The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1939-11-10
east mn WEsT
BY TALBOT MUNDY
orALBor MUNDY-wNu SERVICE

The blood-red sunrays confused her
vision. She was one of those people
who always believe what they see
but nothing that they don't see. She
saw a cobra. She did not see that
the stone, on which she set her foot,
was loose, curved on its under side
and resting insecurity on fiat rock.
So she twisted her ankle and sat
down-hard. It jolted every bone in
her corpulent body.
Two hundred and eight pounds of
widow with bankers references and
one hundred per cent opinions, can
sit down harder than crate of
groceries.
81 never saw such people-such
a country. l have travelled all
around the world from America. l
have visited numbers of countries.
I have not seen your equals any,
where for inefficiency and lack of
human intelligence. What shall l
do now? / am in pain. Have you
no ideas? Can't you suggest some
thing?"
One of them mounted the pony
and cantered away for assistance.
Mrs. Deborah Harding sat tanning
herself and making impotently
harsh remarks about the swarrns of
flies that were looking for a last,
lazy meal before going to sleep.
The cantering servant drew rein
at an outlying police kama and, after
a heatedly unconplimentary debate
| with the policeman in charge,
phoned the palace. The Maharanee
was out. 1t entered no ones head to
consult the Maharajah; it was his
hour of the day to study postage
stamps, so he was incommunicado,
except to the physician who should
bring him his evening tonic. How
| ever, Prince Rundhia had returned
that afternoon, from visit to Delhi.
Someone phoned him. Things hap
pened.
| There are two palaces. Rundhia's
| is separated from the Maharajah's
only by a high wall and two widths
of glorious garden. Rundhia's inn
ported patent automatic garage-door
swung open. His imported ex-Czar-
list chauffeur whirled Rolls-Royce
| to the front door. Rundhia took
the wheel. They opened the front
gate just in time. Another split
second and he would have crashed
it, sacked the lot of them, and
bummed a new car from his aunt.
There was whirl of dust, din
| of footing. Headlights flooded the
narrow roads with binding glare.
Three dogs and some belated chick
ems died the death. Three villages
gasped and called on thirty gods to
witness their piety. Rundhia
rammed on the brakes and got out
| of the car to bow to Mrs. Harding
just as calmly, as blandly, as anus
eddy courteous as if he were en-
tering her drawing room.
"Well, I am glad to see you,"
said Mrs. Deborah Harding. 81 don't
know who you are, but"
"Prince Rundhia, your hosts
nephew"
elbow d'you do. You took your
OWu tuIlC, OlOLl yOQ! i lldQ DGRuu
| to think no one was coming"
The garden guesthouse was a COPY
of a cottage at Juan les Pins. It
had been Rundhia's idea. The
/ Prince had persuaded his aunt the
Maharanee to go thoroughly modern
for once.
The Maharanee almost worshiped
Rundhia, but she had compelled him
to return from Europe by cutting off
the supplies of cash. She wanted
him to learn to be fit for the throne.
But Rundhia was always threatening
to 60 to Europe again unless she
made things tolerable; so she had to
make good his gambling losses and
| to humor his whimS.
No one had stayed at the guest
house until Mrs. Deborah Harding
heard about it during her tour Of
India. She knew exactly how to
contrive invitations. She considered
she conferred a favor on the rules
Of Kadur by accepting their hospi-
tally for herself and her niece.
no BE CONTINUED