Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-08-23
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BELL ~ ~ \
DyLOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
AUTHOR OF THE BRASS BOWL" ETC Il
ILLUSTRATIONS by R&NY WALTERS -

/ ace, and for several years-eYer since
she first began TO be talked about
she's ruled from behind the screen
with high hand and an outstretched
arm So the bazaar says"
They arose and left the table to
the servants, the Resident with Am
Der following Farrell and young Clark
SON
"old women we are, forever talking
scandal said Raikes, with a chuckle.
"oh, well. it's shop with US. you
know"
"Of course. Then ! under
stand that the tamasha is the reason
for the encampment beyond the
wallis"
Yes; they've been coming in for a
week. BY tomorrow night, daresay,
every rajah, prince. thakur, baron,
ief, and lord in Rajputna, each with
his tail horse and foot will be
camped down before the walls of Kut-
tarpur You've chosen an interesting
time Tor your visit TIN be a sight
worth seeing, when they begin to
make a show My troubles begin with
state banquet tomorrow that I'd
give much to miss; however, I'll have
Farrell for company"
I'm glad TO be here" said Amber
thoughtfully. Could it be possible
| sat the proposed abdication of Salig
Singh in favor of his son were merely
a cloak to a conspiracy to restore to
power the house of Rutton? Or had
the tamasha been arranged in order
to gather together all the rulers in
Rajputana without exciting suspicion,
| that they might agree upon a concert
ed plan of mutiny against the Sirkar?
The state. affair of SURPRISING import
ance had been arranged for the last
day of grace allotted the Prince of the
house of Rutton. What had it to do
with the Gateway of Swords, the
Voice, the Mind, the Eye, the Body,
the Bell?
"By the way, Mr. Raikes." said the
Virginian suddenly, what do they call
the gate by which we entered the city
the southern gate?"
"The Gateway of Swords, 1 believe"
Farrell, on the point of entering the
house, overheard and turned. is
that SO? Why, thought that gate
way was in Kathiapur."
I've heard of Gateway of Swords
in Kathiapur," Raikes admitted.
Never been there, myself"
"Kathiapur?"
"A dead city, Mr.. Amber, not far
away-originally the capital of Khan
dawar It's over there in the hills TO
the north, somewhere. Old Rao Rut-
ton, founder of the old dynasty, got
tired of the place and caused it to be
depopulated. building Kuttarpur in its
stead-I believe, TO commemorate
some victory or other That sort of
thing used to be quite the fashion in
India, before we came" Raikes fell
back, giving Amber precedence as
they entered the Residency. by the
way, remind me, If you think of It,
Colonel Farrell, to get after the teie-
graph clerk tomorrow There's a new
man In charge-a Bengal babu-and
l presume he's about as worthless as
the run of his kind"
Amber made careful note of this
| information; he was curious about
that babu.
In the drawing room Raikes and
Farrell impressed Clarkson for three
handed bridge. Sophia did not care
| to play and Amber was ignorant of
the game-a defect in his social edu.
cation which he found no cause to re-
greet, since it left him in undisputed
| attendance upon the girl
She had seated herself Mt warped
and discouraged piano. for which
Raikes had already apologized; II was,
he said, legacy from a former Resi-.
dent. For years its yellow keys had
not known a woman's touch such as
that to which they now responded
with thin. cracked voices; the girls
! fine, slender fingers wrung from them
T, a plaintive, pathetic parody of melody.
Amber stood over her with his arms
/ folded on the top of the instrument
comfortably unconscious that his pose
| was copied from any number of senti-
mental photographers and art photo
graphs" His temper was sentimental
| enough, for that matter; the woman
was very sweet and beautiful in his
| eyes as she sat with her white, round
arms flashing over the keyboard. her
/ head bowed and her face a little
| ayerted, the long lashes low upon ker
| cheeks and tremulous with a fathom.
| less emotion. 1t was his thought that
his time was momentarily becoming
shorter, and that Just now, more than
ever, she was very distant from his
arms. something inaccessible. too rare
and delicate and fine for the rude
possession of him who sighed for bis
own unworthiness.
Abruptly she brought both hands
down upon the keys, educing a jan.
| gled, startled crash from the tortured
wires, and swinging round. glanced
up at Amber with quaint mirth trem.
bling behind the veil Of moisture in
her misty eyes.
'Tndia," she cried, with a broken
| laugh india epitomized: a home
sick, exiled woman trying to drag a
song of Home from the broken heart
Of a crippled piano, That is an Eng
mshwoman's India: It's our life, ever
to strive and struggle and contrive to
piece together out OF makeshift odds
and ends the atmosphere of Home
It's suffocating in here Come q