Evening star., 1941-02-02
II Short Story Complete on This Page


YT WAS only two miles from the palace of
the Maharajah to the hut of Sundra Lal.
- From the palace you went by marbled
stairs and terraced gardens, along unpaved
roads into broken country; progressive COL
lapse of elegance that ended at the Jungle s
edge.
1t was here thai Sundra Lal had his hut,
small erection of mud in large compound
The rest of the compound was given over to
the menagerie, tigers, wild boar, leopards and
panthers. Sundra Lal was no animal trainer:
none of his charges was destined for the show
ring. All he had to do was feed them He had
none of the academic detachment of the TAILOR
from his prisoners; Sundra Lal loved all his
animals, loved them, one and ALL to their
final, inglorious extinction.
And yet he was glad to be leaving them
He had made his money and was going home,
home to the barren comfort of the Chitral
hills. Before that, he had duty to his charges
His plan required careful scheming if he was
to avoid the novel mercilessness of the palace
guards. But no guard, no eunuch, not even
into the hills. Himen knew all about torture;
indeed they invented most of them.
Sundra Lal was wiry little man with a
wispy mustache. A cheap cotton buggree
swathed his head. Around his loins he wore
ten yards of cotton dhoti, like a gigantic
diaper. His general air was melancholic. He
would smile little when he fed Barlow, the
black panther Black panthers are rarity in
nature, hard to find and assiduously hunted.
Sundra Lal knew all the secrets of Indian
big game hunting. If he had only known it,
he could have welded a lot of power From
Singapore to San Francisco, this little brown
man could have sent thousand bores sneak
ing from hundred clubs.
He stopped outside Barlow's cage and
threw a lump of liver to his favorite Barlow
had been brought to the compound when he
was playful, splitting kitten; he reminded
Sundra Lal of bear cub, the reason for the
Hindu name. At first Barlow had the freedom
of the compound; Sundra Lal loved him for
his graceful beauty, and used to amuse him
self fashioning ox-hide collars to fit the vari-
Gus stages of the kittens growth, and curry
combing the black and lustrous coat
0ARLOW was half-grown by the time he was
finally condemned to cage; by then his eyes
flashed red and hot, his long raking claws
held threat of murder.
Sundra Lal knew perfectly the fate that
was in store for Barlow.
He knew perfectly too that the standard
entertainment offered by Indian princes to
their guests was the thrill of the hunt in
nearby jungles. But there are many Difficult
ties that have to be tactfuly avoided. The
tracking down of a good kill means days of
ceaseless stalking. Guests cannot be subjected
to such a hardship. To avoid this waste of
time, the animals are captured alive and then
released when the occasion warrants it.
Comes fatal morning and the chosen one is
released in the jungle. By a happy coinci-
dence, the hunters are in the exact neighbor-
hood.
Walking round, he speculated on the emf
nence of the new guest at the big house. He
had his own infalible way of gauging their
importance. Burrah Sahibs, Big Gentle
men," were given the finest animals in the
compound. On the other hand Chota Sahibs,
Little Gentlemen" were given lesser ami
mails in accordance with their positions in the