The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1914-08-28
Where is your goldg Bid" satir,-

t"o lnousanu rupeesl shouted
the professional seller.
I have no gold. but my master viii
give 10000 rupees for yonder maid.
Quick! Old fool. be quick,n
BE gone, thou beggar!" And the
old man spat.
'~Memsahib,' the Mohammedan
called out in English, do not look
toward me, or all will be lost. I am
All, Bruce Sahib's chief mahout: and
we have believed you dead! Take
care! 80 to inform Ahmed. Bruce
sahib has not returned"
hathlyn, when she heard that voice,
shut her eyes. (
umballa had drawn closer. There
was something about this half yelled
slave that stirred his recollection.
Where had he seen that graceful
poise? The clearness of the skin.
though dark; the roundness Of the
throat and arms.
Three thousand ~rupees,"
The old mahout purred and
smoothed his palms together. Three
thousand rupees, a rajah's ransom!
He would own his elephant; his wife
should ride in a gilded palanquin, and
his children should wear shoes. Three
thousand rupees! He folded his arms
and walked gently to and fro.
Five thousand ~rupees!" said Um-
balla, impelled by he knew not what
to make this bid.
A ripple of surprise ran over the
crowd. The regent, the powerful Dur
ga Ram, was bidding in person for his
zenana.
k%athlyn's erv tingled with life
again, and the sudden bounding of
her heart stlfled her. Umballa! She
was surely lost. Sooner or later he
would recognize her.
The mahout stood up. delighted. He
was indeed fortunate. He salaamed.
"Huzoor, she is GENTLE" he said.
The high.caste who had bid 5000
rupees salaamed also.
"Highness, she is yours" he said.
Il cannot bid against my regent"
1t was the custom to mark q pur-
chased slave with the caste Of her
purchaser. Umballah, still not recog-
nizing her, waved her aside toward
the Brahmin caste markers, one Of
whom daubed her forehead with a yell
low triangle. Her blue eyes pierced
the curious brown ones.
THE sahib at the river" she whis-
pered In broken Hindustani. MANY
rupees. Bring him to the house of
Durga Ram" This In case Ali failed.
The Brahmin's eyes twinkled. Her
Hindustani was execrable, but "sahib"
and river were plain to his under
standing. There was but one sahib
by the river, and he was the white
hunter who had rescued the vanished
queen from the ordeals. He nodded
almost imperceptibly. Inwardly he
smiled. He was not above giving the
naughty upstart a Thugee's twist. He
spoke to his neighbor quietly. as
signed to him his bowls and brushes.
rose and made of.
Follow me-" said Umballa to the
happy mahout. Presently he would
have his bags Of silver. bright and
twinkling.
Fate overlook Ali, who in his mad
race to Hare's camp fell and badly
sprained his ankle. Moaning, less
from the pain than from the attend
ant helplessness, he was carried into
the hut Of a kindly ryot and there
ministered to.
The Brahmin, however. filled with
greed and a sly humor, reached his
destination in safety. Naturally cum
ming, double tongued, sly, ingratiat-
ing, after the manner Of all Brahmins,
who will sink to any base level In or
der to attain their e~Quivocal ends. his
actions were unhampered by any ens
Of treachery toward Umballa. A
Thugee's twist to the schemes Of the
street rat Umballa, who wore the
Brahmin string, to which he had no
right! The Brahmin chuckled Is he
paused at the edge Of Bruce's camp.
A fat purse lay yonder. He ap-
preached, his outward demeanor q
mixture Of pride and humility.
Bruce had returned but half an hour
before, mind weary, bone tired. He
sat with his head in his hands. his ell
bows propped upon his knees. His
young heart was heavy. He had
searched the bewildering Jungle as
one might search a plot OF grass be.
fore ones door, blade by blade. A hun
dred times he had found traces OF her;
a hundred times he had called out her
name, only to be Knocked and gibbered
at by apes. She had vanished like a
perfume, like a cloud shadow In the
wind.
"Sahib, a Brahmin desires audi
ence."
ASK him what he wants"
ut is for the sahib's ear alone"
"Ah! Bring him to me quickly"
The Brahmin approached, salaamed.
What do you wish?" Bruce asked
CURLY.
"A thousand rupees, huzoor!'
blandly.
And what have you that is worth
that many rupees?" irritably.
The Brahmin salaamed again. HUI
o. a slave this day was purchased
by Durga Ram. Umballa. so-called
She has skin the color Of old tusks.
and eyes like turquoise. and lips like
the fame of the jungle, and hair like
the sands Of Ganges. mother OF riv-
ers."
Bruce was upon his feet, alive.
eager. He caught the Brahmin by