Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-11
A LOYAL HINDOO.

extraordinary fellow. I picked him up in Benares one scorching afternoon in midsummer. was in want of a kit mutgar, and he seemed to have nothing to do. He could not speak one word of English, and, to tell the truth, that was the first and only recommendation upon which engaged him.
 1 In religion he was Mussulman, but he was far from being devout Indeed very soon rated him as rather below the average in everything. However, as did not require anything remarkable, We got on well enough to the end, for he followed me, poor fellow, to his death
 Steal? Most decidedly. He would in. variably steal anything belonging to mo that attracted his fancy. If discovered it and went about it ill the right way, l could usually get it back
 | Sajad never left me for m hour from the time he entered my service. He fol. lowed me all day and slept on a rug Ut my door or lay on the sand at my feet or just outside my tent at night, as the case might be, and he received just as many lectures on veracity and made just as many promises as the time allowed, but l am suro that he told me just as many lies the last week of his life as he did the first week he was with me It is as much the nature of the oriental to lie and steal as it is of dog to bark at horse or of a cat to help herself to cream.
 One who expects too much is apt to give credit for too little. That may bo the reason the Hindoo has such bad reputation ill the minds of some who mean to be just, or oven generous. Many a good turn Sajad did me right in the line of those two traits It takes q rogue to catch Il rogue. and know that he saved me from being robbed by oth- CTS many times over for all that he took himself, while he would detect lie in what any one clsc told mo as quickly as a negro boy in old Virgin would spot q ripe watermelon.
 | We were marching through the TeraI once with n small detachment A sol dier was leading my horse, while walked upon one side of the path, fol
 lowed at n little distance by Salad, hunting for Il bird had shot and which had fallen ill the tall grass. Suddenly there was n cry from those behind looked quickly over my shoulder. A hooded cobra, disturbed by the commo- tion l was making, had risen out of tho grass just behind me His flat head and flaring hood were already thrown back for final fling at me. His half open mouth was within three feet of my face when my eyes rested upon it. If turn cd, l should only expose more of my face. If lifted hand, he would strike it quicker than lightning. There was no chance to get away. and l was utterly
 helpless
 Before had time to think n second thought, however, Sajad made one leap
 from where Inc was standing, and be
 fore his feet had touched the ground he
 had brought his staff about with a sharp , whir as it cut the air. too quick even for n snake to dodge, and the next in
 stant the cobra's body was writhing in
 the grass. while his head. completely
 severed, fell at my feet.
 Had Sajad waited an instant he would
 have been too late No one else could
 have reached mo, yet if he had missed his aim or the snake had dodged his own life would have paid the forfeit. No one knew it better than Salad. but
 he took tho chance and saved my lifc. He had in his girdle at the time brigh, ICOlOTtu SILK nauuhtEClltI WHICH ue uau stolen from me, and only that morning l had solemnly declared that he knew , nothing about it.
 \ Up in tho hills one afternoon was ly' , ling on a low tent bed taking a nap, when Sajad saw n poisonous insect. . : kind of scorpion, crawling over my pill , low He had nothing near to use as | lwcapon and no time to lose. He caught . it in his naked hand and threw it ont oi [ tho tent door. woke in time to sec il , flying through the air. and hurrying out killed it before it got away.
 called to Sajad to ask if Inc had cs lcapcd q sting. and receiving n cheerful E lrcply in the affirmative thought nc tmore about it till, chancing to enter tho ltent softly aud unexpectedly. found thim sucking the back of his right h?ud T for dear life. He stopped tho instant lc ' saw me and put the hand behind him.
 The poison had already begun to take I lefTect The hand and arm were swell s ling. and before long Sajad was lying oI
 the floor writhiug i'll agony. The only c lantidotcs had were ammonia and whis ky. Sajad knew tho contents of bOtl - bottles, for he had tho care Of all Fl! F traps. did my bvst for him with thu ! ammonia, but utterly in vain pleaded t begged, commanded that he take thu l. whisky. Ho would not touch it.
 Il Why? Only because he was a Mussul 0 man No matter how intense his agon! n or determined my command he put hi '- Iwell hand over his mouth and shook hi ' head He felt sure that he was dying
 and he believed my assertion that tn
 whisky might save him. but that mad s Inc difference He came so near to deatl ,- that he was past seeing anything an' '- beyond hearing. He lay upon the ground e just breathing. panting, as though h
 was almost at the end It seemed uselcs V, to try again. and yet, now that he Wa { unconscious. I could at least make i. last, desperate trial with tho whisky
 The moment that it touched his lips, h
 struggled away. clutched his lips wit
 his hand and shook his head
 'd believe the very fear that 1 shoul g succeed in giving him the whisky kcI
 him alive till the poison began to los T. it's power. At all events ho did not di'
 Salad was as fond of hunting as ss Many Q time wo two slipped away froI l. camp in the gray of early morning in Once, just before daylight. l was oT
 with my shotgun in a thinly woodc
 jungle a mile from camp upon th
 shore of Q small lake. waiting for bird i- It was just my luck Because cam tc prepared for birds. thero was not one i ~ sight, but three beautiful antelope cam h. down to drink within hundred feet
 us I looked at tho shotgun in disgus