The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-09-04
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
By CLARENCE PULLEN.

| nres winch tncy WOulu burn at ulgnt
TO keep the tiger away.
Leaving the horses there In charge OF
the captains orderly, we walked along
the bullock path which led through "a
dense jungle to the ruined city. An
hours walking brought MS to a spot
where the path emerged into an open.
grassy space. On the right. across a
nullah, ruined wall encircled the face
OF an eminence, and vast heap OF
fallen stone rising like hill within II
was Nahrabad, Raj Kehab's city.
| Wild vines and bushes hid the ruin In
places, and few trees had forced
their way into the open among the
there carved column or stretch Of
wall stood in place. Far up In the
ruins, at the very top, there rose from
the debris two marble posts, with the
capstones still resting upon them. Here
had been the main entrance OF the
| Rajah's palace, and from IL rock
stairway, on which ten men might have
marched abreast, could be traced down
10 broad platform where "A gate had
opened In the city wall. The gate and
its posts were gone, but n flight or
steps, with the hewn stones broken
and awry, but still In place remained,
leading from the platform down 10 the
foot Of the slope below the wall. Be
tween the foot OF the wall and the
nullah, which once had been n moat,
there was thick growth OF jungle
shrubs as high as a mans shoulders.
With Khatra leading, we went eau
tlously on until he paused nt line Of
bent and trampled grass where some
large, soft-footed creature had made n
pathway between the jungle and the
nullah opposite the gateway. We fol-
| lowed the path into the nullah, which
was swampy at the bottom. On the
hard ground the tracks were invisible
to the white mans eye, but here they
were deeply imprinted In the moist
soil, the great paws OF tiger, which.
not many hours before, had descended
from the jungle into the nullah and
thence up the other side TO the foot Of
the broken steps leading to the gate.
way.
"Thc tiger is nj home" the shlkari
said. "If he comes out TO range to-
| night he will pass here. We must
await his coming beyond the nullah."
We went hsSck across the nullnh TO
chose our places. The sun was near It's
setting. and we had no time to lose.
About thirty yards from the brink was
a korinda bush large enough to shelter
us all. We crawled under this. and
the long, horizontally growing branches,
with their tips dropped to the ground
on every side, made perfect place
of concealment Through the LEAKAGE
we cut loopholes from which we could
command the path on both sides OF
the nullah and the steps and gateway
beyond. This done, we opened the
haversack, nte our supper and settled
ourselves for waiting. The sun had
plunged down behind the ruins, and
soon the blackness of the Indian night
hid the ruined city n hundred yards
away. The very stars were shut from
our view by the overlapping branches
above our heads. We tipped our rifle
sights with phosphorus in order that
they might readily he caught In the
darkness, and then made ourselves as
comfortable rs possible. There were
the usual night noises of the jungle.
and our ears qulckened ut the rustlng
of small animals In the grass about us.
but there was no sound to indicate that
the tiger had come forth. In nm hour
the round moon came up behind us.
flooding the scene with light and the
shikari. crouchlng behind me, touched
my arm.
"see. sahib Below the wall, to the
left of the steps"
Just above the tops OF the bushes,
between the nullah and the foot OF the
wall, n white spot was moving. as IL
afioat I'm the air. toward the steps that
| led down from the gateway TO the
ground.
what Is II. KhatraT" l whispered,
but the shikari did not answer With
puzzled curiosity Murdoch and |
watched the thing slowly skirtlng the
foot OF the wall. 1t was not difficult
to understand that superstitious ma
| tive should see in Il the spirit OF Raj
Kchab patrolling the bulwark of his
city.
| Up in the ruins two jackals. chasing
each other about the palace steps,
suddenly checked their play, paused
in an attitude OF listening and skunk
away out Of view. The shikari,
crouching behind me. trembled vio-
lCntly. Turning our gaze upward,
Murdoch and | looked at the palace
doorway, where n new figure had ap-
peared. The capstone on which. by
tradition. Raj Kehab's tiger emblem
stood carved In marble. had In the
daylight rested level and bare upon the
posts. Now upon the capstone, In the
full rays Of the moon. white as the
marble beneath II, the form of tiger
= was silhouetted against the night sky
For n few long seconds. while we
waited and wondered. Il remained like
statue OF alabaster. then in an In
stant vanished. IL was all very queer
and eerie.
1T Is no delusion: we both saw him
What do you thinkg' | whispered e
Murdoch.
Were here 20 shoot whatever
comes" the captain answered. "If q
isn't trick Of imagination. " that's
the fellow that made the tracks IL
. the nullah. he should show up mex
ut the gateway. Hal what's that-be
low the wall at the foot Of the steps
The tiger can't have gone down ther,