The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-12-24

do with the matter, was found dead outside
her hut. stabbed apparently with some IN
strumant which had passed completely
shrouoh ber body. She WAC good-looktng
vonnr woman. the wife of the bheestic, or
water.carrier. and they lived as happily az
nat;res of the two sexes ever do live to-
Gather. their occasional domestic difficulties
cnInoinating in nothing worse than the usual
sjenoinp-match, in which the native female
almost invariably eilepces her male antago-
mist nv the force and endurance of pierre
ing falsetto, combined with power Of barb
| inc sarcasms, compared with which the
nareinc Of the British Naggleton is agreea-
hle banter. The husband was arrested, but
speedily released for want Of any evidence
| to criminate him nor WAS he able to point
suspicion at any one as the possible culprit.
| The police were completely at fault. and
| the murder, too common m event IN India
| to be even nine days wonder, had almost
been forgotten.
It was one of those terrible nights of
June, when the air, after the blasting hot
wind Of the day, was as still as death, and
hot with heat that was sitting. Not the
crisp heat Of a big FIRE, nor the stinging
| heat of the hottest room in the Turkish
bath, but o heavy, fahby, edgeless heat,
| that set punhahs and tattieS at defiance, and
weighed upon the brain until helpless
and hopeless feeling of lassitude akin to
despair made the ftful snetches of sleep
resemble painful intervals Of prostration
from debility. In the next room-the bath
room burned wick, in clay saucer of
oil (the native chiragh), and by its faint
light. coming through the half-closed door,
| | had so many times taken up and adml-
ringly examined the spear-head have
mentioned that my hand got familiar with
| its position.
It must have been about midnight when,
| in q state of semi-somnolence, | became
conscious, or rather felt the presence, of
some one by my bedside. ! fancied
heard-for the lamp had gone out-a hur-
ried breathing and the rustic Of foot on
the rush mating. Not month before this
I had been robbed, and rather cruelty for
poor subaltern. A rife, dressing case, and
other things. had disappeared, and l had
in vain made every effort to discover the
thief or recover the property. 1t was not
unnatural, therefore, that my first and only
thought was of robbers, and, selling my pet
spear-head, plunged it wildly into the
darkness. IT struck something; ay, it struck
flesh, for as leaped out of bed and made
for the door felt its point wet and sticky
with what could only be blood. When say
door, | mean the entrance into the centre
room Of the house. The door was open, but
in the space hung folding bamboo cur
tain, or chick, as it is called. The house was
the ordinary cantonment bungalow, bed
rooms on each side Of centre-room, the
latter extending the length of the house,
and opening back and front into the COM
pound. A lifted the chick, if hesitated
at all which direction to pursue, it was for
less time than I have taken to write the
word for out on the steps leading from the
front door stood between me and the star
light a figure enveloped in the ordinary
chatddd (sheet of O native woman. The
hot blood rushed into my face at the instant
thought that had stabbed q woman but
if l recoiled for moment with a sense of
my cowardice and shame, in the next wasin
pursuit, determined to explain this midnight
visit. I called to her as stepped over the
threshold, but che passed down the steps
and round towards the back of the house,
where were the stables and some out-houses
in which my servants lived. Barefooted as
was, followed and though the stones
hurt and cut me. swiftly as she went, | kept
her in sight until she disappeared into the
house of my khitnutgar Hingun. The door
was shut in my face, and fastened too, for
it was not until after fruitless hammering,
and when was on the point of bursting it
in, that it was opened by my own servant.
This man had come up to the country
with me. He had been recommended by
the kindest of friends as the. very best Of
"niggers" (pace Buxtop), and he had
fully maintained his character. Indeed, |
had strong liking for him, as he never
gave me reason to doubt his honesty, and
had proved his courage as well as Il hoped)
his attachment to me. When travelling up
the river we were caught in one of those
terrible nor'westers which, destructive as
they are on land, are doubly SO on the
water. Our boat was driven on o sand
bank, which caused it to leak; and it was
driven off again, which caused it to fill.
The crew and all my servants, except
Hingun, swan to the bank, only some
hundred yards distant, and the boat was
floating in the state sailors would call o
wash. l had retreated to the foot of the
cabin and HiDgun had followed me. "Save
yourself" I said. "Leave me; l cannot
swim, and must stick to the boat" His
reply was gentle and touching as Ruth to
Naomi, and to the same purpose. And
from that time need scarcely say he was
my favorite servant. He was my factotum,
in short, keeping my accounts, cooking my
dinner when l did not dine at mess, und
checkmating, though not without making
enemies, the attempted populations of my
other servants.
aHingun,n I said, " who is the woman
| that has just entered your house 7"
There was o tremor in his voice when he
made reply: "Sahib, there is no woman
here"
sit is FALSE" l said "get me a light
instantly"
AS he fumbled about for the match,
heard him nervous]y mutterlng the com
mon form Of exorcism in use with Mussul.
men. Selling him with my left hand,
passed my right down his arms and took
from his fingers the match he tremblingly
held, then STOPPING down to the embers Of
g small fire at which he had been cooking
kindled the match, lighted the lamp, anG
turned to examine the chamber. Kneelins
on the floor crouched Hingun. He was quite
young man, and of very fair complexion
for native, but now his face was livid, as
with a fixed and vacant expressions very
paralysis of terror-he gazed towards the
door. On his right arm l now noticed q
jagged wound little below the elbow
which had been clearly quite recently in
hicted, for it was then bleeding.
"What is the matter p" said. care
you mad Who has wounded you ?"
| No reply until l got between him and
the door, and then, taking him by the