The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-04-10

The train had begun to move out
The red man rubbed his eyes. He has
gone south for the week. he repeated
Now. that's just like his Impotence.
Did he say that | was to give you any
thing? Cause won't @
He didn't" I said and dropped.
Later on l reflected that two gentle
men like my friends could not do any
good If they foregathered and person
ated correspondents of newspapers
and might. If they stuck up one of
the little rat trap states of central In
dia or southern Rajputana. get them
selves into serious. difficulties. 1 there
fore took some trouble and succeeded
so | was later informed in having
them headed back from the Degumber
borders.
Then 1 became respectable and re-
turned to an office where there were
no kings and no incidents except the
daily manufacture of newspaper A
newspaper office seems to attract every
conceivable sort of person. to the pref
udtce Of discipline. But that is the
amusing part of the year. There are
other six months wherein none ever
come to call and the Thermometer
walks inch by inch up to the top of
the glass.
It was in that season. and a remark
ably evil season. that the paper began
running the last issue of the week on
Saturday night. which is to say Sun
day morning. after the custom of a
London paper.
One Saturday night it was my pleas
ant duty to put the paper to bed alone
1t was a pitchy black night as sitting
as June night can be. and the loo, the
redhot wind from the westward, was
booming among the finder dry trees
and pretending that the rain was on its
heels. 1t was shade cooler in the
pressroom than the Office, so 1 sat there
while the type licked and clicked and
the night'Sars hooted at the windows
and the all but naked compositors
wiped the sweat from their foreheads
and called for water.
Then the roar and rattle of the
wheels shivered the quiet into little
bits. i rose to go away. but two men
in white clothes stood in front Of me
The first one said. Its himr' The
second said. $50 it ISL And they both
laughed almost as loudly as the ma
chinery roared and mopped their fore
heads. The smaller Of the two was
the man had met in the Mhow train.
and his fellow was the red bearded
man of Marwar Junction
was not pleased, because / wished
to go to sleep. not to squabble with
loafers. What do you want ?" asked
Half an hours talk with you cool
and comfortable in the Office" said the
red bearded man. Wed like some
drink-the contrack doesn't begin yet.
Peachey. SO you needn't LOOKOUT what
we really want is advice We don't
want money. We ask you as a favor,
because you did us a bad turn about
Degumber."
1 led from the press room to the
sitting Office with the maps ON the
wall. and the red haired man rubbed
his hands. That's something like"
said he. This was the proper shop to
come to. Now. sir. let me introduce
you to Brother Peechey Carnehan
that's him. and Brother Daniel Dravot.
that is me, and the less said about our
profession the better, for we have been
most things in our time. Carnehan is
sober, and so am |. Well take one of
your cigars apiece. and you shall see us
hight"
l watched the test. The men were
absolutely sober. so l gave them each
tepid peg
We'll and good" said Carnehan Of
the eyebrows. wiping the froth from
his mustache. Let me talk now. Dan.
We have decided that India isn't big
enough for such as u.s.
They certainly were too big for the
office Carnehan continued: THE
country isn't half worked out because
they that governs us won't let you
touch It Therefore. such as it is. we
will let it alone and go away to some
other place where man isn't crowded
and can come to his own. We are not
little men. and there is nothing that we
are afraid of except drink. and we
have signed contrack on that. There
fore we are going away to be kings"
Kings in our own right" muttered
Dravot
Yes. OF course" said. You've been
tramping in the sun. and it's very
warm night. and hadn't you better
sleep over the notion?'
Neither drunk nor sunstr,lck" said
Dravot. I'VE have slept over the no.
ton half Il year and require to see
books and aliases. and we have decid-
ed that there Is only one place now in
the world that two strong men can
Sar-a-whack. They call IL ,Kafiristan.