Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-08-10
I0Ii,, which Mems FORGIVEN.


Punda-Tsang was an innkeeper. He
was sole proprietor of the BalIawari-Dak,
which is 4 very big name for a very
small native hotel about sixty miles north
of Penang. and on the high road to the
hunting steppes of the Bakit or hill coun-
try. Punda was 4 good sort of Malay,
Which means bad sort Of anything else.
That IS, he would plumber only on the Sc
curest principles, and never quarrel with
4 bigger man or a better-armed one than
himself. In this he differed from other
Malays, who would plumber and knife up
on no principle or provocation whatever,
It they thought there was ten-anna
piece to be gained thereby.
But deeper reading of this prosperous
Bonlface Of the jungles revealed the fact
That he was capable of l0ye-yes, even a
tender. human affection; and that little
lall, his 5-year-old daughter, vas the OBJ
Ject OF worship III his heart even more
feryent than that which he bestowed up
on the five homemade clay gods before
winch. IL dark corner of the Oak, be
burned vast deal Of ill-smeling incense.
ne second year of Tsang's married life
mad hardly begun when his beautiful
wife was bitten by i yellow viper while
gathering healing herbs down in the val
ley. " zen they found the poor creature
she was dying-With her newborn babe
II her arms This calamity the bereaved
husband regarded as direct visitation
DAY before he had robbed a King hunter
OF his rifle, leaving the poor fellow to
make MS way unarmed down to the sea-
where he ran upon a pair of half-starved
kukangs. vicious species of Malay Chin
pdhzee. III Heelng from which he fell over
the cliff and was dashed to pieces And
9unda-Isang always felt that that yellow
viper was sent direct from the land of
the judging gods to avenge the blood of
the poor Killing hunter. But there was
one thing that mitigated the harshness of
TINS Yengeance-the presence of the little
c1lId, whom he tenderly cherished. and
Wnom he had called Iali, which is to say,
forgiven -
One day two officers of H. NJ. shin
scorpion stopped at the Oak on their
way down from hunt in the hill coun-
Try. we were seated under the palms be-
tore the bungalow after tiffin, smoking
cnerootS, while | listened to their exploits
with interest. Suddenly four native Ma
lays approached, wheeling a live tiger in
q clumsy wooden cage, and halted before
the Oak. They We're going to dispose of
INN to naturalist down on the coast
VINO mad a method of killing and stuffng
animals by which the marvellous luster
Of their skins was preserved. The for
est KING was certainly q magnificent speci-
men, and the officers evidently thought
so, too, as they concluded to buy him,
perhaps to swear that they had captured
INN. They bought the animal for a good
round sum, sent the natives back reioic-
ing, and started down toward the coast
White Punda-Tsang, not contented with
eXactlng Do per cent. commission from the
poor fellows for using his Oak for tiger
mart, committed the meanest act of his
life. He slyly sawed one of the cage bars
nearly through IN four places. Then he
went to work planning to waylay the IL
ger on his way back to his haunts after
he should break loose which he knew
would happen before the purchasers could
get many miles down the valley. He
quietly pursued his planning until late
that night, when he heard upon good au-
thority that the tiger had broken jail, and
nearly KILLED one of his owners. Then he
prepared to put his plans into action.
Punda knew well enough that the in
slant tiger smells blood he will drop
fiat, and, even if the feast is mile away,
will begin 4 slow, creeping journey to-
ward it, wasting hours perhaps When
he has approached within twenty feet of
the prize, quiyering with desire and terri
bic with greed. he viii leap into the air
like cannon ball and plunge down upon
his victim. Punda-Tsang knew all this;
so he dug 4 pit down the valley, con-
structed network of branches over it
and laid 4 quarter of bullock upon it.
Ihen he waited for the tiger to scent the
blood and make his slow. crawling jour
ney, knowing that when he made the
grand IWenty-Ieet leap he would go crash
ing through the network into the pit be-
low. Then Tsang planned that he would
starye the beast let down a cage baited
With more fresh meat, and sliding the
bars from above, haul the captured tiger
out and sell him over again. All of this
might have happened, but events some
what stranger and more terrible for Pun
da-Tsang interfered doubtless as another
direct visitation of the vengeance of tile
little clay gods in the bungalow corner,
half concealed in clouds of punk smoke.
As little Iali was the innkeeper's con-
slant solace and companion, She went
with him to the pit digging, her father ex-