The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1940-03-07

UttII SG1IL HdIIVe EnBIanU the
Kadur River district in India. along with his
indispensable manservant, Moses OLeary,
soldier of fortune. Norwoods job is to sur
able S seeret da@ond mine beonss to the
temple priests or to the ruler. the Mahara.
jah of Kadur.
CHAPTER u-Norwood calls on the Brit.
ish Residency to pay his initial respects. On
his way he catches glimpse of two women
and beautifu The other s w Woman % he Is kDoWs
to be the Maharanee Of Kadur. O'Leary
later tells him that the young woman is an
with her aunt. Mrs. Deborah Harding. is "S a
guest at the palace.
SO this Prince was a staggerer.
He had been absent when the Hard
ings arrived, frequently mentioned
but not expected to return for sev-
erai weeks from what was spoken
of as vacation. Aunty had had a
good look at him in the full glare
of the headlights of the Rolls-Royce.
He was a worse shock than the un-
dignified bruise and the twisted an
kle. He resembled one of those
young Argentine plutocrats who
used to corrupt Paris until the price
Of beef and wheat reduced them to
the level of common mortals. A
splendid figure of man, perfectly
tailored. Manners that only money
can buy and cynicism support.
Beautiful eyes, without trace of
effeminacy and not yet betraying
signs Of having lived too furious
ly. An all-conquering male. Heir
to throne as old as England's.
With astonishing strength he lifted
Aunty from the earth and placed her
on the soft-springed cushions that
made her sigh with physical relief
and mental horror. Aunty knew she
was up against it. The Prince drove
her with skill. He avoided bumps.
He damned the guard at the palace
front gate with the voice of a cul-
tured gentleman and a vocabulary
that Aunty instinctively knew was
scurrilous. At the arched entrance
to the guesthouse patio, he lifted
her out. He caused servants to come
like firemen to burning house. He
sent Immediately for his private
Bengali doctor, a member of his
own household.
Competent, Mrs. Harding, / as
sure you. Discreet, I guarantee"
Almost simultaneously with the
arrival of the Bengali doctor, who
looked devilishly discreet and more
afraid of Aunty than if she were
the devils own widow, the Maha-
ranee's carriage drew up, with it's
horses noses snorting on top of the
Rolls-Royce.
Out got Lynn, too full of excite
ment and alarm and fun and SYM
pathy to remember she should veil
her face. She could hear her aunt
through the open guesthouse win
dow. Lynn came running into the
glare of Rundhia's headlights.
"Who are you? What is wrong
with Aunty?"
"Your aunt has hurt herself. My
physician and some women are ex-
ploring for broken bones. I believe
it is nothing serious"
Aunty, it was obvious, thought 9TH
erwise. She wasn't liking the doc
tor. She was calling him a fool,
and she could make the word sound
like description of a flunkey caught
stealing.
The Maharanee had to be cere-
monially helped out of the carriage.
She, too, had heard Aunty's yells.
She was overflowing with eagerness
to overwhelm an injured guest with
kindness, but she couldn't run as
fast as Lynn. And then Rundhia
stood in the way, smiling, careful
not to embarrass Lynn with gallan-
try.
Nothing" he said in English, to
the Maharanee. "a twisted ankle.
A bruise. A little badly shaken l
believe. My doctor is attending to
her. Won't you introduce me to the
goddess?"
The Maharanee purred. She un-
veiled her face. She put her arm
around her lamplit protegee:
Lynn darling, this is my nephew
Prince Rundhia. He is a bad boy,
but I do hope you will like each
other. Rundhia, this is Miss Lynn
Harding, who is teaching me how
Americans do things; and am hav-
ing such fun pretending she is one of
us. I wish she were! Oh, how I
wish it."
Presently, when the doctor came
out, Rundhia eyed him in the lamp
light with a stare that made the
finch. He did his best to
look like confidential, dignifed re-
tainer, but it didn't work. Aunty had
broken his dignity, and his fear of
the Prince had no covering left. He
almost stammered:
Nothing broken. Tape-iod:ne-
oandages. She will soon recover"
He made a sudden, nervous effort to
regain the feeling of being impor-
.ant and on the inside of events.
Have you heard that Captain Nor
wood, of the Royal Engineers, has
arrived? He is in camp outside the
city"
Rundhia looked startled. The doc
.or continued:
"He has with him an Eurasian
lamed Moses O'Leary who, they
say, already is poking his ugly nose
nto what is none of his business"
Lynn Harding stood examining the
2olls-Royce. She was quite used to |
luxury, but even Hollywood owned |
like that thing. Its gadgets |
and gold-plated adornments were a |