Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1901-10-23
17HIE RETURN Y
u = /. OF ByDDHA

Ously. but you needn De frightened
of infection or anything like that. Fact
Is, I've been poisoned-poisoned near a
place I've got in west Ceylon, near Pa
latupane. 1t began five years ago last
month";" he went on in dreary sort of
way, land l suppose / was in some de-
gree to blame at first.
"You see. there was so little for a
man to do about my district, and not a
| soul to speak TO except natives, and
one naturally got wild for bit of ex-
element Stu. | think / must have
had some drink In me at the time or /
shouldn't have gone messing round a
temple. ] suppose the priests looked
| further ahead and thought they could
get more out of me dead than alive. So
they poisoned me-"
"But. pardon me, wasn't it rather a
mad thing of you to eat anything in
| such placer
81 neither ate nor drank. was not
so insane as that.
Zone of them gave me q push with a
cane he had In his hand, and l felt a
tiny prick and the thing was done.
at was not till a week after that
began to get seedy. But the worst of
it was no one could make out exactly
what was the matter with me-neither
native quack nor white doctor-and for
three whole years l hadn't a ghost OF
a notion myself either. / just wasted
down.
1T was just three years after that af-
fair in the temple that l got the first
inkling of what was the matter with
| me, and then only indirectly from
| whisperings among the coolies. But a
man in as bad fix as was will clutch
at any hope, and so l got a palanquin
rugged and had myself carried away
through the woods to the gloomy little
temple
THE priests were fulsomely civil.
They remembered my honored visit,
time back; were Frustrated with the
honor l did them in apologizing. but
fatty denied that they had any hand in
doing evil to my celestial person.
$50 went YEARLY back again and In
a week had a mysterious communica-
ton handed mellow, l know not
couched In very grammatical English.
TT stated simply that for my insult
to them the gods. through their servant
priests, had chosen to punish me. Al
ready had tasted of their power in
that | had wasted from heavy, strong
man to puny skeleton. l could save
myself by delivering my own ransom
on the threshold of the temple.
Years back, so | read, a wandering
had purloined a bronze statue of Bud
dha possessed of infinite sanctity. He
had departed. leaving small trace. and
had taken with him the Buddha to the
place whence he had come.
The letter went on to give a minute
description of the lost treasure and its
probable whereabouts and wound up
by assuring me that it, and it alone,
contained the sole antidote which
would cure me. How the healing drug
was to be administered the writer for
bore to tell, but that would be shown
when the image was replaced In its
shrine.
Convincing as this letter was, be-
lieve should have disregarded the adj
vice but for one thing. Accompanying
it were notes for ten thousand rupees.
A Clngalese native may lie. but he will
never outlay bis money without seeing
clearly very good return for it.
And so set out, with old death al
ways squirting me to hurry In the
search, and after three weary months
have found the Buddha In your house.
1t remains to see If You will surrender
1t to me-"
That was the fellows yarn. OF
course / took him to be mad at first,
but as he went on, in spite of myself |
could not help believing in it. / took
him into the hall and he spotted the
beastly green thing on its perch in a
minute.
That's my fate" says he; "and, look
you, inside it there ought to be small
packet of purple powder done up in
scrap of snakeskin. May | look?''
$50 ahead" says |; and. reaching up
his bony hands with bit of shudder,
he presses knob. and I'm blessed II
the little idols stomach didn't swing
out on a hinge. showing a tiny cup
board which held the speckled snake
skin and the stuff, just as be said.
And what are you asking for this
piece of bronze? You know what it's
worth to me. but I've not much money
left l ask you. as man, not to be too
bard with the prieeT'
"Oh. eonfound your says /, bit con-
fusedly. Il may be fond OF driving a
stiff bargain over horsehair sometimes,
but Pm not altogether a brute. Take
the ugly thing with you and welcome"
Wen. the fellow went away, and for
a long time | heard no more of him,
and Mabel said I'd been swindIed by
clever rogue. and | began to think as
much myself. although ! didn't say so.
And then. by Jove. a long letter full of
thanks came to say that he'd delivered
up his prize, and the priests stood to
their promise and he was getting well
raDidly