The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-01-01

~ A1S Via
country you hailed from. May / ash
|, your namef'
Il am called Jalisingrao Jitendra
sar," he said in a low voice, but sin
guiarly clear. "And yours?"
Buck Williams smiled back thu
stalwart chap across the table. "Sorry
Pm leaving at Ell Paso. l should like
to talk with you about your country
some day l hope to visit it. 1t must
be very interesting, from what l have
heard"
yes" The monosyllable suggest
ed more than mere acquiescence, espe-
cially when combined with the enig-
matte smile which fitted over the
Oriental's intelligent face, then van
ished, leaving his features e%motionless
save for an expression of polite i
quiry.
I've heard some wonderful stories
about India" observed the mining man
refiectively. "Some of them strongly
resembled conscientiously told triple
plated lies but they were indorsed by
persons who l knew were usually con-
sentative. For instance, is it true that
in your country people can disappear
and reappear almost instantly miles
away?'
%Jitendra's answer came hesitatingly.
"There are many things, sahib,
which l may not discuss save with
those who have prepared themselves
by the Hatha-Yoga or the Ragah-Yoga.
The wisdom of u people is old-yery
old. Their ways are not your ways,
sahib, and what they practice is for
some purpose which we are taught is
right and in necessary preparation for
our mex reincar-"
His unfinished sentence was
drowned in a horrible, grinding oar
The dining car, directly behind the
swaying engine, seemed to rear up in
the front and fold back upon itself.
Buck Williams caught sight of the
calm, %untroubled face of Jitendra
peering over the top of the table above
him. simultaneously he was c%atapult-
ed backward to the rear of the car.
The roar died down into a sickening,
slithering crash, as the balance of the
cars in the rear impinged against the
wooden end of the diner, crushing it
resistlessly against the heavy steel
tender of the locomotive in front.
In the first moment of utter silence
except for the kissing of the leviathan
of steam now quivering, but stationary.
ahead, Buck picked himself up from
the vestibule of the car.
God bless the man who invented
steel Platforms" he whispered to him
self as he contemplated the wreckage
in front. Then he leaped through the
open space to the Pullman behind and
tumbled to the right of way.
From the front of the diner, which
was twisted and doubled back upon it.
self, arose an agonized sereech. The
cooks and walters, penned in or
beside the tiny kitchen, were
shrieking for aid-such as them as
still remained alive.
The locomotive stood half sidewise
the embankment, the broken driv-
which had caused the disaster
driven far in the earth. The desert
44u ShlllluS dlOQhQ lhC NuAfG VI liz
lill dropped a piece Of paper of
texture at Buck Williams
feet.
Involuntarily he picked it up and !.
cad, drawn by an impulse which he
not fathom: !
Beloved: :
until long after l had crossed the
;acred water of the Gauges, with its !,
burden of true believers progressing !
o their next incarnation, and lived
lmong the people of this far-off coun- !,
ry, l never understood the meaning :.
# true love but now, after your many :.
acrifices for me, | believe l do. :
"As I have knelt before the shrine .
f the Blue Buddha, / have learned :
he meaning of such devotion as =
ours; come, therefore, to me and
peedily. I write in English that you /
lay see how I have improved. .
>1NDIRA." a
Buck thrust the missive into his :
ocket and turned to the twisted 7
of the wrecked diner. He re- y
retted that he had read the note ;.
trough ON the impulse of the mo- .
tent, for the intimate affairs of a 2
nance travelling companion were sure =
no business of his. .
The texture resembled that of the :
aper which Jitendra had been read .
lg at the beginning of their converse ::
The peculiar style and idiom of =
lie communication left little doubt !,
lat it was the same and had =
DIV escaped from him at the instant
the crash. y
A sinister jet of flame spiraled up "
the splintered fragments. The
ainmen were already hewing fran p"
cally at the debris, and presently a :,
.gro crawled painfully through the ~
iice they made, dragging a broken -
!,
Another followed, then another, his y
ce grimed with the smoke of the ~ =,
st rising fire which, in spite Of des- =,
rate efforts, seemed destined to con- -
the demolished car. "
Ruf of Iitpudr thp mining man cau ~