The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1914-08-28

so she bent her head 10 the inevitable.
Behold" cried umb.lla later. as
he entered the presence OF the Coun-
ell. behold a slave of mine!" He
pushed kathlyn forward This day J
bought her fer five thousand rupees,
The Council stirred p~ervously
DO you not recognize herr" ex-
~ultantly.
The Council whispered to n an
other.
Legally she is mine. though she
has been a queen. But by running
away she has forfeited her rights to
the law OF the ordeals, Am ] not
right"
The Council nodded ~gravely. They
had not yet wholly recovered from
their bewilderment.
On the other hand, her identity
must remain a secret TIL l have de
veloped my plans" continued Umbaila
You are all counting a terrible re-
prisal." said Kathlyn. Il beg OF you
to kill me at once; do not prolong my
torture, my misery, | have harmed
none Of you, but you have ~grieyousiS
harmed me One even nov seeks aid
of the British raj; and there are many
soldiers
The threat was III timed.
The head of the Council said TO I'm
balla: 1T would be wise to lock her
up for the present. We all face a great
complication"
"A very wise council agreed I'm
balla. knowing that he had but to
say the word to destroy them all.
And she shall have company, l
would not have her lonely. Come.
majesty; deign to follow your humble
servant" Umballa salaamed.
Kathiyn was led TO a cell in the
palace prison. whose walls she a
but O little while ago viewed In pass
ing, and thrust inside, A single win
dow admitted a faint light. umbalia
remained at the door. ~chuckling soft"
ly. Presently, her eyes becoming ac'
customed TO the dark. Kathlyn dis.
| covered q man chained to q pillar
The man suddenly leaned forward
Kit, my Xiii"
"Fatherl"
She caught him to her breast In her
| strong young arms, o TO him'
and kissed his matted head. And they
| stood that way for a long time,
At this very moment there appeared
before the Council a wildeyed, dis,
heyeled young man. How he had
passed the palace guard none OF them
knew,
"A white woman was brought Into
this room forcibly a few minutes ago.
demand her! And by the God OF
my father ! will cut out the heart OF
| every one Of you II you deny me! She
is white; she is Of my race!'
There is no white woman here,
Bruce sahib."
You lie!" Numbered the young
man
Two guards came in quickly.
Il say you lie! She was Q to
enter here!"
The man Ia mad! Besides, II Is
sacrilege for him to enter our pres
ence in this manner" cried II OF the
Council. Seize him'"
A fierce struggle between the
guards and Bruce followed; but his
race to the city and the attendant ex.
citemept had weakened him. He was
carried away. still fighting manfuily,
Tn the meantime Umballa conclud'
ed that the reunion had lasted long
enough. He caught Kathlyn roughly
by the shoulder and pulled her away.
Behold, Colonel Sahib! Mine!
bought her this day in the slave mart
Legally mine! Now will you tell me
where that silver basket lies hidden.
with its gold and gamer
"Father, do not tell him. warned
Kathlyn. so long as we do moi tell
him he loci not put us out OF thu
way"
kit"
Dad. poor dad"
Little fool" said Umballa.
Kathlyn struggled to reach her ia
Their again, but could not. Umballa
folded his arms tightly about her and
attempted to kiss her. This time her
strength was superhuman. She freed
her hands and beat him in the face,