The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-01-09

paloce. where they kept him until the
next morning.
sThen he says he was brought be-
fore the rajah with other prisoners
and examined, and he said It would
have made your blood run cold to see
the offhand way i'm which that despot
desperate despot' was what Ananias
called bim-would just listen to what
the prisoners had TO say ana theh nod
carelessly to one or another OF the
iailers and they would be carried Off
TO be put TO death or torture or re-
leased.
"Ananias said that the rajah was the
most awful looking critter he ever set
eyes upon-a giant In size with wool
ly hair and squirt eyes, and 1t was the
sauint eyes that caused all the trou-
ble. II seems the rajah was so cross
eyed that the jailors would get all
mixed up on the sentences ana half
the prisoners got the wrong sentences.
IL was all right for some, but bad Tor
others. So Ananias says when II came
his turn TO plead he got up ana told
the rajah all about the Indus, ana now
her water casks had sprung leak, ana
that we wanted fresh water from the
everlasting waterfalls. and that We
was citizens of the U. S. A. The rajah
lust smiled and said it was all right
and he could have all the water he
wanted as long as the waterfalls last
cd. and then he nodded one way and
his eyes got so horribly squinty ana
crossed lust then that the executioner
made n grab for Ananias saying the
raiah had looked at him and the raJah
was TO busy to interfere. so they haul
ed Ananias off to put him to death.
Gle saws he got away and swum
ashore and reused our four men, and
they all cut and run for the Indus with
three of the raiah's men chasing after
them, and here was Ananias ana mere
was the three men. staring borrow
struck lust as IL they had understood
every word Of what my first mate had
said, and they didn't believe a word OF
ii.
"Then one OF the three Hindus spoke
ND politely, and what he said would
have habbergasted you, ma'am, Tor ne
spoke in English. Says he: Sahip
captain. this rncu speaks lies whenever
his mouth opens and he has called our
prince by evil names and with false
tongue. We have been ordered to
bring him back to the palace that our
prince may examine him.
"Of course | wasn't surprised to hear
that Ananias had been drawing the
long bow as l could see that he was
pretty much chapfallen to think he'd
been wasting all that breath before
/ these Hindus who could speak his lang
witch better than he could just call
ed the second mate to command the
Indus, and taking a fresh supply OF
men, | started with the whole lot for
the rajah's palace.
AT last we arrived ut the palace.
and Ananlas was right about that part
of it. He always did mix little truth
in with his falsifying. 1t was on an
island in the middle OF a lake. and i
could see waterfalls here and there
among the hills.
1--WE all got into a big barge and
were rowed across the lake TO the pal
ace and hustled into the audience room
where the rajah appeared In all his
glory.
when he smiled mt Ananias that
cheerful prevaricator just hauled in his
topsls and looked down at the floor
and / don't wonder, for that rajah
turned out to be one of the handsomest
men | ever saw In all my days, and
his eyes were as straight as yours,
maam. That part about his being
squirt eyed was all yarn of my first
mates.
1T seems that the rajah Of Raddabar
had been educated in England, and he
talked with me quite spell In a free
and easy manner. He told me that his
men had found Ananias and his four
mates stealing fruit from the palace
gardens, and for that reason he had
arrested him. He escaped all right.
and the rajah's servants had given
chase and caught him on board the
Indus.
ne IdJdH VI lNduuuuti WIS Stu-
tleman after all. and he laughed and
made joke of Ananias and his story
OF the 'squint eyed rajah.' He pre-
tended he wanted TO buy Ananias for
his chief story teller, kind of n court
fool, he explained. with n twinkle I'm
those straight handsome eyes OF his.
and poor Ananias hung his head and
looked mighty scared, for the rajah
pretended to offer me all kinds of rich
Jewels in exchange for the critter, and
l pretended to bargain for him and
then put the matter off until the next
time Ananias told big yarn.
$50 insisted on Ananias paying for
the fruit he had stolen, and he apollo
gized to the rajah as decently as his
kind can apologize to somebody who
has done them good turn, and then
as the rajah had made us welcome to
all the water we wanted, we all fell to
and filled up our casks and away we
went back to the Indus with some
presents that desperate despot' had
showered on us.
"Of course sent special messen-
rpr bacI IN tho ro n With e,.r,, ,,ras-