The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-08-10

mare
He had q bottle of brandy which
had lever been uncorked, in his trav.
cling kit Rising. he found 1t and In
spected the cork narrowly to make
sure it had not been tempered with;
then he drew 1t.
The khansamah returned with the
glass and an unopened bottle Of
Schweppe's, and prepared the drink
under eyes that watched him narrow.
ly. While Amber drank he laid a
place for him at the table. When he
left the con q second time the Vir.
ginian produced his automatic pistol
and satisfied himself that it remained
loaded and In good working order.
In the course of a few minutes tho
native reappeared with a tray of food
and pot or coffee. These arranged,
he stood by the chair, ready to serve
the guest. Then he found himself
looking into the muzzle Of Amber's
weapon, and became apparently rigid
with terror.
"Sahib-,"
Make no outcry, dog, and til me
no lies, ii you value your contemplate
life. Why did you drug meat whose
instance?"
Answer me quickly, son of vipersl"
by Dhola Baksh, hazoor, | am in
nocent! Another has done these
things-he who served you last night,
belize, and whose place have taken"
Now the oaths of India are many
and various, so that a new specimen
need not be held wonderful. But Am.
Der sat bolt upright, his eyes widening
and his jaw dropping. "Dhola-," he
said, and brought his teeth together
with an audible click, staring at the
khansamah as If he were a recru-
descence of prehistoric mammal. He
caught a motion OF the head and a
wave Of the hand toward the window,
warning him that there might be an
eavesdropper lurking without, ard
rose admirably 10 the emergency.
THAT is a lie, ~misbegotten son of
a one-eyed N Of shame! BY the
gateway Of Kathtapur, that is a lie!
Frear, brother Of jacka's and father
of swine. le Z ny temper overcome
INC and l maze carricn of you"
"My lord, hear me- protested h
man in an extremity OF fright. These
be the words of truth. If otherwise,
let my head be forfeit. Early
in the morning you returned from the
lake, heavy with sleep, and SO soundly
hn,, ,,,,, ,t,Ar r{n,, tbat lay1r thqt
no effort Of mine could rouse you,
though many came to the door, ma
king inquiry. l am Ram Lal, a r
man, and no trafHcker in drugs and
p%otions."
Even sol" said Amber, ironic.
you've lied to me. Go now
and hold yourself fortunate in this,
that | am not a man Of hasty tudg-
ment."
"Hazoor!" Like a shadow harried
by a wind of night, the khansamah
sourried from the room But on the
threshold he paused long enough TO
lay a significant finger upon his lips
and nod toward the table.
From the k~hansamah's quarters
came an occasional clash Of crockery
and ~pattering of naked feet. Outside,
In the compound, the sepoys were
chattering volubly; their words were
tndistinguishable, but from their con-
stantly increasing animation Amber
inferred that they were keenly relish
Ing the topic OF discussion. He be-
came sure of this when, at length,
his curiosity aroused, he went to the
window and peered out between the
wooden Stats of the blind. The little
company was sQuatting in a circle
round the fire, and a bottle was pass
Ing from hand to hand.
He turned back, puzzled. to find the
khansamah calmly seated at the table
and enjoying one of Amber's choicest
cigarettes.
Thank God" he said, with profound
emotion. "for a civilized smoke"
"Labertouche!" cried Amber.
The pseudo-khansamah rose, bowed
formally. and shook hands with con
siderable cordially. It's good to see
you whole and sound" he said. Il had
TO wait until Ram Mathis work began
TO show results. He's out there, you
know, keeping the bottle moving. |
don't believe those damned sepoys
will bother US much, now, but we've
got no time at all to spare. Now tell
he what you have to tell. emitting
nothing Of the slightest consequence
Amber dropped into a chair, and the
E%nglishman sat e to him. Il say,
thank God for you, Labertouche. You
don't know how I've needed you
Il can fancy. I've had a ripping
time Of 1t myself. Sorry | couldn't
communicate with you safely before
you left Calcutta. But we've not a
minute to waste. Get into your yarn.
please; explanations later, If we can
afford EN-"
Inhaling with deep enjoyment, he
narrowed his dark eyes, listening In
tently to Amber's concise narrative oil
bis experiences since their parting be-
fore the stall Of Dhola Baksh in he
Machua bazaar. Not once was he in