The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-02-28
THE RAINS CAME
LOUIS BRoNF1ELp -
oopyrrht 49, 1875 isss By LOU. sromfeA

In Mrs. Bannerjee.s bedroom
Fem walked "a the first light Of
dawn appeared over the shattered
city She had slept long and
YEARLY and as she opened her
eyes and threw back one arm she
did not know where she was and
for long time. half between
sleep and consciousness. she ex-
perieneed a slow feeling Of horror.
Of what she did not know. L was
Ike the horror Of nightmare
from which she could not waken.
In the gray light she saw the
figure wrapped IN dhoti lying on
the floor at her feet. and IN sud
den terror she thought It must
be a strange corpse. Fascinated.
she stared az It for a time. and
seeing that the body inside the
dhoti breathed and moved. she bent
over II and saw that one hand
emerged. A hand which she knew
very well. one OF the two hands
she had found SO beautiful, and
for a moment she felt that she
was going to faint. But she
thought. No. I mustn't do that.
Not now. l must not faint
And pulling herself together she
knelt and gently lifted the cloth
so that she might see the face
beneath it. The face she could not
see. as it was hidden in the crook
of the arm, but she knew the head
with its strong lean neck and
curly. crisp. dark hair. the head
which she somehow knew 80 well
without ever having consciously
noticed it. The sight of it made
her want to cry. Quietly she
slipped down beside him. and lay
there pressing her cheek against
the curly head.
When he stirred he turned his
head and looked at her with
dazed expression of wonder in the
dark eyes. Then slowly the crook
ed grin which always made her
feel weak spread over the tired
face. and he put his arm about
her and held her close to him. As
her cheek touched his. she knew
that he was crying.
Outside. in the rising dawn. the
choked river had begun TO roar
again for Harry Loder had done
his job well and the barrier of
wreckage and bodies was gone.
Whap tho. 20 u,a on. - tho fro
wooden balcony. the flood water
had disappeared.
From the balustrade the little
gilded pleasure boat dangled. like
drunken man after a night of
revelry. from the cord of Mr.. Ban
nerjee's Bond street dressing
gown. Then for the first time
they were able TO see the deyas-
tation wrought by the flood. Of
the village at the end of the COM
pound nothing remained of the
clustered huts and shrines. Against
the shattered wall lay three bodies.
those of man, an old woman and
child.
III l4ic iOotA III dIlIItS the
great banyan tree there was an
other body caught and held there
by the cheap cotton dhoti which
the man had Worn in life. In an
other tree there hung suspended
grotesquely the carcass of a dead
donkey. In the landscape close
at hand only two structures re-
manned standing, the Temple of
SILVA and the stout cast-iron
statue of Queen Victoria.
Half the bridge had collapsed,
but the buttress which supported
the good queen remained. and on
it she still stood, clutching firmly
her umbrella and her reticule.
Weeds and branches formed kind
of boa scarf about the short.
plump neck. trailing backward as
they had been drawn by the cur
rent of the flood.
We can walk now" said RAN
some. Il suppose we had better
go to the Smileys,' We cant get
across the river"
81 liicY dtsAtiidcu the stairs Oh
the wrecked half-empty house and
set out along the drive past the
ma jor's overturned motor toward
the Racecourse road. Everywhere
there was wreckage and red mud.
mud so thick that it sucked at
their feet as If trying to draw
them back into the earth with all
the other dead.
They walked in silence, both still
dazed and incredulous at what had
happened TO them. Ransome
scarcely saw the shattered land
scape about them. II was az If
he moved without effort, as If he
had no consciousness of reality of
the moment-that Fern. dressed in
his own shorts and tennis shirt.
and himself in Mr.. Bannerjee S
Bengal dhoti, made a grotesque
picture.
Now grotesqueness which even
in ordinary circumstances counted
for so little in India had ceased
utterly to exist. He knew now
what poets meant when they
wrote of the singing of the
heart"
Something had happened TO him.