The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-11

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tCopyright: 1915: BY Harold Mac Grath.I
4S##fMS#lt CHAPTER II.
THE UHwELcoME THRONE.
ATHLYN seDscd great loneliness when, about q
" month later, she arrived at ale basin il Calcutta.
D. D A thousand or more natives were bathing ceremo.
niously in the ghat-men, women, anu childrea.
1t was early morn, and they were making solemn gena.
hexions toward the bright sun. The later front swarmed
with brown bodies, and great wheeled carts drawn by sad
eyed bullocks threaded slowly through the maze. The
many white turbans, stirring hithes and thither, reminded
her Of a field of white peoples in a breeze. India! There
it lay, ready for her eager feet. Always had she dreamed
about it, and roman ed over it, and sought H. o tho wings
Of her spirit. Yonder it lay. ancient as China enchanting
as stored Persia.
IL only she ere on pleasure bent! II only she knew
some one in this great ming ethyl She knew no onss
she carried no letters Of introduction, no letter. of credit,
nothing but the gol7 and notes the paynaFtLr at the farm
had hastily turned over to her. Only by const- 1t appli-
cation to maps and guide books had she managed to
arrange the short cut to the far kin: 1oun. She had been
warned that it was a wild and turbulent place, out of the
beaten path, beyond the each Of ire rails. Three long
sea voyages: across the racine &WhICh WaSnO GOWN the
bitter Yellow sea, up the blue Bay Of Bengal, with many
O sea change and many a strange picture. What though
her heart ached, it was impossible that her young eyes
should not absorb all she saw and marv over it. India!
The strange, elusive Hindu had disappeared after Hong
kong. That was a weight of her soul. She was now
assured that her imagination had beauiled her. How
should he kno" anything about nerf What was more
natural than that he should wish to hurry back to his
native state? She was not the only eae in a hurry. And
there were Hindus OF all castles on all three ships. By
now she had almost forgotten him.
There was one bright recollection to break tn unending
loneliness. Coming down from Hongkong to Singapore
she had met at the captains table a young man by the
name Of Bruce. He was agquiet, rather untalkative man,
lean and sinswy, sun and wind bitten. Kathlyn had as
yet had no sentimental affairs, Absorbed in her WORK,
her father, and the care Of Winnie, such young men ss
she had met had scarcely interested her. She had only
tolerant contempt for idlers, and these young men had
belonged to that category. Bruce caught her interest in
the very fact that he had but little say and said that
crisply and well. There was something authoritative in
the shape Of his mouth and the ~steadineas Of his eye,
though before her lie never exercised this power. A dozen
times she had been on the point Of taking him into her
confidence, but the irony Of fate had always firmly closed
her lips.
And now, waiting for the ship to warp into its pier,
she realized what a fatal mistake her r"ticence had been.
a friend Of her father!
Bruce had left the LIoyder before dinner Cat Singa-
pore), and as Kathlyn's British-India coaster did not
leave till morning she had elected to remain over night On
the German boat.
As Bruce disappeared among tie disembarkins passen-
gers and climbed into a rickshaw she turned to the cap
tain, who stood beside her.
"Do you know Mr.. Brucs2"
"very weIl,' said the German. Didn't he tell you
who he is? MOI Ach! Why, Mr.. Bruce is a great
hunter. He has shot everything, written books. climbed
the ,Himalayas. Only last year he brought me the sack
of "a musk deer, and that is the most dangerous OF all
sorts. He collect animals"
Then Kathlyn knew. The name hae been vaguely ia
mniar,. but the young mans reticence had given her no
opportunity to dig into her recollection. Bruce! How
many times her father had spoken Of him! What q fool
she had been! Bruce knew the co~-try she was going
10. perhaps as well as her father and he could have SIM
plifed her journey to the last word. Wen, what was
done could not be recalled and done yer.
aMy father ia a great hunter, too" she said simply,
eveing ~vissfuIly the road taken by Bruce into town.
aWhat? Herr Gotti Are you Col. Hares daughter? p
exclaimed the captain.
Eyes" - A
NJ se;zed her by the shoulders. why did you not tell
nap Why. Col. Hare and I have smoked many a Burma
cheroot together on these waters. Herr Colt! And You
never said anything! What a woman for a man 70
marry 70 he laughed. "You have sat at my table for hve
days. and only now I find that you are Hare's daughter!
And YOU have o sister. Ach, yes! He was always taking
ont some photographs in the anokeroon and showing
them to us old chaps"
Tears filled Kathlyn's eyes. In an Indian prison. out
az the jurisdiction Of the British Raj. and with her two
email hands and woman's mind she must free him
Alwavs The mysterious packet lay close to her heart, never
for ! moment was it beyond the reach OF her hand. He1
fathers freedom!
The rusty metal sides Of the ship scsaped against tha
pier and the ~gangplank was lowered; and presently snae
tourists locked down with variant emotions. 70 be De
siaped by fruit relers, water carriers, cabmen, blind beg
aarg, and rnaimed, aaked little children with curious
fnsolent black eyes, women with infants strading their
hips, stolid Cinnamon: 9 riot Of colo: ana Inc 2 .Dewa1deFlns
babel o9 tongues.
Rathlyn found d presentable carriage. and with bel
luggage pressing about her feet directed the driver to th'
Great Eastern hotel.
Her white ~sola-topss tsun helnetl had scarcely disap
pearedf In the crowd when the Hisdu OF the freiga
caboose emerged from the steerage, % longer 10 oedras
Fled linen trousers and ragged turban, but. dressed Ike