The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-01-13
asa Louis Rromficia
IedErr syndicate


finished the Attest Of rs variations
ard then put down his flute snf
sad a prayer q thanks q Kali. A.
last the rams had come
The storm, accompanied BY :
sudden fierce wind from the Arab
ian gulf. came Up quickly. Ths
wind increased and the trees benz
and swayed. There Vas no way fol
Raneome 70 reach his house save
On foot. fer even the bright little
tangas which usually stood waiting
outside the cid place had disap-
peared
Flash of Light From the Skies
The lightning came brilliant and
white. fash after flash. so that
his whole way vas illuminated as
4 b. gigantic flares. Then the first
big drops we're followed. faster and
faster. By others until the whole
sky seemed e pour forth water IN
one enormous cataract.
By the tine he reached Mr.
Bannerjees house Re was as vet
as II he had been swimming IN the
river With all his clothes on. and
By the tine he went through his
own gate his linen clothes chung
10 his as Il they had been molded
to his lean body. Once inside the
house he went through the long
hallway TO the veranda overlook
ing the garden and there he slip
ped his clothes and stood naked,
watching the violence Of the storm,
The branches of the mango trees
whipped black against the wild
glare of lightning. and the water
fell in torrents onto the parched.
thirsty earth. Tomorrow II would
be green again. miraculousiy green
with the miracle of the monsoon.
Presently he went down the steps
into the garden and stood there,
the warm rain beating against his
bare skin.
Il was like being reborn. The
WEAKNESS went suddenly out of his
soul.
Life Begins Regardless of Troubles
In the maternity ward of the
hospital Miss MacDaid kept run
ming back and forth between the
two wards. She was a big woman.
not fat. but heavy, and in the dull
burning heat she became slowly
drenehed with perspiration until il
was as Il she had just come in out
Of the storm. Nainly she sought
to find a moment when she could
return to the little office long
enough to change and feel once
more not cool perhaps, but at least
fresh as good nurse should feel.
II would have been easier if the
women had all been in one ward
but since one of them was
sweeper, one of them a Bunya, the
wife of small merchant. and enc
the wife of a mason. they had to
be separated, as the Maharajah.
who was usually adamant in his
attitude in behalf of the Untouch-
ahles, had made a concession here
In the maternity ward and kept
the Untouchables apart.
II was the Bunya woman and
the masons wife who were giving
all the trouble. for the Untouch-
able woman went about her labor
quickly and easily, like a healthy
Animal. The Bunya woman. as If
she felt she owed it to the superb
ority of her caste, eroaned and
screamed and complained; and the
case of the mason's wife was diff
ficult. since she had a deformed
pelvis.
Miss MacDaid might have trust
ed her two assistants at least with
the Untouchable woman whose
case was easy and natural. The
two nurses were competent
enough. One of them, a woman of
rs. was a niece of the Mahara jah.
who had never married. and for
five years she had worked side by
side with Miss MacDaid. The
other, Mrs. Gupta, was a widow.
the sister of one of the Maha-
RANGES aides-de-camp.
Finally. the babies came to the
Untoucha bic woman and to the
Bunya, and II was while they were
being cared for by the nurses that
Miss MacDaid was attracted TO
the wife of the mason. She saw
that the woman was making no
effort to help herself. but had
taken on a spirit of resignation
that mean she would die unless
Major Safti We're called.
II was the Mshara jah's niece
who volunteered. because she had
her bicycle at the hospital and
because she would have less TO
fear from the fierce old Maha-
rance. Besides. she knew the vast
rambling palace and could find
her way straight 10 the Maharanee
without delay. So she threw on a
cloak and called the porter and
the two set out on their bicycles.
II was about the same mo-
ment that the colossal crash of
thunder shattered the fine thread
Of music spun out for Ransome
by the Ra jput singer.