Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-06

impressive because the cause OF the
tension remained obscure.
But, before catastrophe overwhelmed
him, I went on pleasure trip with
the Brahmin to the Shita waterfalls.
was sitting with him beside the fire,
at the border of the virgin forest in the
infinite night. The forest was full of
voices, and these voices aroused in me
a mood of passionate sorrow. Never
have I seen the stars shine SO brightly
as on this memorable night, night
that has been indelibly impressed on my
mind owing to the thoughts uttered on
this occasion by my usually taciturn
companion. Panya was already asleep
in the tent, for this was his way when
he felt that he was not wanted. Out
of the shadows came the sound made
| by our oxen as they grazed, tearing of
| the grass with their teeth and snuttlng
along the ground. The moon had not
yet risen, but the light of its imminent
| coming was visible on the horizon.
After supper Mangeshe Rao had
silently rolled and smoked cigarette.
Tonight, as on so many others, We
| should certainly have gone to bed after
exchanging no more than a word or
two, had not strange incident startled
us,
One of the oxen suddenly began to
shake itself in a peculiar manner. Man
geshe Rao instantly threw a couple OF
handfuls of brushwood on the fire, and
this made me realize that the noise was
of an unusual character. =
Tall tongues of flame rose into the
night; for brief space the blue ex-
panse of heavens vanished; our imme-
date surroundings lighted up and
looked like a red moon. Mangeshe Rao
walked cautiously toward the beast,
catching up his gun and carrying it at
the trail as he peered into the darkness.
followed his example.
Few of the dangers of India approach
plainly in the open, so that few OF them
can be faced and awaited with perfect
calmness.
| Suddenly Mangeshe Rao warned me to
stand perfectly still, but I was unable to
| follow his advice, for at this instant the
huge OK sank noiseleSSly to the ground,
and, after snorting and coughing for a
| few moments, was racked with terrible
spasms and then died. The flame of
| the camp fire was SubSiding, so that the
starlight was again dominant. In this
| light the giant frame OF the dead beast
showed white upon the dark background
of the grass. which stretched away far
| into the blue distance.
The Brahmin had his own notions as
| to the cause of this sudden death, and
| he now made a careful examination in
order to confirm his suspicion. At length
he discovered what he had expected
Making up the fire once more, by the
| light of the flames he showed me upon
| the muzzle of the OK tiny puncture
with dusky margins.
There it is" he said; 1.-THE bite of
COBRA"
/ shuddered. AS I contemplated the
inert body lying at my feet. as I thought
of the suddenly quenched life, it seemed
to me an irrelevant consideration
whether the victim of the poison had
been man or beast. Once again was I
able to understand the Indians vener-
alton for the cobra. Mangeshe Raos
expression betokened this veneration, as
| if the enlightenment of his education
had been unable to annul his ancestral
respect for the dread deity.
We returned to the city; to danger;
Mangeshe Rao to his doom.
Copyright, 1929