The Cape County herald., 1911-11-17
CHAPTER *. (contlnuod).

Aa Amber left the room Labertouchs
extlnguished the lamp, shut and
locked the door, and followed, catch
ing Amber By the arm and guiding
him through pitch darkness TO the
whispered; trust me- They DO
gcended an interminable flight Of
steps, passed down a long, echoing
corridor, and again descended. From
the foot Of the second flight LabGr-
tOuche shunted Amber round through
what seemed a veritable maze Of pas
Oages-in which, however, he was evil
IDENTIFY at home. At length: Nov
90 ahead" was breathed In Amber's
ear and at the same time his arm
was released.
He obeyed bllndly. stumbling down
q reeking corridor, and in minute
more, to his unutterable relief, was
sn the open air OF the bazar
Blinking with the abrupt transition
from absolute night TO garish light,
he skulked In the shadow Of the
doorway, waiting. Beneath his gaze
Calcutta paraded its congress OF peo-
ples-a comprehensive collection OF
specimens Of every tribe in Hindustan
hnd Of nearly every other race in the
world besides.
Like a fat, taWdry moth In his gar
ments Of soiled pink, a babu loitered
past, with never a sidelong glance
Tor the loaferish figure in the shad-
owed doorway; and the latter seemed
himself absorbed 10 the family Of Eu-
rRsians who were shrilly squabbling
with the keeper Of vegetable stall ad-
Sacent. But presently he wearied Of
their noise. yawned, thrust both hands
deep IN his pockets and stumbled
away. The bazar accepted him as a
brother, unQuestionlng, and he picked
his way through It with aa ease that
argued nothing but absolute familiar
Sty with his surroundings. But always
you may be sure, he had the CLEAN Of
pink satin In the corner Of his eye.
In time broad Machua bazar street
received them-Pink Satin and the
uailorman out for a night Of It, And
now Pink Satin began to stroll more
aedately, manifesting livelier inter
est in the sights OF the wayside Am
ber's impatience-for he guessed that
they neared the goldsmith's stall--in-
creased prodigiously.
Without warning, Pink Satin pulled
kp. extracted from the Tecesses Of his
Costume a long. black and vindictive-
hooking native cigar, and lighted It,
thoughtfully eXhaling the smoke
through his nose while he stared Gov
etously at the display OF a slipper
merchant whose stand was over
hcross from the stall Of a goldsmith.
with true oriental denberation Pink
Satin finally made up his mind to
move on; and Amber lurched heavily
Into the premises occupied by one
Dhols Baksh, q goldsmith.
A customer, a slim, handsome Ma
tRyan youth. for the moment held the
attention OF the proprietor. The two
were baggllng with characteristic en-
loyment over a transaction which
beemed to involve less than twenty
rupees. Amber waited, knowing that
patience must be his portion until the
bargain should be struck Dhola
Baksh himself. a lean, sharp-featuted
@AhAAAAlA AAug Win hhos appraised
with 8 single look the new customer,
asnd returned his interest to the Ma.
lay But Amber garnered from that
glanee o sensation Of recognition. He
Wondered ditnly, why; could the gold.
gmith have been warned Of his CON-
hg7
Two or three more putative custom.
grs ldled into the shop. Beyond its
threshold the stream Of native life
rolled on, osaselessly fluent; q pageant
NJ the middle ages had been no more
fantastic and unreal 10 western eyes.
Now ard again wayfarer paused, HIS
interest attracted by the goldsmith's
rush Of business
Unexpectedly the proprietor made
q substantial concession. Money
passed upon the instant, sealing the
bargain The Malay rose to 60.
Dhola Baksh lifted a stony stare 10
amber.
Your pleasure. sahib2" ho inquired,
with d thiniy-gefied sneor What need
- 7Asv defeFerss tor dpwn-at-ths-