The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-06-20

chamber In Umballahs house Gust as he intended they
should; and the king had it legally destroyed and wrote
a new will, wherein Pundita should have back that which
the kings ancestors had taken from her-a throne.
After that there was nothing for Colonel Hare to do
but proceed to ship his animals to the railroad, thence
to the ports where he could dispose Of them. Never
should he, enter this part Of India again. Life was too
short.
High and low they hunted SUmballah, but without sue
cess. He WAS hidden well. They were, however, as
sured that he fingered In the city and was sinisterly
alive.
Day after day the king grew stronger mentally and
physically. Many Of the reforms suggested by Ramabai
were put into force. Quiet at length really settled down
upon the city. They began to believe that Umballah had
fed the city, and vigilance correspondingly relaxed,
The king had a private chamber, the window Of which
overlooked the garden Of brides. There, with his sher-
bets and water pipe he resumed his old habit of inditing
verse in pure Persian, for he was a scholar. He never
entered the Senana or harem; but occasionally he sent for
some of the women to play and dance before him. And
the woman who loved UmbaNah was among these. One
day she asked to take a Journey into the bazaars to visit
the sister. Ordinarily such a request would have been
denied. But the king no longer cared what the women
did, and the chief eunuch slept afternoons and nights,
being only partly alive In the mornings.
An hour later a palanquin was lowered directly be-
meath the kings window. To his eye it looked exactly
like the one which had departed. He went on writing,
~N"NS' A0 NNo S~~SP "N AZ ~ GV FcdSb
suspicious
This palanquin was the gift Of Durga Ram, so-caled
Umballah. 1t had been built especially for this long
waited for occasion. 1t was nothing more nor less than
a cunning cage in which a tiger was huddled, In a vile
temper. The palanquin bearers, friends Of the dancing
girl, had o~verpowered the royal bearers and donned their
costumes. At this moment one Of the bearers Umballah
himself, trusting no oneD crawled stealthily under the
palanquin and touched the spring which liberated the
tiger and opened the blind. The furious beast sprang
to the window. The king was too astonished to move,
to appreciate his danger. From yon harmless palanquin
this striped fury!
The tiger in his leap struck the lacquered desk, broke
it, and scattered the papers about the floor.
Ramabai and his officers were just entering the corri-
dor which led to the chamber when the tragedy occurred.
They heard the noise, the kings cries. When they
reached the door silence greeted them. -
The room was wrecked. There was evidence Of q
short but terrific struggle. The king lay dead upon the
floor, the side Of his head crushed in. His turban and
garments were in tatters. But he had died like a king;
for in the corner by the window lay the striped one, a
jewelsd dagger in his throat. Il .&aA
Ramabai was first to discover the deserted paianQutn.
and proceeded to investigate 1t did not take him more
than a minute to understand what had happened. It was
not an accident; it was cold blooded murder, and back
of it stood the internal ingenuity of one man.
Thus fate took Alfalfa by the hair again and shook her
out Of the pastoral quiet. What would happen now?
This!
On the morning after the tragic death of the old king,
those who went early to worship, to ~propittate the gods
to deal kindly with them during the day, were astounded
to find the doors and gates Of all the temples closed! Nor
was any priest visible IN his usual haunts. The people
were stunned. For there could be but one Interpretation
to this act on the part OF the gurus: the gods had de-
MED the people. Why? Wherefore? Twenty-four hours
passed without their learning the cause; the priests de-
sired to fill them with terror before they struck.
Then came the distrihnfiOn Of namnhletE wherein II
was decreed that the populace, the soldiery, all Alfalfa.
In fact, must bow to the will Of the gods or go hence
forth accursed. The gods demanded the reinstatement
as regent Durga Rams the deposing of Ramabai, the
infdel; the fealty of the troops to Durga Ram. Twenty
four hours were given the people to make their choice.
Before the doors of all the temples the people gathered,
wailing and pouring dust upon their heads, from Brahmin
to pariah, from high caste matrons to light dancing girls.
And when the troops, company by company, began to
kneel at the outer rim Of these gatherings Ramabai
dispatched a note to Colonel Hare; warning him to fya
once. But the messenger tore up the note and few to
his favorite temple. Superstition thus won what honor,
truth, and generosity could not hold.
Strange, how we occdentals have stolen out from
under the shadow OF anathema. Curse us. and we
smile and shrug our shoulders; for a curse is but the
mounting Of an angry man. But to these brown and
yellow and black people, from the steppes of Lhassa to the
tangled jungles of mid-Africa, the curse Of fake gods is
effective. They are really. a kindly people, generous.
and often loyal unto death, simple ana pauent and hard
working; but let a priest raise his hand in anathema and
at once they become mad, cruel, and remorseless as the
tiger.
Alfalfa surrendered; and Umballah came forth.
All this happened so quickly that not even a ruzaoe
of it reached the Colonels bungalow till 1t was too late.
They were to have left on the morrow. The king dead,
only a few minor technicalities stood in the way Of
Ramabai and Pundita.
Bruce and Kathyn were fencing one with the other,
after the manner Of lovers, when Winnie, her eyes wide
with fright, burst in upon them with the news that UNI
hallah. at the head Of many soldiers, was approaching.
The lovers rushed to the front Of the bungalow in time
to witness the Colonel trying to prevent the intrusion
Of a priest.
HPatience, Sahib!' warned the priest.
The Colonel, upon seeing Umballah, made an attempt
to draw his revolver, but the soldiers prevented him
from carrying into execution his wild impulse.
The priest explained what had happened. The Colonel
sahib, his friend Bruce Sahib, and his youngest daughter
would be permitted to depart in peaces but Kathlyn
Memsahib must wed Durga Ram.
When the dazed Colonel produced the document which