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APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK ,906 156146 COPVKlCHTt 1906, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY PuhlUhed Beptemher, aoe CONTENTS The Turbulent. . . '*'" I The Ofpcasting of the Nichemods ,, The Home-Comino of the Nakannies .... 36 The "Mbled" Collie. . « 50 The Infatuation of Ackerly g^ The Stealing of the Buddha Pearl ,02 The Net of Leo . "7 Mahhet ... 160 FlNNERTT OF the ElePHANT KeDDAH ,go The Apostasy of Moung Pyu j„5 Nawaz Khan, the Gift of Allah 224. The Blooding of a Griffin j.g The Capture of Sheitan jg. THE TURBULENTS THIS story has to do with the period of time in which Swampy, the rac- coon, associated with some lumber- men in Cameron's shanty in the thick Canadian woods. The toilers slew the oak and chestnut giants of the forest, in the matter of daily bread; danced at some farmhouse out in the Scotch Block; toyed with immature corn whisky at Rod- ney; or coon-hunted in their own forest at night, in the way of relaxation. And, in addition to all this, there was the sver-present feud with the " river boys." The McRaes, the Campbells, the Grahams, interminable of relationship, living along the Thames River, held the men of the Scotch Block —the McPhails, the Mclntyres, and Camerons — as enemies to be thrashed at times, and reviled always. These martial sentiments were recipro- cally entertained by the Cameron adherents. A pretty face at a dance, with a little misunder- standing over an engagement for a Scotch reel, I THIRTEEN MEN and a McRae and a McPhail would be at each other's throats out in the chip yard before you could say " Great Wallace ! " But a sore irritant was the matter of coon dogs. Jack McRac's boast was that his dog Watch could tree a coon quicker'n anything that wore hai , would stay with him till the cows came home, and could lick his own weight in swamp coons or wild-cats. He had enlarged on this boast by addingj that he had the best coon dog in the county of Elgin, and that Cameron's Queenie didn't know a coon scent from the odor of a wild onion. It was a primeval condition of life, its atmos- phere surcharged with toil and strife and re- ligion and coon-huntiag. Swampy's advent, though dramatic enough, was uneventful compared widi his exit. His mother, a true swamp coon, long of limb, black-haired on the back, and stout of heart, hibematmg through the long winter in the hol- low hmb of a black-ash tree, came by the way of a family in the month of April. Half a month later, the Cameron men felled her lofty home for lumber; mother coon, darting from her front door, was set upon by Queenie and was slain. The fall of the ash had killed all the young- sters but one, and the foreman, Mclntyre, put 2 THE TURBULENTS the orphaned little creature in the bosom of his flannel shirt, and carried it to the log shanty. That was in the evening, and the whole camp entered seriously into the consideration of how the httle chap's life was to be saved. A plump, gray, fluffy ball, with an extremely attenuated nose, the coon babe slept in a little box filled with cotton batting behind the cook stove, totally oblivious of the grave question he had raised by his unwilling advent. It was Ben Locke who hit upon the brilliant Idea that proved so satisfactory at first and so productive of disorder later on. " Try him with Queenie," Locke suggested; " she might take to him in place of one of her pups. I believe she's lonesome with only Bruce." Queenie was a half-bred collie, and, as such, great in motherly instinct, and jealous to a degree. Her brown eyes searched Locke's face understandingly as, with forefinger ex- tended wamingly, he commanded her: " Down, Queenie! Now, now— that's a good dog— that's a good dog I " This while Mclntyre held the little orphan to the mother-fount of nour- ishment. There is no doubt diat Swampy's methods dif- fered from the collie pup's, for Queenie curled her hps in a snarl that showed her white teeth, 3 THIRTEEN MEN and growled her disapproval. But Swampy made good use of his time; and presently, his little stomach round and taut like a toy drum, he was put back in his box and presented in this shape to Queenie for inspection. No one ever knew how it happened, but in the morning Swampy was found sleeping with the collie pup at the mother's side. After that he was made free pf the collie's bed, and made foster brother to Bruce, the pup. He washed his food in a little wooden trough before he ate it, and poked his thin, inquisitive nose into cupboards, boxes, and every nook of the log shanty. From a long line of swamp- dwelling, night-prowling ancestry had come to him an inherited sensitiveness of touch. His slim, biack-skinned fore paws were like another pair of eyes; he appeared to be always feel- ing for treasure. Sometimes, half-angered by Bruce's foolishness of puppyhood, his sharp claws cut little lines of remonstrance in the youth- ful collie's face. The thin parchment ears of Swampy were slit into ribbons by the fishlike teeth of his dog foster brother. "ITius the three played together, and ate together, with as much amity, relieved by occasinial family jars, as though they were all dogs or all raccoons. When Swampy was a little over a year old, 4 THE TURBULENTS one night the tremulous whistle of his own kind sang in his slit ears from a tree in the forest and something that he had forgotten all about came to him with compelling force. He had lain there the child of a collie modier, and in a minute a dozen whimpering notes of call reincar- nated him and he was a coon. Inherited visions of a black-ash swamp in which he might puddle all through the hours of darkness for frogs and snails and things delicious to a coon's palate flashed through his mind. He stole softly from the little box diat was his home, raised his gray, black-barred muzzle, sniffed inquiringly toward the forest, and then slipped like a noiseless shadow across the clear- ing and was swallowed up in the gloomed bush. Men came and went from the Cameron lum- bering gang, and their passing was of transient regret; but Swampy's defection laid melancholy upon the whole camp. The men said he would come back again, but he did not. One moon from the passing of Swampy— it was a September night— Locke and Mclntyre, «king the dogs and their axes, made their way along three miles of bush road to a little clearing in the woods. This field was planted in com, and, as Locke said, every coon in the bush knew it. THIRTEEN MEN Eager in the hunt, having knowledge of its method, the dogs slipped silently through a fence; their masters perched on its topmost rail and listened to the whispering com leaves as the dogs, panting in blood lust, chased through the rustling stalks, up and down the dwarf avenues of the miniature forest. A misty moon peeped over a somber tree wall into the little clearing, turning to jewels the dewdrops held in the silver feathers that were the tassels of the corn. Nose to ground, Queenie raced; at her heels the pup. When Bruce sought to forge ahead, the mother lunged at him with her teeth, adding a yelp of admonition. She knew that even then, perhaps, the one they sought was safe settled in a tree; but if shi clung dose to the trail they would come to his hiding place, and then her partners in crime, the humans, would bring him to earth for a grapple. At first above the whispering of the shadowy corn came little whines of anxiety, as though Queenie asked: "Where is he— where is he? " Then there was a short yelp of delight. " Found 1 There's one there!" Locke mut- tered, touching his companion's arm. Presently, as the scent freshened, shorter and sharper came the " Yeh-yehl" and then, from a half-burned fallow beyond, with its blackened 6 THE TURBULENTS stumps and charred logs, Queenle's voice came back, tingling the night air with a joyous " Yi-ih- ih, yehl " The men slipped from the fence, dashed through the cornfield, sprawled through the labyrinth of burned logs, into the woods on the farther side, over a sandy knoll clothed with beech and maple, and down into a black-ash swamp, where the ringing baric of dogs told they had treed a coon. Halloo I " ejaculated Locke, as they came to the scene of turmoil, " darned if there ain't an- other dog I Wherein thunder— ? Hanged if it ain'tMcRae'sI" " We're here first, whatever," Mclntyre an- swered. " We'll make a fire, so we can see to chop." The swamp was dry from the summer drought, and while the men gadiered sticks and built a fire, Queenie sat on her haunches, her nose pointed at the stars, and her red-brown eyes fixed wistfully on something very like a fur muff high up in the ash. Bruce and the McRae dog were tearing about the tree, jumping against Its smoodi-barked trunk, and causing the forest to echo with their clamor. " We can throw her into that openin'," Locke said, as he squinted up the tree; "let's hurry. 7 THIRTEEN MEN Them McRae boyi'U be ineakin' in, an' daimin' their cur treed the coon." Ai the axes rang sharp and clear against the ash three men slipped into the firelight and a voice said: " Hey there, you fellers, what're you uoin' ? " Locke grounded his ax and, leaning on the handle, retorted sarcastically: "Shavin' myself. WhatV! you think I was doin'? " " Looks like you was choppin' down 'nother man's coon." " Not on your broadax, Jack McRae. Our dogs druv the coon out of Gillis's com, an' treed him; an' as we sort o' happened along 'bout that time, we kinder surmised 'twouldn't be a bad idee to chop him down." '' Us boys's got that job in hand, Ben Locke." " We're first, which is nine points of the law." " Vm thinkin' you've got two points, an' we've three," McRae rejoined menacingly. " Look here. Jack McRae," broke in Mcln- tyre, " that's too strong. We're not out for trouble, but we'll chop this coon down, what- ever." "If you're a better man nor me, you're meanin', Dan Mclntyre, by God I" and the speaker slipped o£F his coat and rolled up his sleeves. 8 THE TURBULENTS 1 II take that from no man." Lock. intenxMed. " What', the u.e of you nver boy, ookin' for trouble. You know [u.t hancfa full with Dan. Let the fightin' go till 'he S „ w" W""-«°--- there'll be plenty of U then We come out for coons, an' w did you." which makes a grand difference." ^am^K n '"'" ^'^" •'"y* °"' »"d Archie Campbell can see fair play." " Well, spit it out of you, Locke." " We was here first, an' oughter have first d";. b^r"' P?'" '"" ^» ^- y- "^"p you yoJm " ' " '' """^ "^""'^ «'* *« •^^o". he'. "You're meanin', Locke, you'll give us a It s a pretty th.ck bush here in the swamp, an' most hke the ash'll lodge, then the coon'lf'skip nto that elm-perhaps he'll do it soon's the ash starts o go; from the run he give our dogs he's cumim enough for anythin'. Anyway, 'tain't 9 THIRTEEN MEN no UM good men fightin' over a pelt that ain't worth more'n a dollar. We're two to three, but we ain't goin' to take no back water." The McRaea and Campbell stepped to one •ide and debated the question; the well-known fightmg abihty of "Strong Dan" Mclntyre havmg something of a mollifying influence upon their spirits. M'd : We 11 agree to that, only we'll draw lots ror first try at die coon." "All right, t)oys," Locke acquiesced; "we'd n /..'^^r"*'"' *»" "k*"' ^°«'dn't we, UM t There was a deprecating pleasantry in his voice which amounted to a sneer. * Then he broke two twigs, placed dicm be ^een his fingers, and held his hand up to Mc Rae, saymg, " Draw, Jack; long stick wins." The other drew; and Locke, throwing the re- maining twig in the fire with an angry jerk, growled: " You win; go ahead." While the Cameron men sat holding their dogs, the others sank eager axes into the soft flesh of the black ash. Soon a shivering moan went up icom the tree • Its top trembled and swayed; as Jack McRae drove die blade of his ax to its eye there was a crackling scream of dissolution; the ash reeled 10 THE TURBULENTS i^^''' H u" " .•'""^' ""'' ^hen iwept down- ward Halfway in iti fall to earth a ttL^Trl cjught In the ein. and the tree hun^lZJ^^a With a powerful stroke the axman knocked the butt from .ts holding ,tun,p, the tree rolled and with a .wishing ,igh, fell to it. .ide. i he McRae dog dashed into the manv lioiS*^ bl die y along a limb while the tree .waved i J m.d.ajr. had jumped into a .lender Tamamk and clambered nimbly to it, top. back toThe r r"1 '" *' -'^'««' «""« Then ? 1, ' *'"■ '"" »""«=" With anger. Then Locke stepped over to the tamarack fnd ran h.s eye up it. length, which wa. like the tapering spar of a yacht. " an'?h!,r"'' "" '^"' "■«''' '='"'"8'''" be said, an there am't no use fallin' this saphn'- ifd never come down-it'd lodge sure " ' .. i!;"'" ^°^" and pulled off his boots, saying- thldotK""^''''''''"'^"-"- ^--S'' Locke had been a sailor on the Great Lak.. rack Jike a boy. As he approached, the much- had" huo^Z^T' '™'" ^"^ -'-^h - whiTh te had huQdIed and crept cautiously along a slender bmb. where he hung by his long, sha,p^laws * II THIRTEEN MEN " Look out below 1 " Locke cried, standing in the crotch; then he struck the limb a sharp blow with the sole of his foot. The coon, dislodged, drew in a great lungful of air, till he was blown out like a football, and fell lightly to earth. With a rush Queenie and Bruce were upon him ; and then, even as they stuck their noses into his fat stomach as he lay on his back ready to battle, the two dogs sheathed their teeth and, drawing back a little, sniffed in a puzzled man- ner at the quarry. And through the sensitive nostrils of the collie mother vibrated the faint scent that reawakened a memory almost obliter- ated ; it was the scent that once had stood for one of her own children. She gave a whine of de- light; pleading, eager it was, and wirfi her paw she scratched coaxingly at the coon's neck. The foster mother had come by the truth; it was Swampy, the escaped one. But with him, a half-generation reclaimed from the forest life, memory was shorter; he had lapsed rapidly to the primal savagery of his race. His white teeth gleamed for an instant in the firelight and then were buried in the paw that was the transmitter of mother affection. With a yelp of pain, even of indignant remon- strance, the collie sprang back, and Swampy, rolling leisurely to his feet, scuttled back to the 12 THE TURBULENTS Mclntyre- to him hZ P'"fo""'ne, all but coon is t7hctZ71 T ^'""^'^ *^' *^ wo.dWto™t:X^t^,X--''^^- tool 111'; 3 --'jf^ ^^; tree, Ca.pbel, and the latter Z 'f"°^'^' McRae dog, '"•s throat po^ntdl'onT'' "'' ' ""' '^ Then SwLp?Er tr'n^"°"- ^is foster brothJr Bre^anrtt^r'^ "' strance into the rash M.d j °^ '■^"'°"- THIRTEEN MEN Dan," and sought to batter him in the way of reproval. The din of battle came to Locke's ears, and his breeches screeched and fairly smoked with the friction of his descent as he shot down the scale-barked tamarack. It was a time for rapid descent : he was needed. Strong Dan was surely being dragged to earth when his companion, crouching, after the manner of sailors in a fight, made entry to tjie festive scene. "You would— blank you!— Huh!" That was a grunt at the butt end of a blow, as Locke's fist swung inward on Campbell's chin and dropped him to his knees. Before Locke could recoil to guard, Jim McRae's long arm flopped around like the loose end of a flail, and the Scotchman's fist, as hard as a horse's hoof from rough toil, smashed like a brick into the sailor's face. It was a joyous mill, flagging not for the new- fangled innovation of rounds. It was one long continuous swirling round, full of action, good old-time rough-and-tumble rules governing the contest. Locke was a master in the sailor's fighting art, which is a method of fair execution; and Mc- Intyre's strength, known throughout the county, was as hurtful as a bear's. On the other side 14 THE TURBULENTS here were three of the river boys: the McRaes, ong of hmb, clean of wind, like cats on their feet-proper woodsmen; while Campbell, though short of stature, had been nicknamed F.ghtmg Archie." Hate and clan rivalry set a fast pace, and the combatants' diligent method would soon bnng a verdict for one side or the other. Meanwhile the cause of the little unpleasant- ness had scuttl-d up the tamarack once more, where he sat blinking curiously at the extraordi' naq. animals who shattered the peace of the for- est below. Because of the preoccupation of their masters the dogs carried on their engagement, until Watch, outnumbered and sorely bitten curled his tail between his legs and took to th,' darkened bush with howls of disgust The uneven ground, the big roots of the elm, and the slippery moss-covered sticks, introduced a rare element of chance into the contest. Some- times Strong Dan " wa. on his back with two men atop, until Locke, throttling one of them, would sip and all hands go rolling over one J. other like pups at play. It was like a football scrimmage; m the faulty, glimmering firelight a hard-knuckled fist, missing its mark, would land on the nose of a friend. The Marquis of Queensbury and his rules had 15 THIRTEEN MEN never puzzled the minds of these busy Scotch- men. It was go-as-you-please, kick and slug and clinch in that ring, which was the whole black-ash swamp. Rough-and-tumble bars noth- ing bui the gouge and the bite; and, so far, the combatants adhered closely to these honor- able rules. If: was a scrap of fervor, fast and furious; at times a little breathing spell coming in a clinch. They were almost too busy for speech. Once Mclntyre grunted : " Take that, McRae, blank you ! " as his Scotch knuckles, high in bone, ripped like a saw at his opponent's eyebrow. And Jack retaliated with a kick that would have opened an oak door. Locke, less economical of speech than the Scots, encouraged his fighting comrade from time to time. " Give it — to him — Dan ! I'm at your —back." And he was. But, unfortunately for his powers of succor, he was surrounded himself. Three men can deploy in battle more promiscu- ously than two ; so there wa. always a spare fist ready to prod either Dan or Ben just as he was getting the better of his opponent. Locke's face was redder than the rose, and the crimson hiie had smeared his shirt front; he peered with difficulty from beneath a beehive, or something, that hung heavily over his left eye. Three times Campbell had been knocked as i6 THE TURBULENTS many feet j but he was a wasp, a terrier that came snarling back to meddle officiously with four good men who desired to settle, in their own way, a difference of opinion. Once the two McRaes held Mclntyre in their long arms until he was like a figure of the La ocoon. Jack's left had Dan's head in chancery, while with his right he upper-cut, only to batter his Iwuckles against the Mclntyre skull. Will you take water now, blank you ? " Mc Rae panted. For answer Strong Dan buckled his hips side- wise and with a feint of throwing his opponent backward, gave him the rolling-hip lock, and McRae turned in the air, falling on his back heavily. That would have settled it if it had not been for the spare man. Before Mclntyre could recover from the throw he was back-heeled by the brother and brought down, with a McRae atop. Locke, jumping back from a swing of Camp- bells fist, found time for an impromptu kick at .[im McRae's ribs; and at the same minute Mc- lntyre turned his m n beneath. Jack was up again, and, first pivoting a blow into the base of Locke's skull by way of assist- ance to Campbell, reached down and clutched at Mclntyre's throat with his long fingers for a 17 Thirteen men strangle-hold. Then he pitched forward at a blow from Locke, and the three— the two Mc- Raes and Mclntyre— rolled over and over in a rround-tussle. Suddenly Jim McRac's hand, clutching treacherously at his enemy's face, found an opening, and two fingers slipped into his mouth, fastening upon the cheek in a gouge- hold. Just as Locke had landed a subduing blow over Campbell's heart he heard a half-smothered cry of " Gouge 1 " from his comrade. The flick- ering firelight fell red upon the polished steel of an ax almost at Locke's feet. With an oath the sailor swung it over his head, and, springing to the struggling group, cried: "Let him up, you dogs, or I'll split your heads open! I'll smash you like a rat for gouging— you cowardly Indians I " Locke's address was short and very much to the point; even the advantage of a gouge-hold sank into insignificance compared with the ad- vantage a man held standing above them, ax in hand. With a growl Jack McRae rose to his feet, while the fingers of Jim uncurled from their vise-like grip. With a twist Dan turned the McRae under and sprang to his feet, saying: "Get up now, you dirty dog, whatever I Stand by, Ben, to see i8 THE TURBULENTS fair play an- I'll lick the .vo of them. Fight- in nver boys — gougers 1 " th/Sa'„3 Y°'"'' *'''^d""™i"«!n^ between Tver tt I ' ^°T'' ''"' '^' '''««^'- ^" well over the I.nc into the illegitimate. "^Il7".u"'''"^' ^'"'" ^'^' ^postulated; be! yful of fight th.s time. We don't scrap with old women that scratch " allv^ai?" "'V^ '^^ P"''="^' ''"''^ kind usu- ay, and, as .s the manner of that tribe, when hisbood was up, was hard to subdue. 1 11 tell you this whatever, Jack McRae," he sa,d angnly, "I-l, gi,e you a thrashin' L thus mghfs work yet. You've boasted from Rodney to the town line that you could best any man m the Scotch Block, an' I'll „,ake you eal your words. An' forbye you're doubtin' wha I^msayn, just step out here an' fight like a retZd"'"^?''°"!; ''''""• Mclntyre," McRae in' axes '" ' *'''"" "°^ ""' ^°-"''» ''-"g" This exchange of compliments was good, in he.rj J ?' '"P'*' ^'■'"" ^^*'°" allowed the heated blood to cool. And as for fighting, it clamored for more than had been served out in 19 THIRTEEN MEN the ash swamp. Mclntyre's face bore eloquent testimony to the excellence of the entertainment, and the McRaes were battle-scarred to a high degree. As the two parties gathered their axes and prepared to depart, Mclntyre spoke again : " I'll tell you. Jack McRae, why Queenie didn't tackle the coon, fearin' ye'U spread it from the town line to the lake that she's no a good coon dog: yon coon is Swampy, that she raised as one of her own pups; and that's why she'd no put a tooth in him. And now, Locke, do you away up the tamarack again and bring Swampy down in your arms this time. We'll take him back U the shanty." ao THE OFFCASTING OF NICHEMOUS IN the first place Lieut. Hugh Royd became of .merest, as far as this story is concerned, even '"/'"8°°"-. ^hat was long enough ago taken bv°h- T '"'"^ '^'''•"'- ''»' ''»« taken by h„ royal neck and led out of the countn. by the British Raj.-thirty-one yea„. Nobody ever quite knew why he apsUd out of he regiment, which is a Hind,ostanee word de wo"rke"d'«kr"T"'""''''^ '''''^''- "' ^^'^ a Sub .Ih f \'T *° «" *"■* commission a, a Sub, and fought like a hero to exchange that for somed^mg higher; and then in a singlf n gh .sh „ffl ''\^«'°"«'«'' paraphernalia of a Brit! ish officer, and m the morning crawled aboard an outgomg steamer-a thing closely allied to a oaal panah; for when a young man cuts the entice without some higher motive ostensibly '" sight, It ,s considered decidedly bad form sta^Zi^ T ""^"^' ^'"^ '' '''^" ^ «^«P''n8 TTT '■ il ' """""" ^'^' '"'irty-one years matter much; for it was at the end of that time, in the present year, that the love replica came again to Kootenay Royd, ex-Lieutenant in Her Majesty's service. Almost at the feet of Chief Mountain, close to the Montana boundary, a gigantic doorway has been cleft through the Rocky Mountains— the Kootenay Pass. In the mouth of the Pass, nestling among the grass-covered foothills like a string of blue-green jade stones, lies a crescent of water, delicately slender as a new moon— the Kootenay Lakes. In the lakes swim the gold- shimmered rainbow trout, almost the size of giant salmon. When the south-traveling sun bends to its autumn sleep over the snow-crested hills to the west at eventide, elk and caribou and bear and gray wolf steal down from the spruce forests, which lie like a velvet mantle on the breasts of the uplands to the empurpled waters and drink m leisurely content, for it is far from the leather-scented trail of man. On the brink of the middle lake crouches a small log shack; in the shack homes Kootenay Royd. And to him in the crouching shack, at 32 THE OFFCASTING OF NICHEMOUS the end of thirty^ne years, cams the thine of which no one spoke that other time, and made this little story. The antlered deer and the trout with the shimmer of the rainbow on their fatted sides were not enough to Kootenay Royd. The spir- Its up in the mountains, always busy with their storm-making and cloud-building, gibed at him, and whispered at him, and conned over in black n.ght that other story which nobody knew, until he cinched tight his broncho saddle on a piebald cayuse and rode many miles nordi to the land of the Lrees. He tied tl.e cwe-necked cayuse to a tent peg outs.de of Stone Axe the Chiefs lodge, dipped through the lowbrowed slit that served as door, and with much sign talk conversed with the red man over the expediency of accepting ten horses for his daughter. Weighed against her personal charms, a yearling colt would have been ^n ex- orbitant price to pay, but as the daughter of a Chief, not a hoof less than twenty hones would secure her, Stone Axe explained. Kootenay had seen Nichemous, the Chief's daughter once at Stand-off, the unlawful capital of the whisky smugglers' domain. But that was not at all why .e had come for her, even Koote- nay knew that; she must have made medicine to 23 THIRTEEN MEN lure him, or the ipirit winds from the mountain, had whiipered her name when he sat in the midst of ^a sohtudc that was leagues broad on every It was something of this sort; it could not have been romance, for she was ugly dose to the point of fascination; built on the lines of a wheelbarrow_as devoid of grace, only blacker, and more disconsdlately in evidence forever and ever. chief the value of twenty horses; there was an unseemly tea dance at which the apostafe pJe- face became in verity a dweUer in proscribed limits — a squaw man. Kootenay took her back with him to the lop- sided shack that seemed forever threatening to commit suicide by a plunge in the ^rout-peopled Her talk drowned the voices of the wind spir- Its; and she kept the shack clean, and cooked his ood after the crude fashion of her savage an- cestry. * Kootenay read the books that came from other lands-Latin and French and English; and out- wardly npened in the personification of a man who had never worn anything but leather chapps since the donning of early raiment. 24 THE OFFCASTING OF NICHEMOUS The Weitem world', knowledge of Kootcnav wa. not extensive; he wa, "a queer fiT'-'a ferei"??"" " ^""'^ «"'de/' ." an who in teripersed Lat.n quotation, and classic oaths achSin ? "° "*''"■ P"''" had ever acnieved in his remembrance. All fh«. »k- were confusing in the extreme; bu tthey wt" fs' thlilLnT^'- ^ "!'"« '" ""^ »«!"« log shack that leaned plaintively out toward the jade-gree„ Tm^ I ''""« "™"8 "Pon him set his S'f^oTthe''' ""J''?' ' ""'» ™" ^-i "lucs rrom the mouth of thi« Pa., t -ncsintheWestmeanslv^S^^^rb^ And also with the new man was his daughter W'thayearofageuponherforeve^S;; *5 THIRTEEN MEN trail that lay between their new log shack and the homing place of Kootenay Royd. Her name wasn't Helen at all; but this is a true story. The culture that was in Helen com- pletely blotted out the many years of Kootenay's dwelling in the catacombs, until, though he was actually fifty-five, he was really just turned one score when he talked to her. That was why it all came back with such silly force — the love- thing. The man that was fifty-five, that was Kootenay, hunted and fished, and wandered up the steep sides of Chief Mountain for bighorn; and came back tired and sat dejectedly opposite the black Cree squaw, and called her " Niche- mous," which means " My dear." And the man who was just turned a score, that was Lieutenant Royd, galloped to the ranch and talked to Helen of the things that were in the East; which are books written by poets, and music that wails from the cord strings of a violin, and of lilac blossoms that grow purple, or lilies that stand pale at Easter, and of all the other unnecessary things which a squaw man should know nothing about; for if he do, and the squaw become more coarse in the fullness of time, it is all apt to end in the uncanonized way. Also Helen sketched with a charming disre- gard of perspective and unnecessary variation of 26 THE OFFCASTING OF NICHEMOUS •fc»n the i«,ua„ who „! '.'•»■ >^"""e„ tiling,, c„„ldd,rr„r *'"«"■ """i'l Ittle, envied, bboLJw Iv»T "1 ,*' much h«™7" ? "" ""'' ™"' "Id »" tn tU. i-_j —l- • • ' ""^ arc close to the land which 47 is ours. The smell THIRTEEN MEN of the sweet grass is in Wolverine's nostrils, and the soft pad of the buffalo hoofs on the prairie run is in his ears. To-night when the hills rise between us and the sun we will go forward to the home that is ours; then in the morning, when Manitou sends the sun up in the east, it will find us there." A Medicine Man has two qualifications, po- etry and diplomacy,, and Wolverine had played a strong hand in his last address. It would be better to get there in the night, because if there were objections to their coming there might also be objections to their going away. Wolverine would take the lay of the land in the dark, so to speak. That was the utility of the diplomacy; the poetry was for the Indians, and saved dis- cussion. When darkness h-d crept across the tangled mass of rosebush and sweet grass, and the yel- low-faced Gaillardias of the plain, and chased the dying sun up the gray of the foothills, and across the splashing crystals of the Bow River, and draped the tawny forms of the Nakannies in its sombemess. Wolverine spoke to Eagle Strength, and the tribe moved down the sloping approaches to the Rockies, and stole silently, like spirit shadows, across the prairie. In each breast was the smothered joy of home- 48 HOME-COMING OF NAKANNIES coming; in each heart the pagan fear of the spir- its of their murdered relatives. Even the dogs trailed their tails, and with flapping lips skulked close to the heels of the silent squaws. Not a babe prattled. The flower carpet of the flattened earth mufiled the hoof beats of the soft-stepping horses as the spectral troop slid through the thick gloom. It was the blood fear that was over all — the spirit terror. In front Wolverine rode his gray horse straight as an arrow for the old camping home of the Nakannies. Even the horse, which was a sucking colt when the Indians lied from the fear of the redcoats, held his nose true to the point, as the mariner's needle cleaves to the north. Wolverine clasped the little medicine bag that dangled from his neck. Over and over he whis- pered a charm to ward off the spirit vengeance of Day Child. Once he turned on his horse and looked up at the Indian's clock— the star-jeweled " dipper." The gleaming hand, circling round the North Star, had moved three hours since they rested. They were halfway there, he whis- pered to Eagle Strength in a hushed voice. The chief leaned far over the neck of his horse to catch what Wolverine said. The muffled hol- lowness of the voice had been lost in the slipping of the hoofs in the dry grass. 49 THIRTEEN MEN "Halfway," whispered Wolverine again; and Eagle Strength tat bolt upright and held his small bead eyes straight forward into the gloom. When the dipper had cut three hours more from its circle path, and stood almost straight over the North Star, Wolverine stopped his horse and slid to the ground. The others closed around him silently, like soldiers forming up before a stockade that is to be assaulted at day- break. A little to the right the daric line of the earth rounded against the purple of the sky. The Medicine Man was standing with his face set against the mound. Eagle Strength and the others knew what that meant— on that hill Day Child and his band had made their last stand; and on its top, unburied, they had been left for wolf and vulture. " Hobble the ponies and sleep here," whis- percd the Medicine Man hoarsely. The night air was thick with stillness. Wol- verine ran his hand over the flank of his horse; the gray was trembling, and his ears were twitch- ing nervously back and forth— now cocking for- ward in nervous curi ity, now drooping back in irritable weariness. Wolverine knew— even the horses were afraid. A low, trembling whimper cut through the 50 HOME-COMING OF NAKANNIES night like a whittling arrow from the top of the weird call .truck on their shrinking ears; a pack of coyote, had winded them. Apon-broke -ay .n affright and nearly ttam'^jed t Wolverine tteadied himself, and spoke sharply: " Nakannies, are you al squaw, Tie your horse, get away ? " •S"»w, ro let Before any horse could be hobbled, a dull, rumbhng moan came creeping through the graw and hushed the whimper of the wolves. It S away as suddenly as ,t began. The Medicine Aga n he heard .t. It was like the roar of angS and then there wa, ,ilence. Again it came onger and louder thi, tin.e. Th-> ^.L prf kTd voice of an angry ,p,nt, always growing louder »'rd made when Manitou was anerv Th^ f«r that had been silent in the heam ofTL 51 THIRTEEN MEN bravei began to mutter — they whispered to each other: "That it Day Child'i band crying for blood I" Wolverine'i gray anorted and tossed his head impatiently from side to side, and rubbed his nose forcibly against the Medicine Man's breast. Eagle Strength stood silently watching in the di- rection of the spirit noises. A dull, muttering Tumble, breaking into a fierce, threatening call, startled them again, and a fiery eye glared at them from high u^ in the hills. Nastas, Eagle Strength's mother, screamed and sank in a broken heap at the feet of the young chief. The eye closed sullenly, the roar deadened, and there was only the muffled sound of some- thing gliding through the gloom toward them. Then again it broke forth with malignant fury, shooting its rays in long shafts out into the daric- ness of the plain. It closed again, only to scorch theii hearts nearer and fiercer the next second. No one spoke now; fear took them by the throat and paralyzed their tongues. They could see little bright flashes of light glinting from the scales of the huge monster all along its body as it rushed screaming and hissing down through the gateway of the hills. Back on its tail were two little green eyes that fascinated Wolverine. It was the angry God of the murdered priest — 52 HOME-COMING OF NAKANNIES the dctroying Manitou he had said would •urely punish them for the killing of men. Fear and anger fought in the blood of Eagle ^trength. He had been a child— a fool. He had listened to the words of Wolverine and ilam his blood brothers, the Nakannies, because they believed in this God— the God of the pale- face pnest. He could see little green and red eyes peering at him from the darkness far in advance of the dragon god with the monstrous eye. They were lesser spirits coming to devour his people because of the sin the false Medicine Man, Wolverine, had led them into. The dragon might destroy his people, but his hand would avenge their blood upon Wolverine. The huge, trailing, fire-vomiting dragon was close upon them, when, with a scream of defiance and barbanc triumph, he plunged his knife to the hilt in the Medicine Man's breast. This act roused the others. " Come, broth- ers, cned Eagle Strength, "we'll go back to our home on the Little Bear," and throwing him- self on his horse, he yelled a war song and lashed his horse across the flanks. As the tribe streamed over the plains to escape, the fire-belching monster circled in toward them, and the hot breath from his evil-smelling body smote upon the nostrils of Eagle Strength as he 53 THIRTEEN MEN lashed the last Nakannie across the iron path, under the very nose of the demon. Then they melted silently info the darkness of the long, back trail. Over on the dragon there was a screeching, hissing, grinding, as the feet of the monster gripped the iron of the gravel-packed trail and strove to stop its headlong charge. Passengers stood on their heads in the seats in front of their own, and cursed and prayed, each according to his readiness of habit. A short man in a blue coat, all spangled with brass buttons, slid from the side of the dragon and ran forward to it? head, with a loose, blinking eye under his arm. " What in blazes did you put on the ' emer- gency' for, Dick?" he screamed into the sul- phurous jaws of the thing's head. " Thought I was ninnin' into a pack of fool Injuns," grunted a voice thick with the fullness of stopping a heavy express on a down grade. And a burly demon came out of the white, hot mouth and stood wiping his brow. " Did you see 'em, Dick? " panted the little rian. " Seed a swarm of 'em, an' heerd 'em scream. An' the President, ol' Van Home, 'd rather wreck the best engine on the road than have a greasy ' nichie * killed." 54 HOME-COMING OF NAKANNIES " It's them spirits the fellows say are always about this ol' camping ground where they foj ,d a lot of dead Injuns when they were building the line. I guess that's what you saw, Dick." "Spirits be hanged! They was cavortin' about on the track 'tween the rails on their saw- horse bronchos, an' I slid right in among 'era. It 8 a miracle if I hain't killed none." "I guess it's all right, Dick— I hope we haven't killed any passengers," said the con- ductor, unshipping the eye from his arm. " All aboard 1 " The little lantern described a circle in the air, the monster tore at the iron trail with his huge feet, the lights slid off and were swallowed up m the gloom of the prairie night, and the home- coming of the Nakannies had been disrupted by the Pacific Express. SS THE "MISLED" COLLIE ONE evening in September a " Misle "- coated collie stood watching the door of the Red Lion Inn. Her attitude was one of pathetic expectancy —the beautiful, slim-tapered head cocked side- ways, and ears thrust forward from the heavy neck-ruff, vibrant -with the intensity of her inter- pretation of footsteps. Suddenly the dog's frame stiffened with joy. ous anticipation; there was the shuffle of many feet; the swinging door pushed outward; and four men in working garb issued boisterously to the sidewalk. The collie leaped joyously at her master with a yelp of delight, caressing his rough hand with her tongue. "There, there, girl— down I " the man said, •hoving her gently away. " But, Watson, you're an old rascal," one of the jovial four ejaculated, clutching Watson's arm and twisting him playfully about. Suddenly a mottled body with hair bristling sprang between the two; there was a gleam of 56 THE "MISLED" COLLIE white teeth, an ominous snarl, and a pair of weird wall-eyes, fierce in anger, glared at the maker of the horseplay. J'^iT^ °"*' P"' '''^*= « carel-down, girl I She d bite you in a jiffy, man," Watson cried in broken sentences. Bob's assailant released his hold, and jumped Sf;coi;ir''°°'°^^'^™--^°-»« .'.'\'" f^y I'" of you. Bob," he said. ^^J.llyou,now? How much will you give, " Ten dollars." " Not for a thousand, Dannie, my boy. I'd sell a wifie first-if I had one. Ten dollars for Sracathna Princess I Man, I've been offered ntty; yon's a bench bitch." ^^ Then turning to another of the group, he said : Come on, Murray. I'll go a bit of the road with you. Watson walked in silence beside his friend, the collie at their heels. H '^?"'.% '™""'"' y°"' Bob - you're dumpy ? Murray asked at the end of the block I was thinkin' of Dan's ten dollars. But I couldn't sell the doggie-my heart. I couldn't fell her, Jock. Could I, girl? " he asked, turn- mg to stroke the collie's head, 57 THIRTEEN MEN " D'you sec the answer in her eye, man- she's sayin' as plain as anything, *No, you could na.' " " She's a wise dog, Bob; she's almost human. But what is it about the ten dollars? " " I have a chance of a job at Buffalo. I've been on the shelf since the foundry closed down, an' I haven't the price o' a ticket." Murray pondered over this problem for a little, his hand clutching a slim roll of bills in his breeches' pocket — the week's wage. The money was needediat home — badly ; but Watson would have helped him with his last dollar — he knew that. With an impetuous movement, Murray crushed the bills into his friend's hand, saying, " Here's ten dollars for you. Bob." But the other drew back, protesting : " You're needin' it yourself, Jock." For answer Murray shoved the money into Bob's vest pocket, and turned away. " I'll not borrow it, Jock," Watson said, " but I'll take it if you'll keep the collie." " I don't want the dog." " Keep her, man; and when I'm in funds I'll buy her back. If anything happens me, die's yours; and don't you see, Jock, you could get your own back, and I'd die, as I lived, owin' no 58 THE "MISLED" COLLIE tne old girl for all time." Hnh.^n':'!! V" *""" '^^^"^ Scotch way, ?er o i f ^""i^' ^""''^ ^'''" "-» with her to the house and have a bite of supper " In ten minutes the two friends came to a little rough-cast cottage setting back from the street. I ye brought Watson home for supper, Mar- Sd h "\"l' '° ^'•^ "" « who greeted him at the door. Murray ate his simple meal in troubled silence. How could he reconcile his wife to the receipt of a dog mstead of the needed money ! to Rf?r''v *'*"'''"• '''"''^= "Bob's going to^Buffalo, w.fe, an' I've bought the collie from Margaret's face mirrored her dismay. It was just this careless improvidence that frittered away Jack's earnings. " Are you no likin' dogs? " Watson said, for Margaret s silence brought an ominous lull in the " ] ^''Y"'y hands full with baby; besides-" slK closed her teeth on the lower lip and turned "The collie'll take care of baby for you. She s a gran' hand wi' children." This was a most barefaced assertion, for Bob ' 59 THIRTEEN MEN was a bachelor and children had not come the way of the Princess at all. " Collies are treacherous — they're apt to snap," Margaret retorted; inwardly she was wondering how much precious money had been wasted over the useless canine. " I'll just show you, mistress — bring little Elsie here, and you'll see." "It will frighten baby," Margaret objected. " Not a bit of it, wife," Murray asserted. And going to the cot he brought the child and placed her on Wdtson's knee. " Here, girl," Bob said to the dog. The col- lie put her wise head on her master's leg, and looked inquiringly into his face. " You're to take care o' little Elsie, old girl," Bob said with great gravity. " An' if anyone goes to run away with the baimie just grip him with your teeth." The collie understood that her master's words had something to do with the child. She put her paws on his leg and, raising herself, stuck her cold nose in the baby's face, and caressed the chubby little cheeks with her tongue. " Look at her. Mistress Murray; she knows. Didn't I tell you? My word, she'll die for little Elsie. Aye, aye, an' I'm leavin' her behind. But she'll be in good hands. Mistress Murray." 60 THE "MISLED" COLLIE "It's a useless expense, Mr. Watson; a biir dog will eat as much meat as a man" »K-^''\1'"'' *^"""'' '"' ^'"'^^'^ " she said and they had got behind; all summer she had been trymg to catch up and get even with the wond. "Meat mistress!" Watson ejaculated in well.fe,gned astonishment-" porritch is the very thmg or coll.« Stracathna Princess-that-s her full name, Mistress Murray," Bob said very proudly—" just loves her porritch " Watson put the baby's legs astraddle the col- li« s back, and saying, " Come on, girlie," strode solemnly three times around the room sing- ing * " Ride I cock hone To Binbury Crow." Little Elsie's eyes, as big and bluer than her mothers, stared wonderingly into the broad, good-natured face of the Scotchman; and Prin- cess paced as proudly as though she were a pal- irey carrying a queen. Margaret, forgetting for a second her appre- hens.o„ o the ruinous expenditure, smiled in mother delight. "There, bonnie blue eyes," Bob said, lifting 6i THIRTEEN MEN the child from the collie's back, " give doggie a kiss. Kiss the bairnie, girl." The baby drew her eyebrows together disap- provingly, but the collie imprinted a kiss after the manner of her kind. The mother took the child, and Watson pro- ceeded to explain just why Princess was the very best dog in the world. He detected an atmosphere of trouble for Murray ahead over parting with the money. The little woman's uncordial reception of her husband's announcement set Watson thinking very deeply. He' must square the matter for Jack by making the wife satisfied with the deal. " Jock has come by a grand bargain, Mis- tress," he said, throwing a touch of envy into his voice. " But we're needing every cent of his wages, Mr. Watson." It was out ; the little woman had let slip the words she was repeating over and over to herself. " Why, mistress, the collie's pups'll be worth more'n ten dollars." ^^ "Ten dollars!" she exclaimed in horror. " And is Jack bringing pups, too — where are they? " Bob turned in confusion and whispered to 62 THE "MISLED" COLLIE Murray. "Heaven, Jock. I n,ade a bad Then squaring the slip with a little equivoca- Z a ' "TT'^; " ^ ^" -"""in', mistress, Trefo"'?" '°" "" ''" °^ C"^'^' " "No, what are they?" h.J'P"'''" ^"f* *^'"' "°'"' ^'««« Murray, but they were dog»_gran' dogs, the fathers of P i„fe« • "2 '" ^"''^'"^- ^^ Stracathna Prmcess .s o- that strain-Jock knows that." The husband nodded his head complacently, though .t was entirely new informatioJ to him! tress M?r:a7?"'"^'°'J°'^'^ ^°™-- ^- WetS'it^.''"--^^-^'.^-! AVatson buried his face in the collie's neck. tres^M '^'"'" ^°" ""^ "'^" '" Scotland, Mis- coJ^rj- ^°" ^•=' ""'"■ '' "^ '"''" J*" JU't a common dog-not a collie-mind you, thev » „ Jy J . * " *''*y ""^ *'«'T plenty. So a good dog's name is a hoosehold word ,fnl. .'' ^°""'"' "^^ ' «""' ™"i'= that was stden; an just among ousel's, Stracathna Prin- "ss « o' Johnnie Norman's blood. Murray 63 M :«• :ii! fill ill THIRTEEN MEN knowi that. He's a good judge o' a dog, ii Jock. No man'Il stick him wi' a bad one "; and Bob, stretching out his foot, surreptitiously pressed Jock's corns till he squirmed in agony. Murray blushed at his friend'n tribute so at variance with fact, but answered: " That's right wife." ' It was quite a conspiracy. " You could put her on the bench," Watson declared, turning to the husband. " She has all the points o' a prize winner. There's the finest head you ever saw on a collie; th- flat, wide skull that carries brain, tapering' like a lady's han' to her eyes. An' the long muzzle an' black nose are strong points. She has small ears, too — big ears would throw her oot." Watson stroked the really beautiful head as though he were a mother caressing a loved child. " Aye, girl, you're a beauty." "Tell me. Bob," queried Murray; "she's a queer color for a collie; and lier eyes are sort of like glass marbles." " A collie may be any color for the bench— it doesna' matter. The Princess is what they call ' misled '; an' the ' wall-eyes ' always go with a mottled coat. But they must be slittcd in like a fox's. I'll tell you the points; you might want to enter her at the Kennel Show. She has a lonjr 64 THE "MISLED" COLLIE body and ribs well rounded up; an' the chest is jeep an narrow in front, but plenty o' room o'er the heart behind the shoulders." Watson was at home on the points of a good collie, and, once started, would talk all night on his favorite theme. And he continued about the straight fore legs and the well-bent hocks and long pasterns of the hind, the arched toes, the double coat-the outer hair coarse and the inner soft and furry— until Margaret regretted having expressed any objection. . " ^,',"n'l°T ''°" ^^"' *•" ''"«' «""«« in. mis- tress. Bob finally said; " the intelligence that's next to human. Just stay here, girl," he com- manded the collie. " I'll go out the back door- I see It's a latch-an' do you, Jock, say, ' Find Bob, an' you'll see what'U happen." Watson went out, and when Murray spoke the mystic words, the collie went to the door and struck the latch with her fore paw until it freed from the hasp. Then she wedged her thin nose in the crack, opened the door, and with a yelp of delight whisked about her master. Watson came in, his face radiant with smiles, saying: " You see, mistress, she'll be a companion to you when Murray's at work. Just learn her wi Find Jock,' an' if she once gets the scent of his steps, she'll bring him if he's in the town 6S w llli II THIRTEEN MEN You could even go out and leave her wi* little feUie; ru guarantee nothing would touch the baimie." "She is wise," Mn. Murray admitted. Are you ture ihe'd not snap if baby pulled her hair— the little one's always clutching at things " " No, she'll not do that. An' now I must be gomg away home, for it's late." As Watson put on his hat, the collie sprone eagerly to die door, and stood waiting for him to open it. ^^ " No, no, girlie," Bob said in a husJty voice, you re to stay he^ an' mind little Elsie. Up t.U I say good-by," and he snapped his fingen at his chin. " Princess put her paws on Watson's shoulders; he threw his arms around her arched neck, drew her head in against his rough cheek, and when he hfted her gently down there were tears in his eyes. " I'll walk to the comer with you, Bob," Mur- ray said, passing out. " \"'^^'' » »I'P. Jock," Watson said, as they parted. " It was over the puppies. If anything went wrong, an' I couldna send you die money* or you were ncedin' cash, just sell the puppies. Mick to the mither as long as you can, Jock— I'm feared I'll be very lanesome widiout h«-r " 66 THE "MISLED" COLLIE Wation went away to Buffalo, and Stracathn. wl u °* ',!'^' " ''■y '■» « "'hole cycle of time I htpifd^eL^rr^r^^^^ "^' " '•'^ V ofcoune thatdaj). ' ^'"'"^ '■*^*""'- Wtime, a, she lay on the fro,.t doorstep Z „r *''V'°""» "d«- Whe. the restless „Tk ''"'' '"' "°« *° 'J-^ Plump-creased Sometimes the cold caress would brin^ forth 67 ■<•' ii M II THIRTEEN MEN doJng the square thing," she kissed him apolo- getically, and said, " If we're very careful, we'll manage, I think, Jack." It was in the patrician collie blood of Stra- cathna Princess to guard and watch over some- thing. With her ancestors it had been sheep; so she literally interpreted her master's orders in the supervision of Elsie. The little one was taught to say, " Find papa, Prin," and Watson's game of find-your-master was played many times in the little family. Perhaps it was' the going away of Watson, who was convivial, or the walks Murray gave the collie that altered the man's life. He went less frequently to the Red Lion, and there was more money for Margaret and her primitive housekeeping. It was the fourth Saturday from the event of Princess that the household god of content was shattered. Murray returned from the carpet factory with sullen depression in his face. A strike had been declared, and, as he handed the bulk of his week's wage to Margaret, he said, " I fought against it, wifie, for winter's coming, and God knows we've not much to go on with." The little woman sat down and cried; she was brave enough, but her slender form was 68 THE "MISLED" COLLIE strung with fine nerves that sometimes went to pieces. The collie, feeling the unrest of something wrong, put her head compassionately in the dis- consolate woman's hand. ^^ " She's friendin' you, girl," the husband said; she s saying to cheer up." For a week Murray sat about the house smok- «ng, or walked with the dog, and fought against the hypnotic influence the Red Lion thrust into nis hours of idleness. One morning four puppies squeaked and tum- bled foolishly over each other at their mother's side—a pair of little dogs, sable-and-white, and two females, "misled " like their mother. In SIX weeks the money was all gone; but that day Bob's ten dollars came. "You see, wifie," Murray said, "a man doesn't suffer by helping a friend. We wouldn't have had this money now only for the collie " Murray tried to get employment; but there were a dozen applicants for every place— some- times fifty; and a carpet weaver was not a desir- able man for general work. Bob's ten dollars lasted two weeks. Then hunger sat and jeered at them in the little rough- cast house. People rolled by in their carriages, fur-robed and red of cheek, and the laborer, de- «9 M THIRTEEN MEN void of labor, cursed at the injustice of it all; and stroUed many times into the Red Lion, on chance of a casual glass with its fatal warmth for his chilled spirits. The day after the last dollar had gone, Mar- garet said to her husband, "Jack, there is no milk for Elsie, and there's very Httle bread for ourselves." " I'll have to sell one of the pups, wife," the husband answered; " Bob said I might if I was pmched, and it's a case of sell or starve." The pup was sold, and when Murray brought home five doUars he said: "This will carry us mto work, I diink, for they're all saying the strike is about over." Princess was showing the effect of short ra- tions, and Murray gave away the two females. They existed two weeks on the five dollars ob- tained for the little son of Princess; the man did —Margaret absolutely starved herself, furtively hiding this from Jack. She grew weaker, won- dermg if she could hold out till the time of work. Hunger-tried in the day when she was alone with the collie and Elsie, she indulged in costless epicurean feasts of fancy; the great juicy joint of beef she would have on the table when Jack was at work again. She held these wild revels m company with die collie; and Princess would 70 THE "MISLED" COLLIE Wink her wise wall-eyes, and swing her tail ^Jd^ecauseonhe faint s.ileoS her ™i. Before the two weeks were up, Margaret fainted twice of exhaustion. It was the dayX Z ." \'! '!V^ ** P"P "'°"«'y go that Mar- garet tumbled for the second time, in a crum- pled heap on the floor; she was brought out of .nsens.bj^.ty by the sympathetic tongue of Prin cess on her face. been T '^'/? '"^°" ^''"*"""' """d it had When Murray came in in the evening he'" bought the same bitter tale of the unyielding master and obstinate men h.^"^T i^^"^ " *^ "''' ^«^"ily in a chair holdmg the child in her lap. cnJi -""r" ^'''' ""'^ ^''•^ '«' "hovelful of w'oVus^r^'J^^- ^^^o^'wHat-sto to ell the other pup-that's all there is to it on till now, but we can't starve " " We can't starve 1 " what mockeiy-she had been starving for days. Murray picked up the collie saying, " I won't 71 THIRTEEN MEN be morc'n fifteen minutes." Princess followed him to the door, and, as he stood for a second, looked yearningly at the pup in his arms. " It's rough on you, old girl," he said, " but it can't be helped." In ten minutes Murray leaned against the Red Lion bar, saying to the heavy-faced proprietor, " I've brought the pup you wanted." " One of Bob Watson's breed? " " Yes." " All right, here's your V. Have a drop on the head of it— we'll christen the youngster. By Jove! we'll name' him Christmas. Here's to you, Jack— Merry Christmas! " The florid man said nothing about the little starved woman at home; she didn't hear, any- way, so it didn't matter. Then the glasses were filled again at JaJc's order, lest the stigma of meanness should sminA the name of the man. "Merry Christmas, ha, ha I" some little devil in the clinking glasses had sneered the mocking laugh. Murray left the saloon, his hand grasping the crisp bill in his pocket; a comforting influence stole up his arm and threw his shoulders back. He had gone in shivering with cold; he issued with a warm glow at his heart— he forgot to 72 THE "MISLED" COLLIE button his coat. The cheery liquor enveloped thefivc dollars with the potentiality of fifty The sidewalk thronged with Christmas shop- pers, animated of countenance. A man touched Murray's shoulder, and a fa- miliar voice said: " Well, Jock I " "Bob Watson! God, man!" Then the two friends held hands for a minute in silence. I m just back from Buffalo to have Christ- mas with the collie-an' yourself, Jock, o' course." Watson said. " Come an' we'll have a drop for auld lang syne." Murray complied hesitatingly, objecting, " I must hurry back to the wife." "C<""«on.man— I'mgoin'withyou. We'll just have a smile first." Watson furnished the smile; and then— a man must be a man— Murray carried the ripple of hilarity along with another smile. And over the glasses with their loosening-up power, he told the whole story of his troubles. But Watson had saved money, and declared he would stand by the man who had loaned him his last dollar. Bob's eyes became jewels of delight He snuggled the pup under his chin; put it on the 73 •^i !il THIRTEEN MEN oak bar, and called them all to witness the glo. nous points of " Christmas." .. " Sable-and-white," he cried exultingly; man, alive! that's the Charlemagne cropping out— a grand strain indeed I " Murray leaned over and whispered in Wat- son's ear, " I wouldn't have sold him, Bob. if I could a-hclped it." " Tut, man I he's in good hands— the Prin- cess s enough for me. And, Mr. Nolan, we'll just trouble you to wet the feet o' little Christmas." Then Watson, as breeder of such a fine dog, felt called upon to do the honors of the occasion. A dozen times little Christmas was brought forth to be shown to the friends of Watson who dropped in. The proprietor had the price of the pup back in an hour. The liquor had laid its strong grasp upon Murray s half-starved physique, and subdued his consciousness of the flight of time. At first he repeated at intervals, " I must go, Bob ; now he drank in quiescent waiting on his friend's pleasure. Christmas Eve at the Red Lion; in the little rough-cast house it was this way: When Jack had gone, Margaret lighted a lamp and peered into the stove; die fire was 74 THE "MISLED" COLLIE almost burned out-and the Kuttic wa, empty. She placed Els.e upon a shawl beside the stove and opened the oven door. As the stored tTeThnd"'"'*^' *' ~"'' "'"''"'^ ^^"'" ''"'^^ Sitting down, the mother tried to rest, as she waited her husband's return. She couldn't Nerves are all-powerful just before they break; *ey dragged the weary woman to her feet, they paced her up and down the room. A half-hour went by-an hour. A gong in the htt e box of wheels on the shelf said it las e^ght o'clock Why did not Jack retumJome! thing must have happened him-he had been Kilied, run over? The jerky nerves drew fanciful pictures of dis- aster Elsie was sleeping nestled against the colhe's s.de, but the room was getting cold-tt fire had gone out; she put the little one in her cot As Margaret rose from the chair, she stag- gered; and as she stooped to lift the child, glim- mcnng lights, violet and blue-green, blinded her -she was choking. Then, with a call of " Jack " the little woman pitched forward, the collie's body breaking her fall. The frightened child set up a wail; and Prin- cess, crawling from beneath her mistress, stood trying to puzzle out the extraordinary happen- 6 75 I If I' THIRTEEN MEN ing. Why did her mistress lie there without speaking? The child's wail stirred her heart with i! lonesome feeling. The collie stepped forward and peered into Margaret's face, then caressed it; she lifted her paw and tapped the woman's shoulder plead- ingly — there was no response. Subtle instinct rr'd Princess that her mistress was rll; and he- little playmate, Elsie, was in trouble because :-.e cried— just like her own pups used to. Her brain, that was only a wise dog's brain, worked confusedly at the disturbing tangle- it needed a lead in the right direction from ihe hner-workmg mechanism of a human mind. There was an air of unrest over the room, such as comes before a storm— the child's plaintive cry vibrated her sympathy. It made her restless ; she wanted somcthing-her pups or her master, or even if the mistress would but speak She wandered about the room, sniffing at the nooks into which her puppies used to crawl. A pair of Murray's boots with the man's scent started a clear thought— her master and her pup had gone away together. And in the room was but the child's wail; Princes, felt a desire to howl in sympathy. She trotted back to the pathetic group on the floor, her nails clicking the boards 76 r; ! THE "MISLED" COLLIE and shoving the coHie'. h^,A . *' "Find papa 1>IT^"" ''"'' "^"y- »'»«= "id. P icd-croMcd and recrossed as they had 77 Ill ^ THIRTEEN MEN been by others; on, taking her wonderful way to the door of the Red Lion. Her thrill collie bark carried to Watron'i ear. "God, man!" he cried, "I'll take m' oath " He darted to the door; as he flung it open, Princess sprang against him with a whine of delight. Then she raced to Murray, in whose hands was little " Christmas." " She's followed the pup," Jack said, as the mother smothered the little chap's face in her caresses. Then Princess raced to the door, uttering a sharp calling bark; then again to the pup, giving it a hurried kiss; and once more to the door. Watson watched the collie's erratic move- ments with intense interest. Suddenly he said, " Jock, she's been sent for you ; there's something wrong, I fear — come away, man 1 " Watson's words steadied Murray's senses that were swaying because of the liquor. Without a word he pushed through the door, and the two men almost ran; dread and the cold night air mastering the liquor fumes. As they swung up the path, the little house was quiet — there was a light. As Murray stood for a second in the doorway, Elsie held up her hands, crying in delight, " Papa 1 " 78 THE "MISLED" COLLIE Murray lifted the sensclen form of hit wife to the bed, saying, " Quick, Bob, the doctor— the red light on the comer." Margaret lay like one dead. The husband put his hand over her heart; it took a length of time to detect the weak flutter. He chafed her hands, crying in an anguish of remorse, " Mar- garet, girl, tvake uj^— oh, my God! " Elsie was crying on the floor. He put her in her cot, and reproached himself with strong words, "Woe to me; I'll never drink a drop again— I've killed the little woman." Then the doctor and Bob came hurrying in. She'll be all right," the doctor said, after a little. " It's lucky you caught me in, though— she's so weak that a half-hour might have made ail the difference." " The collie was just in time, Jock," Watson whispered to Murray, as the doctor sat by the bed. 4 I 79 MKMCorr mouirioN nn ouit (ANSI ond ISO TeST CHAdT No. 3) |2j2 12.0 lit |£ I.I 1.8 Eiil 1.4 ^ /IPPLIED IM^GE Inc teSJ Cost Uoin Strwl RochMlOT. N«« YMIi 14809 USA en) «2-0300-Pt»i» (ri«) 2n - MS9 - roK THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY ACKERLY was an inspector of police in Burma. That was at Thayetmyo. He was tall and square and round- cheeked — a splendid specimen ; just the sort of man to throttle men who needed it. " Not an ounce of sentiment in his gladiator head," some one said. That was what they thought; in point of fact his great muscles were wrapped up in sentiment. That was why Mys- tery held up her cloak, and threw a shadow across his path. If the Gomez girl had been beautiful, or even pleasing, the thing that happened might have been put down to the irresponsibility of a full- blooded youthfulness; but the Gomez was short and squat and broad-featured and black. She was " twelve anas in " of Hindoo blood, and not an ana of it had lost any of its darkness. There was nothing to account for Ackerly's infatuation — absolutely nothing — except her playing. That was the one thing she could do — ^play the violin. 80 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY When I say she could, I must stop and think what a man who knew aU about those things once said: "It is not this woman who plays- some spmt comes and uses her hand^-that is all." It was like that, too. The violin, a gentle-walled Cremona, had been m the Gomez family since the time of Pie- tro, Marie's great-grandfather, who played like an angel, tradition said. And all these years the spirit had lain asleep until Marie's fat hands had cried it into wakefuhiess. Of course she had learned the thing. A sister was married to an engineer in a rice mill, and his money had been used freely to teach her the workmanship of the arts. That was in Calcutta — she had been sent there. This in itself was a mere bagatelle, the tuition she received, as compared with the spirit that used her hands. It was only the knowledge of perspective an Angelo might use for one of his masterpieces. Tall, broad-shouldered young men are fairish marks on the matrimonial rifle ranges; and Ack- erly had been brought down by about as sweet a girl as anyone could very well wish for. That was before he went to Thayetmyo; and it made the infatuation all the more like a piece of the evil goddess Kali's work. 8i THIRTEEN MEN I have said that the Gomez's one accomplish- ment was the violin-but she had another. She that thnlled through the vibrating strings of the sobbmg viohn out to master the minds of animals. The first time Ackerly saw her was at her father s place. Old Gomez had asked him down to see Mane make a king cobra dance; that was ^e way he put .t. But then old Gomez had no soul for anythmg beyond the fleshpots of a rich son-m-law; and so knew nothing about the ter- nble power that came from the talking strings A hamadryas iS a king cobra; as vicious and as deadly as the capello, and as strong as a boa. But as Mane Gomez drew the bow across the strings of her violin in wailing tones, the king cobra was hke a slim, silken ribbon, for the spell of the spirit numbed his vicious mind. " It's extraordinary," Ackerly thought, as he sat and watched, and listened to the spirits in the violin calling to the king cobra. And " Boh "— that was the cobra's name^nderstood them When Marie ceased playing the cobra dropped fuU length on the hard, beaten ground, a seiVant threw a basket down, and he glided in As the Gomez raised her eyes, Ackerly looked 82 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY into them. He should not have done that, for he s^hing of the spirit, in the music had gone .nto h.s muscles, and he was ready for the h^™ that was to come. He tried to reLmbfr\vt" fa«d^mCh.tt.Ko„g once. The leopard had eyes After this there was no rest for Ackerly; nor for he matter of that, for his friends. Friend; tho..ri <^ ''''" *'y "'■'^ "^e ^" doing ^hough the Gome^ was hardly as bad as tia? All the same ,t wasn't the proper thing-no eZd could come of it. He couldn't lift hef up to w"k there d be sorrow all over the place. That was the way the friends figured it ot .nd they hid r„? 'm' P""'^^"^^ - *- «■- of the art ment No white man had ever done it yet- SI man had always been dragged down t<^ the ield of the other. The friends looked at it from reasonable, fair-to-all point of view Th^T^a because the spirits in the fiddle hadn't taTed t" Ackerly .knew that all they were saying was W they talked to him he said they were 83 THIRTEEN MEN right; he was no end of an ass, and the girl was as black as his hat — the hat he wore in England. He admitted it all, and cursed the whole Gomez family for a lot of " thugs." But when the spirits that were in the girl sent their voices down through the tamarind trees that stood thick between the two bungalows, calling to him on the wailing violin, he rose, and went and sat where he could look into the eyes that made the cobra droop his head. " Devil's eyes " she had, the friends said; but they haunted Ack- erly day and night. They weren't evil, he thought; but that they would work evil for him he knew, just as surely as any of the others. And when he had come, the short, squat figure would huddle itself close beside him. And the music would talk to him of love and rest, and the sighing of the violin was th-; sighing of angels, and the sobbing, the crying of wrecked hopes ; and the full notes were a godlike majesty, and the low, soft plaint the whispering of the winds in the gossamer leaves of the tamarind. Nobody, not even the Gomez, knew about this, the only bit of truth there was in the whole thing. She thought it was for herself that the strong-limbed inspector of police came — because he loved her. Had not her sister, who was also fat, married a sahib ; a sahib who drew six 84 liil THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY they were iealou,.Vj. ^* '^" ''«'»«« hurrying hi.seff u^der L "fl te on™"""' «h«t out the barrenness of bel^b/r '""' '" bei^te%tf d"'r- '^^ ^'^'^-''- "oo. "I oeiieve that devil is jealous " Art.-i . to the Gomez girl '• c" ' .h, ''^ ?"" "''* at me." ''" **"« ^''X he looks "Oh, he won't harm youl " reoIie-J f,;. panion ; " he like« th^ ^ ■ . *^ '^ "is com- J- , lie iiKes the music, that s all T<^ i * n h.. ^ go. vein your bung;iow.h\tllgoV'" cwS'^"^.t.dr„.r ''''^" «- I should kill him." ""«'" •"'• *»• «=!''« The squat figure laughed a little, and made 8j ■ ilk THIRTEEN MEN a pass at the cobra with her fiddle bow. He raised his head slightly, blew out his hood, and then glided off among the silk leaves of the plantain trees. " I'll send him to your bungalow to-morrow," she said, " to guard it, lest some other girl comes and steals you away from me." "If you do, I'll shoot him," replied her com- panion, looking at her widi a grave, determined face. She pulled the bow across the strings of the violin that lay upon her knee; and the note cut through him like a knife. Yes, it was some one dying, that was the cry that came up from the strings. "You sec," she said, looking into his face with those strangely lighted eyes, the leopard eyes, " if you kill ' Boh,' you kill me." " You must not say such a silly thing as that," he answered angrily; "it's only a cobra, .nd should be killed." " No," she said, and the violin was wailing again, as the bow touched it tremblingly, " if you kill him I shall die. I can't tell you about it, but that is so." And then the violin wailed and moaned, and the cadences of the dirge rose and fell, ,ust like the wind sighing through the gaunt cassarina 86 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY trees, with their harp bows, which grew down on the salt-sea shore where Ackerly's white girl lived. She let the hand that held the bow sud- denly stop and lie across his wrist, as she said: And if anything were to happen to you, it would be the same, too, I should die." The hand scorched his wrist, and her voice, which was only the continuation of the plaint that had come from the violin, seared his ears, and lay hot against his soul. It was an accursed thing this; even if she were to die, or the whole family were to die, he couldn't wreck everything —his own life, the lift of the girl who lived down where the cassarinas grew, and his mother's life. That was all so ; but strong as these things were, they were not so strong as the other, the voices that spoke to him from the fat hands of the Gomez, and told him to come night after night, and sit where the big, black eyes might look into his. The next day Ackerly heard a soft rustle in the comer of his bedroom. It was " Boh." When the inspector saw him he swore like a proper soldier. That was because the sound of the violin was not in his ears, and he was more or less in his right senses. ^^ He took his police sword down, exclaiming: I II not stand your infernal nonsense, anyway 87 t' THIRTEEN MEN If. bad enough to play the goat with a Portu- g«e.e ha f-ca.te. but when it lom.s to klZT, ".enagenc if. too n,uch of a good thing "' * The cobra looked at him sleepily; he felt .ure that nothing would happen to him. Ackerly took two steps toward " Boh " then stopped. "Hang ,he thingl " he sar": "£ there d be no end of a row over it. He's lust ^!Tr '•?r""' ' ''"'''■" So He puti "Boh-T/"^ ?'r " «"''^'' « *he cobra. Boh dodged the little round fruit, and glided Ackerly thought of what the Gomez had said true to her. There's no danger of that " he cxcla.med angrily; " if anyone blacker or u'glie rou see, he used to score himself heavily when ^atuat,on, as a man reviles liquor when he is ^nl^°K ^'u"^ '''"'' ""'^ 'P^'d »^» hood in JSanl" .' '^°^' °' *^ ^-" « ^-g black and ugly. Ho?". "" u' ^^^'J' «°* " '^"'^ from the girl down by the sea-the white one. There wa none of the weird music of the fiddle in it; „oT 88 the girl THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY Nice chum you've ont " - l »..rd Boh, ..h.p„„^.,k.i„,„„^,^ J ?J„ f '«•■"' *i"8 know. U., ;l „„ ^^^^ Wave a cheroot, Green," said Ackerlv h. 'W h.s agar case toward the newcomer ' ^ '^■ someot7pTacXo°.'^".r '""^^^^^ ^^ 89 THIRTEEN MEN k n out where there's a good healthy icourge of cholera on, I'd have you sent there," he added, looking indulgently at the inspector. " Look here," exclaimed Ackerly, shifting in his chair, " you fellows are bothering your heads confoundedly about me. Leave me alone. I'm all right." "So was Sanbum," said Green — "and he shot himself at the finish. ' Chee-chee ' love is hell, that's what it is, my young friend." " Well," answ -ed Ackerly, " when the order comes I won't budge. I'm not a griffin just out from home, to be ordered about the country by a lot of paternal cusses who have gone through the whole thing themselves, and are sick of it." " What'U you do? " asked his friend laconic- ally. " I'll cut the forre first — go into something else, where I'll have a little say in my own affairs. I'd like to be my own master for a minute, just to see how it feels." " You'll never be that if you stay here," as- serted Green decisively. " Here, have a peg, and shut up," br^ke in the inspector. " I'm sick of the whole business — sick of you fellows lecturing me as though I were worth bothering about. Besides, Green " — and he reached over and laid his hand on his friend's 90 THE INFATUATION OP ACKERLY , wasn t a talking man AI«n f — . know it i/Tt, ?!" f "" "■'"« " I'M you y,t „ '^ """^ '^> I « pull you out of the mire ^nff^ S"*'"''^ incredulously. "You„ , (Clerks) and your mudcoated villagers, but ^ 91 THIRTEEN MEN when it comes to playing against the Gomez, she'll beat you out. You remember the Hindoo fakir who came here one day and sent a boy up a string into the air, and we never saw him again ? " " Yes, I remember," said Green, listlessly. " Well, with all your codes of procedure, and your books on how to do this and how to do that, you couldn't accniint for it, could you ? " " No," answered the deputy absent-mindedly, wondering what it had to do with the thing in hand. " Nor could you bring the boy back again. No, of course you couldn't. Neither can you tell anything about the power this woman uses to send me up a string, if you like. Neither can you bring me back again. That's because your logic is of the West, where you've got to get at the cubical contents of the thing before you can do anything with it. You've got to measure it, and weigh it, and pound it up, and assay it — and then write out a sort of formula about the thing. " But this other problem you can't understand, because it's of the East; but it's as simple to these close-to-nature beings as your mathematical rot is to you. There, I have spoken. Drink your peg, and let's gallop down to the polo grounds —that's healthier. And also if I ride hard per- 92 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY haps I'll break my stupid neck, and it'll save you meddlesome grannies a lot of worry." As they went out they saw " Boh " lying under the veranda, his wicked eyes gleaming like two blood-streaked diamonds. " Did the woman give him to you? " asked Green, nodding his head sideways toward the cobra; " or did she send him here to keep your mmd fixed on her? You're the bird, and he's to keep up the fascination, I suppose." ^^ " I don't know," answered Ackerly carelessly; he himed up to-day— that's all I know about It. But It wasn't ; he knew the violin player had sent him — he could feel it. " He's really not a cobra at all," remarked the deputy. " In the books on snakes he goes under another name. I forget what it is—' devil ' for choice, I should say." They played polo, and nobody's neck was broken, not even Ackerly's. After dinner Green called at the policeman's bungalow to lug him off to the club. " I must amuse this strange ani- mal," he thought as he went up the steps, " until I break her hold on him." But Ackerly was gone. " He's over there," muttered the deputy, nodding in the direction from which came dreamy, sensuous music. " I'll go and take part in that seance^ he told himself. 93 THIRTEEN MEN "If there are two of us, it will split up the blessed thing, perhaps." He found the inspector sitting beside the black Gomez. Of course she was playing to him, just as she had been to the cobra diat night. It made Green angry; his anger silenced him. He said " Good evening " sullenly as he came up to them. Ackerly looked up good-naturedly, and pointed toward a big chair. " I suppose you want me. I'll come with you in a minute. Sit down," he said. He nodded toward Marie, and ejaculated " Play 1 " for she had stopped. As Marie played, the deputy's anger slipped away from him. He tried to think of why he had come — tried to remember why he was angry. But the melody was of green fields and sunshine, and water splashing over the rocks, and of birds; and nothing else there — nothing only love. It was the song of a love dream. He sat a long time watching the fat hands caressing the spirit-voiced violin, and wondering why he had been angry at all — why the thing was wrong. When she ceased playing, and there was only the squat, dark-faced figure bulging misshapenly in the white muslin dress, he thought of the un- holiness of it all. Surely it was something to un- 94 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY fJl ^*""7'°"K' °^<^ -^hap," he said rudely, get- ting up and putting his hand on Aclcerly's shoul- der; we promised to meet the colonel at die about .t. That was an impromptu lie, but Green knew he'd never do penance for it. The fair ha.red boy beside him was worth a great deal more than that, if he could bring him back to his senses. . J'°°",'' ^"'f *"'" """"""ded Ackerly, as they swung along the hard road togeAer. " Youvl seen what you've seen, and you're going to do something; but don't preach-it's no good." That was why Green said never a word for days to his friend about the Gomez; but stuck close to him until the inspector began to almost hate the sight of his face. freS'" vl ^°"'°""'^,^'^'y f"«"dly," he said trettul y, I m sure you're neglecting your vil- agen, looking after me." That was beLse the influence wasn't good for his nerves, and he was getting irntable. Green wasn't trying to cure him that way; he was only holding him in check until the coup d'e,at he had planned should come He had worked out the saving of Ackerly 95 THIRTEEN MEN % ■m Mi with his wife. " A woman is worth a dozen men in a case of this kind," he said to himself. To her he said : " I want you to help me a little. Ackerly is in a bad way; something has got to be done pretty quick. If they trap him with a mar- riage it -vill be too late. " I've written to have him transferred as far as they can send him. The correspondence is only just nicely under way as yet, and I have received fourteen communications from three different departments about the matter. And it appears that I have nearly ruined the man's character as an officer; also considerably dam- aged my own as a man of sense, I think. " They want me to specify my charges against him. Has he been looting? or taking bribes? Is it drink? has he been hanging the natives about? or is he simply inefficient? One depart- ment intimates that he is not supposed to take orders from me; and if he has been insubordi- nate, it serves me right. " At any rate, they are not paying traveling allowance for officials from one eud of Burma to the other, simply because somebody wishes somebody else shifted, they say. " That's only a part of it," he continued de- spairingly. " One man who seems to have got an inkling of what's in the wind — inkling! 96 t i THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY Great Cisar I I thought I had put it as plain as I dared— writes that the Government is not a maternal institution, looking after harebrained youngsters, and keeping them out of matrimonial entanglements. I should say they weren't; but they'd weed him out quick enough if he married the Gomez." " Well, Jack," said Mrs. Green, " you've got to send for the other one; that's the only way. She'll come quick enough, too. She loves this soft-headed youngster, and she's got sense enough to lift him out of this business." That was the coup d'etat that Green was hold- ing Ackerly in check for. Ackerly was leading a haunted life. Green stuck to him with a feverish intentness. " I must hold this young ass till Jess comes," he thought " Jess " was the girl. On the other side " Boh " had nested in the mspector's house; and often when he fancied he was breaking awSy from the speU a little, the devil eyes of die cobra would peer at him from some hole, and he could feel that the Gomez saw him, and was reproaching him. Of course, he went many times over to the other bungalow. Sometimes the violin called to him down through the tamarinds; sometimes the dark eyes beckoned to him out of the night. 97 THIRTEEN MEN Then one day Jess came. She stopped with the Greens, as had been arranged. They took Ackerly in hand with a proprietary right, but with much diplomatic gentleness; that was Mrs. Green's doing. The Gomez knew the other had come, and why. She talked to her violin, and it wailed back; and the big, eloomy eyes looked at " Boh," and he, too, knew. It was all the doing of the spirits that worked through the fat hands which caressed the strings of the throbbing violin. " How is it going. Jack? " Mrs. Green aoked her husband. " Does he go there now ? " That was two or three days after Jess had come. " I think not," replied Green. " Looks as though it's broken up." He was right in a way. Ackerly had not gone to the Gomez s ''tice Jess came; but it was not broken up — not by a great deal. The young fel- low was only torturing his soul that he might be a man for three or four days. He talked to Jess in the evening, and then went to his own bunga- low, and the sobbing violin carried its talc of anguish to him through the heavy, Burmese night. " Boh " only knew what the violin cried; that for three nights his mistress Marie had sat with scorched eyes and low-droof ed head. 98 THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY The fourth night from the coming of Jew the latter 8 bungalow. Je« had gone to bed, and Green had kept hi, friend there long into tEe "Have you seen ' Boh ' about here lately? " asked Ackerly, trying to speak carelessly. " He's £-th°a"t^" "' ^""«'"°"' """^ ^ ^" ""^"'d tJ^^k'??*""" '"'^ whispered to him about £iniiss;r"'^^"--'^^^-^^-- frol^"' k"* ^''f ""'*' "^''y *° ~'"« o'^" here from my bungalow; I wish you'd keep an eye open for h.m, and if he bothers club him away " h J ", ?"^ *°"«''* °^ ^''" ^«'«ri« Gomez fall '. ' "'"?"» " ^"'^ " *° P^'^'nt his falling m love with any other girl. What if there was anything i„ that, and " Boh " should revenge his mistress on Jess. He was still in this train of thought when he was start led by Jack's wife gliding toward them with a fright-blanched face ^"^ tnem " Jess 1 " she gasped. " The cobra I " Ackerlyfa,ew;his thoughts had just been of it. 1 . y^"'- u .'"' ^°"'" t^«Ive-boreI " he ciacu- lated widi subdued earnestness. Green handed him his shotgun, and they hurried to Jess's apart- 99 THIRTEEN MEN # ment. Ackerly knew exactly what he thould find; he knew just what " Boh " would do. At the door he stopped. On the dressing table a lamp was burning, and by its light he saw " Boh's " flat, arched head, with the wicked, gleaming eyes, erect and motionless, not two feet from Jess's face; the body of the cobra was coiled up on her breast. Jess was awake; her eyes moved, but for that she was perfectly mo- tionless. ' " Don't be frightened, little woman," he said tenderly; "I am going to shoot, but don't move." Then without raising the gun, for he saw the evil in the cobra's eyes, he fired point-blank from his hip. The report was terrific in the closed room, and the heavy pall of the sulphurous smoke shut out the sight of everything. He sprang forward, and his strong arm swept the girl, covers and all from the bed. There was really no hurry, for " Boh " was stone-dead, his ugly head shot to pieces. Green had never arranged for that act in his coup d'etat. Whether it was the death of " Boh " or not I am not prepared to say; but the mystery and power had passed away from the Gomez from that time. lOO THE INFATUATION OF ACKERLY Marie didn't die physically as she had said she would with the death of " Boh," but the other, the greater, died. The spirits caUed no more to Ackerly from the strings of her violin. lOI 1 THE STEALING OF THE BUDDHA PEARL WHEN a man is rich he joins the looth Hussars — if he can; when he loses his money he retires — he must. That's what Hadley did — both. It was in Rangoon. An officer out of service is about as useful as a bronze Buddha in Covent Garden; and the more Hadley thought of things he might do, the oftener he came back to the predominant idea of a popular crossing to sweep, somewhere in London. Then rose up Balthazar, the Armenian, and started him in the pearl-fishing. Balthazar was an individual who had momentum and much money. Hadley had brains and honor — there you are. MacAUister, of Singapore, furnished a stanch craft of seventy tons, the Ruby; also good "Hinks"' air pumps. Balthazar sent I^hbo, son of Mah Thu, who lived in Mergui, with Hadley. Lahbo was coach — Hadley would soon learn, the Armenian said. 102 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL All the pearl fisher, went to Mergui, in Bur- ma, for their pump boats and crews. Hadlev hired three boats with crews from Ragath,: for iix hundred rupee, per month. For each boat he hired a diver: Angelo, Pietro, and Lahbo. m all the Mergu. Archipelago. If other divers got thirty shells in a day, Angelo got fifty, when they brought none, he still found a few Pa raly.i. never came near him, though he "dived deeper than any of them-worked farther out m the deep water where the best shells were. When the other divers strove for his secret. An- gelo showed his white Spanish teeth in a laugh, and said it was the medicine he rubbed on that kept h,m from the divers' devil, the paralysis. Hadley s allotted station was off Pawa Island — Pawa, where the great waterfall tumbles sheer over die rock-cliffed shore into the sea. It was good fishing there, and each evening wh:n the boats pulled alongside the Ruby her decks g istened with the gray-green shells, big as soup plates, that were thrown over the rail. There were pearls in some of them, too; sometimes loose, like a cherry in the jelly; sometimes grown in the shell, like a fly in the amber. Perhaps it was trying to keep up with Angelo that caused Lahbo to be laid by the heels by the 103 THIRTEEN MEN dreaded paralytii. The second week cf the fish- ing he came up unconKious, and when he opened his eyes again he was paralyzed. Hadley did not turn him off like a broken-down horse, but nursed him. " Hanged if I'll send him off there to live on betel nut," he said. " He's come to it working for me, and I'll see him through." That was Hadley's way. So he fed him gen- erously, and doctored him intelligently, and paid him with a Quixotic fairness. And when Lahbo went back to Mergui at the end of the season he told Mah Thu that Hadley Thakine was as good as a Buddhist. Then the mother went and smoked her che- root on the veranda of Hadley, the pearl-mas- ter's bungalow. The little eyes, like cheap yellow beads set deep in the heavy Burmese face, watched the white man furtively as he came and went. When the eyes were satisfied, she told him her secret — of the Buddha Pe? 'l. That was because he had been good to Lahbo. Years before, a Buddhist priest, Crotha, who was fa- vored of Buddha, wanted to build a pagoda on Pawa. So he carved little images of Buddha from the alabaster, and put them in young oysters. These he put back in the sea near to Pawa. " The oysters will cover the Buddhas 104 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL He invoked a curse on any who ihould come by he pearls dishonestly, and put a .acred mark on the sheHs so that they might be known. When Crotha thought the pearls h,d been tZLJ: ""'^^''»'-. who was Mah Ihus husband, to dive for them. "> the hght of an .mpostor; and when the bia pear oysters with the marks were fished up he gently strove to sequester them for the use' o h.s own church. Nobody ever quite knew ju. what happened on the boat, for th.v were all k."ed m the row that ensued. Even C^th " who was with them, was killed. ' Mah Thu knew the spot. Outside from Reef, fifty boat lengths beyond this, sailing south unt.l the great waterfall is opposite th! first .ron dog-that was the spot. Mah Thu' I must keep Angelo for this work, he thought. bo when Angelo's money was all swallowed up in gm and religion, and little side issues, he ad- 105 THIRTEEN MEN vanced him more to live on; that was against the next seaeon's work. Lahbo would be fit to work again also, the doctor said. When Hadley went out next season, Mah Thu went with him to show the place where the great pearls were. Beyond the Iron Dog Reef Hadley anchored the Ruby, and the divers worked back and forth. It was Lahbo found the teakwood ribs of Crotha's boat sticking up out of the sand, quite half a mile from the Ruby. It was in twenty- five fathoms, and the pressure was great. Lahbo had been so long under water that his tender signaled him to come up. At last he came, with eight shells in his bag. As he reeled in the bottom of the boat, faint and giddy, one of the boatmen gave a queer cry of awe. Lahbo looked at him drunkenly; in the sailor's hand was a shell with the sacred mark of a pagoda on it. " Loud-voiced fool I " said the diver, " throw it with the others." Then he swayed like a broken shutter, for he was half-paralyzed by the terrible pressure, and fell in a heap close to the shells. " The sun will kill him, oh, you brothers of oxen I Put up on this side the canvas that he 1 06 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL may have shade!" exclaimed Ncyoung, the tender. And to make hot water for the stricken man he built a fire on the small clay fireplace just in the stem. When the fire was burning strong, and the canvas had shut off the boatmen so that they could not see, Lahbo clutched his mate by the arm and pointed to the fire and the marked shell. All the weariness of the paralysis had gone; there was only a mu-derous look of cu- pidity in the oblique eyes of the diver. The ten- der understood. He shoved the little iron tongs that were used for the charcoal in the fire, and showed his pawn-blackened teeth in a grin of appreciation. Soon the tongs were red hot; Lahbo had taken a cork from the pocket of his short white jacket. Then Neyoung put the hot iron close to the hinge of the gigantic shell and slowly the saucerlike lids opened. The cork was shoved in to keep them in that position, and Lahbo ex- plored the inside with a sliver. The boatmen heard a sharp cry from behind the canvas. " Lahbo is in pain," they said. " It's a pearl from the gods," hoarsely whis- pered Lahbo to Neyoung, as he held in his hand something he had gently roUed out with the bamboo sliver. * 107 THIRTEEN MEN f Then they used the hot iron again, and the cork was taken out; the lids closed, and the hinge was made wet, and the oyster was tossed back among the others, and only the great pearl, large as a man's thumb, nestled in the trembling hand of Lahbo. The yellow in his eyes was streaked with blood-red pencilings. Surely the pressure had driven all the blood to his brain — it was on fire. , He strove to clutch at his throat — he was choking; his hand refused to obey; a deathly numbness was creeping up the arm. The pearl clasped in the palm of his hand was ice; it was freezing the blood, and all the time his brain was on fire — the smoke was smothering him. He tried to call out; the muscles of his tongue had been cut; it lay like an idle thing in his mouth. Then slowly, inch by inch, the freezing crept up his arm, pricking and sting- ing like a thousand points. He tried to grasp it with the other hand — to shake it into life again; it, too, was utterly powerless. Then he knew. Back across the shells he drooped, his eyes, with the red-streaked yellow, the only thing of life now left in his stiffening body. Neyoung, the tender, also knew; and his black eyes glistened with a new light. With a io8 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL wrench he tore open the stiffening fingers which clasped the pearl and slipped it in his mouth. He knelt down and shoved his long yellow arm among the pots and things stored in the end of ^he boat. He found what he was searching for-a ball of black pitch. Making a hole with his thumb, he shoved the pearl in, smoothed down tht pitch, and threw it carelessly back where it had lain before. Then he called: "Ho, brothers! Lahbo is dead, and threw the canvas down. They rushed aft and looked at Lahbo; the eyes of the paralyzed thief looked back at them, and they knew he wasn't dead-H)nly hi. mus- cles strangled by the evil spirits. Then they seized the oars and pulled for the Ruby, for the wind was dead and the sea flat as the blue sky above them. Mah Thu leaned over the brass-studded rail her wrinkled face looking like yellow parchment on the mirror water, as she watched them carry Lahbo up the little ladder and lay him on the deck. She took his poor, useless head in her lap, and Hadley watched the big pearl shells brought up. He was passing them through his hands when he suddenly stopped and held one out toward Mah Thu. 109 THIRTEEN MEN "That is one of then, O Thakine," she exclaimed. Lahbo's eyes tried to say something, but they did not understand. Mah Thu thought he was in pain, and rocked her poor bent old body back and forth in anguish. Hadley brought his little tub close to Mah Thu and opened the marked oyster. There was nothing in it — no pearl. " The evil spirits have stolen it 1 " cried the woman. Again the eyes that were in the dead body of the paralyzed diver tried to say something, but nobody understood him — nobody only Ne- young. He knew, and he muttered to himself : " I must send Lahbo away to Nirvana, or those devil eyes will tell that I have the pearl." In all the other oysters was only one pearl — not a Buddha pearl. Mah Thu, Lahbo, and Neyoung were sent ba'-k to Mergui in Lahbo's boat. And all the way in Neyoung's eyes war, the light of murder; and in Mah Thu's watchfulness; and in Lahbo's something he wanted to tell, and which nobody understood — nobody but Neyoung. Hadley continued fshing, but no more Buddha pearls came his way. One moon from that time Neyoung landed no STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL in Singapore from the " B. V mail steamer to sell the stolen Buddha pearl to Rico, the Rus- sian Jew. That was Rico's business— buyins stolen pearls from divers. Rico had a nose for pearls keen as the vulture instmct that finds a sand-buried horse. He swooped down on Neyoung, but the astute Bur- man would not show him the Buddha at first He played Rico for a time. When the Jew saw the pearl he went mad. Rico had seen big pearls, and bought them, too, but never anything like the Buddha pearl It was as large as the jewel Tavemier had paid half a million for in Arabia. Rico knew that, for he knew all the great pearls in the world. Ihe luster was good also. Neyoung dealt like a Burman who has an eager buyer after him— suikily. If Rico wanted the jewel he could take It at the tender's price, twenty thousand rupees; if he did not, then the Burman would take it on to Freemantle, in Australia, and sell it to Simonski. How that set Rico's bmin on fire! Simonsk. to get this, the greatest pearl since the time of T.vernier? Not if it cost him ftfty thousand; but, slowly-a thousand saved was a thousand gained. So for days they fenced— this subtle Burman and the scienced Jew. Ill THIRTEEN MEN And all the time Neyoung was trembling lest the eyes of Lahbo should tell Mah Thu of the pearl. Then one day the sale was completed Ne- young got a thousand pounds. That night Rico took the razor he kept for that purpose and cut the throats of twenty fowls. It was a sacrifice to the god that had sent the pearl to him. It was an extravagance — he could not eat them ; biit he was drunken with the wine of success. He had never committed an extravagance before; also had he never come by a pearl for a thousand pounds worth twenty thousand. When he got home he locked the door of his office and cherished his find. He opened his vest and rubbed it against his heart. He kissed it with his black, snuff-smudged lips. He put it on his table, and sat with his arms folded in front of it for a long time, drinking in the beauty of its vast contour. Suddenly he gave a cry and sprang to his feet. The color seemed to have changed; a red, murky tinge had given place to the faint purplish luster he had been worshiping. He sat down with a hollow chuckle and gave a sigh of relief; it was only a passing fancy, or some drunken shadow, for the pearl-white was iia ^ STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL back again. All this excir ment was not good* for him, he thought. He would put it away — lock it up in his iron safe, where it would be out of his sight. When he touched it a shudder ran up his arm. How cold the thing was! The perspiration stood out on his forehead as though he had taken an iced drink. When he placed it in the safe he fancied that two glassy eyes were staring at him from the dark interior. Surely the ex- citement had unstrung him a bit. When it was locked up he felt better; besides, the thought of the great gain he would make warmed his chilled blood. Next day he sent it to Dalito, in London, for sale. He described it to him as an irregular, pear-shaped pearl of great luster, weighing one hundred and fifty carats. Then for a whole moon he knew no rest. He had insured it, but if it were lost or stolen I It was the one great thing he had achieved in his life. At length he heard from Dalito, but the let- ter only increased his unrest. Evidently there had been some mistake. His letter had stated that the pearl was pear-shaped, of great luster —the one they had received was of no dis- tinct form at all, but approached the button- '"3 m m THIRTEEN MEN shape; the luster was bad, of a reddish cast; but they would try for an offer in the London market. Rico was in despair. Somebody had stolen his priceless pearl and substituted this red, form- less thing. Then the memory of what he had seen in his own office— that red shadow— came back to him with full force— also the eyes in the vault. What if this were a ilevil pearl— iie had heard of them; where murder had been committed, and the ill luck stuck to the jewel. He laughed at his own folly, and sat dc^-n and wrote a scathing letter to Dalito. He, or somebody, was trying to rob him, he wrote. Then he tore it up hysterically, and wrote a be- seeching one. This he also tore up. Next he wrote, he hardly knew what, and waited for further news. The second letter from Daluo stated that, on closer examination, the pearl seemed to be of much better luster than they had at first thought, and that there was every prospect of selling it to an Indian prince for a very fair price; they would cable him the offer as soon as received, before closing. Rico cut the throats of more chickens and wept tears of gratitude. Surely it was good to 114 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL be alive-and deal in big pearls. He prayed that the heart of the Hindoo prince might be made to lean toward him. The next letter was one of despair— despair on the part of Dalito. They had sold the pearl simply on the strength of their guarantee that It was of good luster. Now the prince had sued them for damages, and brought half a dozen experts as witnesses who swore that it was of a vile red. They had been forced to take it back, and pay costs, bill of which they sent, and ex- pected Rico to remit the amount. Under the circumstances they would ask to be relieved of the privilege of holding the jewel. The only thing that seemed tangible to Rico m the whole thing was that the pearl retained its weight one hundred and fifty carats. Verily if It had not been for that he would have cut his own throat instead of the chickens'. He cabled them to send it to Antwerp. There it brewed won- mischief. Two men, an expert and a dealer, got into a wrangle over its luster, and wound up by fighting a duel. But that did not settle the dispute, for there were other ex- perts, some of whom swore it was red, while others declared it white. But to sell a pearl of one hundred and fifty carats it must have a steady, sustained reputation; and soon Antwerp "5 THIRTEEN MEN i ;i was no market for Rico's prize. The Jew would have to send it far from the strife it had created in Europe, so it was transferred to a big firm in Hong Kong. Because of its likeness in shape to Buddha, its holder there narrowly escaped assassination twice from fanatical Buddhists. It was sold once, and the seller was beheaded for defraud- ing the buyer, a rich mandarin. In despair Rico had it brought to Singapore. He would at least se^ it again. Then one day a brilliant idea came to him. Angelo had stopped at Singapore on his way to Australia. He was on a trip, and, incidentally, would now and then dispose of a few pearls that had stuck to his fingers. Rico had known the diver for years, and knew that he could trust him to carry out the mission he wished him to undertake. " Angelo, my friend," said Rico, " my house is thrice accursed because of this shadow of a heathen god that changes color. I, a poor man, have given a thousand yellow sovereigns to a thief of a Burman for it, and am ruined. For days I eat lothing because of the poverty that has come upon me. Simonski, who lives in Free- mantle, is rich; he has robbed and cheated the poor divers — even you, too, Angelo — and now Ii6 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL he is rich. Take you this purple devil and sell it to him for a thousand sovereigns, even as I bought it. Of a surety you may keep a hundred of it for yourself. Tell him that you have come by it at the fisheries; and show it to him when you are both calm in mood, for me- thinks men's passions bring the blood-red into the unchristian thing." Then Rico fairly wept at the loss of the hun- dred sovereigns, and the disappointment of the great chance that had gone by him. He chuckled sneeringly as he thought that Simonskl would also have days of tribulation, and that presently he should have his rival's gold in his safe. " He will buy it, Angelo, he will buy it," he said, as he walked up and down his ofBce ex- citedly, dragging his long, talon fingers through his yellow-gray beard. Then he stopped and faced the diver, looking pleadingly into his eyes: " And, Angelo, if you get from Simonski more —twelve hundred pounds, or even more, you will bring me, a poor man, my thousand. Thnik of the money I have spent in commissions and insurances — all lost, all lost I " Surely you will get for me back my thou- sand pounds; but if not, then the nine hundred —that you will get for me, Angelo. Remem- 117 THIRTEEN MEN ber, next year you will have pearU to k11, and I will pay you good prices." Angelo did not take in the full pathos of the Jew's plaint; but he made up his mind to Meed Simonski for all the big pearl would fetch. Rico had said nine hundred pounds, and that was all he would get; the rest- would be his perquisite for working Simonski. When Angelo landed in Freemantle he was met at die steamer Ijy the Jew. The diver was diffident and haughty ; that proved to Simonski's astute mind that he must have something good — something very good — up his sleeve. They were both artists. Angelo was Simon- ski's " dear friend." But Angelo answered thai Simonski had paid him poor prices before; this time it would be a great price — a really great price — more money, perhaps, than the Jew had. At this Simonski grinned and smote his chest, and was on the point of making a boast when he suddenly remembered that he was a buyer, and said: " Yes, alasl I am a poor man; the divers have robbed me because of the prices I paid them until I am poor. Rico, who has robbed the divers, is very rich." He thought he saw a look of disappointment creep into the eyes of Angelo. " But I can bor- row the money, my peerless diver, by paying ii8 STEALING THE BliUDHA PEARL ruinous intere»t, lo be it the pearls are good. But pearls are cheap — very cheap this year. Big pearls sell for little more than small ones, because everybody is poor— everybody but Rico." But not even that day did he see the pearl. Angelo, who had come by the cunning from his Spanish father and the patience of waiting from his native mother, knew the Jew was not quite ripe. At last the day arrived when Angelo became mellow under the gentle influence of the Jew's alcoholic friendship. Simonski had not seen the pearl before — the diver would never show it. When ht jew be- held its size he thought that perhaps he would build a small synagogue if the favor continued till he acquired the gem. Angelo threw his arms around the Jew's neck and kissed him like an impulsive Latin. In the end he made Simonski a present of the pearl for twelve hundred pounds. Then he took the nine hundred pounds back to Rico, and his own three hundred to Mergui. Simonski sent the Buddha to Dalito, even as Rico had done. " I am sending you the great- est of all pearls," the Jew wrote; " it ought to bring twenty-five thousand pounds at least." 119 THIRTEEN MEN More he wrote, for the words cost nothing. " He will fall in love with my queen of light when he sees it," thought the Jew poetically, while he waited for word from Dalito. The London dealer's letter was hardly a love epistle when it arrived. " This accursed bauble has turned up again," he said, " after nearly ruining my reputation as a respectable mer- chant; or else there has been a shower of devil pearls out there, and you have each got one." He refused absolutely to have anything to do with negotiating its sale. Simonski was horror-struck. Then a sus- picion crept into his mind; Dalito was crying down his jewel because of its priceless value. Did he not talk that way himself every day when buying? But this was too serious a mat- ter; a pearl of that size I It was beyond cavil; he would teach Dalito a lesson. So he wrote to a trusted Jew friend of his in London to take it over to Antwerp, and advised Dalito to deliver it. It landed his friend in jail in Antwerp, and cost Simonski many pounds to get him out, and the Buddha back again. They were all in league to cheat him out of this fabulous gem, he knew, for had he not seen it with his own eyes? and it was good. I20 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL Then he sent i< lo Hong Kong, to the same firm that had it I efore; but .'. it happened, his letter got there fit t, and v.hri the jewel arrived they promptly reshipped it lo Simonski widiout opening the case. When it came back he was nearly crazy Day and night he had paced his room thinking of the mighty pearl. Then Simonski thought of the King of Bur- ma at Mandalay. He paid big prices for jewels, and was not so particular about color as they were in London. He would have to take it to Rangoon to reach him. So he went at once to Rangoon, to Balthazar; he was the man to get at the king. All this time Mah Thu had been trying to find out something. Her little yellow-bead eyes were always watching. When Neyoung came back from Rico— from having sold him the Buddha pearl— he spent money like a son whose rich father is just dead. Mah Thu saw that. Then the curse of the Buddha pearl fell upon Neyoung, for his money melted away and left him with only a craving for opium. When Angelo returned, the three hundred pounds he had got so cleveriy from Simonski were not to be spent without many little boast- 121 THIRTEEN MEN »i ii ings. To have done up a Jew of Simonskl's caliber was, ot a surety, cleverer than having gathered many tons of " pearl shell." Mah Thu heard it in the bazaar, and ques- tioned Angelo about it. Yes, it was shaped like a little bronze Buddha — much like the little black alabaster Buddha in Mah Thu's lacquer box. Then Mah Thu talked to Lahbo about it. She had learned to understand the eyes. When he shut them quickly, that was " Yes " ; when he rolled them, that was "No." Mah Thu asked him questions, and he answered — that was their language. So Mnh Thu asked Lah- bo : " Did you see the Buddha pearl when you dived the last time?" The eyes that had been always trying to tell something opened and closed eagerly, many times. " Did Neyoung steal it? " Again the eyes answered " Yes." " Did he bring it to Mergui ' " " Yes," answered Lahbo. At last Mah Thu understood what the eyes had always been trying to tell her; and the eyes looked so glad. It was plain enough. Neyoung had sold it to Rico, and Rico had sold it, through Angelo, to Simonsk^ When cornered, Neyoung con- 122 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL fessed gladly enough. He had nothing to lose now; he was starving; and if he went to jail, even for many years, he would have plenty to eat-and they would allow him a little opium lest he should die. "Yes," Angelo said when questioned, "I sold the devil pearl, the thing that goes red and white by turns, like a changing lizard, to the Jew at Freemantle." But there was no law broken in that; so the diver had no fear-only pride at his cleverness. Hadley followed up the course of the unfor- tunate pearl. He learned that both Rico and Simonsk, had failed to sell it in Europe, and that the Freemantle Jew had gone to Rangoon w.th ,t. He took the first steamer for that port himself when he learned this, taking Angelo with h.m to identify the pearl. He also had Neyoung's written confession of the theft. He went straight to Balthazar, saying: " One bimonski has come here with a pearl. Tell him 1 want tovsee him." Now, Balthazar had the Buddha in his pos- session. When Simonski brought it and he saw 'ts great size, he knew that the spirits of his forefathers had sent it to him that he might be- come rich among men. He had marveled much • • 123 THIRTEEN MEN at the Freemantle Jew's stupidity in not sending it to Europe. He was a man of much silence on occasion, so he said nothing to Hadley about this. The Freemantle man thought he had a new purchaser for his jewel when he met Hadley. " Surely the pearl was worth ten thousand pounds," he told the captain. " Never had such a precious thing come his way. Yes, three thounand pounds was its price, and the next day he would show it." That was because Bal- thazar had it then in his hands to decide about buying it. The captain meant to seize it wheii it came into his possession. But that night it was stolen from Balthazar. Captain Hadley heard thiii in the morning, and told Angelo of it. " Fernandez has stolen it," said Angelo; " he was a diver, but because of stealing he came to Rangoon. He has taken it — he alone knows how to steal and sell pearls. These Burmese know only to steal rupees." Also he assured Hadley that he would get it for him. " Give me one hundred pounds, master, and I will get it from Fernandez." Then the captain went to Simonski and told him that the Buddha pearl was his; it had beer, stolen from him at the fisheries by Neyoung, 124 STEALING THE BUDDHA PEARL and he, Simonski, had bought it from another d.ver Angelo. Now it was stolen again, and he would hold the Jew responsible for its value, the three thousand pounds he had said it was worth The Jew saw trouble ahead. He swore by the beard of Abraham that he had never said It was worth three thousand pounds. It was a vile, gnarled thing of infamous color, not worth a hundred pounds. He had been ruined by it- it was an accursed thing, bringing nothing but trouble to honest men. It would be better if they never saw it again; and the thief would go to perdition because of it, sure. If he had asked three thousand pounds for it from Bal- thazar, that was because the Armenian was rich, while he was a poor man and the pearl had ruined him. But the Buddha had been stolen from the Armenian, he declared, and he would make him pay its value, three thousand pounds. Simonski was in despair. If he recovered the pearl, Hadley would seize it; if he did not the captain would try to make him p ./ its full value If Balthazar paid him for it, this man would seize that. Surely evil days had fallen upon his house. Captain Hadley was also uneasy. To come so close upon the jewel and then lose it was "5 THIRTEEN MEN h really too bad. It would be difficult to grind the money out of the Jew. All depended upon Angelo's being able to get back the pearl. A hundred pounds should fetch it, Hadley thought, if the diver could get at the right man; for it would be difficult for a thief to dispose of a jewel as large as the Buddha pearl. That night Angelo brought to his master the stolen Buddha. Yes, it was Fernandez who had taken it. But he had given his master's word that nothing shoult} be done to the thief; also had he paid him the hundred pounds — all ex- cept ten pounds, which he had kept for his own trouble. At last the Buddha pearl had come back to its rightful owner. Hadley had not stolen it; he had come by it in the fishing at Pawa; so the curse of Crotha fell away from it when it came into his hands. Crotha's pearl had accomplished much. It had humbled Lahbo and Neyoung and Rico and Simonski. And now it brought good for- tune to Hadley, for he got twenty thousand pounds for it in England when he sent it there. He gave Simonski five hundred pounds at the fmish. He declared that he would give him nothing; but when tears stand in a man's eyes, what can another man do ? 126 THE NET OF LEO PHILIP FLEMING. Akyab, was Com- missioner of Arakan, Burma. Commissioners arc made by hard work, from honest material; Government kisses seldom go by favor, notwithstanding club belief. The Indian Civil Service is a monastery wherein men are consecrated to the labor of em- pire extension. It is a car of Juggernaut, wheel- ing the new religion of betterment over their worn bodies. Commissioner Fleming was a giant of huge official wisdom, holding codes and civil proce- dure at his finger tips. The governorship of Uurma would accrue to him as surely as a crown comes to the rightful heir. Philip Fleming in the lesser hfe was a babe, holding belief in the goodness of human nature until it stultified itself in large type. He was impregnate with such nch juiciness of honor that he had in his own Kind the sublime faith of an ox. This state of mind was altogether before the happening. 127 f> THIRTEEN MEN Fleming had married young. If marrying young is a mistake, in his case it was seven kinds of a mistake, for the more he developed the work fever, the more Helen, his wife, became a lily of the field. An impatient man, out of cause, would have developed a crisis; but Philip waited, almost not understanding, until the crisis came with a vehe- mence. It is not a story for new reading; it is so old, old, old. His soul was in his work; his heart was really in the bungalow; but the work soul cried for rest and consolement to the heart, until the heart responsive was a little too quiescent. It wasn't that Helen was bad — just selfish. Somebody must smooth the mold to the lilies that toil not, and the monastery that was the Government service laid heavy penance of toil on its zealous priest. Thus the old, old story fructified. At the time of the coming of the crisis Helen was at Darjeeling with the children, Roscoe and Madge. On the Akyab rumor board she was ill. The station people read this cynically; they always knew far more than they knew — that's an Indian habit. Then one day the commis- sioner was called suddenly by wire to Calcutta — 128 THE NET OF LEO Helen wai ill. In two weeks Philip returned with his little boy and girl; the mother was sleeping under the sweet-perfumed hill deodars, and their cones dropped gently on the little mound in summer, and the snow covered it pure white in winter. If the commissioner had worked before, now he toiled. For a year the children were the children of an ayah, which is little better than being the off- spring of Spartans. If Philip could have s'.nt them to England it would have been better; but he couldn't — his heart would have starved. A commissioner's bungalow without a mis- tress is as useless, socially, as a convent; in fact, the commissionership is a dual office, social and official. So Akyab groaned in its desolation. It was a place ill-favored by the gods most abso- lutely, for the prev'ous commissioner had come among them worse than single — he had brought a Burmese wife. Meetha had nursed him just on the sloping bank of Styx — ^he was almost rolling in — up Pakan way; and he, with unofficial chivalry, had married her, pucca — as thoroughly as church and state could seal the contract. So his tenure of office had been a social blank ; and now, in Fleming's time, the big bungalow 129 h in THIRTEEN MEN was just a homing place for the silent man who sent dacoits to the Andaman Islands, or hantred them out of hand. There was a deputy commissioner, Jack Kawlton; and, also, which was of greater im- portance, he had just the cleverest wife that ever took an Indian station in hand. Maritally ,he was in love with her husband, Jack; psychologically she was enamored of I'hilip Flemmg's superb qualities. Quite hon- estly she determined to ameliorate his condi- tion; and, diplomatically, she stirred the people mto a ferment of discontent, to the end that the commissioner might be harassed into a properly amenable frame of mind. Mrs. Rawlton had a sister within striking dis- tance of Akyab. Had the other ladies known of this, they might not have labored so enthu- siastically, nor blindly accredited her with dis- interested motives until it was absolutely too The sister, Mary Kelvey, was in Calcutta, and quite unaware of the endeavor of Mrs Rawlton. Even when Mary stepped from the B. I. steamer to the pier in Akyab, and was whirled away in a high dogcart to her sister's bungalow, she was as innocent of the crusade as was Philip Fleming. 130 clever ; breast THE NET OF LEO Jack Rawlton was not in it with his wife at putting an ear to the palpitating the utihty of having a sister-in-law married to a man who would one day be chief commissioner, he could undentand that much of diplomacy. After all, his role was a minor one. Mrs. Rawl- dell h "k 'T'T °^ ''"'"^'■"« ''" ^''«' blun- dering husband a chance to wreck the play. The little stories of Philip Fleming's excel- lence, chiefly official, which Rawlton told at mlderin^"'""* '" """"'^ ^™'" *"'* ''''^''"'^ Mary Kelvey's advent caused a renaissance in tlie dormant sentimental atmosphere of the sta- tion. She was beautiful, which was excuse enough for this change; and, in addition, new girls didn't fetch the Port of Akyab often Hvery mau possessed of legitimate right to fall in love with a woman (and some who weren't) cultivated Mrs. Rawlton. This phase of the case was absolutely innocuous; but when small dark Laurence Herbert began to abstain from' his orever and ever caustic epigrams, Mrs. Rawlton m defense was forced to confide to Molly that Philip Fleming was simply waiting his chance. Herbert was all very fine in the way of romance, but Mary hadn't come from Cal- 131 THIRTEEN MEN >, cutta for romance; there wai plenty of that in the City of Palaces. Mary Kelvey had manifestly broken Herbert of his q'liical i'lhumanity — which was a good thing for his friends; for him it was the Bastile. Four hundred rupees a month was the chain binding him to the rock of celibacy. The sister saw to it that Mary viewed Philip Fleming's character in the purple and fine linen of wise interpretation, until the glamour of the real man crept into her understanding, as the droning of bees wafts soft music to ears lazy of sleep. On Fleming's side potent influences were at work to enlarge the void in his life. It is a tenet of faith held of the Anglo-Indians that ayahs always quiet their child charges with the black tears of the poppy — the little pellets of opium; and Mrs. Rawlton had this skeleton fear brought forth and made to dance in the mind of Philip Fleming. This was only one of the many things that, beyond doubt, shadowed the lives of the children unless they should ac- quire a European mother. Also of Philip Fleming's self: paradoxically, the intensity of his official endeavor vacuated his mind, till in its exhaustion it clamored for refill- ment at the fount of sympathy. The club 132 THE NET OF LEO whiit, the station dinners with their semiofficial chatterings, the vagaries of the opium-saturated Arakanese— all failed utterly by way of com- pensation. Mrs. Rawlton's dominating influence forged a connecting link; and when Philip asked the beautiful girl, half his age, to become his wife, she answered as though there was no such thing as a negative in the philosophy of love. The announcement set the station aghast, like the sweep of a cholera wave. Somehow they had been as one in their deductions as to Flem- ing's natural destiny: an official's widow, or maiden of his own age, forty, they had dedi- cated unanimously to the governing of Govern- ment House. Now the commissioner was to marry Mary Kelvey, still loitering in the spring- time of girlhood. It would make quite a separate story to chron- icle the gentle exhilaration of gossip, all full of regret, that once bitten was not twice shy with the commissioner. What Mary said to her sister is of this story, for it was of the vital essence of the second crisis. " Cid, I said ' Yes,' " Mary confided to the Deputy Memsahib. The sister kissed her, and said, " I'm very happy, Molly; Philip loves you." 133 h THIRTEEN MEN "He didn't say anything about it," Mary answered. ^ Mrs. Rawlton raised her evebrows. " Philip didn't tell you he loved you'. ^ " Haven't you always darioned his great vir- tue of truth and honesty, Cid ? " » '^'^ "I don't understand?" " Just that he has proven himself all that you say. He might easily have romanced about We; but he didn't. As I remember it, there was much talk of happiness, honor. a„d all '' Are you joking, Molly? " " No; his declaration was in keeping with our to back out. He doesn't love me a little bit- he just wants some one to mother the children.' Oh don t look frightened; the Kelveys never back out once they pledge their word-that's the^disadvantage of having family esprh de " Molly, you're mistaken. Philip is one of those strong, self