The Van Buren press., 1896-03-21
THE TOOTH OF SIVA.
ny GEORGE O. rARpUuAR.

@ nv s"e rltdl ms TREND, LII.
"orrall, in tneir tent one night, after
ten. nours' stalk in the desolate re
! sion at tie foot of the Himalayas. 81
vote we give it up as bad job and
make tracks homeward."
We've been unlucky, that's all" re-
turned DR.. Worrall There are yalls
about, fer we came across their 'spoor
Today up the lake. Halloo, Louis,
what's that thing?"
Louis had pulled out his chronome-
ter as he was speaking, and the doc
'or's eye chanced to catch the gewgaw
that dangled from the chain.
This 2' replied Louis, nonchaIantly.
"0h, It's little present l had from
Pollard before he left Calcutta. Neither
valuable nor very ornamental, but
keep it i'll memory of him"
The object which DR.. Worrall now
scrutinized with some degree of curl
osity was conical-shaped piece of
green jade, about an inch in length;
from the base of it projected d short
strip of tarnished metal, and through
this metal a hole had been bored DR..
Worrall looked long and carefully at
the article.
"Where did Pollard get it?" he asked,
grave look on his face.
"Well, he came across it in this very
neighborhood, / believe. Perhaps,
ought to say-putting the fact into
plain EnUlie ba CT oIa IL ~
''How did he become possessed of
lt?"
"Oh, by some means or other he Sc
cretly obtained access to a Brahmin
temple, in which an deliberately jew
eled image of silva was enshrined. The
jade teeth of the idol were fixed into
their sockets with golden screws, and
Pollard. desirous of having memento
of his hazardous enterprise, broke one
of the teeth off, and carried it away
with him. 1t was the act of an icono-
clast, a vandal, but"
you don't mean to tell me- cried
DR.. Worrall, exeitedly, that this is the
notorious Bharatra tooth 2"
Now you mentioI it, | reeolleet
that was the name Of the temple-the
Bharatra temple. But why notori-
ous2"
ut appears that the Bhootaneese
have a special regard for these teeth.
tertain scores or inscriptions upon
them being attributed to Brahma's 8
own hand 1t was the double triangle
cut into the face of this piece of jade
that caused me to question you respect
ing it. A description of the missing
tooth was circulated throughout the
district, the raiah of Waysnu offering
q substantial reward for its recovery,
If you value your comfort and safety
Louis, | would advise you to get rid of
the stone at the earliest opportunity,
Many a fanatic would not count the
cost if he could only obtain possession
OF the tooth, and many who are not
fanatics would have little scruple
about killing you for the sake of the
reward"
81 had no idea | was carrying such
dangerous article about with me" re,
joined Louis, with a laugh. Here it
goes back into my pocket"
"Harkl" interposed the doctor, sud
denly sitting up stiffiy. "What was
that?"
He rose to his feet, strobe past the
tent pole, and lifted the flap of the
tent. For a minute he looked keenly
out into the night, listening.
81 must have been mistaken, he said.
returning. 81 thought l heard stealthy
footsteps in the grass. But there's no
body about"
"The wind among the leaves, that
was ALL" opined Louis, with yawn.
81 say, Worrall, l think I'll turn in.
I'm dead beat"
The doctor f. lowed his companions
example, and within half an hour tAe
twain were deep in slumber How long
Louis had slept he knew not before
he awoke with a shiver, the cold night
air beating full upon his face. And
no wonder-for there, not yard from
his head, the tent cloth was dangling
loose. While he was dreamily debat-
ing the means by which the canvas
could be refastened with the Least
lmount of exertion to himself, he saw
hand THRUST into the opening. Louis
gazed fixedly. The cloth was cautious
W raised, and now the moons rays
glistened upon a forearm which, pro-
truded into the tent, swept gently
from side to side, in an ever widening
semi-circle.
Louis rolled over noiselessly and
clutched the cropping limb with both
his hands. The tug of war was violent,
but brief, for Louis fingers slipped
down his adversarys arm as if it were
the body of an eel The vigor he had
used, thus unexpectedly released, shot
him backward upon DIR. Worrall who,
alarmed at his friends halloos, had
risen into a sitting posture. Before
they could "sort themselves out" the
Nould-be pilferer-for there could be
no doubt the intruder was upon plum
der bent-had utterly vanished into
space. Nor, although they at once
reused the inmates of the camp-their
IIindoo bearers, porters and attend
nnts-could the slightest trace of the
marauder be discovered.
Next morning, while the hunters
were imbibing their early breakfast,
their guide, Bhootanese shikarl,
Chuta Sen. came running breathlessly
into camp. He had already been to
the top of an adjoining hill, from
whence he had seen 4. herd of yalSs
grazing in the valley beyond.