The Opelousas courier., 1898-11-26

ING, with the rest or the society II
cantonments. for the announcement Of
an event which would, in all proba
biIity, give Miss Villars ample oppor
tunity for visiting these famous cities
in turn and without any need fol-
haste.
Edith Villars was typically English
in appearance, having soft, fair hal;
and gray-blue eyes, and with the latter
she now gaZed as if fascinated at the
shrouded figureS"Which passed her il
an endless stream. They filled he,
soul with terror. She felt that each
Of those wells might cover some awful
tragedy, a tragedy whose horror was
increased ten-fold by the seal q
silence and of secrecy, typitied 10y that
shrouding veil.
Suddenly she turned to her compan-
ion, a gray-haired man, strong and up
right, a man in the prime Of life, and
whose whole appearance, from thr tip
of his pointed gray mustache to the tip
of his polished riding boot, "a as typ,
ical Of the English officer as hers was
OF the English girl.
did you notice that woman, Col.
Manners"" she asked.
"Which?" said he, gazing at the
numbers by which they were sur.
rounded with a mutually bewildered
expression.
"Just on ahead. There-now-look.
The one with the pretty blue-sarry.
do you call it."
"Sari," said Col. Manners, instinct
lively correcting her pronunciation. 81
you mean; but what is there extraor-
binary about her" >
"Only her feet. They are white,
quite white. Isn't it funny?"
"Oh, no. They often look white with
the dust of the road, and. besides.
some Of them are fair. Perhaps that
particular woman is a hillwoman-a
kashnTiri, they are sometimes as fair
as-no, not you-but many English
| girls" and he glancer admiringly at
her dazzling complexion.
But her remark had evidently im-
piSoSSu liz " JILL l1AC ACs wv,
watched the passing women, gazing
always at their feet. And it seemed
to him that there were many white,
horribly white. Strange stories came
to his remembrance, stories which
were whispered just after the mutiny.
that all the missing English women
and girls had not been killed. That
thought had nearly maddened him
once, wen now he shuddered and saw
with t~hankfulness that they had ar
rived at the Chauk, the part of the
bazaar where the best goldsmiths'
shops are situated, and remarkable for
the beautiful carving of the wooden
balconies which overhang the porches
where the work is carried on. The
travellers were loud in their praises
and comparisons with every pictur-
esque town in Europe, giving, how
ever, as they felt correct, the prefer
ence to this city of "the gorgeous
East" ...".
The principal police officer soon usE-
cred them into one of the largest
shops, a low-ceiled room with a mud
floor, while he whispered to Col. Man.
ners that the owner was the biggest
rascal in the whole bazaar, but also
the best worker, and that the English
"~memsahibs" would see some wonder
full things. Col. Manners, who had
often performed the duty of Snowman
during his stay in Lucknow, knew ex-
actly what to explain, and waited ex-
pectantly for the inevitable exclama.
tons of establishment over the fire
a few pieces Of glowing charcoal in a
broken ~earthenware pot, the very
primitive bellows, worked by an a.
most naked, shining little boy, and tho
few rough and simple tools.
The proprietor was a stout man,
greasy and repulsive looking, and with
an air which made Col. Manners look
even sterner than his wont. His
words were sharp as he babe the man
show his goods as quickly as possible.
The ladies thought all natives alike
and noticed nothing wrong with the
mans leer and sly glances or the way
in which he directed all his remarks
and compliments to the young girl.
They watched him make a few silver
bangles, and bought some curious or
naments which were lying about the
shop, but Mrs. Villars had set her
heart upon buying a certain kind of
ring, and there was not one to
be seen. When the silver worker un-
derstood her wish he went to the back
of the room, where, in the shadow,
Col. Manners had seen a %crouching
figure, and, saying a few words in a
low, harsh tone, he returned to. his
with a particularly fine nose
ring, encrusted with turquoises, in his
hand. Mrs. Villars was delighted,
and, while she conducted her bargain
with the aid Of the policeman, her
daughter wandered to the back of the
shop.
She was astonished to find a woman
seated there, and more, that she wore
the identical sari which had attracted
her attention on the road. Instinct
lively she looked down to see the wo-
mans feet, but the whole form was
shrouded in the usual way, nothing
was visible but the face, and upon that
the girl gazed with a growing horror
on her own. It was the face of an cid
woman; dark hair vas parted and
brought low over the forehead; there
was no color in the sallow cheeks, and
the eyes glittered out of bony hollows.
They were wonderful eyes, the only
trace in that c~ountenance
a long past beauty; but now they
uoro awful foo for miSorv and humi1-