The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-02-27

uShuuGt, anu ilubbSICu du
lent of seven devils. Then the necessity
for amusing the doll led Nuttia into linger-
ing round the little knots of story-tellers
who sat far on into the night, discoursing
of jiii,as and ghouls, Of faithful lovers, vir-
tuous maidens, and the beauties of holiness.
Down on the edge of the big stream, with
the water sliding by, Nuttia rehearsed all
these wonders to her adorned bed-leg until,
falling in love with righteousness, she took
to telling the truth
1t was a fatal mistake in "a cattle-lifting
district, and Bhamaniwallah-khurd lay in
the very centre of that maze of tamarask
jungle, quicksand, and stream which forms
the cattle-thief S best refuge. So Bahadur,
and Jodha, and Boota, together with many
another honest man, made steady income
by levying blackmail on those who sought
safety within their boundaries; and this
without in any way endangering their own
regulations All that had to be done
was to obliterate strange tracks by sending
their own droves in the right direction,
and thereafter to keep silence. And every
baby in both Bhamaniwallahs knew that
footprints were not legitimate subject
for conversation; all save Nuttia, and She
as luck would have twas herd-girl
They tried beating this sixth sense into her
but it was no use, and so whenever the sill
ver-fringed turban, white cotton gloves, and
clanking sword of the native Inspector of
Police were expected in the village, they
used to send the Legacy away to the back
of beyond-right away to the l4uckimpura
island maybe, to reach which she had to
hold on to the biggest buffalo's tail, and so,
with Sirdar Begun tied securely to its
horns and her own little black head bob
bing up and down in its wake, the trio
would cross the narrow stream and spread
themselves out to dry o the hot sand.
Nuttia took grea fancy to the island,
and many time, when she might have
driven the herds to nearer pastures, pre-
ferred the long low stretches of Luckimpu-
ra, where fpsh of green fingered even in
the droughts of April.
But even there on one very hot day
scarcely bla.r was to be found, and Nut
tia, careful of ner beasts and noting the
lowness of the river, gathered them around
her with the herdsman's cry, and drove
them to the further brink, intending tC
take them across to a smaller island beyond
To her surprise they stood knee deep il
the water immovable, impassive, noses in
air, with long curled horns lying on THEN
necks
The Legacy shaded her eyes to see more
clearly Nothing was to be seen but the
swift shallow stream, the level sand, anC
CLEANS of water stretching away to the no
rizon. Something had frightened them
but what She gave up the puzzle, anC
with Sirdar Begun bolt upright before he
sat on a snag dangling her feet over the
stream for the sake of the cool air which
seemed to rise from the river.
The bufaloes roamed restlessly about
disturbed doubtless by the clouds of flies
The sun beat down Intellectually on the
dolls fuzzy head, but it pierced Nuttia
thick pate, making her nod drowsily. Hel
voice recounting the thrilling adventures
of brave Bhopalutchi died away into a sigh
of sleep. So there was nothing left but
dolls wide unthinking eyes to keep watch
over the world.
What was that =? Something cold, icy
cold Nuttia woke with a start. One
brown heel had touched the water; she
looked down at it, then swiftly around her
The buffaloes huddled by the ford had
ceased to Craze, and quiver of light greet
ed her glance at the purple horizon. She
sprang to her feet, and breaking off root
from the snag, held it to the dimpling wa
ter. The next instant a scared face looked
at the horizon once more The river was
rising fast, rising as she had never seen it
rise before. Yet in past years she had wit
messed many flood-Aoods that had swept
away much of the arabic land and driven
the villagers to till new soil thrown up
nearer the high bank. Ay and driven
many Of them to seek new homes beside
new fields, until Observation-Disclosures had
dwindled away to few house, very few,
and these on that hot April day deserted
for the most part, since all the able-bodied
men and women we're away at the harvest.
Even the herds had driven their cattle
northwards, hoping to come in for some of
the lively bustles Of the fields. There were
only Nuttia on the Luckimpura island and
Mussumat Jewun, with her new baby and
the old hag who nursed her, in the reed
huts. All this came to the girls memory
as the long low cry of the herd rose on the
hot air, and with sirdar Begum close clasped
in her veil she drove the big buffalo Mott
in the stream. How cold the water was;
cold as the SHOWS from which it came !
The Legacy had not lived in the lap of
the river for so long without learning
somewhat of its ways, She knew of the
frost-bound soUEees whence it flowed, and
of the disastrous floods which follow be-
meath cloudless sky, on unusual heat or
unusual rain, in those mountain Businesses.
The coming storm, whose arch of cloud,
shimmering with sheet-lightning, had crept
beyond the line of purple haze, was moth
ing; that was not the nightmare of the riv-