The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-02-21


not know exactly the time. for in
the excitement his watch had
stopped the glow from the roof
overhead began TO die away. The
house had not caught fire. perhaps
because there was some magical
quality in the slabs NJ stone which
had been brought along from the
sacred mountain Of ALBANIA TO roof
the house The wailing too, had
ceased. perhaps because the voice
OF Mr. Bannerjee had failed at
last. When it was quite dark he
went into the house and called as
softly as possible the name of Ed
wilma. She was awake and an
swered him from one of the rooms
along the hallway
Come in" she said I'm not
asleep. I couldn't stand on my feet
any longer But l think a light
would help and some tea
From the doorway Of the roof he
called to Miss Murgatroyd as soft
, " as possible. and in a moment
Miss Murgatroyd appeared out Of
the thick blackness. feeling her
way along the wall.
DO you think we should have
some tea -
There isn't any more alcohol"
What about light -
The paraffin is all gone too.
Mr. Bannerjee used them both to
start the fire
All through the night they spent
their time sleeping. talking and
watching Outside. the last of the
/ great fires burned itself out, so
that there was no longer a tragic
but magnificent spectacle beneath
their eyes, but only velvety dark
ness and the sound of the horrible,
monotonous rain.
When dawn came there was
nothing to see save the unchanged
panorama of water and rubbish
and bodies and shattered and
burned buildings And then about
S o'clock Edwina cried out. Look!
Look, What is that %
And Ransome, turning, saw one
of the Maharanee's tiny pleasure
boats, all gold and gilt, coming
through the lower branches of
great banyan tree. 1t was driven
by some one whose figure was not
yet visible. for the canopy of the
little boat had become damned in
the branches of the tree and the
oarsman was struggling, half con-
! cealed by the leaves, to free it
Then suddenly it shot free of tho
branches and the figure they saw
was that of a white boy clad in
shorts and shirt. For a moment
it nearly lost its balance and fell
into the muddy water. but as it re-
gained its feet and took up the
oars once more they saw that it
was not boy at all.
Ransome said. IT'S Fern.'
WHO is Fern 80
The question puzzled Ransome
/ for a second because. without
thinking of it, it seemed to him
that Edwina had been in Ranchi-
pur for weeks, and that she must
know quite well who Fern was.
Then, with a shock, he remember
ed that only five days had passed
since her arrival, and he said,
She's the daughter of the Amer
lean missionaries.
The boat was quite near now,
near enough for them to see that
one of the oars was painted scarlet
and gold and clearly belonged to
the boat, but that the other was an
improvised affair, made of a pole
and bit of wood. And Ransome
now recognized the clothes he had
loaned her to wear home on the
night she had run away.
She did not shout to them She
did not even stop rowing to raise
her arm and wave. Instead, she
kept rowing steadily, awkwardly,
her progress crippled by the make
shift oar, driving the fragile silly
little boat against the sluggish
current nearer and nearer TO them.
Shes very pretty" said Ed.
wilma and very young"
Ransome did not answer her. :
To Be Continued