The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1914-08-14

OF one OF these streams which eyentu.
ally Join the sacred Iumna. This, OF
course. was also sacred. Many Hindus
we're bathing In the CHATS. They
passed by these and presently came
upon a funeral pyrs.
Sometimes one sleeps with ones
eye open, and thus II was with kath'
lyn, Out of that funeral pyre her
feyerish thoughts builded a frightful
The drunken mahout Rlid of RaIah.
tho soldiers turned aside. Hired 70.
male mourners were kneeling about,
wailing and beating their breasts,
while behind them stood the high caste
widow, her face as tragic an Dido's ut
the pyre Of Ensas, Suddenly she
threw up her arms high above her
head.
y an %sutteet"
Suttee' 1t a against the law OF
the British raj. This soldiers began
arguing with the widow. but only half
heartedly II was a pious rite.
worthy Of the high caste Hindu's wife.
Better death OF the pyre than a future
life like that OF a parlah dog, For IA
wife who preferred TO 1.-Two after her
husband was gone was a social out
cast, permitted not to wed again, to
exist only as a drudge, a mental, the
EEnm aud gnrtntNpi ~ all pvhH ~
known her In her days Of prosperity.
The widow, having drunk from a cup
which contained opium. climbed to the
top OF the pyra where her husband lay,
swathed In white, She gazed about
wildly, and her courage and resolve
took wings, She stumbled down. A
low kissing ran about.
Make the white woman suffice In
her place. cried the drunken mahout.
The cry was taken up by the specta.
' tors kathlyn felt herself dragged
from the elephant. bound, and finally
laid beside the swathed figure. There
could be NJ horror In the wide world
like IL. Smoke began 10 curl Up from
the underbrush. II cboked and stifed
her. Sparks rose and dropped upon
her arms and face, And through the
smoke and flame came Rajah. He lifted
her with HE powerful trunk and car.
rted her off, for hours and hours. back
into the trRckIsBs Jungle.
kathlyn found herself. all at once
sitting against the roots of an aged
banyan tree. A few yards away an
ape sat on his launches and eyed her
curiously, A little farther on Rajah
browsed in a clump Of weeds. the how.
dab at u rakish angle, like the cooked
hat OF u bully, Kathlyn stared at her
hands. There we're no burns there.
She passed a hand over her face :
there IA no smart or sting. A dream:
abe had dreamed II; a fantasy due to
her light headed state OF mind, A
dream! She cried and laughed, and
the ape gibbered at her u~neasily.
In reality. Rajah. freed of his un,
welcome mahout, had legged 1t down
the road without so much az trumpet
Ing his farewell. and the soldiers had
not been able to stop him.
How she managed to get down would
always remain a mystery to her. Food
and water, food and water; In her
present state she must have both oil
die, Let them send her back to ALA
ha. she was beaten; she was withou,
the will TO resist further. All She
wanted was food and water and sleep
sleep. After that they might do wha,
they pleased with her.
For the fret time since the extraor
binary flight from Alfalfa Kathlyr
recollected the elephant talk" which
Ahmed had taught her, She rose wear
fly and walked toward Rajah, whc
cooked his ears At the sound Of her az.
nrcach. She talked to him for . space