Gilpin observer., 1912-01-25

'.jurprised you. eh?" The English
man grinned with pleasure, pumping
Amber's arm cordially. II don't mind
owning that I meant to-"
well. considering that this is posi-
lively your first appearance as your.
self on the stage of my hfe. you don't
deserve any credit for being able to
deceive me. When one gets accustom-
ed to remembering you only as a ma
tive-generally as a babu in dirty pink
satin Do you know. l made
all sorts OF enquiries after you, but
they told me, in response to my wires
to Calcutta. that you'd dropped out of
the world entirely. I had begun to
fear that those damned natives must
have got you, after all, and that I'd
never gee you again"
I'D almost given up hope Of ever
seeing myself again." said Laber.
touche drily.
But why didn't you-?"
Business, dear boy. business. e..
/ was needed for several days in
the neighborhood Of Kathiapur"
1T seems as though I'd waited sew.
eral years for news of Kathiapur. The
pspers-"
There are a good many things
that happen In India that fail to get
into the newspapers, Amber 1t wasn't
thought necessary to advise the world.
including Russia, that half the native
potentates in Hindustan had been
caught In the act of letting the Sec
ond Mutiny loose upon India" A net
work of fine wrinkles appeared about
his eyes as he smiled enjoyment of
what he seemed to consider a
memorable joke.
go on" pleaded Amber.
"Kathiapur was sort Of mousetrap;
the brutes came out bv two ard
threes, just as I said they would, for
the better part Of three days. 1t was
either surrender or starve with them,
and aftec five-sixths of them had
elected not to starve we turned a
couple OF companies of Tommies
into the place, and don't believe they
left unturned stone big enough to
hide a rabbit. One by one they rout-
ed 'em out and booted 'em down to US.
Meanwhile we had rushed enough
troops to Kuttarpur to keep their tails
quiet"
= And Salig Singh-and Naraini?"
"Salig Singh. it turned out was the
chap that got bayoneted in the tama-
risks. Naraini managed somehow to
steal away the next night, under the
noses of any number Of sentries; beau
ty such as hers would bribe her way
out of he'll, l think. What became of
her I don't know, but I can prophesy
that she won't live long. She was
rather too advanced in her views, for
India-some centuries ahead of her
race. She and Salig Singh had it all
planned. you know; his was the mas
ter-mind. hers the motive-power. They
were to crown you. instead OF Salig's
son, the next day-tn the name of Har
Dyal Rutton; and then you were TO
die suddenly By virtue of hemp poison
or some other contagious disease. and
Salig was to step into your shoes as
Emperor OF Hindustan. with Naraini
as his Empress. She should
have stayed home and been a suffra-
gette"
Better for her." said Amber. "Of
course I've found out about her, from
Farrell. 1t seems that she was
brought up in England. with Sophia,
and always given to believe she was
his own daughter. but she was wild
thing and hard to handle. One day
she found out about her parentage-
how, it's not known. but Farrell sus-
poets that the men who were bounding
Rutton got into communication with
her. At all events, she brooded over
the thing, and when. five years or SO
ago. Mrs. Farrell died and the colonel
sent for Sophia to join him in India,
Naraini-well. she rebelled. He re-
fused to let her leave England, and
she finally took the bit in her teeth
and ran away-vanished and was
never heard of again until Sophia rec
ognized her in Kathiapur."
81 myself can fill in the gap" Laber.
touche volunteered. "She Joined some