Gunnison news-champion., 1915-12-31

*8< t2tt& " aH. 1alaHt 8a 8tF <<ses0-
Was nod % BE- aansea
Under his arm he carrisd . sasah
Iron cage. pafserned something bke
. rsf trap u eou aimed . kaJprtano
parrakeet. not mach larger tnan .
robin. bal possessor of q soul - hescs
ss that VI Paiisdin. nsInss. ke~sser.
the smoothing influence u chissary.
he had besa born saaer the ssvss ~
the scarlet palace in Jsipar $50 bis
history rsn), bst the proximity 81 IN
dian princes bad less him untouched;
he had neither chivslry. politeUsss.
nor diplomacy. kie vas. In TACT. thor
onghly aal consistently bad Round
and round he went. over and over.
top side. down side. restiessly. For
AT this moment he vas hearing those
familiar evening sounds which no hu-
man ear can discern--the mutterines
of the aay birds about TO seek Cover
Tor the night In the held at the right
OF the road stood a lonely tree. 1t
VAS covered with brillian; scarlet
leaves and blossoms. and justly the
natives call h the Flame Of the
Jungle A iock of small birds were
gyratine above H.
"Jah jah. jah, Jah-iah-iaaa-h'"
cried the parrot. initiating the Bur
mese bell gong thai calls 10 PRAYER.
instantly he followed the csll with .
shrek 30 piercing as TO sting the ear
OF the man who was carrying him.
You little son Of q gum" he
I a. a. s,.~kx A.. all
that noiseg'
There was q strange bond bet ween
the big yellow man and this little
green bird The bird did not suspect
Il. but the man knew The pluck. the
pagnacity and the individuality Of the
feathered comrade had been an object
lessOn to the man, at . time when ~
had been on the point Of throwing ~
the fight
"Jah. iah. jah! Jah-jah-jaaa-h!"
The bird began its interminable som
erssults. pausins oaly TO reach fes the
tsntslising Anger Of the man, Whe
laughed again - ~ withdrew ths
diGit n time.
Ese ~ years he haA carried ths
bird with him, through lnAia and Bur.
ma end Malacca, ana n0t yet hsA hs
woa . sign a surrender There we're
many scars on his foFennGers Il Was
snasinG With one pressure e his
hand be could have crushed out ths
Me Of the bird. but over ITS brave, N
conqserable spirit he had no pOwer
Anl that 10 why he loved 1t.
Far away In the past they had met
He remembered the day distinctly
and bitterly He had been on the
brink Of self Fever and
poverty and terrible loneliness had
battered and beaten him Nat into the
dust, from which this time he had no
wish 10 rise. He had walked out TO
the railway station at Jsipur TO wit
ness the arrival of the tourist train
! from Ahmadabad The natives surged
about the train. with brassware, an
tiaue articles of warfare, tiger hunt
ing knives accompanied by perennial
fairy tales), skins and silks. There
were beggars. holy men, guides and
fakirs.
! Squatted in the dust before the door
1 of first-class carriage was q solemn,
brown man, In turban and clout, exhib
iting performing parrots. 1t was Ra
jahs turn. He fired q cannon, turned
somersaults through q little steel
hoop opened . tiny chest, took out Q
fouranha piece. carried II TO his mas
ter. and in exchange received some
seed. Thereupon he waddlel resent
fully back to the iron cage. opened
the door. closed II behind him. anl
began to mutter belligerently. War.
rington haeeled for two straight hours
When he returned to his sordid, evil
smelling lodgings that night he pos
sessed the parrot and four rupees, and
sat up the greater part of the night
trying to make the bird perform his
tricks. The idea of suicide no longer
bothered him; trifing though II was,
he had found an interest in life. And
on the morrow came the Eurasian.
who trustfully loaned Warrington ev-
cry coin that he could scrape together.
Often, in the dreary heart-achy days
that followed, when weeks passed ere
he saw the face of a white man. when
he had to combat opium and bhane
and laziness in the natives under him.
the bird and his funny tricks had
saved him from whisky. or worse. In
camp he gave Rajah much freedom.
its wings being clipped; and nothing
pleased the little rebel so much as
TO CLAW his way up 10 his masters
shoulder. sit there and watch the
progress of the razor. with intermIt-
tent 'jawing" at his own reflection in
the cracked hand mirror.
Up and down the Irragaddy. al the
resthouses, on the boats, to those of
a jocular turn of mind the three were
known as Parrot & Co" Warning
ton amiability often misled the vari-
Gus scoundrels with whom he was at
times forced to associate. A man
who smiled most of the time and
talked Hindustani to a parrot was not
to be accorded much courtesy; until