The morning call., 1890-09-24
WEE WILLIE WINKIE,
BY RUDYARD KIPLING.

garden-paths, as he went down to the stables
and ordered his pony. 1t seemed to him in
the hush of the dawn that all the big world
had been hidden to stand still and lock at
Wee Willie Wrinkle guilty of mutiny The
drowsv groom handed him his mount, and
since the one great sin made all others
insignificant, Wee Willie Winkie said that
he was going to ride over to Copy Sahib,
and went out at n foot-pace, stepping on the
soft mold of the flower borders.
The devastating track of the pony's feet
was the last misdt ed that cut him off from
all sympathy of humanity. He turned into
the road, leaned forward, and rode as fast as
the pony could put foot to the ground in the
direction of the liver.
But the liveliest Of twelve-two ponies can
do little against the long canter OF a Waller.
Miss Allardyce was far ahead, had passed
through the crops, beyond the police post,
when all the guards we're asleep, and her
mount was scattering the pebbles of the
river-bed rs Wee Willie Winkie left the
cantonment and British India behind him.
Bowed forward and still fOgging, Wee
Willie Winkie shot into Afghan territory,
and could just see Miss Allardyce a black
speck, Pickering across the stony plain.
The reason Of her wandering was simple
enough. Copy, in tone of too-hastlly
assumed authority, had told her over night
that she must not ride out by the rlver.
And she had gone to prove her own splrt
and teach Copy lesson.
Almost at the foot of the inhnspitable hills
Wee Willie Wrinkle saw the Waller blun1er
and come down heavily. Miss Allardyce
struggled clear bat her ankle had been Sc
verely twisted, and she could not stand.
Having thus demonstrated her spirit, she
wept cOpiously, and was surprised by the
apparition of white, wide-eyed child in
khaki, on n nearly spent pony.
Are you badly, badly hurted?" shouted
Wee Willie Wrinkle. as soon as he was within
range. You diin't ought to be here"
Il don't know" said Miss Alardyce, rue
fully, ignoring the reproof. Good gra-
cious, child, what are you doing here?"
You said you was going acwoss We
wivpr," painted Wee Willie Wnkle, throw
ing himself off his pony. And nobody
not even Coppy-must go ,acwcss We wiver.
wouldn't stop. and now you've hurried your
self, and Copy will be angwy wiz Inc, and
I've bwoken my awweSt. I've bwoken my
awwestp
The future Colonel of the One Hundred
Ninety-fifth sat down and sobbed. In spite
of the pain in her ankle the girl was moved.
"Have you ridden all the way from the
cantonments, little man? What for?"
" You belonged to Copy. Copy told me
sol" walled Wee Willie Winkie, disconso-
lately. Il saw him kissing you. and he
said he was fonder of you van Bell or We
get up and come back. You didn't ought to
be here. Wis is a bad place, and I've
bwoken my awwest."
Il can't move, Wrinkle" said Miss Altar
dyce, with a groan. I've hurt my foot.
What shall do?'
She showed a readiness 10 weep afresh.
which steadied Wee Willie Winkie, who had
been brought up to believe that tears were
the depth of unmanlineSs. Still when one
is as great a sinner as Wee Willie Winkie,
even a man may be permitted t. break down.
"Wnkie," said Miss Allardyce, when
you've rested little, ride back and tell
them to send out something to carry me
back in. II hurts fearfuiiy."
The child sat still for a little time and Miss
Alardyce closed her eyes; the pain was
nearly making her faint. She was aroused
by Wee Willie tying up the relns on his
pony's neck and setting it free with
vicious cut of his whip that made it whlcker.
The little animal headed toward the can
tonments.
4Oh, Winkie! What are you doingP"
"Hushp' said Wee Willie Wrinkle.
"Vere's man coming--one of We Bad Men.
| must stay wiz you. My faver says man
must always look after girl Jack Will go
home and ven vey'll come and look for US.
Watts why let him CO.
Not one man, but two or three had ap-
peared from behind the rocks of the hills,
and the heart OF Wee Willie Winkie sank
within him, for just In this manner were the
COLLINS won't TO steal out and vex Curdie's
soul. Thus had they played in Curdle's
garden. he had seen the picture and thus
had they frightened the Princess nurse.
He heard them talking to each other. and
recognized with Joy the bastard Pushto that
he had picked up from one of his fathers
groons lately dismissed. People who spoke
that tongue could not be the Bad Men.
They were only natives after all.
They came up to the powders on which
Miss Allardyce's horse had Numbered.
Then rose from the rock Wee Willie Win
kie, child of the Dominant Race, aged six
and three-quarteTs, and said briefly AMI EN-
phaticalIy ''Jao" The pony had crossed
the river bed.
The men laughed, and laughter from ma
tives was the one thing Wee Willie Winkie
could not tolerate. He asked them what
they wanted. and why they did not depart.
Other men with most evil faces and crooked
stocked guns crept out of the shadows of
the hills, till, soon, Wee Willie Wnkis was
face to face with an audience some twenty
strong Miss Allardyce sore imed.
" Who are y0uP" said ona of the men.
" l am the Colonel Sahib's son. and my
order is that you 20 at once. You black
men are frightening the Miss Sahib. One
of you must run into cantonments and take
the news that the Miss Sahib has hurt her
self, and that the Colonel's son is here with
her"
Put our feet into the trap?" was the
laughing reply. Hear this boys speech!
''Say that 1 sent you'll, the ColonePs
son. They will give you money"
"What is the use of this talk ? Take up
the child and the girl. and we can at least
ask for the ransom. Ours are the villages
on the heights" said voice in the back
ground.
These we're the bad men-worse than COB
lins-and it needed all Wee Willie Wrinkles
training to prevent him from bursting into
tears. But he felt that to cry before a
native. excepting only his mothers ayah,
would be an infamy greater than any
mutiny. Moreover, he, as future Colonel of
the 195th, had that grim regiment at his
back.
Are you goins-to carry us away?" said
Wee Willie Winkie, very blanched and I'M
Eyes, my little sahib Bahadur." said the
THAT is childss talk" said Wee Willie
Winkie. "Men do not eat men,"
A yell of laughter interrupted him, but he
went on firmly-"And if you do carry US
away, 1 tell you that all my regiment will
come up in a day and kill you all without
the Colonel Sahib?"
Speech in any vernacular-and Wee Willie
Winkie Lad colloquial acquaintance with
three-was easy to the boy who could not
yet manage his RS" and tbs" Alright.
Another man joined the conference, cry
ing: 30, foolish men! What this babe says
is true. He is the hearts heart of those
white troops. For the sake of peace let
them go both, for il he be taken, the regi-
ment will break loose and gut the valley.
Our villages are in the valley, and we shall
not escaI e. That regiment are devils. They
broke khoda Vars breast-bone with kicks
when he tried to take the rifles; and If we
tou h this child they will fire and rape and
plumber for month, till nothing remains.
Better send a man back 10 take the message
and get reward. | say that this child is
their god, and that they will spare none Of
US, nor our women, if we harm him.
1t was Din Mahommed, the dismissed
groom of the Colonel, who made the diver
sion, and an angry and heated discussion
followed. Wee Willie Winkie, standing
over Miss Allardyce, waited the upshot.
Surely. his "wegiment his own "wegi-
ment," would not desert him if they knew
of his extremity.