The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1939-11-03
CHAPTER 1

i
Moses Lafayette O'Leary tossed
his soiled pith helmet to coolie.
Sweat streamed down his almost
liver-colored face from mass of
black hair that curled with quite
un-oriental vigor. He looked like a
vaudeville Irish version of Hindu
without a turban. He squinted to-
ward the setting sun. The Kadur
River, where it circled the city wall,
was blood-red.
"Blood!" he remarked. eff was
superstitious-"
He entered Captain Carl Nor
woods tent. Norwood's native serv-
ant objected. O'Leary smote the
servant. He removed whiskey bot
tie, two long tumblers and siphon
from the ice-box at the rear, and
came out winking at Sergeant Stod-
dart, who was shirt-sleeved, sweat
ing, muscular and thirsty.
Caught your said Stoddart.
O'Leary grinned. "All you're fit
to catch is hell and malaria. I'm
taking pity on you. Here" They
sat, on cases of surveyors instru-
ments, facing each other. O'Leary
observed:
Gas sergeant of sappers, you're
sap sergeant. You believe you're
here to find out why the Kadur
River is all silted up. AS if nobody
knew it. You'll sweat. You'll wade.
You'll work. You'll catch diseases;
and you'll draw your pay, if you
live. Pretty soon now you'll be sent
home on troop-ship to tell the Eng
lish in the pubs how you'd rule In
dia if you was commander-in-chief.
You'd look handsome in cooked
hat
'Kid yourself you know a lot,
don't your" said Stoddart. "This is
good whiskey."
"Sure / know lot. I'm three
men. You're only what's left of
one, and white at that. I draw one
third your pay for using three times
your brains. You only know what
you're told, all tripe and army regu-
lations. Hindsight. Mines fore
sight"
you're like all Eurasians," said
Stoddart. "You'd bet on all three
horses in a three-horse race, and
then set yourself up as a clairvoy-
ant, along of having picked the win
ner. The secret of why the Kadur
River has silted up is like dogs
bone that he buries in sight of half
the county. The priests have a dia-
mond mine, and they're critturs O.
habit. They dig by day. Come night
time, they've been dumping clay
into the river since Noah's Deluge."
"Don't you take the Scriptures in
vain," said O'Leary. Noah was
saint, which is more than you are.
Stick to your river survey. Watch
out that the dam don't break and
learn you what a deluge is. Your
job is to work with a durnpy and
tape and a couple O poles, and set
down figures to be stuck away in
file. My jobs to look for the rea-
sons o. things. I'm good at it."
"I'n admit" said Stoddart, "you
could find a drink in the Sahara.
What d'you kid yourself you're here
to find out?"
81 might risk giving you another
drink if you could tell me where the
Captains heading for this minute. %
easy" said Stoddart. "Pass the
bottle. Captain Norwood is on his
way to the Residency to report ar
rival"
O'Leary kept his hand on the bot
tie: what else?"
Nothing else. Regulation routine.
In case you don't happen to know
it, and you're an ignorant savage, a
Resident at the court of a Maha-
rajah is an Army officer who's no
good at soldering. So they put him
in the political As a rule he's no
good at that either. He's sort Of
ambassador. He attends functions.
And he keeps out o. trouble when
ever he can. They tell me this Resi-
dent is a dabster at doing nothing
and keeping it wrapped in cello
phane."
O'Leary passed the bottle: well,
you get your drink, but you don't de-
serve it. I'll bet my months pay
against yours that the Captains in
trouble already. Troubles what he
came here for. Did you ever know
Norwood not to get what he's
after?"
There's someone else after some
thing" said Stoddart, staring over
the rim of his tumbler, beyond
O'Aeary. '.I'll bet you know who he
is. And I'll bet you know what he
wants, you bleeding ferret. What is
it?'
You'd better scram," O'Leary
answered. Secrets and sergeants
don't mix good"
Stoddart snorted: "There you 60,
numbering the Kings English, as
well as not minding your own bust
ness. You picked up the word
scram in the movies and you think
it's clever. The trouble with you is,
Moses, that you try to talk too many
languages, but you can't shoot
Decline in one of them. Talk Eng