Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-19
CHAPTER XI-Continued.

On every hand the long swales rolled
away. sun-baked. rocky. innocent of any
sign OF life other than the trooping tele-
graph poles in the south, destitute of any
sort of vegetation other than the newt
able ak and COS. Wherever the eye wan
dered the prospect was the same-limlt-
less expanses of raw. blistering ochres.
salmon pinks and dry. faded reds, under
a sky of brass and fire.
Amber leaned forward. watching the
drivers face. ''Your name. tonga-wal-
lah?" he inquired.
Ram Nath. sahib'' The man spoke
without moving his head. attending dill
gently to the management of his ponies
And this other passenger, who awaits
us at the dak-bungalow, Ram Mathis
he, perchance. one known both to you and
to me-"
Ram Nath fiicked the tagging ponies
How should i know" he returned.
brusquely.
One" persisted Amber. who might be
known by such a name as, say, Pink
Satin?'
"What manner of talk is this?" de-
be amused by riddle. 1 know naught
of your Pink Satin.'" He bent forward
shortening his grasp upon the re1ns, as II
to signify that the interview was at an
end.
Amber sat back. annoyed by the fell
lows impudence, yet sensitive to a sus-
picion that Ram Nath was playing his
part better than his passenger, that the
rebuke was merited by one who had VEN
.ured to speak of secret things in land
whose very stones have ears. For all that
he could say their every move was
watched by invisible spies. of whom the
rock-strewn waste through which they
sped might we'll harbor hidden legion
q Dat han Of oil NqfH
had nothing whatever to do with Laber-
touche. Undeniable as had been his wink,
1t might we'll have been nothing more
than his impertinence. At the Thought
and he swore bitterly beneath his breath
II that were SO, he vowed, the tonga
wallah would pay dearly for the indiscre-
ton. He set his wits to contrive way
to satisfy his doubts.
Meanwhile the tonga rocked and bounded
fiendishly over an infamous parody of a
road, turning and twisting between huge
boulders and in and out of pebbly null
lahs, Ram Nath tooling it along with the
hand of a master. But all his attention
was of necessity centered upon the ponies
and presently his tulwar slipped from his
knees and clattered upon the floor of the
tonga. Amber saw his chance and put
his foot upon IT.
Ram Nath," he asked, gently, have
you no other arms?'
Il were a fool had / not" The man
did not deign to glance round. He hath
need of weapons who doth traffic with
the Chosen Of the Voice. sahib; ..u
ASPIRATION. II grow weary Of the word,
Ram Nath."
THAT may we'll be-" returned the man.
imperturbable. None the less II were
we'll for you to have q care how you
fondle the revolver in your pocket, sahib
Should it by any chance go off and the
bullet find Judgment in your tonga-waliah
you are like to hear more of that Voice
and from less friendly lips"
your head. Ram Nath." Amber with
drew his hand from his coat pocket and
laughed shortly as he spoke.
There is a saying in this country. sa-
,, hib. that even the stones in the desert
have ears to hear and eyes to see and
tongues withal to tell what they have
seen and heard"
"Ah-h! That is wise saying,
Ram Nath.''
There be those could name who
would do well to lay that saying to heart,
sail b.
You are right. indeed. - Now If
there be aught of truth in that saying.
and if one were unwisely to speak . GER
tain name, even here"
THE echo Of that name might be
heard beyond the threshold Of certain
Gateway, sahib.''
Amber grunted and said no more. con-
tented now with tile assurance that he
was in truth in touch with Labertouche.
that this Ram Nath was an employe of
the 1. s. s. The wink was now ex-
planned away with all the rest Of the
onga-wallah's churlishness. Since there
was a purpose behind II all, the Virginian
was satisfied to contain his curiosity.
Nevertheless he could not help thinking
that there must be some fantastic exag-
geration in the excessive degree of eau
ton that was thus tacitly imposed upon
him.
He looked round him, narrowing his
eyes against the sun-glare. and the desert
showed itself to his eyes a desert waste
and nothing more. The day lay stark
upon it's lifeless face and II seemed as IT,
within the wide rim of the horizon. no
thing moved save the tonga. They were
then passing rapidly over higher ground
and seemed to have drawn shade nearer
- tha northern hills Amber