The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1905-08-11
At High
Water Marx
By C. 3. LEWIS
Copyright, 1906, by II. B. Mcclure

SEn/->AnNHHNNnN
The two center piers of the great
railroad bridge over the Goomtree
river had been finished, and there was
much rejoicing They had been sunk
in the muddy bed of the stream dis
lance of sixty feet, and they lowered
almost as high above the surface. 1t
had taken thousands of tons of stone
and thousands of bags of cement and
hundreds of days work to C64nplete
these piers. They had had the labor
of thousand men and fifty elephants.
When they were finished holiday
was given to all the wOrkmen, and
the chief engineer gaZed proudly at
his work and said:
'"They are done at last. Floods may
roll down-aarthquakcs may topple
down forests-come what may, and
my piers will stand here when thou
sand years have passed away"
1T Is So sahb-it is So" answered
the voice of thousand natives, and
then they cheered him and his work.
w Iltu d llIcbiNslliNi Nv Z LlIb4tAAi
workmen are employed together on
one job there are three or four castles
There are masons, carpenters, elephant
drivers, sh0vclCfS. boatmen and what
not There is enmity between the
castles. there is jealousy between the
different trades, there is chance every
hour In the day for Il general riot, and
IL, 10, .4,.i,f IL
ciplinc. The superintendent word
must be law from which there is no
appeal. \ culprit is not told TO go
hence, because he has bound himself
and the company has bound itself. He
is punished hy fine, imprisonment or
the lash. Because of this custom this
news ran through camp one morning:
NJ the hour OF high noon today the
flag Of punishment will be raised on the
staff. and Kim Nassik will be tied to
the post and logged. Three times has
his overSccr warned him, and three
times has he muttered and cursed be
low his breath and failed to amend his
conduct. Kim Nassik is lazy, and he
has made Bundara, his elephant, the
w lIGll JOlll tlllNNi anu NAN lAA''A41
are lazy, the work flags. One man and
his beast can hinder hundred others.
1t is right that Kim NaSsik should be
well logged"
When the elephant driver, after scv-
eral warnings, had been sentenced to
punishment, he replied to the superin-
tendcnt:
your words are true, sahib, and |
would not have you take them back.
| have been lacking i'll diligence, and
BunGara has agreed with me, but we
have a reason. \ few Sundays ago be
got loose and ran away to the jungle.
We hunted for him for hours. When
we finally came upon him he was talk
ing with wild elephant. He came to
ne at my bidding, but that night, when
all the camp was asleep, he whispered
| in my ear that we were frCtting the
river: that the waters We're growing
! and complaining: that some evil would
| surely fall upon us If we damned
| them back. For million years the
| Goomtree has had free flow to the sea.
Could it be otherwise than that she
should be angry and that some disas-
| ter should refall u.s."
How IS 1t with the trcaS-with the
grass-with all else that man uSesf'
| asked the official. IF the river is Il
million years old men have used her
! for Il million years. Thousands OF
| boats and RATS have floated down her
current and she has not complained.
Men must travel, and they must have
| bridges on which TO cross. streams.
We have not damned the current
back There is plenty of room for it
to flow onward. Bundara is q big,
| strong beast. but he is lazy. He has
told you this story that he may have
less work to do. You shall have TWEEN
ty lashes at the post before all men,
and Bundara shall also look on as a
warning to tell no more lies"
"As you will, sahib.'
! At noon the whipping took place, but
| the punishment was not severe. 1t
was because of the moral effect that
| it was inflicted. Kim NaSSik'S Gle
phant was there, and he dropped his
head and tears ran from his eyes. They
said he felt pity for his master and
that his conscience troubled him. To
spare the feelings of man and beast
the superintendent gave them half q
day off the works-half day in which
to ranent and decide to do better In