Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-16
STRANGE RIDE OF MOBROWBIE JUKES
[By RUDYARD K1PLING.l
TConcluded.1

happened, wild crow, who had grappled
with the shrieking and helpless bird, was
.entangled in the latter's claws, swiftly dis
engaged by Gunga Dass, and pegged down
beside its companion in adversely. Curl
osity, it seemed, overpowered the rest of
the flock, and almost before Gunga Dass
and had time to withdraw to the tussock,
two more captiyes were struggling in the
upturned claws of the decoys. So the
chase-if can give it so dignifed name
continued until Gunga Dass had cap
tured seven crows. Five of them he
throttled at once, reserving two for further
operations another day. l was good deal
impressed by this, to me, novel method of
securing food, and complimented Gunga
Dass on his skill.
at is nothing TO d." said he. "To-
morrow you must do it for me. You are
stronger than l am"
This calm assumption of superiority
upset me not little, and | answered per-
emptorily: "Indeed, you old rufian
What do you think l have given you
money for?"
every WE'LL" was the unmoved reply.
perhaps not tomorrow, nor the day after,
nor subsequently,, but in the end, and for
many years, you will catch crows and eat
crows, and you will thank your European
God that you have crows to catch and eat."
/ could have cheerfully strangled him
for this but Judged it best under the cir
-cumstances to smother my resentment. An
hour later | was eating one of the crows,
and. as Gunga Dass had said, thanking my
God that l had crow to eat
Never as long as | live shall | forget
that evening meal. The whole population
were souatting on the hard sand platform
opposite their dens, huddled over tiny fires
of refuse and dried rushes. Death, having
once laid his hand upon these men and
forborne to strike, seemed 10 stand aloof
from them now for most of our company
were old men, bent and worn and twisted
with years, and women aged to all appear
arce as the Fates themselves. They sat
together in knots and talked-God only
knows what they found to discuss-in low
equable tones curiously in contrast to the
strident babbie with whichsnatives are ac-
customed to make day hideous.
Now and then an, access of that sudden
fury which had possessessed me in the
morning would lay ho.d on man or
woman, and with yells aud imprecations
the sufferer would attack the steep slope
until, baffled and bleeding he fell back on
the platform incapable of moving limb
The others would never even raise their
eyes when this happened, as men too well
aware of the futility of their fellows at
tempt and wearied with their useless repe-
titiou. saw four such outbursts in the
course of that evening.
Gunga Dass took an eminently business
like view of my situation, and while we
were dining-I can afford to laugh at the
recollection now, but it was painful enough
at the time-propounded the terms on
which he would consent to 'doH for me.
My nine rupees eight annas, he argued, at
the rate of three annas day, would pro-
vide me with food for fifty-one days. or
about seven weeks-that is to say, he would
be willing to care for me for that length of
time At the end of it | was to look after
myself.
For further nsideration-rideticet, my
boots-he would be willing to allow me to
occupy the den next to his own, and would
supply me with as much dried grass for
bedding as he could spare.
every well, Gunga Dass," | replied; "to
the first terms l cheerfully agree; but as
there is nothing on earth to prevent my
killing you as you sit here, and taking
everything that you have q thought of
the two invaluable crows at the time) |
fatty refuse to give you my boots and shall
take whichever den please"
The stroke was a bold one, and l was
glad when / saw that it had succeeded
Gunga Dass changed his tone Immediately
and disavowed all intention of asking for
my boots.
At the time ii did not strike me as at all
strange that |, civil engineer man OF
thirteen years standing in the service, and
/ trust an average Englishman, should
thus calmly threaten murder and violence
against the man who had, for consldera-
ton, it is true, taken me under his wing. L
had left the world, it seemed, for centuries.
l was as certain then as ! am now OF my
own existence, that in the accused settle
ment there was no law save that OF the
strongest that the living dead men had
thrown behind them every canon Of the
world which had cast them out, and that |
had to depend for my own life on my
strength and vigilance alone. The crew
of the Inflated Mignonette are the only
men who would understand my frame Of
mind.
"At present" argued to myself, 81 am
strong and a match for six of these
wretches. 1t is imperatively necessary
4
health and strength until the hour of my
release comes-if it ever does"
Fortified with these resolutions J ate
and drank as much as | could, aud made
Gunga Dass understand that ! intended tC
be his master, and that the least sign Of
insibordination on his part would be Wis
tied with the only punishment | had it in
my power to inilict-sudden and violent
ofta ! n hpH
That is TO say, Gunga Dass gave me {
double armful of dried bents, which
thrust down the mouth Of the lair to the
right of his and followed myself, feet fore
most, the hole running about nine fee
into the sand with slight downward in
clination, and being neatly shored witt
timbers. From my den, which faced tn
river front, was able to watch the water
of the Sutlej flowing past under the ligh
of a ,Sung moon and compose myself Il
sleep as best | might.
The horrors of that night | shall neve
forget. Ny den was nearly as narrow as
coffin, and the sides had been worn smootl
and greasy by the contact of innumerabl
naked bodies, added TO which it smelle'
abominably. Sleep was altogether out Q
the question to one in my excited state {
mind. As the night wore on 1t SCENE
that the entire amphitheater was file
with legions of unclean devils that, trooE
ing up from the shoals below, Knocked tn
- unfortunates in their lairs.
THE QUIcKsAND.
Personally am not of an imaginativ
temperament-very few engineers are
but on that occasion | was as completed
Frustrated with nervous terror as an
woman. After half an hour or so, how
ever, was able once more to calmly +,
view my chances of escape. Any exit b
the steep sand walls was, of course, in
practicable. had been thoroughly cor
WINGED of this some time before
II was possible lust possible. that