The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-10-02

of one of these streams which eventu-
ally join the sacred Jumna. This, of
course, was also sacred Many Hindus
were bathing in the CHATS. They
passed by these and presently came
upon a funeral pyre.
Sometimes one sleeps with ones
eye open. and thus it was with Kath-
lyn. Out of that funeral pyre her
feverish thoughts builded a frightful
dream.
The drunken mahout slid off Rajah;
the soldiers turned aside. Hired fe-
male mcurners were kneeling about,
wailing and beating their breasts,
while behind them stood the high caste,
widow. her face as tragic as Dido's at
the pyre of Eneas. Suddenly she
threw up her arms high above her
head
Il am suttee!"
Suttee! 1t was against the law of
the British raj The soldiers began
arguing with the widow, but only half
heartedly. 1t was a pious rite,
worthy of the high caste Hindu's wife.
Better death on the pyre than a future
life like that of pariah dog. For
wife who preferred to live after her
husband was gone was a social out
cast, permitted not to wed again, to
exist only as a drudge, menial, the
scoff and contempt of all who had
known her in her days Of prosperity.
The widow, having drunk from cup
which contained opium, climbed to the
top of the pyPe 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 suttee 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 no horror in the wide world
like it. Smoke began to curl up from
the underbrush. 1t choked and stifed
her. Sparks rose and dropped upon
her arms and face. And through the
smoke and flame came Rajah. He lifted
her with his powerful trunk and car
ried her off, for hours and hours. back
into the trackless 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 off Raiah |
browsed in clump' of weeds, the how
dah at rakish angle, like the cooked
hat of bully. Kathlyn stared at her
hands. There were no burns there.
She passed a hand over her face;
there was no smart or sting. A dream:
she had dreamed it; fantasy due to
her light headed state of mind. A
dream! She cried and laughed, and
the ape gibbered at her uneasily.
In reality, Rajah, freed Of his un-
welcome mahout, had legged it down
the road without so much as trumpet
ing his farewell, and the soldiers had
not been able to stop him,
How she managed to get down would
always remain mystery to her. Food
and water, food and water; In her
present state she must have both or
die. Let them send her back to ALA
ha; she was beaten; she was without
the win to resist further. All she
wanted was food and water and sleep,
sleep. After that they might do what
they pleased with her.
For the first time since the extraor-
dinary flight from Alfalfa Kathlyn
recollected the elephant talk" which
Ahmed had taught her. She rose wear I
lily and walked toward Raiah. who I
cooked his ears at the sound OF her ap- 1
proaoh. She talked to him for q space I