of the prophet, whose name is blessed, to
partake with me of the food which I should presently prepare. Whereat he
was greatly delighted, and fetched the meat, which he had stowed away in
a kind of horse-cloth, for safety against ants.

I am not a bad cook at a pinch, and so we sat down and made a
cooking-place with stones, and built a fire, and let the flame die down
into coals, and I dressed the meat as best I could, and flavoured it
with gunpowder and pepper, and we were merry. The man was thenceforth
mine, and I knew I could trust him; a bivouac in the Himalayas, when one
is alone and far from any kind of assistance, is not the spot to indulge
in any prejudice about colour. I did not think much about it as I
hungrily gnawed the meat and divided the birds with my pocket-knife.

The lower Himalayas are at first extremely disappointing. The scenery is
enormous but not grand, and at first hardly seems large. The lower parts
are at first sight a series of gently undulating hills and wooded dells;
in some places it looks as if one might almost hunt the country. It is
long before you realise that it is all on a gigantic scale; that the
quickset hedges are belts of rhododendrons of full growth, the
water-jumps rivers, and the stone walls mountain-ridges; that to hunt a
country like that you would have to ride a horse at least two hundred
feet high. You cannot see at first, or even for some time, that the
gentle-looking hill is a mountain of five or six thousand feet; in Simla
you will not believe you are three thousand feet above the level of the
Rhigi Kulm in Switzerland. Persons who are familiar with the aspect of
the Rocky Mountains are aware of the singular lack of dignity in those
enormous elevations. They are merely big, without any superior beauty,
until you come to the favoured spots of nature's art, where some great
contrast throws out into appalling relief the gulf between the high and
the low. It is so in the Himalayas.

You may travel for hours and days amidst vast forests and hills without
the slightest sensation of pleasure or sense of admiration for the
scene, till suddenly your path leads you out on to the dizzy brink of an
awful precipice--a sheer fall, so exaggerated in horror that your most
stirring memories of Mont Blanc, the Jungfrau, and the hideous _arête_
of the Pitz Bernina, sink into vague insignificance. The gulf that
divides you from the distant mountain seems like a huge bite taken
bodily out of the world by some voracious god; far away rise snow peaks
such as were not dreamt of in your Swiss tour; the bottomless valley at
your feet is misty and gloomy with blackness, streaked with mist, while
the peaks above shoot gladly to the sun and catch his broadside rays
like majestic white standards. Between you, as you stand leaning
cautiously against the hill behind you, and the wonderful background far
away in front, floats a strange vision, scarcely moving, but yet not
still. A great golden shield sails steadily in vast circles, sending
back the sunlight in every tint of burnished glow. The golden eagle of
the Himalayas hangs in mid-air, a sheet of polished metal to the eye,
pausing sometimes in the full blaze of reflection, as ages ago the sun
and the moon stood still in the valley of Ajalon; too magnificent for
description, as he is too dazzling to look at. The whole scene, if no
greater name can be given to it, is on a scale so Titanic in its massive
length and breadth and depth, that you stand utterly trembling and weak
and foolish as you look for the first time. You have never seen such
masses of the world before.

It was in such a spot as this that, nearly at noon on the appointed day,
my dooly-bearers set me down and warned me I was at my journey's end. I
stepped out and stood on the narrow way, pausing to look and to enjoy
all that I saw. I had been in other parts of the lower Himalayas before,
and the first sensations I had experienced had given way to those of a
contemplative admiration. No longer awed or overpowered or oppressed by
the sense of physical insignificance in my own person, I could endure to
look on the stupendous panorama before me, and could even analyse what I
felt. But before long my pardonable reverie was disturbed by a
well-known voice. The clear tones rang like a trumpet along the
mountain-side in a glad shout of welcome. I turned and saw Isaacs coming
quickly towards me, bounding along the edge of the precipice as if his
life had been passed in tending goats and robbing eagles' nests. I, too,
moved on to meet him, and in a moment we clasped hands in unfeigned
delight at being again together. What was Ghyrkins or his party to me?
Here was the man I sought; the one man on earth who seemed worth having
for a friend. And yet it was but three weeks since we first met, and I
am not enthusiastic by temperament.

"What news, friend Griggs?"

"She greets you and sends you this," I said, taking from my bosom the
parcel she had thrust into my hand as I left in the dark. His face fell
suddenly. It was the silver box he had given her; was it possible she
had taken so much trouble to return it? He turned it over mournfully.

"You had better open it. There is probably something in it."

I never saw a more complete change in a man's face during a single
second than came over Isaacs' in that moment. He had not thought of
opening it, in his first disappointment at finding it returned. He
turned back the lid. Bound with a bit of narrow ribbon and pressed down
carefully, he found a heavy lock of gold-white hair, so fair that it
made everything around it seem dark--the grass, our clothes, and even
the white streamer that hung down from Isaacs' turban. It seemed to shed
a bright light, even in the broad noon-day, as it lay there in the
curiously wrought box--just as the body of some martyred saint found
jealously concealed in the dark corner of an ancient crypt, and broken
in upon by unsuspecting masons delving a king's grave, might throw up in
their dusky faces a dazzling halo of soft radiance--the glory of the
saint hovering lovingly by the body wherein the soul's sufferings were
perfected.

The moment Isaacs realised what it was, he turned away, his face all
gladness, and moved on a few steps with bent head, evidently
contemplating his new treasure. Then he snapped the spring, and putting
the casket in his vest turned round to me.

"Thank you, Griggs; how are they all?"

"It was worth a two-hundred mile ride to see your face when you opened
that box. They are pretty well. I left them swearing that the party was
broken up, and that they would all go back to Simla."

"The sooner the better. We shall be there in three days from here, by
the help of Ram Lal's wonderful post."

"Between you I managed to get here quite well. How did you do it? I
never missed a relay all the way from Julinder."

"Oh, it is very easy," answered Isaacs. "You could have a _dâk_ to the
moon from India if you would pay for it; or any other thing in heaven or
earth or hell that you might fancy. Money, that is all. But, my dear
fellow, you have lost flesh sensibly since we parted. You take your
travelling hard."

"Where is Ram Lal?" I asked, curious to learn something of our movements
for the night.

"Oh, I don't know. He is probably somewhere about the place charming
cobras or arresting avalanches, or indulging in some of those playful
freaks he says he learned in Edinburgh. We have had a great good time
the last two days. He has not disappeared, or swallowed himself even
once, or delivered himself of any fearful and mysterious prophecies. We
have been talking transcendentalism. He knows as much about 'functional
gamma' and 'All X is Y' and the rainbow, and so on, as you do yourself.
I recommend him. I think he would be a charming companion for you. There
he is now, with his pockets full of snakes and evil beasts. I wanted him
to catch a golden eagle this morning, and tame it for Miss Westonhaugh,
but he said it would eat the jackal and probably the servants, so I have
given it up for the present." Isaacs was evidently in a capital humour.
Ram Lal approached us.

I saw at a glance that Ram Lal the Buddhist, when on his beats in the
civilisation of Simla, was one person. Ram Lal, the cultured votary of
science, among the hills and the beasts and the specimens that he loved,
was a very different man. He was as gray as ever, it is true, but better
defined, the outlines sharper, the features more Dantesque and easier to
discern in the broad light of the sun. He did not look now as if he
could sit down and cross his legs and fade away into thin air, like the
Cheshire cat. He looked more solid and fleshly, his voice was fuller,
and sounded close to me as he spoke, without a shadow of the curious
distant ring I had noticed before.

"Ah!" he said in English, "Mr. Griggs, at last! Well, you are in plenty
of time. The gentleman who is not easily astonished. That is just as
well, too. I like people with quiet nerves. I see by your appearance
that you are hungry, Mr. Griggs. Abdul Hafiz, why should we not dine? It
is much better to get that infliction of the flesh over before this
evening."

"By all means. Come along. But first send those dooly-bearers about
their business. They can wait till to-morrow over there on the other
side. They always carry food, and there is any amount of fuel."

Just beyond the shoulder of the hill, sheltered from the north by the
projecting boulders, was a small tent, carefully pitched and adjusted to
stand the storms if any should come. Thither we all three bent our steps
and sat down by the fire, for it was chilly, even cold, in the passes in
September. Food was brought out by Isaacs, and we ate together as if no
countless ages of different nationalities separated us. Ram Lal was
perfectly natural and easy in his manners, and affable in what he said.
Until the meal was finished no reference was made to the strange
business that brought us from different points of the compass to the
Himalayan heights. Then, at last, Ram Lal spoke; his meal had been the
most frugal of the three, and he had soon eaten his fill, but he
employed himself in rolling cigarettes, which he did with marvellous
skill, until we two had satisfied our younger and healthier appetites.

"Abdul Hafiz," he said, his gray face bent over his colourless hands as
he twisted the papers, "shall we not tell Mr. Griggs what is to be done?
Afterward he can lie in the tent and sleep until evening, for he is
weary and needs to recruit his strength."

"So be it, Ram Lal," answered Isaacs.

"Very well. The position is this, Mr. Griggs. Neither Mr. Isaacs nor I
trust those men that we are to meet, and therefore, as we are afraid of
being killed unawares, we thought we would send for you to protect us."
He smiled pleasantly as he saw the blank expression in my face.

"Certainly, and you shall hear how it is to be done. The place is not
far from here in the valley below. The band are already nearing the
spot, and at midnight we will go down and meet them. The meeting will
be, of course, like all formal rendezvous for the delivery of prisoners.
The captain of the band will come forward accompanied by his charge, and
perhaps by a sowar. We three will stand together, side by side, and
await their coming. Now the plot is this. They have determined if
possible to murder both Shere Ali and Isaacs then and there together.
They have not counted on us, but they probably expect that our friend
will arrive guarded by a troop of horse. The maharajah's men will try
and sneak up close to where we stand, and at a signal, which the leader,
in conversation with Isaacs, will give by laying his hand on his
shoulder, the men will rush in and cut Shere Ali to pieces, and Isaacs
too if the captain cannot do it alone. Now look here, Mr. Griggs. What
we want you to do is this. Your friend--my friend--wants no miracles, so
that you have got to do by strength what might be done by stratagem,
though not so quickly. When you see the leader lay his hand on Isaacs'
shoulder, seize him by the throat and mind his other arm, which will be
armed. Prevent him from injuring Isaacs, and I will attend to the rest,
who will doubtless require my whole attention."

"But," I objected, "supposing that this captain turned out to be
stronger or more active than I. What then?"

"Never fear," said Isaacs, smiling. "There aren't any."

"No," continued Ram Lal, "never disturb yourself about that, but just
knock your man down and be done with it. I will guarantee you can do it
well enough, and if he gives you trouble I may be able to help you."

"All right; give me some cigarettes;" and before I had smoked one I was
asleep.

When I awoke the sun was down, but there was a great light over
everything. The full moon had just risen above the hills to eastward and
bathed every object in silver sheen. The far peaks, covered with snow,
caught the reflection and sent the beams floating across the deep dark
valleys between. The big boulder, against which the tent was pitched,
caught it too, and seemed changed from rough stone to precious metal; it
was on the tent-pegs and the ropes, it was upon Isaacs' lithe figure, as
he tightened his sash round his waist and looked to his pocket-book for
the agreement. It made Ram Lal, the gray and colourless, look like a
silver statue, and it made the smouldering flame of the watch-fire
utterly dim and faint. It was a wonderful moon. I looked at my watch; it
was eight o'clock.

"Yes," said Isaacs, "you were tired and have slept long. It is time to
be off. There is some whiskey in that flask. I don't take those things,
but Ram Lal says you had better have some, as you might get fever." So I
did. Then we started, leaving everything in the tent, of which we pegged
down the flap. There were no natives about, the dooly-bearers having
retired to the other side of the valley, and the jackals would find
nothing to attract them, as we had thrown the remainder of our meal over
the edge. As for weapons, I had a good revolver and a thick stick;
Isaacs had a revolver and a vicious-looking Turkish knife; and Ram Lal
had nothing at all, as far as I could see, except a long light staff.

The effect of the moonlight was wild in the extreme, as we descended the
side of the mountain by paths which were very far from smooth or easy.
Every now and then, as we neared the valley, we turned the corner of
some ridge and got a fair view of the plain. Then a step farther, and we
were in the dark again, behind boulders and picking our way over loose
stones, or struggling with the wretched foothold afforded by a surface
of light gravel, inclined to the horizontal at an angle of forty-five
degrees. Then, with a scramble, a jump, and a little swearing in a great
many languages--I think we counted that we spoke twenty-seven between
us--we were on firm soil again, and swinging along over the bit of easy
level path. It would have been out of the question to go in doolies, and
no pony could keep a foothold for five minutes on the uncertain ground.

At last, as we emerged into the bright moonlight on a little platform of
rock at an angle of the path, we paused. Ram Lal, who seemed to know the
way, was in front, and held up his hand to silence us; Isaacs and I
kneeled down and looked over the brink. Some two hundred feet below, on
a broad strip of green bordering the steep cliffs, was picketed a small
body of horse. We could see the men squatting about in their small
compact turbans and their shining accoutrements; the horses tethered at
various distances on the sward, cropping so vigorously that even at that
height we could hear the dull sound as they rhythmically munched the
grass. We could see in the middle of the little camp a man seated on a
rug and wrapped in a heavy garment of some kind, quietly smoking a
common hubble-bubble. Beside him stood another who reflected more
moonlight than the rest, and who was therefore, by his trappings, the
captain of the band. The seated smoker could be no other than Shere Ali.

Cautiously we descended the remaining windings of the steep path,
turning whenever we had a chance, to look down on the horsemen and their
prisoner below, till at last we emerged in the valley a quarter of a
mile or so beyond where they were stationed. Here on the level of the
plain we stopped a moment, and Ram Lal renewed his instructions to me.

"If the captain," he said, "lays his hand on Isaacs' shoulder, seize him
and throw him. If you cannot get him down kill him--any way you
can--shoot him under the arm with your pistol. It is a matter of life
and death."

"All right." And we walked boldly along the broad strip of sward. The
moon was now almost immediately overhead, for it was midnight, or near
it. I confess the scene awed me, the giant masses of the mountains above
us, the vast distances of mysterious blue air, through which the
snow-peaks shone out with a strange look that was not natural. The swish
of the quickly flowing stream at the edge of the plot we were walking
over sounded hollow and unearthly; the velvety whirr of the great
mountain bats as they circled near us, stirred from the branches as we
passed out, was disagreeable and heavy to hear. The moon shone brighter
and brighter.

We were perhaps thirty yards from the little camp, in which there might
be fifty men all told. Isaacs stood still and sung out a greeting.

"Peace to you, men of Baithopoor!" he shouted. It was the preconcerted
form of address. Instantly the captain turned and looked toward us. Then
he gave some orders in a low voice, and taking his prisoner by the hand
assisted him to rise. There was a scurrying to and fro in the camp. The
men seemed to be collecting, and moving to the edge of the bivouac. Some
began to saddle the horses. The moon was so intensely bright that their
movements were as plain to us as though it had been broad daylight.

Two figures came striding toward us--the captain and Shere Ali. As I
looked at them, curiously enough, as may be imagined, I noticed that the
captain was the taller man by two or three inches, but Shere Ali's broad
chest and slightly-bowed legs produced an impression of enormous
strength. He looked the fierce-hearted, hard-handed warrior, from head
to heel; though in accordance with Isaacs' treaty he had been well taken
care of and was dressed in the finest stuffs, his beard carefully
clipped and his Indian turban rolled with great neatness round his dark
and prominent brows.

The first thing for the captain was to satisfy himself as far as
possible that we had no troops in ambush up there in the jungle on the
base of the mountain. He had probably sent scouts out before, and was
pretty sure there was no one there. To gain time, he made a great show
of reading the agreement through from beginning to end, comparing it all
the while with a copy he held. While this was going on, and I had put
myself as near as possible to the captain, Isaacs and Shere Ali were in
earnest conversation in the Persian tongue. Shere Ali told Abdul that
the captain's perusal of the contract must be a mere empty show, since
the man did not know a word of the language. Isaacs, on hearing that the
captain could not understand, immediately warned Shere Ali of the
intended attempt to murder them both, of which Ram Lal, his friend, had
heard, and I could see the old soldier's eye flash and his hand feel for
his weapon, where there was none, at the mere mention of a fight. The
captain began to talk to Isaacs, and I edged as near as I could to be
ready for my grip. Still it did not come. He talked on, very civilly, in
intelligible Hindustani. What was the matter with the moon?

A few minutes before it had seemed as if there would be neither cloud
nor mist in such a sky; and now a light filmy wreath was rising and
darkening the splendour of the wonderful night. I looked across at Ram
Lal. He was standing with one hand on his hip, and leaning with the
other on his staff, and he was gazing up at the moon with as much
interest as he ever displayed about anything. At that moment the captain
handed Isaacs a prepared receipt for signature, to the effect that the
prisoner had been duly delivered to his new owner. The light was growing
dimmer, and Isaacs could hardly see to read the characters before he
signed. He raised the scroll to his eyes and turned half round to see it
better. At that moment the tall captain stretched forth his arm and laid
his hand on Isaacs' shoulder, raising his other arm at the same time to
his men, who had crept nearer and nearer to our group while the endless
talking was going on. I was perfectly prepared, and the instant the
soldier's hand touched Isaacs I had the man in my grip, catching his
upraised arm in one hand and his throat with the other. The struggle did
not last long, but it was furious in its agony. The tough Punjabi
writhed and twisted like a cat in my grasp, his eyes gleaming like
living coals, springing back and forward in his vain and furious efforts
to reach my feet and trip me. But it was no use. I had his throat and
one arm well in hand, and could hold him so that he could not reach me
with the other. My fingers sank deeper and deeper in his neck as we
swayed backwards and sideways tugging and hugging, breast to breast,
till at last, with a fearful strain and wrench of every muscle in our
two bodies, his arm went back with a jerk, broken like a pipe-stem, and
his frame collapsing and bending backwards, fell heavily to the ground
beneath me.

The whole strength of me was at work in the struggle, but I could get a
glimpse of the others as we whirled and swayed about.

Like the heavy pall of virgin white that is laid on the body of a pure
maiden; of velvet, soft and sweet but heavy and impenetrable as death,
relentless, awful, appalling the soul, and freezing the marrow in the
bones, it came near the earth. The figure of the gray old man grew
mystically to gigantic and unearthly size, his vast old hands stretched
forth their skinny palms to receive the great curtain as it descended
between the moonlight and the sleeping earth. His eyes were as stars,
his hoary head rose majestically to an incalculable height; still the
thick, all-wrapping mist came down, falling on horse and rider and
wrestler and robber and Amir; hiding all, covering all, folding all, in
its soft samite arms, till not a man's own hand was visible to him a
span's length from his face.

I could feel the heaving chest of the captain beneath my knee; I could
feel the twitching of the broken arm tortured under the pressure of my
left hand; but I could see neither face nor arm nor breast, nor even my
own fingers. Only above me, as I stared up, seemed to tower the
supernatural proportions of Ram Lal, a white apparition visible through
the opaque whiteness that hid everything else from view. It was only a
moment. A hand was on my shoulder, Isaacs' voice was in my ear, speaking
to Shere Ali. Ram Lal drew me away.

"Be quick," he said; "take my hand, I will lead you to the light." We
ran along the soft grass, following the sound of each other's feet,
swiftly. A moment more and we were in the pass; the mist was lighter,
and we could see our way. We rushed up the stony path fast and sure,
till we reached the clear bright moonlight, blazing forth in silver
splendour again. Far down below the velvet pall of mist lay thick and
heavy, hiding the camp and its horses and men from our sight.

"Friend," said Isaacs, "you are as free as I. Praise Allah, and let us
depart in peace."

The savage old warrior grasped the outstretched hand of the Persian and
yelled aloud--

"Illallaho-ho-ho-ho!" His throat was as brass.

"La illah ill-allah!" repeated Isaacs in tones as of a hundred clarions,
echoing by tree and mountain and river, down the valley.

"Thank God!" I said to Ram Lal.

"Call Him as you please, friend Griggs," answered the pundit.

It was daylight when we reached the tent at the top of the pass.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER XIII.


"Abdul Hafiz," said Ram Lal, as we sat round the fire we had made,
preparing food, "if it is thy pleasure I will conduct thy friend to a
place of safety and set his feet in the paths that lead to pleasant
places. For thou art weary and wilt take thy rest until noon, but I am
not weary and the limbs of the Afghan are as iron." He spoke in Persian,
so that Shere Ali could understand what he said. The latter looked
uneasy at first, but soon perceived that his best chance of safety lay
in immediately leaving the neighbourhood, which was unpleasantly near
Simla on the one side and the frontiers of Baithopoor on the other.

"I thank thee, Ram Lal," replied Isaacs, "and I gladly accept thy offer.
Whither wilt thou conduct our friend the Amir?"

"I will lead him by a sure road into Thibet, and my brethren shall take
care of him, and presently he shall journey safely northwards into the
Tartar country, and thence to the Russ people, where the followers of
your prophet are many, and if thou wilt give him the letters thou hast
written, which he may present to the principal moolahs, he shall
prosper. And as for money, if thou hast gold, give him of it, and if
not, give him silver; and if thou hast none, take no thought, for the
freedom of the spirit is better than the obesity of the body."

"Bishmillah! Thou speakest with the tongue of wisdom, old man," said
Shere Ali; "nevertheless a few rupees--"

"Fear nothing," broke in Isaacs. "I have for thee a store of a few
rupees in silver, and there are two hundred gold mohurs in this bag.
They are scarce in Hind and pass not as money, but the value of them
whither thou goest shall buy thee food many days. Take also this
diamond, which if thou be in want thou shalt sell and be rich."

Shere Ali, who had been suspicious of treachery, or at least was afraid
to believe himself really free, was convinced by this generosity. The
great rough warrior, the brave patriot who had shut the gates of Kabul
in the face of Sir Neville Chamberlain, and who had faced every danger
and defeat, rather than tamely suffer the advance of the all-devouring
English into his dominions, was proud and unbending still, through all
his captivity and poverty and trouble, and weariness of soul and
suffering of body; he could bear his calamities like a man, the
unrelenting chief of an unrelenting race. But when Isaacs stretched
forth his hand and freed him, and bestowed upon him, moreover, a goodly
stock of cash, and bid him go in peace, his gratitude got the better of
him, and he fairly broke down. The big tears coursed down over his rough
cheeks, and his face sank between his hands, which trembled violently
for a moment. Then his habitual calm of outward manner returned.

"Allah requite thee, my brother," he said, "I can never hope to."

"I have done nothing," said Isaacs. "Shall believers languish and perish
in the hands of swine without faith? Verily it is Allah's doing, whose
name is great and powerful. He will not suffer the followers of His
prophet to be devoured of jackals and unclean beasts. Masallah! There is
no God but God."

Therefore, when they had eaten some food, Ram Lal and Shere Ali
departed, journeying north-east towards Thibet, and Isaacs and I
remained sleeping in the tent until past noon. Then we arose and went
our way, having packed up the little canvas house and the utensils and
the pole into a neat bundle which we carried by turns along the steep
rough paths, until we found the dooly-bearers squatting round the embers
after their mid-day meal. As we journeyed we talked of the events of the
night. It seemed to me that the whole thing might have been managed very
much more simply. Isaacs did things in his own way, however, and, after
all, he generally had a good reason for his actions.

"I think not," he said in reply to my question. "While you were throwing
that ruffian, who would have overmatched me in an instant, Shere Ali and
I disposed of the sowars who ran up at the captain's signal. Shere Ali
says he killed one of them with his hands, and my little knife here
seems to have done some damage." He produced the vicious-looking dagger,
stained above the hilt with dark blood, which he began to scrape off
with a bit of stick.

"My dear fellow," I objected, "I am delighted to have served you, and I
see that since Shere Ali could not be warned of the signal, I was the
only person there who could tackle that Punjabi man; yet I am completely
at a loss to explain why, if Ram Lal can command the forces of nature to
the extent of calling down a thick mist under the cover of which we
might escape, he could not have calmly destroyed the whole band by
lightning, or indigestion, or some simple and efficacious means, so that
we need not have risked our lives in supplementing what he only half
did."

"There are plenty of answers to that question," Isaacs answered. "In the
first place, how do you know that Ram Lal could do anything more than
discover the preconcerted signal and bring down that fog? He pretends to
no supernatural power; he only asserts that he understands the workings
of nature better than you do. How do you know that the fog was his doing
at all? Your excited imagination, developed suddenly by the tussle with
the captain, which undoubtedly sent the blood to your head, made you
think you saw Ram Lal's figure magnified beyond human proportion. If
there had been no mist at all, we should most likely have got away
unhurt all the same. Those fellows would not fight after their leader
was down. Again, I like to let Ram Lal feel that I am able to do
something for myself, and that I have other friends as powerful. He aims
at obtaining too much ascendency over me. I do not like it."

"Oh--if you look at it in that light, I have nothing to say. It has been
a very pleasant and interesting excursion to me, and I am rather glad I
only broke that fellow's arm instead of killing him, as you and Shere
Ali did your sowars."

"I don't know whether I killed him. I suppose I did. Poor fellow.
However, he would certainly have killed me."

"Of course. No use crying over spilt milk," I answered.

So we got into the doolies and swung away. As we neared Simla my
friend's spirits rose, and he chanted wild Persian and Arabic
love-songs, and kept up a fire of conversation all day and all night,
singing and talking alternately.

"Griggs," he said, as we approached the end of our journey, "did you
have occasion to tell Miss Westonhaugh where I had gone?"

"Yes. She asked me, and I answered that you had gone to save a man's
life. She looked very much pleased, I thought, but just then somebody
came up, and we did not talk any more about it. I got your message the
evening of the day you left."

"She looked pleased?"

"Very much. I remember the colour came into her cheeks."

"Was she so pale, then?" he asked anxiously.

"Why, yes. You remember how she looked the night before you left? She
was even paler the next day, but when I said you had gone to do a good
deed, the light came into her face for a moment."

"Do you think she was ill, Griggs?"

"She did not look well, but of course she was anxious about you, and a
good deal cut up about your going."

"No; but did you really think she was ill?" he insisted.

"Oh no, nothing but your going."

His spirits were gone again, and he said very little more that day. As
we were ascending the last hills, some eight or nine hours from Simla,
the moon rose majestically behind us. It must have been ten o'clock, for
she could not have been seen above the notch in the mountains to
eastward until she had been risen an hour at least.

"I wonder where they are now, those two," said Isaacs.

"Shere Ali and Ram Lal?"

"Yes. They are probably across the borders into Thibet, watching the
moon rise from the door of some Buddhist monastery. I am glad I am not
there."

"Isaacs," I said, "I would really like to know why you took so much
trouble about Shere Ali. It seems to me you might have procured his
liberation in some simpler way, if it was merely an act of charity that
you contemplated."

"Call it anything you like. I had read about the poor man until my
imagination was wrought up, and I could not bear to think of a man so
brave and patriotic and at the same time a true believer, lying in the
clutches of that old beast of a maharajah. And as for the method of my
procedure, do you realise the complete secrecy of the whole affair? Do
you see that no one but you and I and the Baithopoor people know
anything of the transaction? Do you suppose that I should be tolerated a
day in the country if the matter were known? Above all, what do you
imagine Mr. Currie Ghyrkins would think of me if he knew I had been
liberating and enriching the worst foe of his little god, Lord
Beaconsfield?"

There was truth in what he said. By no arrangement could the liberation
of Shere Ali have been effected with such secrecy and despatch as by the
simple plan of going ourselves. And now we toiled up the last hills,
vainly attempting to keep our horses in a canter; long before the relay
was reached they had relapsed into a dogged jog-trot.

So we reached Simla at sunrise, and crawled wearily up the steps of the
hotel to our rooms, tired with the cramp of dooly and saddle for so many
days, and longing for the luxury of the bath, the civilised meal, and
the arm-chair. Of course I did not suppose Isaacs would go to bed. He
expected that the Westonhaughs would have returned by this time, and he
would doubtless go to them as soon as he had breakfasted. So we
separated to dress and be shaved--my beard was a week old at least--and
to make ourselves as comfortable as we deserved to be after our manifold
exertions. We had been three days and a half from Keitung to Simla.

At my door stood the faithful Kiramat Ali, salaaming and making a
pretence of putting dust on his head according to his ideas of
respectful greeting. On the table lay letters; one of these, a note, lay
in a prominent position. I took it instinctively, though I did not know
the hand. It was from Mr. Currie Ghyrkins.


     _Saturday morning_.

     MY DEAR MR. GRIGGS--If you have returned to
     Simla, I should be glad to see you for half an hour on
     a matter of urgent importance. I would come to you
     if I could. My niece, Miss Westonhaugh, is, I am
     sorry to say, dangerously ill.--Sincerely yours,

     A. CURRIE GHYRKINS.


It was dated two days before, for to-day was Monday. I made every
possible haste in my toilet and ordered a horse. I wondered whether
Isaacs had received a similar missive. What could be the matter? What
might not have happened in those two days since the note was written? I
felt sure that the illness had begun before I left them in the Terai,
hastened probably by the pain she had felt at Isaacs' departure; there
is nothing like a little mental worry to hasten an illness, if it is to
come at all. Poor Miss Westonhaugh! So, after all her gaiety and all the
enjoyment she had from the tiger-hunt on which she had set her heart,
she had come back to be ill in Simla. Well, the air was fresh enough
now--almost cold, in fact. She would soon be well. Still, it was a great
pity. We might have had such a gay week before breaking up.

I was dressed, and I went down the steps, passing Isaacs' open door. He
was calmly reading a newspaper and having a morning smoke, until it
should be time to go out. Clearly he had not heard anything of Miss
Westonhaugh's illness. I resolved I would say nothing until I knew the
worst, so I merely put my head in and said I should be back in an hour
to breakfast with him, and passed on. Once on horseback, I galloped as
hard as I could, scattering chuprassies and children and marketers to
right and left in the bazaar. It was not long before I left my horse at
the corner of Mr. Currie Ghyrkins' lawn, and walking to the verandah,
which looked suspiciously neat and unused, inquired for the master of
the house. I was shown into his bedroom, for it was still very early and
he was dressing.

I noticed a considerable change in the old gentleman's manner and
appearance in the last ten days. His bright red colour was nearly faded,
his eyes had grown larger and less bright, he had lost flesh, and his
tone was subdued in the extreme. He came from his dressing-glass to
greet me with a ghost of the old smile on his face, and his hand
stretched eagerly out.

"My dear Mr. Griggs, I am sincerely glad to see you."

"I have not been in Simla two hours," I answered, "and I found your
note. How is Miss Westonhaugh? I am so sorry to----"

"Don't talk about her, Griggs. I am afraid she's g--g--goin' to die." He
nearly broke down, but he struggled bravely. I was terribly shocked,
though a moment's reflection told me that so strong and healthy a person
would not die so easily. I expressed my sympathy as best I could.

"What is it? What is the illness?" I asked when he was quieter.

"Jungle fever, my dear fellow, jungle fever; caught in that beastly
tiger-hunt. Oh! I wish I had never taken her. I wish we had never gone.
Why wasn't I firm? Damn it all, sir, why wasn't I firm, eh?" In his
anger at himself something of the former jerky energy of the man showed
itself. Then it faded away into the jaded sorrowful look that was on his
face when I came in. He sat down with his elbows on his knees and his
hands in his scanty gray hair, his suspenders hanging down at his
sides--the picture of misery. I tried to console him, but I confess I
felt very much like breaking down myself. I did not see what I could do,
except break the bad news to Isaacs.

"Mr. Griggs," he said at last, "she has been asking for you all the
time, and the doctor thought if you came she had best see you, as it
might quiet her. Understand?" I understood better than he thought.

People who are dangerously ill have no morning and no evening. Their
hours are eternally the same, save for the alternation of suffering and
rest. The nurse and the doctor are their sun and moon, relieving each
other in the watches of day and night. As they are worse--as they draw
nearer to eternity, they are less and less governed by ideas of time. A
dying person will receive a visit at midnight or at mid-day with no
thought but to see the face of friend--or foe--once more. So I was not
surprised to find that Miss Westonhaugh would see me; in an interval of
the fever she had been moved to a chair in her room, and her brother was
with her. I might go in--indeed she sent a very urgent message imploring
that I would go. I went.

The morning sun was beating brightly on the shutters, and the room
looked cheerful as I entered. John Westonhaugh, paler than death, came
quickly to the door and grasped my hand.

On a long cane-chair by the window, carefully covered from the possible
danger of any insidious draught, with a mass of soft white wraps and
shawls, lay Katharine Westonhaugh--the transparant phantasm of her
brilliant self. The rich masses of pale hair were luxuriously nestled
around her shoulders and the blazing eyes flamed, lambently, under the
black brows--but that was all. Colour, beside the gold hair and the
black eyes, there was hardly any. The strong clean-cut outline of the
features was there, but absolutely startling in emaciation, so that
there seemed to be no flesh at all; the pale lips scarcely closed over
the straight white teeth. A wonderful and a fearful sight to see, that
stately edifice of queenly strength and beauty thus laid low and
pillaged and stript of all colour save purple and white--the hues of
mourning--the purple lips and the white cheek. I have seen many people
die, and the moment I looked at Katharine Westonhaugh I felt that the
hand of death was already closed over her, gripped round, never to
relax. John led me to her side, and a faint smile showed she was glad to
see me. I knelt reverently down, as one would kneel beside one already
dead. She spoke first, clearly and easily, as it seemed. People who are
ill from fever seldom lose the faculty of speech.

"I am so glad you are come. There are many things I want you to do."

"Yes, Miss Westonhaugh. I will do everything."

"Is he come back?" she asked--then, as I looked at her brother, she
added, "John knows, he is very glad."

"Yes, we came back this morning together; I came here at once."

"Thank you--it was kind. Did you give him the box?"

"Yes--he does not know you are ill. He means to come at eleven."

"Tell him to come now. _Now_--do you understand?" Then she added in a
low tone, for my ear only, "I don't think they know it; I am dying. I
shall be dead before to-night. Don't tell him that. Make him come now.
John knows. Now go. I am tired. No--wait! Did he save the man's life?"

"Yes; the man is safe and free in Thibet."

"That was nobly done. Now go. You have always been kind to me, and you
love him. When you see me again I shall be gone." Her voice was
perceptibly weaker, though still clearly audible. "When I am gone, put
some flowers on me for friendship's sake. You have always been so kind.
Good-bye, dear Mr. Griggs. Good-bye. God keep you." I moved quickly to
the door, fearing lest the piteous sight should make a coward of me. It
was so ineffably pathetic--this lovely creature, just tasting of the cup
of life and love and dying so.

"Bring him here at once, Griggs, please. I know all about it. It may
save her." John Westonhaugh clasped my hand in his again, and pushed me
out to speed me on my errand. I tore along the crooked paths and the
winding road, up through the bazaar, past the church and the narrow
causeway beyond to the hotel. I found him still smoking and reading the
paper.

"Well?" said he cheerfully, for the morning sun had dispelled the doubts
of the night.

"My dear friend," I said, "Miss Westonhaugh wants to see you
immediately."

"How? What? Of course; I will go at once, but how did you know?"

"Wait a minute, Isaacs; she is not well at all--in fact, she is quite
ill."

"What's the matter--for God's sake--Why, Griggs, man, how white you
are--O my God, my God--she is dead!" I seized him quickly in my arms or
he would have thrown himself on the ground.

"No," I said, "she is not dead. But, my dear boy, she is dying. I do not
believe she will live till this evening. Therefore get to horse and ride
there quickly, before it is too late."

Isaacs was a brave man, and of surpassing strength to endure. After the
first passionate outburst, his manner never changed as he mechanically
ordered his horse and pulled on his boots. He was pale naturally, and
great purple rings seemed to come out beneath his eyes--as if he had
received a blow--from the intensity of his suppressed emotion. Once only
he spoke before he mounted.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Jungle fever," I answered. He groaned. "Shall I go with you?" asked I,
thinking it might be as well. He shook his head, and was off in a
moment.

I turned to my rooms and threw myself on my bed. Poor fellow; was there
ever a more piteous case? Oh the cruel misery of feeling that nothing
could save her! And he--he who would give life and wealth and fortune
and power to give her back a shade of colour--as much as would tinge a
rose-leaf, even a very little rose-leaf--and could not. Poor fellow!
What would he do to-night--to-morrow. I could see him kneeling by her
side and weeping hot tears over the wasted hands. I could almost hear
his smothered sob--his last words of speeding to the parting soul--the
picture grew intensely in my thoughts. How beautiful she would look when
she was dead!

I started as the thought came into my mind. How superficial was my
acquaintance with her, poor girl,--how little was she a part of my life,
since I could really so heartlessly think of her beauty when her breath
should be gone! Of course, though, it was natural enough, why should I
feel any personal pang for her? It was odd that I should even expect
to--I, who never felt a "personal pang" of regret for the death of any
human creature, excepting poor dear old Lucia, who brought me up, and
sent me to school, and gave me roast chestnuts when I knew my lessons,
in the streets of Rome, thirty years ago. When she died, I was there;
poor old soul, how fond she was of me! And I of her! I remember the
tears I shed, though I was a bearded man even then. How long is that?
Since she died, it must be ten years.

My thoughts wandered about among all sorts of _bric-à-brac_ memories.
Presently something brought me back to the present. Why must this fair
girl from the north die miserably here in India? Ah yes! the eternal
why. Why did we go at such a season into the forests of the Terai? it
was madness; we knew it was, and Ram Lal knew it too. Hence his warning.
O Ram Lal, you are a wise old man, with your gray beard and you mists of
wet white velvet and your dark sayings! Ram Lal, will you riddle me,
also, my weird that I must dree?

A cold draught passed over my head, and I turned on my couch to see
whence it came. I started bolt upright, and my hair stood on end with
sudden terror. I had uttered the name of Ram Lal aloud in my reverie,
and there he sat on a chair by the door, as gray as ever, with his long
staff leaning from his feet across his breast and shoulder. He looked at
me quietly.

"I come opportunely, Mr. Griggs, it seems. _Lupus in fabula._ I hear my
name pronounced as I enter the door. This is flattering to a man of my
modest pretensions to social popularity. You would like me to tell you
your fortune? Well, I am not a fortune-teller."

"Never mind my fortune. Will Miss Westonhaugh recover?"

"No. She will die at sundown."

"How do you know, since you say you are no prophet?"

"Because I am a doctor of medicine. M.D. of Edinburgh."

"Why can you not save her then? A man who is a Scotch doctor, and who
possesses the power of performing such practical jokes on nature as you
exhibited the other night, might do something. However, I suppose I am
not talking to you at all. You are in Thibet with Shere Ali. This is
your astral body, and if I were near enough, I could poke my fingers
right through you, as you sit there, telling me you are an Edinburgh
doctor, forsooth."

"Quite right, Mr. Griggs. At the present moment my body is quietly
asleep in a lamastery in Thibet, and this is my astral shape, which,
from force of habit, I begin to like almost as well. But to be
serious----"

"I think it is very serious, your going about in this casual manner."

"To be serious. I warned Isaacs that he should not allow the tiger-hunt
to come off. He would not heed my warning. It is too late now. I am not
omnipotent."

"Of course not. Still, you might be of some use if you went there. While
there is life there is hope."

"Proverbs," said Earn Lai scornfully, "are the wisdom of wise men
prepared in portable doses for the foolish; and the saying you quote is
one of them. There is life yet, but there is no hope."

"Well, I am afraid you are right. I saw her this morning--I suppose I
shall never see her again, not alive, at least. She looked nearly dead
then. Poor girl; poor Isaacs, left behind!"

"You may well say that, Mr. Griggs," said the adept. "On the whole,
perhaps he is to be less pitied than she; who knows? Perhaps we should
pity neither, but rather envy both."

"Why? Either you are talking the tritest of cant, or you are indulging
in more of your dark sayings, to be interpreted, _post facto_, entirely
to your own satisfaction, and to every one else's disgust." I was
impatient with the man. If he had such extraordinary powers as were
ascribed to him--I never heard him assert that he possessed any; if he
could prophesy, he might as well do so to some purpose. Why could he not
speak plainly? He could not impose on me, who was ready to give him
credit for what he really could do, while finding fault with the way he
did it.

"I understand what passes in your mind, friend Griggs," he said, not in
the least disconcerted at my attack. "You want me to speak plainly to
you, because you think you are a plain-spoken, clear-headed man of
science yourself. Very well, I will. I think you might yourself become a
brother some day, if you would. But you will not now, neither will in
the future. Yet you understand some little distant inkling of the
science. When you ask your scornful questions of me, you know perfectly
well that you are putting an inquiry which you yourself can answer as
well as I. I am not omnipotent. I have very little more power than you.
Given certain conditions and I can produce certain results, palpable,
visible, and appreciable to all; but my power, as you know, is itself
merely the knowledge of the laws of nature, which Western scientists, in
their wisdom, ignore. I can replenish the oil in the lamp, and while
there is wick the lamp shall burn--ay, even for hundreds of years. But
give me a lamp wherein the wick is consumed, and I shall waste my oil;
for it will not burn unless there be the fibre to carry it. So also is
the body of man. While there is the flame of vitality and the essence of
life in his nerves and finer tissues, I will put blood in his veins, and
if he meet with no accident he may live to see hundreds of generations
pass by him. But where there is no vitality and no essence of life in a
man, he must die; for though I fill his veins with blood, and cause his
heart to beat for a time, there is no spark in him--no fire, no nervous
strength. So is Miss Westonhaugh now--dead while yet breathing, and
sighing her sweet farewells to her lover."

"I know. I understand you very well. But do not deny that you might have
saved her. Why did you not?" Ram Lal smiled a strange smile, which I
should have described as self-satisfied, had it not been so gentle and
kind.

"Ah yes!" he said, with something like a sigh, though there was no
sorrow or regret in it. "Yes, Griggs, I might have saved her life. I
would certainly have saved her--well, if he had not persuaded her to go
down into that steaming country at this time of year, since it was my
advice to remain here. But it is no use talking about it."

"I think you might have conveyed your meaning to him a little more
clearly. He had no idea that you meant danger to her."

"No, very likely not. It is not my business to mould men's destinies for
them. If I give them advice that is good, it is quite enough. It is like
a man playing cards: if he does not seize his chance it does not return.
Besides, it is much better for him that she should die."

"Your moral reflections are insufferable. Can you not find some one else
to whom you may confide your secret joy of my friend's misfortunes?"

"Calm yourself. I say it is better for her, better for him, better for
both. Remember what you said to him yourself about the difference
between pleasure and happiness. They shall be one yet, their happiness
shall not be less eternal because their pleasure in this life has been
brief. Can you not conceive of immortal peace and joy without the
satisfaction of earthly lust?"

"I would not call such a beautiful union as theirs might have been by
such a name. For myself, I confess to a very real desire for pleasure
first and happiness afterwards."

"I know you better than you think, Mr. Griggs. You are merely
argumentative, rarely sceptical. If I had begun by denying what I
instead asserted, you would by this time have been arguing as strongly
on my side as you now are on yours. You are often very near degenerating
into a common sophist."

"Very likely, it was a charming profession. Meanwhile, by going to the
very opposite extreme from sophistry, I mean by a more than Quixotic
veneration for an abstract dogma you hold to be true, and by your
determination to make people die for it, you are causing fearful misery
of body, untold agony of soul, to a woman and a man whom you should have
every reason to like. Go to, Ram Lal, adept, magician, enthusiast, and
prophet, you are mistaken, like all your kind!"

"No, I am not mistaken, time will show. Moreover, I would have you
remark that the lady in question is not suffering at all, and that the
'untold agony of soul' you attribute to Isaacs is a wholesome medicine
for one with such a soul as his. And now I am going, for you are not the
sort of person with whom I can enjoy talking very long. You are violent
and argumentative, though you are sometimes amusing. I am rarely
violent, and I never argue: life is too short. And yet I have more time
for it than you, seeing my life will be indefinitely longer than yours.
Good-bye, for the present; and believe me, those two will be happier
far, and far more blessed, in a few short years hence, than ever you or
I shall be in all the unreckonable cycles of this or any future world."
Ram Lal sighed as he uttered the last words, and he was gone; yet the
musical cadence of the deep-drawn breath of a profound sorrow, vibrated
whisperingly through the room where I lay. Poor Ram Lal, he must have
had some disappointment in his youth, which, with all his wisdom and
superiority over the common earth, still left a sore place in his heart.

I was not inclined to move. I knew where Isaacs was, where he would
remain to the bitter end, and I would not go out into the world that
day, while he was kneeling in the chamber of death. He might come back
at any time. How long would it last? God in his mercy grant it might be
soon and quickly over, without suffering. Oh! but those strong people
die so deathly hard. I have seen a man--No, I was sure of that. She
would not suffer any more now.

I lay thinking. Would Isaacs send for me when he returned, or would he
face his grief alone for a night before he spoke? The latter, I thought;
I hoped so too. How little sympathy there must be for any one, even the
dearest, in our souls and hearts, when it is so hard to look forward to
speaking half-a-dozen words of comfort to some poor wretch of a friend
who has lost everything in the wide world that is dear to him. We would
rather give him all we possess outright than attempt to console him for
the loss. And yet--what is there in life more sweet than to be consoled
and comforted, and to have the true sympathy of some one, even a little
near to us, when we ourselves are suffering. The people we do not want
shower cards of condolence on us, and carriage-loads of flowers on the
poor dead thing; the ones who could be of some help to the tortured soul
are afraid to speak; the very delicacy of kind-heartedness in them,
which makes us wish they would come, makes them stay away.

I hope Isaacs will not send for me, poor fellow.

If he does, what shall I say? God help me.

       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER XIV.


The hours came and went, and though worn out with the exertions of the
past days, and with the emotions of the morning, I lay in my rooms,
unable to sleep even for a moment. I went down once or twice to Isaacs'
rooms to know whether he had returned, but he had not, nor had any one
heard from him. At last the evening shadows crept stealthily up,
darkening first one room, then another, until there was not light enough
to read by. Then I dropped my book and went out to breathe the cold air
on the verandah. Wearily the hours went by, and still there was no sign
of my friend.

Towards eleven o'clock the moon, now waning, once more rose above the
hills and shed her light across the lawn, splendid still, but with the
first tinge of melancholy that clouds her departing glory. Exhausted
nature asserted herself, and chilled to the bone I went to bed, and, at
last, to sleep.

I slept peacefully at first, but soon the events that had come over my
life began to weave themselves in wild disharmony through my restful
visions, and the events that were to come cast their lengthening shadows
before them. The world of past, present, and future thoughts, came into
my soul, distorted, without perspective, nothing to help me to discern
the good from the evil, the suffering gone and long-forgotten from the
pain in store. The triumph of discrepancy over waking reason, the
fancied victories of the sleep-dulled intellect over the outrageous
discord of the wakeful imagination. I passed a most miserable night. It
seemed rest to wake, until I was awake, and then it seemed rest to sleep
again, until my eyes were closed. At last it came, no dream this time;
Isaacs stood by my bed-side in the gray of the morning, himself grayer
than the soft neutral-tinted dawn. It was a terrible moment to me,
though I had expected it since yesterday. I felt like the condemned
criminal in France, who does not know the day or hour of his death. The
first intimation is when the executioner at daybreak enters his cell and
bids him come forth to die, sometimes in less than sixty seconds from
his waking.[2]

How gray he looked, and how infinitely tried. I rose swiftly and took
his hands, which were deadly cold, and led him to the outer room. I
could not say anything, for I did not know how such a terribly sudden
blow would affect him; he was so unlike any one else. Why is it so hard
to comfort the afflicted? Why should the most charitable duty it is ever
given us to perform be, without exception, the hardest of tasks?

I am sure most people feel as I do. It is far less painful to suffer
wounds and sickness in one's own body than to stand by and see the cold
clean knife go through skin and flesh and cartilage; it is surely easier
to suffer disease than to smooth daily and hourly the bed and pillows of
some poor tormented wretch, calling on God and man to end his misery.
There is a hidden instinct--of a low and cowardly kind, but human
nevertheless--which bids us turn away from spectacles of agony whether
harrowing or repulsive, until the good angel comes and whispers that we
must trample on such coarse impulse and do our duty. "Show pity," said
the wise old Frenchman, "do anything to alleviate distress, but avoid
actually feeling either compassion or sympathy. They can lead to no
good." That was only his way of making to himself an excuse for doing a
good action, for Larochefoucauld was a man who really possessed every
virtue that he disclaimed for himself and denied in others.

I felt much of this as I led Isaacs to the outer room, not knowing what
form his sorrow might take, but feeling in my own person a grief as
poignant, perhaps, for the moment, as his own. I had known he would
come, that was all, though I had hoped he would not, and I knew that I
must do my best to send him away a little less sorrowful than he had
come. I was not prepared for the extreme calm of voice and manner that
marked his first words, coming with measured rhythm and even cadence
from his pale lips.

"It is all over, my friend," he said.

"It has but begun," said the solemn tones of Ram Lal, the Buddhist, from
the door. He entered and approached us.

"Friend Isaacs," he continued, "I am not here to mock at your grief or
to weary your strained heartstrings with such petty condolence as
well-nigh drove Ayoub of old to impatience. But I love you, my brother,
and I have somewhat to say to you in your trouble, some advice to give
you in your distress. You are suffering greatly, past the power of
reason to alleviate, for you no longer know yourself, nor are aware what
you really think. But I will show to you three pictures of yourself that
shall rouse you to what you are, to what you were, and to what you shall
be.

"I found you, not many years ago, a very young man, most exceptionally
placed in regard to the world. You were even then rich, though not so
rich as you now are. You were beautiful and full of vigour, but you have
now upon you the glow of a higher beauty, the overflowing promise of a
more glorious life. You were happy because you thought you were, but
such happiness as you had proceeded from without rather than from
within. You were a materially thinking man. Your thoughts were of the
flesh, and your delights--harmless it is true--were in the things that
were under your eyes--wealth, power, book knowledge, and perhaps woman,
if you can call the creatures you believed in women.

"You gathered wealth in great heaps, and your precious stones in
storehouses. You laid your hand upon the diamond of the river and upon
the pearl of the sea, and they abode with you, as the light of the sun
and the moon. And you said, 'Behold it is my star, which is the lord of
the dog-heat in summer, and it is my kismet.' You also took to yourself
wives of rare qualities, having both golden and raven black hair, whose
skin was as fine silk, and their breath as the freshness of the dawning,
and their eyes as jewels. Then said you, rejoicing in your heart, that
you were happy; and so you dwelt in peace and plenty, and waxed glad.

"Therefore you accomplished your first destiny, and you drank of the cup
that was filled to overflowing. And if it had been the law of nature
that from pleasure man should derive permanent lasting peace, you had
been happy so long as you lived. But, though you have the faultless life
of the body to enjoy all things of the earth, even as other men, though
in another degree, you have within you something more. There is in your
breast a heart beating--an organ so wonderful in its sensitiveness, so
perfect in its consciousness of good, that the least throb and thrill of
pleasure that it feels is worth years and ages of mere sensual life
enjoyment. The body having tasted of all happiness whereof it is
capable, and having found that it is good, is saturated with its own
ease and enjoys less keenly. But the heart is the border-land between
body and soul. The heart can love and the body can love, but the body
can only love itself; the heart is the wellspring of the lore that goes
beyond self. Therefore your heart awoke.

"Shall I tell you of the first early stirrings of your love? Think you,
because I am gray and loveless, that I have never known youth and
gladness of heart? Ah, I know, better than you can think. It is not
sudden, really, the blossoming out of the tree of life. The small leaves
grow larger and stronger though still closely folded in the bud, until
the bright warmth of the spring makes them burst into bloom. The little
lark in the nest among the grass grows beneath the mother's wing and
idly moves, now and then, unconscious of the cloud-cleaving gift of
flight, until all at once, in the fair dawning, there wells up in his
tiny breast the mighty sense of power to rise.

"The human heart is like the budded folded leaves, and like the untaught
lark. The quiet sleep before the day of blooming is, while it lasts, a
state of happiness. But it is not comparable with the breathing joy of
the leaf that feels and sees the wonderful life around it, whispering
divine answers to the wooing breeze. The humble nest where it has first
seen light is for many days a happy home to the tender songster, soon
left behind, when the first wing-strokes waft the small body upwards to
the sky, and forgotten as the first glad trill and quaver of the
new-found voice roll out the prelude to the glorious life-long hymn of
praise. The heart of man--your heart, my dear friend--gave a great leap
from earth to sky, when first it felt the magic of the other life. The
grosser scales of material vision fell away from your inner sight on the
day when you met, and knew you had met, the woman you were to love.

"I found you again, a different man, a far happier man, though you would
hardly allow that. A sweet uncertainty of the future half-tinged your
joy with a shadow of sadness, which you had not known before: but love
sadness is only the shading and gentle pencilling in love's wondrous
picture, whereby the whole light of the painting is made clearer and
stronger. A new world opened out before you in endless vistas of untold
and undreamed bliss. You looked back at your former self, so careless
and sunny, so consciously happy in the strong sense of life and power,
and you wondered how you could have been even contented through so many
years. The good and evil deeds of your past life lost colour and
perspective, and fell back into a dull, flat background, against which
the ineffable vision of beautiful and immortal womanhood stood forth in
transcendent glory. The eternal womanly element of the great universe
beckoned you on, as it did Doctor Faustus of old. You had hitherto
accepted woman and ignored womanhood, as so many of the followers of the
prophet have always done. Henceforth there was to be a change, entire,
complete, and enduring. No doubts now, or careless scepticism; no cant
about women having no souls and no individual being; you had made a
great step to a better understanding of the world you live in. Filled
with a new life, you went on your way rejoicing and longing to do great
deeds for her who had come into your destiny. From dawn to sunset, and
from evening to dawn, one picture ever was before you leading you on.
You were ready to run any risk for a smile and a blush of pleasure, you
were willing to sacrifice anything and everything for her praise. And
when, down there among the mango-trees in the Terai, your lips first
touched hers and your arm pressed her to your side, the joy that was
yours was as the joy of the immortals."

Ram Lal paused, and Isaacs, who had been sitting by the table, stony and
dry-eyed, hid his face in his hands, clutching with his white fingers
among his bright black hair--all that seemed left to him of life, so
dead and ashy was his face. He remained thus without looking up, as the
old man continued.

"Think not, dear friend and brother, that I have come here to dwell
needlessly on your grief, to rouse again the keen agonies that have so
lately burned through and through you to the quick. I love you well, and
would but trace the past in order to paint the future. All that you felt
and knew in those short days of perfect love on earth was good and true
and noble, and shall not be forgotten hereafter. But last night closed
the second of your three destinies--as true love always must close on
earth--in bitter grief and sorrow because the one is gone before. Rather
should you rejoice, Abdul Hafiz, that she is gone in virgin whiteness,
whither ere long you shall follow and be with her till time shall chase
the crumbling world out over the broad quicksands of eternity, and
nought shall survive of all this but the pure and the constant and the
faithful to death. There is before you a third, destiny, great and
awful, but grand beyond power of telling. Body and heart have had their
full cup of happiness, have enjoyed to the full what has been set in
their way to enjoy. To the full you have enjoyed wealth and success and
the sensuality of a refined and artistic luxury; to the full, as only a
few rarely-gifted men can, you have enjoyed the purest and highest love
that earth can give. Think not that all ends here. The greatest of
destinies is but begun, and it is the destiny of the soul Two days ago
if I had told you there was something higher in you than the loving
heart, you would not have believed me; now you do. It is the ethereal
portion of the heart, that which longs to be loosed from the body and
floating upwards to rejoin its other half.

"Your love has been of the best kind that falls to the lot of man. Not a
single shadow of doubting fell between you. It has been sweet if it has
seemed short--but it has really lasted a long time, as long as some
people's lives. You are many years older than you were when it began,
for a month or two ago--or whenever it was that your heart first
awoke--you were entirely immersed in the material view of things that
belonged naturally enough to your position and mode of life. Now you
have passed the critical border-land wherein love wanders, himself not
knowing whither he shall lead his followers, whether back to the thick
green pasture and heavy-scented groves of sensual existence or forward
to free wind-swept heights of spiritual blessedness, where those who are
true until they die walk forth into truth everlasting. Yours is the
faith and the truth that abide always, yours henceforward shall be the
perfect union of souls, yours the ethereal range of the outer firmament.
Take my hand, brother, in yours, and seek with me the path to those
heights--to that pinnacle of paradise where you shall meet once more the
spirit elected to yours."

Ram Lal stood beside Isaacs, whose face was still hidden, and laid his
hand with tender gentleness on the weary head. The old man looked kindly
down as he touched the thick black hair, and then raised his eyes and
looked out through the door at the brightening landscape over which the
morning sun was shedding warmth and beauty once more.

"Brother," he continued, "come forth with me. You have suffered too much
to mix again with the world, even if you wished it. Come forth, and your
soul shall live for ever. Your grief shall be turned to joy, and the
sinking heart shall be lifted to heights untried. As now the sun
steadily rises in his unerring course, following the pale footsteps of
the fleet dawning, and fulfilling her half spoken promises a
million-fold in his goodness; as now the all-muffling heaviness of the
sad dark night is forgotten in the gladness of day--so shall your brief
time of darkness and dull distress perish and vanish swiftly at the
first glimpses of the heavenly day on which follows no creeping night
nor shadow of earthly care. I come not to bid you forget; I come to bid
you remember. Remember all that is past, treasure it in the secret
storehouse of the soul where the few flowers culled from life's abundant
thorn are laid in their fragrance and garnered up. Remember also the
future. Think that your time is short, and that the labour shall be
sweet; so that in a few quick years you shall reap a harvest of
unearthly blooming. Fear not to tread boldly in the tracks of those who
have climbed before you, and who have attained and have conquered. What
can anything earthly ever be to you? What can you ever care again for
gold, or gem, or horse, or slave? Do with those things as it may seem
good in your eyes, but leave them behind. The weight of the money-bags
is a weariness and soreness to the feet that toil to overtake eternity.
The flesh itself is weariness to the spirit, and soon leaves it to wing
its flight untrammelled and untiring. Come, I will give you of my poor
strength what shall carry your uncertain steps over the first great
difficulties, or at least over so many as you have not yet surmounted.
Be bold, aspiring, fearless, and firm of purpose. What guerdon can man
or Heaven offer, higher than eternal communion with the bright spirit
that waits and watches for your coming? With her--you said it while she
lived--was your life, your light, and your love; it is true tenfold now,
for with her is life eternal, light ethereal, and love spiritual. Come,
brother, come with me!"

Slowly Isaacs raised his head from his hands and gazed long on the old
man. And while he gazed it was as if his pale face were transparent and
the whiteness of the burning spirit, dazzling to see, came and went
quickly and came again as flashes in the northern sky. Slowly he rose to
his feet, and laying his hand in the Buddhist's, spoke at last.

"Brother, I come," he said. "Show me the way."

"Right gladly will I be thy guide, Abdul," Ram Lal gave answer. "Right
willingly will I go with thee whither thou wouldest. Never was teacher
sought by more worthy pupil; never did man embrace the pure life of the
brethren with more single heart or truer purpose. The way shall be short
that leads thee upward, the stones that are therein shall be as wings to
lift thy feet instead of stumbling-blocks for thy destruction. The
hidden forces of nature shall lend thee strength, and her secrets
wisdom; the deep sweet springs of the eternal water shall refresh thee
and the food of the angels shall be thine. Thy sorrows shall turn from
bitter into sweet, and from the stings of thy past agonies shall grow up
the golden flowers of thy future crown. Thou shalt not tire in the way,
nor crave rest by the wayside."

"Friend, tell me what I shall do that I may attain all this."

"Be faithful to her who has preceded you, and learn of us, who know it,
wherein consists true happiness. You need but little help, dear friend.
Banish only from your thoughts the human suggestion that what you love
most is lost, gone irrevocably. Rejoice, and mourn not, that she has
entered in already where all your striving is to follow. Be glad because
she looks on those sights and hears those sounds which are too bright
and strong yet for your eyes and ears. Some of these unspeakable things
you shall perceive with your perishable body; but the more perfect and
glorious remain hidden to our mortal senses, be they ever so keen and
exquisite. Believe me, you shall reach that state before I do. My poor
soul is still bound to earth by some slender bonds of pleasure and
contemptible pain, fine indeed as threads of gossamer, and soon, I
trust, to be shaken off for ever. Yet am I bound and not utterly free.
You, my brother, have been wrenched suddenly from the life of the body
to the life of the soul. In you the vile desire to live for living's
sake will soon be dead, if it is not dead already. Your soul, drawn
strongly upward to other spheres, is well nigh loosed from love of life
and fear of death. If at this moment you could lie down and die, you
would meet your end joyfully. Very subtle are the fast-vanishing links
between you and the world; very thin and impalpable the faint shadows
that mar to your vision those transcendent hues of heavenly glory you
shall so soon behold. Look forward, look upward, look onward--never once
look back, and your waiting shall not be long, nor her watching many
days. She stands before you, beckoning and praying that you tarry not.
See that you do her bidding faithfully, as being near the blessed end,
and fearful of losing even one moment in the attainment of what you
seek."

"Fear not, Ram Lal. My determination shall not fail me, nor my courage
waver, until all is reached."

The light of another world was on the beautiful brow and features as he
looked full at his future teacher. What strange powers these adept
brethren have! What marvellous magnetism over the souls of lesser
men--whereby they turn sorrow into gladness, and defeat into triumph by
mere words. I myself, bound by thought and word and deed to the lesser
life, was not unmoved by the glorious promises that flowed with glowing
eloquence from the lips of that gray old man in the early morning. They
moved toward the door. Ram Lal spoke as he turned away.

"We leave you, friend Griggs, but we will return this evening and bid
you farewell." So I was left alone. Another comforter had taken my
place; one knowing human nature better, and well versed in the learning
of the spirit. One of that small band of high priests who in all ages
and nations and religions and societies have been the mediators between
time and eternity, to cheer and comfort the broken-hearted, to rebuke
him who would lose his own soul, to speed the awakening spirit in its
heavenward flight.

       *       *       *       *       *

As I sat in my room that night the door opened and they were with me,
standing hand in hand.

"My friend," said Isaacs, "I have come to bid you farewell. You will
never see me again. I am here once more to thank you, from the bottom of
my heart, for your friendship and kind offices, for the strength of your
arm in the hour of need, and for the gold of your words in time of
uncertainty."

"Isaacs," I said, "I know little of the journey you are undertaking, and
I cannot go with you. This I know, that you are very near to a life I
cannot hope for; and I pray God that you may speed quickly to the
desired end, that you may attain that happiness which your brave soul
and honest heart so well deserve. Once more, then, I offer you my
fullest service, if there is anything that I still can do."

"There is nothing," he answered, "though if there were I know you would
do it gladly and entirely. I have bestowed all my worldly possessions on
the one man besides yourself to whom I owe a debt of gratitude--John
Westonhaugh. Had I known you less well, I would have made you a sharer
in my forsaken wealth. Only this I beg of you. Take this gem and keep it
always for my sake. No--do not look at it in that way. Do not consider
its value. It is to recall one who will often think of you, for you have
been a great deal to me in this month."

"I would I might have been more," I said, and it was all I could say,
for my voice failed me.

"Think of me," he continued, and the bright light shone through his face
in the dusk, "think of me, not as you see me now, or as I was this
morning, bowed beneath a great sorrow, but as looking forward to a
happiness that transcends this mortal joy that I have lost, even as the
glory of things celestial transcends the glory of the terrestrial. Think
of me, not as mourning the departed day, but as watching longingly for
the first faint dawn of the day eternal. Above all, think of me not as
alone but as wedded for all ages to her who has gone before me."

Ram Lal laid his hand on my arm and looked long into my eyes.

"Farewell for the present, my chance acquaintance," he said, "and
remember that in me you have a friend. The day may come when you too
will be in dire distress, beyond the skill of mere solitude and books to
soothe. Farewell, and may all good things be with you."

Isaacs laid his two hands on my shoulders, and once more I met the
wondrous lustre of his eyes, now veiled but not darkened with the last
look of his tender friendship.

"Good-bye, my dear Griggs. You have been the instructor and the genius
of my love. Learn yourself the lessons you can teach others so well. Be
yourself what you would have made me."

One last loving look--one more pressure of the reluctant fingers, and
those two went out, hand in hand, under the clear stars, and I saw them
no more.

THE END.



Footnote 1: Sir Gore Ousely, _Notices of the Persian Poets_.

Footnote 2: A fact, as is well known.





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