The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1940-03-14


garden wall in moonlight"
Rundhia sensed that he had cast
his fly too boldly. She wasn't hooked.
She needed more subtle persuasion.
He shouted to the servant to fetch
the guitar. There was no answer;
the servant had taken him too strict
ly at his word, he was out of ear
shot. Rundhia shouted again and
again. He swore under his breath.
Then he governed his anger and
smiled at Lynn:
"Will you wait here if go and
get it?"
"Yes, but"
"What?"
"You look murderous. Don't whip
the servant"
His undercover man was waiting
for him in the usual place, by the
gate in the wall that separated the
Maharajah's palace from Rundhia's
An unimportant-looking but pecu-
liarly unmeek Hindu, who spoke in
low voice without preliminary ges-
lures of respect:
1.-The priests have learned of Cap
tain Norwood's arrival. They sent
me to speak with his Eurasian spy,
O'Leary, who is a reptile. O'Leary
has already detected the opening of
the mine"
Rundhia thought swiftly, and
spoke slowly: "Go and tell the
priests that Captain Norwood is here
to line his own pocket. Say he is
in debt and seeks an opportunity to
pay his debts. His secret report
will be in favor of the highest bid
der. But don't say you heard it
from me. Say O'Leary was drunk
and you heard it from him. Make
it perfectly clear to the priests that
any other officer than Norwood
would be scrupulously fair, so let
them think about it."
Then Rundhia found servant in
the garden of his own palace and
sent him running to fetch the guitar.
The palace front gate changed be-
hind Norwood. The sullen sentry
stood at ease, then easy and re-
| sumed his snooze. Norwood turned
his horse along the road by the pal
ace wall, riding slowly because the
sais was following on foot. He had
! ridden about fifty yards to a curve
in the road when O'Leary stepped
forth from a shadow. He didn't look
like O'Leary. He was wearing
| turban, and dressed like a dripping
wet, dirty Hindu of no caste or os-
tensible occupation. Norwood drew
rein and listened, watching the road
for pedestrians.
81 didn't stable the mare in the
city. She's back in camp. I'll need
| her later"
What for?"
| "As soon as I'm dressed decent
again, I'll 60 back to the bazaar. /
told yarn about coming back to
camp for more money. I'm going
to need it."
what happened?"
"Plenty. ! was right about Moor
Mahlam. They've ditched him. So
did too. He was only ground bait.
He talked too much, then tried to
have me knitted to stop me talking.
They'd a trap set for me and I
walked straight into it. A woman.
I'll tell you about her later; she'd
fill a dictionary"
Never mind about the woman.
What happened?"
Nothing happened there. It
couldn't. / left your mare tied up
to the veranda railing, military
saddle and all, and your initials on
the bride. So they couldn't take
chances. And / could. And I did,"
That's enough about you. What
happened?"
kindergarten stuff. Confidence
| game. The woman's bully fattered
me / knew the woman's sister in
Lahore, and he said the woman's
| sister'd given me rep for being
smarter than most, and a man o.
: my word. Then he introduced me to
| the woman. She's all honey and poi
son. Sister my eye. Two words,
/ and I knew she was lying about
that"
"Never mind her lies, or whose
sister she is. How much truth did
she tell your"
''Not much, barring that I'm the
most exciting man she'd ever seen.
She was true enough excited, so /
knew the bully was listening in; and
he weren't her proper bully nei-
ther; he was someone who'd been
rung in on her, and she scared o.
! him and not used to his ways. She
said there'd be a thousand rupees
for me if I'd act discreet"
''Whose thousand rupees?" asked
Norwood.
Trust your Moses O'Leary. I
asked her that quick She said it
was Prince Rundhias thousand ru-
pees. So | knew it wasn't"
what does she want you to do?"
''She told me mess o. lies about
Prince Rundhia having quarrelled
with the temple Brahmins, and him
wanting to get back at EN-, to spite
'em. She told me, and I acted sur
/, prised, that there's diamond mine
| in the temple area. There's thou
sand rupees for me if I persuade
you to run your survey line slap
through the temple area, so that
the mine will belong to the Mahara-
jah instead of the temple priests. !"
"What did you tell herr"
''I said you're easy, but you're
honest. said I'll have to find some
way of artfully deceiving you if
you're to do what's needed. I said