The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-01-13
BY LOUIS BRoNfIEIp
Chapter One Confinuedl

tina pier 1Ie continued
Turning away from TIE gate
way. ne turned down the slope to
the bridge over TIRE river I az
now n the heat. an inert sleeping
serpent. beneath the respectable
cast iron statue OF Queen Victoria
obviously ofnamenting the summit
Of The center butiress. L no longer
had any current but VAS still. a
long green canal clothed With slgae
and rejecting the bf1lHanee Of the
stars. With the rains i would be
come 3 yellow torrent. flowing
through the middle Of the town.
Beyond the bridge ne turned left
along The dusty road which fol-
lowed the river through the ZOO
logical gardens past the burning
CHATS.
He came At last 10 the square.
Il was enormous. bordered on the
one SIDE By the facade Of the old
wooden palace. long since aban-
doned and desolate. a structure
with countless balconies and
grilled windows which kept behind
lts walls the memory Of dark and
sinister stories Of death by poison.
by garroting. by the dagger. In
the DAYS before the mutiny the
Hahara jshs had lived there. but
now for 50 years It had been a
dead place. abandoned and haunt
ed. kept as a kind of empty. dusty
museum that was forever closed.
The Far East and It's Contrasts
On the far side of the square lay
the tank, A great rectangular ex-
panse of water entirely surrounded
bv steps. which for 1000 years had
been the center Of life IN that
dusty world burnt by the sun for
eight months Of the year. Here the
poor came TO battle. the dhobies
and washer women to beat their
clothes. the old women 10 gossip
and the children 10 play.
As Ransome crossed the square
the din Of the cinema and the
vendors grew less and he became
aware of new sound. equally con-
fused and equally strident.
This vas the noise of the music
school which stood on the far side
of the tank. a great, monstrous
structure of brick built in the style
Of Bombay Albert NJ e m orial
Gothic. There were lights in every
window and in every room there
was class at work. He knew how
each room looked, with its rows
Of bare wooden benches. lined with
men of all ages. from 90 down to
little boys of 10 and II. all earnest,
all enchanted. learning to make
music because something in their
souls demanded 1t and would not
be satisfied without il.
Music Draws Men Together
Ranso knocked the ashes
from his pipe, turned and went
into the music school. On the way
he noticed that the whole Of the
ward of the hospital
Just beyond was flooded with light.
inside, no doubt. another Indian
vas coming into the world. or per-
naps two or three. to add the bur-
len of their existence to the SO
300, 900 that spread over the vast
mass of desert and jungle and city.
Miss MacDaid would be there, and
perhaps. II the case were difficult,
Major Safti.
And then he remembered sud-
denly John the Baptists bit Of
gossip-Miss MacDaid and Major
Safti. And now, quite as quickly,
he dismissed il. Miss MacDaid
was sober. plain, efficient, tough
more of man than a woman
and Safti was certainly 10 years
younger than she and could have
what he wanted from the ladies.
No, il was an absurd and impossi-
bic bit of gossip. Yet when he
thought of il he knew that John
the Baptist and his friends were
never wrong.
Inside the music school, he went
to the office of his friend. Mr.. Das.
the director. He was a shy, sensi-
tive little man with gray hair and
a great many wrinkles. insignifi-
cant save for the inward fire which
now and then would rise and il
lume his great. dark eyes. He had
but one passion in life, and that
was Indian music, and no one in
the world knew more of il than
he. Save for few hours when he
slept Mr.. Das lived in perpetual
din. since the school went on all
day from early morning until mid
night. The school was free. for the
Maharanee loved music and the
Maharaja JAN. like Akbar. sought 10
bring his people everything which
could give them pleasure and make
brighter their lives.
An Inspiration for His Music
Al sight of Ransome Mr.. Das
sprang up and crossed the room
to shake hands. He loved Ransome
because Ransome loved music.
What is it you want to hear to-
night ," he asked with an actual
air of anxiety.
Ransome said he would like to
hear tbs Rajput singer.
"Ah. Jemnaz Singh" and with
many remarks about the heat and
the weather and the delav of the
r,opSoo, he CLAIMED his hands fnr