Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-03-21

? v bIll-
ON the next morning We saw the
. Swami. as of course he called himself.
/ promcuadiug upon the deck in stately
fashion between his two attendants.
/ and as Nikolai and | approached he
. drew himself carefully apart so that
/ our shadows should not COutamnato
F his purity. at the same time slightly
. but deliberately lowering his left eye
. lid We understood the signal 10
mean that ne desired no further com
muniCatiun with us in public We
saw little of him thereafter until the
/ steamship put into the port Of Cal
cutta. when NikuIai found a letter
/ beside his plate at breakfast i'm which
fun instructions were given as TO our
actions
We registered at an Eurasian hotel
/ froqu"nted mainly by half-brood clerks
/ I'm the government serviCo-a place
/ where everything was Illicit. from the
sale Of liquor in a Cubby-hole to the
/ breakfast butter: and i'm consequence
/ the patrons mutually respected each
/ others .dlOsynCrasies. ID did not
/ prove a difficult matter. therefore. for
one of the Swamis satellites. who
/ called for us the following morning
and addressed us i'm tolerable English
to array us i'm Indian costume. paint
our hands and faces, and smuggle us
out of the building into the native
! quarter. II is a popularity of India
that. If everybody sees, nobody talks.
a hundred keen native eyes must have
! recognized I'm the two amateur native
priests of a subordinate grade two
of the hated Feringhees, but not a
curious look followed us as we fol-
lowed the sacred bulls that strolled
through the bazaar, helping them
selves to fruit and grains from the
stalls that they encountered. We re-
signed ourselves entirely to our guide.
He quartered us in a native house
and, after dark. led us to the temple
enclosure, where we squatted humbly
outside the Swamis magnificent pal
ace. awaiting his pleasure.
1T goes against the grain" said |
ruefully, as we waited there. with
the chattering servile herd Of temple
votaries.
It's worth it" said Nikolai. Even
assuming that the high priest lied
about the value of the rubies, as he
probably did, there still must be a
fortune for both of US" He picked
up a handful of the false stones and
sCrutinized them ruefully. Not much
chance of passing off some of these
upon him. even in the dark" he said
They wouldn't deceive child"
Suddenly a shadow fell athwart us.
Nikolai sprang to his feet: | followed
suit: the Swami stood before us. But
to our surprise he was not attired in
the regalia of his office. but plainly
enough, almost meanly. in his cotton
shirt and breeches.
Il am doing penance," he explained
in a low voice. Il let an English
woman brush against the stall a.
which | sat. SO / have to don peni.
tential attire and vacate my quarters
for a space. | am housed in a little
better than a hut-but it aliases
pride" he continued, with his indie
scribable leer. Come with me-"
Il shall lead you direct to the Jug
gernaut," he said. Listen, You hear
that din? His votaries are commence
ing their orgies. They will keep that
up all night, until morning, when the
celebration begins. they will be mad
with the intoxication of their fanati-
cism The idol is housed in the great
temple which you saw yonder. ! shall
lead you within; nobody will be there,
for only priests OF the highest rank
may enter. | shall unlock the door
and put you inside the idol. The in
terror is stuffy. but air comes through
the trap door in the throat, and you
will find a couple of stools and a wa
L ter-skin. Tomorrow at dawn you will
! have the rubies ready for me. You
will not then be able to escape, but
I must allow yourselves to be wheeled
| through the streets all day. Don't for
! bet to eat the foodofferings that are
placed in the trap door; and If any
! foolish women cast in their rings,
! trust you will make an equitable divi-
, sion with me. Above all else, do not
| let your heads appear above the
! opening of the trap. At night ! will
come back to the temple and release
you. Now, If you are ready, gentle
men"
Again that indescribable leer, but
this time it was so menacing, and
sinister and covert that for the first
time a chill struck through me. For
the first time | half repented our I'M
dertaking | glanced at Nikolai, who
correctly interpreted my look. AS the
Swamis attention was momentarily
distracted he patted his pocket, and
understood that he, at least. was
armed
The change. when we went outside.
was startling. The sun had set and,
the moment that 1t disappeared be-
meath the horizon with the suddenness
common to tropical countries. the
light of day had gone. In an instant
darkness had spread over Calcutta;
the large stars were shining in the
sky; and below, around the temple,
with its fantastic architecture, wild.
naked figures were leaping round a
hundred fires, brandishing weapons
and shrieking in accents that seemed
hardly to emanate from human
threats. But. as the Swami ap-
preached, these groups one after an
other darted away from him as though
| in mortal fear, and he led us into the