The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-05-10
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RUDYARD KIPLlNG.

.@-.BY.-.

During those iYe minutes / believc
that 4 explored thoroughly the lowest
circles of the Inferno which it is per
mitted man to tread ON earth. And al
the same time I myself was watching
myself faltering through the dark laby
Einths Of doubt. misery and utter de-
s,aair. wondered, as Heatherlegh II
S his chair might have wondered. which
dreadful alternative / should adopt.
Presently heard myself answering IN
voice that hardly recognized:
They're confoundedly particular
about morality in these parts. Give
se1n ffs Heather1egh, and my love.
Row let me sleep bis longer.
Then my two selves joined, and it
was only Z (haH crazed, devil driven =
Chat tossed In my bed, tracing step by
step the history Of the past month.
sBut I am In Simla, y kept repeat
sng 20 myself ttI. Jack Pansay, am in
Simla, and there ara no ghosts here.
1s's unreasonable Of that wcsaan to pre-
Tend there are Why couldn't Agnes
have left me- alone7 Inever did her any
harm. It might just as well have been
xae as Agnes Only I'd never have come
hack ON purpose to kill her. Why cant
I be left alone-left alone and happy 2
twas high noon when first awoke,
ssand the sun was low in the sky before
Ialept-slept as the tortured criminal
aleeps on his rack, too wozn to feel fur
kher pain.
Next day could net leave my bed
Eeatherlegh told me in the morning that
a. had received an answer from Mr.
MI.nnerinz, and that, thanks to his
{Heatherlegh' 81 friendly Offices, the
ssry Of my afdiction had travelled
Ehrough the length and breadth OF
Slnla, where was on all sides nAuch
pal5ied
ssA And That's rather more than you
deserve, he concluded pleasantly,
ssthough the Lord knows you'y been
going through a pretty severe mill
Never mind Vel cure you yet. you
perYe-se phenomenon. .
declined firmly to be cured. You
have been much too good to me already,
old man; said I, ssbut I don't think J
need trouble ron further. I"
in my heart knew that nothing
Heatherlegh could do would Tighten the
burden that had been laid upon me.
With that knowledge came also q
sense of hopeless, impotent rebellion
against the unreasonableness Of it, all
There were scores of men no better than
whose punishments had at least been
reserved for another world. and | felt
that il: was bitterly, cruelty unfair that
4 alone should have been singled out
fer so hideous fate. This mood would
nI time giFe place to another where It
seemed That the rickshaw and z We're
the only realities in world of shadows;
that Kitty was a ghost; that Manner
ing, HeatherIegh and all the other men
and women knew were all ghosts, and
tlae great. gray hills themselves but
vain shadows devised to torture me-
From mood to mood I tossed backward
and forward for seven weary days. my
body growing daily stronger and strong
er until the bedroom looking glass told
me that had returned to everyday life
and was as other men once more Curl
pusly enough. my face showed no signs
of the struggle had gone through. 1t
sYas pale indeed. but as expressionless
and commonplace as ever | had ex-
1ected some permanent alteratlon-vlsl-
BILE evidence of the disease that was eat
ing me away. / found nothing.
On the 18th Of May left Heather
aegh's house at II clock in the morn
ing. and the instinct Of the bachelor
drove me to the club There / found
that every man knew my story as told
by Heatherlegh. and was. in clumsy
fashion. abnormally kind and attentive.
Nevertheless recognized that for the
rest of my natural life should be
among but not of my fellows, and en-
We'd very bitterly indeed the laughing
coolies on the mall below iuncned at
the club and at clock wandered aim
lessly down the mail in the vague hope
of meeting Kitty Close to the band
stand the black and white liveries join
ed me. and I heard Mrs. Washington 8
old appeal at my side had been ex-
pecting this ever since came out. and
was only surprised at her delay The
phantom rickshaw and went side by
side along the Chota Simla road in 81
lence Close to the bazaar Kitty and a
man on horseback overlook and passed
Us For any sign she gave might have
beer dog in the road. She did not
even pay me the compliment of quick
ering her pace, though the rainy after
noon bad served for an excuse.
So Kitty and her companion and l
and my ghostly light O love crept
round Jakko in couples The road was
streaming with water, the pines drip
ped like roof pipes on the rocks below
and the air was full Of fine, driving
rain. Two or three times I found my
self saying to myself almost aloud
.eI'm Jack Pansay on leave at Simla-
e4 Si,n1a-eyeryday. ordinary Simla