Kipling Reader

K I P L I N G R E A D E R

SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOKS OF

R UDYARD KIPLING

NEW AHD REVISED

3 0 10 011

CO . LIMITED M A C M I L LA N A N D ,

1 901

CONTENTS.

W LL AM THE N UERO ART I I CO Q R. P I .,

WILLIAM THE N CO QUE RO R. PART I L,

WEE LL W WI IE ww ,

’ Mowe m s BRO THE RS,

N AMGAY oo D m ,

E - TIG R TIGE R,

THE STO RY O F MUHAMMAD DIN,

THE FINANCES O F THE GO DS, — Mom GUJ MUT INEE R, i v CO NTENTS .

G THE CO ASTWISE LI HTS, ’ -T - RIKKI IKKI TAVI .

At the hole where he we nt in Re d-E e calle to Wr - y d inkle Skin .

H - ear what little Red Eye sai th ! Na come u ’ g, p and dance with death 1

E e to e e and hea to e a y y d h d, Kee the measure ( p , N ag. ) Thi s shall end when one i s dead At th leasure ( yp , N ag . )

Run and hide t N a ( hee, g . ) Huh The hooded Death has misse d ! Woe betide th N ( ee, ag 1)

THIS i s the story of the great war that

u l - n - f tavi fo ght sing e ha ded, through the bath rooms o

bi u l S l . the g b nga ow in egow ee cantonment Darzee, the t l - l huchundra u ai or bird, he ped him, and C , the m sk n l of ﬂoor rat, who ever comes out into the midd e the , b ut al roun ll ad ways creeps d by the wa , gave him vice ; but

- l h in Rikki tikki did the rea ﬁg t g. He a l l l cat fur was mongoose, rather ike a itt e in his and his

l b ut u l a l in . tai , q ite ike wease hi s head and habits His eyes and the end of his restless nose were pink ; he could scratch l l le himse f anywhere he p eased, with any g, front or back, that he chose to use he could ﬂuff up his tai l till it looked

- l a. l - u and l u ike bott e br sh, his war cry, as he scutt ed thro gh 2 THE KIPLING READER

i u ﬂood him out One day, a h gh s mmer washed of the l his and burrow where he ived with father mother, and

m l n ow oad s . carried hi , kicking and c ucki g, d n a r ide ditch l l ﬂoatin lun He found a itt e wisp of grass g there, and c g to

l ns . e d l it till he ost his se es Wh n he revive , he was ying in sun l l the hot on the midd e of a garden path, very dragg ed ll was n ‘ ’ indeed, and a sma boy sayi g ! Here s a dead mon ’ ’ h fu l. goose . Let s ave a nera ’ ’ hi s l a him him. No, said mother ; et s t ke in and dry ’ ’ Perhaps he isn t really dead . t us They took him in o the ho e, and a big man picked him ﬁn er and u i up between his g th mb, and sa d he was not dead l so o - l but ha f choked ; they wrapped him in cott n woo , and warmed him and he O pened his eyes and sneezed. ’ he l an Now, said the big man ( was an Eng ishm who had ’ just moved in to the bungalow) ; don t frighten him and ’ ’ ’ we ll see what he ll do. It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mon u is to l u goose, beca se he eaten up from nose tai with c riosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is Run and ﬁnd out

- n He and Rikki tikki was a true mo goose. looked at the

- l all cotton woo , decided that it was not good to eat, ran l sat u ut hi s fur round the tab e, p and p in order, scratched ’ lf ll ul himse , and jumped on the sma boy s sho der. ’ ’ ’ n f n f Do t be righte ed, Teddy, said his ather. That s ’ his way of making friends . ’ ’ u ! He s l O ch tick ing under my chin, said Teddy. ’ Rikki tikki looked down between the boy s collar and ' snuﬁed and l ﬂ r neck, at his ear, c imbed down to the oo , hi s where he sat rubbing nose. ’ ’ c ’ Good gra ious, said Teddy s mother, and that s a wild ’ ’ creature ! I suppose he s so tame because we ve been kind ’ to him. ’ ‘ All n li ‘ mo gooses are ke that, said her husband. It ’ s u l ut Teddy doe n t pick him p by the tai , or try to p him in RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI 3

’ a. ll run of u cage, he in and out the ho se all day long. ’ ’ s Let s give him omething to eat.

hi m l l - They gave a itt e piece of raw meat. Rikki tikki li l i t ked it immense y, and when was finished he went out ' into the verandah and sat in the sunshine and fiufled up fur t his to make it dry to the roo s. Then he felt better. ’ are to find out u u There more things abo t in this ho se, ‘ ms lf all m l ul he said to hi e , than my fa i y co d find out in ’ all l . ll ai nl an fin d o their ives I sha cert y stay d ut. He all spent that day roaming over the house. He l ms l h u near y drowned hi e f in the bat t bs, put his nose into ink - l the on a writing tab e, and burnt it on the end of the ’ ’ bi l la g man s cigar, for he c imbed up in the big man s p to ’ At ni f ll see how writing was done. ght a he ran into Teddy s u s -l l n rsery to watch how the kero ene amps were ighted, and

l ni c u u he was a rest ess compa on, be a se he had to get p and hr ni ﬁnd out attend to every noise all t ough the ght, and ’ i f in what made t. Teddy s mother and ather came , the i l - was last th ng, to ook at their boy, and Rikki tikki awake ’ l ’ ’ on the pillow. I don t ike that, said Teddy s mother ; ’ ’ ’ ‘ ll u hi n he may bite the child. He do no s ch t g, said the ’ f s h l tl if ather. Teddys afer with t at it e beast than he had a bloodhoun d to watch him. If a snake came into the

’ ’ thi f l But Teddy s mother wouldn t think of any ng so aw u . Early in the morning Rikki-tikki came to early breakfast ’ ul in the verandah ridi ng on Teddy s sho der, and they gave him banana and some boiled egg ; and he sat on all their u ll- u -u laps one after the other, beca se every we bro ght p mongoose always hopes to be a house-mongoose some day ’ u in and -tikki s and have rooms to run abo t , Rikki mother ’ l had (she used to live in the General s house at Segow ee) carefully told Rikki what to do if ever he came across 4 THE KIPLING READER

' Then Rikki - tikln went out into the garden to see what l l l l was to be seen. It was a arge garden, on y ha f cu ti a um u l v ted, with bushes as big as s mer ho ses of Marsha l o s h e l Nie r se , and orange trees, c umps of bamboos, and ‘ l his l . thi ckets of high grass . Rikki tikki icked ips This ’ l u l is a sp endid h nting ground, he said, and his tai grew

tl - it u l u bot e brushy at the thought of , and he sc tt ed p and snuﬂi n ll down the garden, g here and there ti he heard very

- sorrowful voices in a thom bush . tailor~b ird his f It was Darzee, the j and wi e . They had made a beautiful nest by pullin g two big leaves together i u wi fib res fille and stitch ng them p the edges th , and had d ’ fiuh the hollow with cotton and downy . The nest swayed to sat . and fro, as they on the rim and cried ‘ ‘ Rikki i What is the matter I asked t kki. ’ l . We are very miserab e, said Darzee One of our f f ’ babies ell out o the nest yesterday, and Nag ate him. ’ - i s —b u E m said Rikki tikki, that very sad t I am a i stranger here . Who is Nag Darzee and his wife only cowered down in the nest hi as without answering, for from the t ck gr s at the foot of — the bush there came a low hiss a horrid cold sound that

- m l made Rikki tikki ju p back two c ear feet. Then inch by inch out of the grass rose up the head and spread hood of Na l ﬁv e f l g, the big b ack cobra, and he was eet ong from

n h l - to gue to tail. W en he had ifted on e third of himself l u he l c ear of the gro nd, stayed ba ancing to and fro exactly as l - uf l in l a dande ion t t ba ances the wind, and he ooked at ’ Rikld -tikki with the wicked snake s eyes that never change at their expression, wh ever the snake may be thinking of. ‘ ’ ‘ Who Na ? he . I am N is g said ag. The great god Brahm put hi s mark upon all our people when the ﬁrst cobra s r ad sun off p e his hood to keep the Brahm as he slept. r Look, and be af aid

He - spread out his hood more than ever, and Rikki tikki RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI 5 saw the spectacle-mark on the back of it that looks exactly l a - - ike the eye p rt of a hook and eye fastenin g. He was afraid for the min ute b ut it is impossible for a mongoose t for l of to s ay frightened any ength time, and though - had l f Rikki tikki never met a ive cobra be ore, his mother fed him on ad k had de ones, and he new that all a grown ’ u l f ﬁ ht and mongoose s b siness in i e was to g eat snakes . n his l Nag k ew that too, and at the bottom of co d heart he

’ ’ ll i- l fiufl We , said Rikk tikki, and his tai began to up n a k a ou hi agai , m r s or no m rks, do y t nk it is right for you to eat fledglings out of a nest 2 ms lf c l Nag was thinking to hi e , and wat hing the east

- little movemen t in the grass behind Rikki tikki . He knew that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later

r hi s l tl ut his guard. So he d opped head a it e, and p it on one side . ‘ ’ ‘ You . ul us l . Let ta k, he said eat eggs Why sho d not ’ I eat birds 1 ‘ Behi nd you Look behind you sang Darzee.

- n Rikki tikki knew better than to waste time in stari g. as as ul o He jumped up in the air high he co d g , and just ’ of Na aina under him whizzed by the head g , Nag s wicked n as was talki n to wife. She had crept up behi d him he g, make an end of him ; and he heard her savage hiss as the l stroke missed . He came down a most across her back, and h if he had be en an old mongoose he would ave known that then was the time to break her back with one bits ; but he

did l u , He hit, indeed, but not bite ong eno gh and he l l v Na ai na and jumped clear of the whisking tai , ea ing g torn angry las n d . , Wicke , wicked Darzee said Nag hi g up as high - us as he could reach toward the nest in the thorn b h ; but 6 THE KIPLING READER

u l f l Darzee had b i t it out of reach o snakes, and it on y swayed to and fro . Ri kki-tikki felt his eyes growing red and hot (when a ’ is mongoose s eyes grow red, he angry), and he sat back on i l h l li l l l all h s tai and ind egs ke a itt e kangaroo, and ooked

n mi its had disappeared into the grass. When a s ake sses t n stroke, it never says any hi g or gives any sign of what it

. Rikki tikki ar f ll means to do next did not c e to o ow them, for he did not feel sure that he could manage two snakes at off l u once . So he trotted to the grave path near the ho se, e and sat down to think. It was a s rious matter for him. ou old u l ou ll ﬁnd If y read the books of nat ra history, y wi they say that when the mongoose ﬁghts the snake and e u off happens to get bitt n, he r ns and eats some herb that cures him. That is not true. The victory is only a matter ’ of ui of u — l q ckness eye and q ickness of foot, snake s b ow ’ a - as f ag i nst mongoose s jump, and no eye can ollow the ’ f tr motion o a snake s head when it s ikes, that makes things

u an knew he was a yo ng mongoose, d it made him all the more pleased to think that he had managed to escape a

l hi . conﬁdence hi el b ow from be nd It gave him in ms f, and

u - when Teddy came r nning down the path, Rikki tikki

But u as e e j st Teddy was st ping, something ﬂinched a ‘ l l s a ! itt e in the du t, and a tiny voice s id Be careful. I am ’ 1 a u t death It was K rait, the d s y brown snakeling that li es for choice on the dusty earth and his bite is as ’ dangerous as the cobra s . But he is so small that nobody so r l thinks of him, and he does the mo e harm to peop e . ’ Rikki tikki s r eyes g ew red again, and he danced up to ul w Karait with the pec iar rocking, s aying motion that he

n m f m l . l unn had i herited fro his a i y It ooks very f y, b ut it is so perfectly balanced a gait that you can ﬂy off from it RIKKI-TIKKI—TAVI 7 at any angle you please ; and in dealing with snakes this is

- . l an advantage If Rikki tikki had on y known, he was u a u n ﬁ htin Na for doing a m ch more d ngero s thi g than g g g, ll u so u l Karait is so sma , and can t rn q ick y, that unless k l of ad Ri ki bit him c ose to the back the he , he would get u - the ret rn stroke in his eye or lip. But Rikki did not ! hi s all know eyes were red, and he rocked back and forth, i f r l o l l . ook ng a good p ace to ho d Karait struck out. Rikki u run i n b t th j mped sideways and tried to , u e wicked little l of his dusty gray head ashed within a fraction shoulder, um an and he had to j p over the body, d the head followed l his hee s close. ! l r Teddy shouted to the house Oh, ook here ! Ou mongoose is killing a snake and Rikki-tikki heard a ’ r f His f sc eam rom Teddy s mother. ather ran out with a b ut u had lu stick, by the time he came p, Karait nged out

’ hi far his f -l snake s back, dropped s head between ore egs, u a as ul l ll bitten as high p the b ck he co d get ho d, and ro ed

f a l af u o of just going to eat him up rom the t i , ter the c st m f m ull l his amily at di nner, when he reme bered that a f mea l if all makes a s ow mongoose, and he wanted his strength

ad e l . and quickness re y, he must k ep himse f thin

- un -oil u He went away for a dust bath der the castor b shes, ’ while Teddy s father beat the dead Karait. What is the ‘ — l all use of that I thought Rikki tikki. I have sett ed it ’ and then Teddy s mother picked him up from the dust and

hi f , hugged m, crying that he had saved Teddy rom death ’ n and Teddy s father sai d that he was a provide ce, and

- Teddy looked on with big scared eyes . Rikki tikki was fu i of rather amused at all the ss, wh ch, course, he did not ’ as ll understan d. Teddy s mother might just we have u hl pette d Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoro g y 8 THE KIPLING READER

alk That night, at dinner, w ing to and fro among the - l ul uff i s l wine glasses on the tab e, he co d have st ed h m e f three times over with nice things ; b ut he remembered Nag ain a u l and Nag , and tho gh it was very p easant to be patted ’ d ’ and petted by Teddy s mother, and to sit on Te dy s ul shoulder, his eyes wo d get red from time to time, and he ‘ — would go off into his long war-cry of Rikk-tikktikki tiklci tchlcI

i m off — Teddy carried h to bed, and insisted on Rikki tikki

i - i ll sleepin g un der his ch n. Rikki tikk was too we bred to b ut as l off bite or scratch, soon as Teddy was as eep he went l l u us for his night y wa k ro nd the ho e, and in the dark he Chuchundra u - ran up against , the m sk rat, creeping round

- ll. Chuchundra is l l by the wa a broken hearted itt e beast. He i all to u wh mpers and cheeps the night, trying make p run l of m but his mind to into the midd e the roo , he never

gets there . ‘ ’ ’ ill Chuchundra l . Don t k me, said , a most weeping ’ ’ ‘ - i ll . Rikki t kki, don t ki me ‘ ‘ Do you think a snake-killer kills musk-rats 2 said

’ ‘ ill n ll n Chu Those who k s akes get ki ed by s akes, said

hun dra wfull a . And am c , more sorro y th n ever how I to be ’ ‘ ’ sure that Nag won t mistake me for you some dark night 3 ’ ’ ‘ l n - There s not the east da ger, said Rikki tikki ; but ’ ’ the ou Nag is in garden, and I know y don t go there. u ol huchun a My co sin Chua, the rat, t d me said C dr ,

and then he stopped . ‘ Told you what i ’ Hsh I i - Nag is everywhere, R kki tikki. You should l ’ have ta ked to Chua in the garden. ’ — n t ao ou s ll . ui Chu h d I did y mu t te me Q ck, c un ra, or ’ I ll bite you Chuchundra sat down and cried till the tears rolled 01? ‘ am ’ ‘ his whiskers . I a very poor man, he sobbed . I RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI 9 never had spirit enough to run out in to the middle of the ’ ’ ’ . Hsh ! u ll t n room I m stn t te you any hi g. Can t you

- i l t . till ill Rikk tikki is ened The house was as s as st , but he thought he could just catch the faintest soratch-scmtch in l —a fai of the wor d, noise as nt as that a wasp walking on a ’ - — s of window pane, the dry cratch a snake s scales on brick work. ’ ’ ’

Na Na aina t he lf That s g or g , said to himse ; and he s ’ - r l lu . u Chu. c aw ing into the bath room s ice Yo re right, ’ hundra ul c ; I sho d have talked to Ohua. ’ He t l off to - was n s o e Teddy s bath room, but there nothi g ’ ’ and - At there, then to Teddy s mother s bath room. the bottom of the smooth plaster wall there was a brick pulled

f - Rikki tikki out to make a slui ce or the bath water, and as u is stole in by the masonry c rb where the path put, he heard Nag and Nagai na whispering together outside in the l moon ight. ’ l ai Na aina When the house is emptied of peop e, s d g to he ll o the a her husband, wi have to g away, and then g rden u l will be our own again . Go in q iet y, and remember that the big man who killed Karait is the ﬁrst one to bite . and ll u k Then come out and tell me, we wi h nt for Rik i

But are you sure that there is anythin g to be gamed ’ by killing the people ? said Nag. n o e l in Everything. When there were p op e the u a s ? So b ng low, did we have any mongoo e in the garden i of long as the bungalow is empty, we are k ng and queen the garden an d remember that as soon as our eggs in the

- l n ll melon-bed hatch (as they may to morrow), our chi dre wi ’ need room and quiet . ’ ll o had n ot of . , I thought that, said Nag I wi g but - ft there is no need that we should hunt for Rikki tikki a er f l if ward. I will kill the big man and his wi e, and the chi d 10 THE KIPLING READ ER

can o u tl . n u l will I , and c me away q ie y The the b nga ow be ’ - i i ll o. empty, and Rikk t kki wi g — hi Bikki tikki tingled all over with rage and hatred at t s, ’ a u lu and his ﬁv e and then Nag s he d came thro gh the s ice,

ll i . An was feet of cold body fo owed t gry as he , Rikki tikki was very frightened as he saw the size of the big il m l u l cobra. Nag co ed hi se f p, raised his head, and ooked his into the bath room in the dark, and Rikki could see

‘ ll him e Na aina will Now, if I ki her , g know ; and if I

fi ht the e floor s f . g hi m on op n , the odd are in his avour ’ - - What am I to do 7 said Rikki tikki tavi. Rikki tikki Nag waved to and fro, and then heard him drinking from the biggest water-jar that was used to fill the ’ a . Now r b th . That is good, said the snake , when Ka ait

ll . He ma was ki ed, the big man had a stick y have that ut stick still, b when he comes in to bathe in the morning

t . ll a he will not have a s ick I sha w it here till he comes . — — Nagaina do you hear me 2 1 shall wai t here in the 0001 ll t ’ ti day ime . f u s — There was no answer rom o tside, o Rikki tikki knew

ooil u ul - , ro nd the b ge at the bottom of the water jar, and

- Aﬁ Rikki tikki stayed still as death . er an hour he began u l u l ar sl to move, m sc e by m sc e, tow d the jar. Nag was a eep,

- i l hi s bi ac wonderin i and Rikki t kki ooked at g b k, g wh ch l c l ’ would be the best p a e for a good ho d. If I don t break ’ first m ai ‘ he ill his back at the ju p, s d Rikki, can st fi ht — g and if he fights O Rikki He looked at the thickness of l b ut the neck be ow the hood, that was too much for him ; e l ul l Na and a bit near the tai wo d on y make g savage . ‘ It u ’ l ‘ m st be the head, he said at ast 5 the head above ’ am l u et o. the hood ; and when I once there, I m st not g l Then he jumped . The head was ying a little clear of the w - u u it as hi s ater jar, nder the c rve of ; and, teeth met, RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI 1 1

Rikki braced his back against the bulge of the red earthen l ware to ho d down the head. This gave him just one ’ u a f second s p rch se, and he made the most o it. Then he was battered to and fro as a rat is shaken by a dog—to and d u fro on the oor, p and down, and round in great circles ; e s ere red and l but his ye w , he he d on as ths b ody eart hi ﬂoor w pped over the , upsetting the tin dipper and the

soa di sh ﬂesh- u p and the br sh, and banged against the tin

side of the bath. As he held he closed his jaws for u tighter and tighter, he made s re he would be a for u of his fa l b nged to death, and, the hono r mi y, f f he pre erred to be ound with his teeth locked . He was h l n dizzy, ac ing, and fe t shake to pieces when something went off like a thunderclap just behind him ; a hot wind

l and ﬁra his fur. knocked him sense ess, red singed The ee ﬁred big man had b n wakened by the noise, and had both barrels of a shot-gun into Nag just behind the

hood. — w for Rikki tikki held on ith his eyes shut, now he

quite sure he was dead ; b ut the head did not move, and ’ the big man picked him up and said ! It s the mongoose ’ Al l l our l . agai n, ice ; the itt e chap has saved ives now ’ f Then Teddy s mother came in with a very white ace, and

- i l saw what was left of Nag, and Rikki t kki dragged himse f ’ to Teddy s bedroom and spent half the rest of the night shaking hims elf tenderly to ﬁnd out whether he really

f . was broken into forty pieces, as he ancied ' stiﬁ b ut ll l a When morning came he was very , we p e sed Na aina l with his doings. Now I have g to sett e with, and ’ ﬁv n she will be worse than e Nags, and there s no knowi g ! when the eggs she spoke of will hatch. Goodness I ’ must go an d see Darzee, he said.

o of ri thorn-bush where Darze e was sin ging a s ng t umph at ’ of all the top of his voice . The news Nag s death was 12 THE KIPLING READER

a had over the g rden, for the sweeper thrown the body on

- the rubbish heap.

ft t - k Oh, you stupid tu of fea hers said Rikki ti ki ’ n ‘ 1 a grily . Is this the time to sing ‘ — — ’ ‘ Nag is dead is dead is dead ! sang Darzee . The

- i l as valiant Rikki tikki caught h m by the head and he d f t.

n - i ll The big man brought the ba g st ck, and Nag fe in two ll b ’ pieces ! He wi never eat my abies again. ’ ’ All that s true enough ; but where s Nagain a 1 said

Nagaina came to the bath-room slui ce and called for ’ on ‘ out Nag, Darzee went ; and Nag came on the end of a — stick the sweeper picked hi m up on the end of a stick and

- threw him upon the rubbish heap . Let us sing about the -e - a ze ﬁll great, the red yed Rikki tikki and D r e ed his n throat and sa g. ’ ul u I d ll all If I co d get up to yo r nest, ro your babies ’ out said Rikki -tikki You don t know when to do the ’ right thi ng at the right time . You re safe enough in your ’

it s . nest there, but war for me down here Stop singing a

’ ‘ u ul tikki For the great, the bea tif Rikki s sake I will ’ z e . is it 0 ll l stop, said Dar e What , ki er of the terrib e Nag 1 ’ ‘ Na ai na for Where is g , the third time 1

O u - t l n N u a . the rubbish heap by the s ab es, mo r ing for g Rikki tikki i t ’ Great is with the wh e teeth . Bother my white teeth ! Have you ever heard where she keeps her eggs 1

l - all In the me on bed, on the end nearest the w , where the sun strikes nearly all day. She hid them three weeks

And you never thought it worth while to tell me ? ’ all ou The end n earest the w , y said 1

- ou are 1 Rikki tikki, y not going to eat her eggs

1 4 THE KIPLING READER

w l u l n the wall. There, in the arm itter abo t the me o s, very

u -ﬁv e u si z cunningly hidden, he fo nd twenty eggs, abo t the e ’ b ut s of s ll. of a bantam s eggs, with whiti h skin instead he ’ ‘ ul see I was not a day too soon, he said for he co d the u baby cobras curled p inside the skin, and he knew that the minute they were hatched they could each kill a man as ast as or a mongoose. He bit off the tops of the eggs f n c u u s u e he could, taki g are to cr sh the yo ng cobra , and t rn d over the litter from time to time to se e whether he had t l r l l t missed any . A ast the e were on y three eggs ef , and

- u l lf Rikki tikki began to ch ck e to himse , when he heard

- ki led Na aina u Ri kki tik , I g toward the ho se, and she — u l — has gone into the verandah, and oh, come q ick y she means killing

- s u l c Rikki tikki sma hed two eggs, and t mb ed ba kward

l - hi s down the me on bed with the third egg in mouth, and scuttled to the verandah as hard as he could put foot to and the ground. Teddy his mother and father were there at early breakfast ; b ut Rikki-tikki saw that they were not i sa - t l] c eat ng anything. They t stone s i , and their fa es were ’ i Na aina was o l u ti wh te . g c i ed p on the mat ng by Teddy s

she was swaying to and fro singing a song of triumph . ‘ ’ of ll ‘ Son the big man that ki ed Nag, she hi ssed, stay

s ll. am . ai li l e ti I not ready yet W t a tt e. Ke p very still, all ou . ou str ou y three If y move I ike, and if y do not

r . l l ll move I st ike Oh, foo ish peop e, who ki ed my Nag ! ’ ﬁxed r all Teddy s eyes were on his fathe , and his father ul ill ’ co d do was to whisper, Sit st , Teddy. You mustn t ’ e ll. move. Teddy, ke p sti ' Rikln tikki u ‘ u Then came p and cried ! T rn round, ’ Nagaina ; turn and ﬁght ! ‘ ’ All o wi u in g od time, said she, tho t moving her eyes . RIKKI-TIKEI-TAVI 15

- r Rikld . f iends, tikki They are still and white ; they are

af ai . d if u r d They are not move, and yo some a step nearer ’ I strike. ’ u - - Look at yo r eggs, said Rikki tikki, in the melon bed ’ ll. Go l N near the wa and ook, again a. u l saw The big snake t rned ha f round, and the egg on the ’ -h ! verandah. Give it to me, she said. - i ut hi s of Rikki t kki p paws one on each side the egg, and ’ l - his eyes were b ood red. What pri ce for a snake s egg 1

u ? - For—a yo ng cobra For a young king cobra 1 For the last the very last of the brood 1 The ants are eating all w l — ’ the others do n by the me on bed. N ns u l u f agai sp n c ear ro nd, orgetting everything for the ’ sake of the one egg ; and Rikki-tikki saw Teddy s father out n c ul shoot a big ha d, cat h Teddy by the sho der, and r him s l l t l - u d ag acro s the itt e ab e with the tea c ps, safe and

Tri cked ! Tricked ! Tricked ! Rilck-tck-tck chuckled — — - . f was I I I Rikki tikki The boy is sa e, and it that ’ - caught Nag by the hood last night in the bath room. u all u Then he began to jump p and down, fo r feet together, d He fro his head close to the oor. threw me to and , but ' H a f he could not shake me oﬂ. e was de d be ore the big

— —- it. Rikki tilcloi tcktck man blew him in two. I did Come You s ll Na ai na. ﬁ ht . then, g Come and g with me ha not ’ l n be a widow o g. f Nagaina saw that she had lost her chance o killing ’ - la Bi tikld s . Teddy, and the egg y between kki paws Give

- l s of k . me the egg, Rikki tik i Give me the a t my eggs, and ’ ll she l I wi go away and never come back, said, owering her hood . ll o ou wi ll ; Yes, you wi g away, and y never come back for you will go to the rubbish-heap with Nag. Fight, widow ! The big man has gone for his gun ! Fight 1 16 THE KIPLING READER

l l l l out of reach of her stroke, his itt e eyes ike hot coa s.

Na aina a l ﬂun out . g g thered herse f together, and g at him d A Rikki ti kki jumpe up and backward. gain and again u ac and again she str ck, and e h time her head came with a of whack on the matting the verandah, and she gathered — Rikki tikki herself together like a watch spring. Then e i l to n Na aina u danc d in a c rc e get behi d her, and g sp n to d to u l of round keep her hea his head, so that the r st e her tail on the mattin g sounded like dry leaves blown along by the wind.

a f e . till la h He h d orgott n the egg It s y on the veranda , Na aina m it ill last l and g ca e nearer and nearer to , t at , whi e turned to the verandah steps and ﬂew like an arrow down

i - k hi n the path, with R kki ti ki be d her. When the cobra

f l l hi -l s ﬂick d acrm runs or her ife, she goes ike a w p a h e a ’ horse s neck.

ki- u t all the Rik tikki knew that he m s catch her, or trouble would begin again. She headed straight for the —u as was u Ri long grass by the thorn b sh, and he r nning kki tikki heard Darzee still singing hi s foolish little song of ’

But Darzee s f . ﬂ w triumph . wi e was wiser She e off her nest as Nagain a came along and ﬂapped her wings about ’ i s l Naga na head . If Darzee had he ped they might have turned her ; but Nagains only lowered her hood and went ’ - ou. ill l u u to St , the instant s de ay bro ght Rikki tikki p her, and as she plun ged into the rat-hole where she and Nag l l l l used to ive, his itt e white teeth were c enched on her l — tai , and he went down with her and very few mongooses, s old b e a however wi e and they may , c re to follow a cobra

l l an - into its ho e. It was dark in the ho e d Rikki tikki never kn ew when it might open out and give Nagal na room to

u him. He l v l u t rn and strike at he d on sa age y, and str ck l f out his feet to act as brakes on the dark s ope o the hot, — — RIKKI TIKKI TAVI 17

n a l The the gr ss by the mouth of the ho e stopped waving,

- l - must sing his death song. Va iant Rikki tikki is dead ! For Nagaina will surely kill him underground ’ So he san g a very mournful song that he made up on u of mi u u the sp r the n te, and j st as he got to the most u i as u ai and Rikki to ch ng part the gr s q ivered ag n, tikki, l of l l covered with dirt, dragged himse f out the ho e eg by le l g, icking his whiskers. Darzee stopped with a little

- shout. Rikki tikki shook some of the dust out of hi s fur ’ . all wi and sneezed It is over, he said. The dow will ’ And never come out again. the red ants that live between r e tr00 the g ass stems h ard him, and began to p down one if n after another to see he had spoke the truth. Rikki-tikki curled himself up in the grass and slept — where he was slept and slept till it was late in the after ’ had . noon, for he done a hard day s work ’ Now ill o a , he said, when he awoke, I w g b ck to the ll ll house . Tell the Coppersmith, Darzee, and he wi te the ’ garden that Nagaina is dead . The Coppersmith is a bird who makes a noise exactly hke the beating of a little hammer on a copper pot ; and the reason he is always making it is because he is the town and ll all crier to every Indi an garden, te s the news to As - i n everybody who cares to listen . Rikki t kki we t up his li n the path, he heard attention notes ke a tiny di ner gong ; and then the steady Ding-dong-tock/ Nag is dead

- - l set all dong I Nagaina is dead ! Dmg dn toccI That the i and f n for birds i n the garden sing ng, the rogs croaki g ; Nag and Nagama used to eat frogs as well as little birds . ’ When Rikki got to the house, Teddy and Teddy s h l ll for n f n mother (s e ooked very white sti , she had bee ai t ing) and Teddy’s father came out and almost cried over him ; ll l and that night he ate all that was given hi m ti he cou d ’ s l , re eat no more , and went to bed on Teddy s hou der whe B K.R . 18 THE KIPLING READER

’ Teddy s mother saw him when she came to look night. ‘ l ’ l f ’ He saved our ives and Teddy s i e, she said to her ‘ ’ n all our li . husband . Just thi k, he saved ves

’ ’ ou he . r n for Oh, it s y , said What are you bothe i g ? ’ ’ ’ are I m All the cobras dead and if they weren t, here. Rikki tikki had a right to be proud of himself ; but he u did not grow too pro d, and he kept that garden as a mon ul it goose sho d keep , with tooth and jump and spring and ll a its bite, ti never a cobra d red show head inside the walls. RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI 19

DARZEE’S AU CH NT.

UNG IN HO NO UR or IKKI-TIKKI-TAVI (S R . )

SINGER and tailor am I Doubled the joys that I know l l u Proud of my i t thro gh the sky, Proud of the house that I sew u — Over and nder, so weave I my music so weave I h house t at I sew.

ﬂed lin Sing to your g gs again, l ft u Mother, oh i p your head ! l ha l u us l n Evi t t p ag ed is s ai , n l Death in the garde ies dead. — Terror that hid in the roses is impotent ﬂung on dung-hill and dead !

th l na 1 Who ha de ivered , who

Tell me hi s nest and his name. l u Rikki, the va iant, the tr e, i ll of ﬂame T kki, with eyeba s ,

- -f the Rik tikki tikki, the ivory anged, hunter with

s of Give him the Thank the Birds, Bowing with tail -feathers spread ! Praise him with nightingale words

- l Hear ! I will sing you the praise of the bottle tai ed with eyeballs of red !

’ r kki—tikloi intmv u ted and the rest o the son is lost. (He e Ri p , f g ) WI LLIAM THE CO NQUERO R

PART I

I hav e done one brav er thi ng Than all the worthi es did ; An d et a rav e r en ce doth s rin y b th p g, c is to ee a hid Whi h k p th t .

’ ‘ Is it ofﬁcially declared yet ? h far x l al T eyve gone as as to admit e treme oc scarcity, ’ l f- tw o t and they ve started re ie works in one or distric s, the ’ paper says That means it will be declared as soon as they can make ’ ll — ul sure of the men and the ro ing stock. Sho dn t wonder ’ if it were as bad as the Big Famine . ’ ’ ‘ be u l l l n Can t , said Scott, t rning a itt e in the ong ca e ‘ ’ had ﬁfte en- a n s chair. We ve n a crop in the north, and Bombay and Bengal report more than they know what to ’ll l do with. They be ab e to check it before it gets out of ’ ll nl l l. hand. It wi o y be oca u Pioneer l Martyn picked p the from the tab e, read l r ut through the te egrams once mo e, and p up his feet on

- . l i the chair rests It was a hot, dark, breath ess even ng,

ll of l - r l heavy with the sme the new y wate ed Ma l. The ﬂowe rs in the Club gardens were dead and black on their 20

22 THE KIPLING READER

‘ ’ ’ ‘ il s ni a . He was Jimmy s a Jub e K ght now, said M rtyn u - l a good chap, even tho gh he is a thrice born civi ian and

. W u l went to the Benighted Presidenc—y hat nho y names these Madras districts rejoice ia all ungas or m gas or ’ pillays or polliwms.

- u man e A dog cart drove p, and a enter d, mopping his o l l head . He was edit r of the one dai y paper at the capita of a province of twenty-fiv e million natives and a few as hi s ff was li ms l hundred white men, and sta mited to hi e f hi s otfi e u u l and one assistant, c ho rs ran vario s y from ten to twenty a day. Hi u’ i ’ , Raines ; yo re supposed to know everyth ng, said ’ “ o him. H adr Martyn, st pping ow s this M as scarcity going to turn out 1 ’ No one knows as yet. There s a message as long as ’ l l t ub your arm coming in on the te ephone . I ve ef my c to ’ fill . as w she l it out Madr has o ned can t manage it a one, and Jimmy seems to have a free hand in getting all the men ’ ’ Arb uthnot s l l a he needs. warned to ho d himse f in re diness. ’ Badger Arbuthn ot 1 ‘ i wi h u . P lli The Peshaw r chap Yes, and the res t at E s

l - l ad and C ay have been moved from the North West a re y, ’ l ’ and they ve taken ha f a dozen Bombay men, too. It s ’ atlca f i l it. p am ne, by the ooks of ’ They re nearer the scene of action than we are ; but if ’ o n i l it c mes to indenti g on the Punjab th s ear y, there s more ’ a r in this th n meets the eye, said Ma tyn. ’ o - a Here t day and gone to morrow. Didn t come to st y ’ ’ l for ever, said Scott, dropping one of Marryat s nove s, and ’ ’ i hi s f . a u u. ris ng to eet M rtyn, yo r sister s waiting for yo A rough gray horse was backing and shifting at the edge of r l - the ve andah, where the ight of a kerosene lamp fell on a brown calico habit and a white face under a gray felt hat. ’ ’ O . I m Right, , said Martyn ready. Better come and WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 23

’ w us if u . l dine ith yo ve nothing to do, Scott Wi liam, is there any dinn er in the house 1 ’ ’ ’ ’ I ll o first was g home and see, the rider s answer. You can drive him over at eight, remember. l l his Scott moved eisure y to room, and changed into the evening- dress of the season and the country ! spotless whi te l wi l o inen from head to foot, th a broad si k wmmerbcmd . ’ Din ner at the Martyns was a decided improvement on the - u twine - f l t é of goat m tton, y tough ow , and tinned en r es the But was Club . it a great pity Martyn could not afford to hi s ll for send sister to the Hi s the hot weather. As an A in u ri of l ct g District S pe ntendent Po ice, Martyn drew the magnificent pay of six hundred depreciated silver rupees a l l f - al u as month, and his itt e our roomed bung ow said j st u al l - - hi r ail much. There were the su b ue and w te st iped j made rugs on the uneven floor ; the usual glass-studded Amritsar phulkafi s draped to nails driven into the flaking whi tewash of the walls ; the usual half-dozen chairs that did ’ ' l eflects not match, picked up at sa es of dead men s ; and the usual streaks of black grease where the leather punka-thong was u in had ran through the wall. It as tho gh everyth g been unpacked the night before to be repacked next

. ing. Not a door in the house was true on its hinges The en u little windows, fifte feet p, were darkened with wasp u fli es ms nests, and lizards h nted between the bea of the ’ - all of t l . wood ceiled roof. But this was part Scot s ife Thus did people live who had such an income ; and in a ’ n n land where each man s pay, age, and positio are pri ted in 24 THE KIPLING READ ER under canvas or in temporary shelters where a man could l l was u s eep, eat, and write etters, bo nd up with the opening l l n and guarding of irrigation cana s, the hand i g of two or krnen of all as e three thousand wor c t s and creeds, and the c l He had finished payment of vast sums of oined si ver. l t that spring, not without credit, the as section of the great — othee work had been sent in to serv e during the hot un l of weather on the acco ts and supp y side the Department, — with sole charge of the sweltering sub oifice at the capital of ill the Province . Martyn knew this ; W iam, his sister, knew it ; and everybody knew it. t ll of l Scot knew, too, as we as the rest the wor d, that m to u f Miss Martyn had co e out India fo r years be ore, to u as a n keep ho se for her brother, who, everyone, gain, k ew, n had borrowed the mo ey to pay for her passage, and that

all l l . she ought, as the wor d said, to have married ong ago ad of i she fu l l Inste th s, had re sed some ha f a dozen suba m li te s, a civi an twenty years her senior, one major, and a di l a hi man in the Indian Me ca Dep rtment. T s, too, was common property. She had stayed down three hot ’ as in use weathers, the say g is, beca her brother was in debt and could not afford the expense of her keep at even a

- ll . f f was cheap hi station There ore her ace white as bone, and in the cen tre of her forehead was a big silvery scar u of lli — of lhi abo t the size a shi ng the mark a De sore, which ’ ' is the same as a Bagdad date . Thi s comes from drinlnng e l l ﬂesh ll is bad wat r, and s ow y eats into the ti it ripe u out wi enough to be b rned th acids . None the less William had enjoyed herself hugely in her w n four years. T ice she had bee nearly drowned while fordi ng a river on horseback ; once she had been run away with on a camel had witnessed a midni ght attack of ’ thi eves on her brother s camp ; had seen justice admi ni ste l s s red with ong tick , in the O pen under trees could WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 25

' U u and speak rd even rough Pun jabi with a ﬂuency that was envied by her seniors ; had altogether fallen out of the u l habit of writing to her a nts in Eng and, or cutting the pages of the English magazines had been through a very l bad cho era year, seeing sights unﬁt to be told ; and had u x f wo nd up her e periences by six weeks of typhoid ever, during which her head had been shaved ; and hoped to keep

- her twenty third birthday that September. It is con ceiv able that her aun ts would not have approved of a girl who never set foot on the groun d if a horse were within hail ; who rode to dances with a shawl thrown over her skirt ; who wore her hair cropped and curling all over her ' head ; who answered indiﬁ erently to the name of William or Bill ; whose speech was heav y with the ﬂowers of the ul ul tr l l vernac ar who co d act in amateur thea ica s, p ay on ul r u the banjo, r e eight servants and two ho ses, their acco nts n l l l l l a d their diseases, and ook men s ow y and de iberate y — ft between the eyes yea, a er they had proposed to her and

been rejected. ’ n had conﬁded man in I like me who do things, she to a n of the Educational Department, who was teaching the so s ’ cloth merchants and dyera the beauty of Wordsworth s Ex ’ - l cursion in ann otated cram books ; andwhen he grew poetica , ’ Willi am explained that she di dn t understand poetry very ’ n much it made her head ache, and another broke heart ’ was all ll faul . took refuge at the Club . But it Wi iam s t of She delighted in hearing men talk their own work, and f that is the most fatal way of brin ging a man to your eet.

Scott had known her more or less for some three years, ul u as meeting her, as a r e, nder canv when his camp and her ’ dia . brother s join ed for a day on the edge of the In n Desert ma He had danced with her several times at the big Christ s as ﬁv e un l gatherings, when many as h dred white peop e came into the station and he had always a great respect

for her housekeeping and her dinn ers . 26 THE KIPLING READ ER

l n ft She looked more ike a boy than ever whe , a er their l f u u on l mea , she sat, one oot t cked nder her, the eather cam sofa lli low f p , ro ng cigarettes for her brother, her ore head puckered beneath the dark curls as she twi ddled the u out o papers . She st ck her rounded chin when the t bacco ’ l as u l- stayed in p ace, and, with a gesture tr e as a schoo boy s ﬁnished ar l throwing a stone, tossed the tic e across the room to u a i u his Martyn, who ca ght it with one h nd, and cont n ed ’ I was all 0 — l talk with Scott . It sh p, canals and the po icing of canals ; the sins of villagers who stole more water than ai r they had p d for, and the g osser sin of native constables who connived at the thefts of the transplanting bodily of with the desert in the south when the Provincial funds should warrant the openi ng of the long-surveyed Luni An Protective Canal System. d Scott spoke openly of his great desire to be put on one particular section of the work l l where he knew the and and the peop e, and Martyn sighed

ut l l r u nothing, b smi ed grave y on her brothe beca se he was

’ At r a o ten Scott s ho se c me to the do r, and the evening was ended . The lights of the two low bungal ows in which the daily paper was printed showed bright across the road. It was l to to ﬁnd l t too ear y try s eep, and Scott drif ed over to the

. a r t l l n editor R ines, st ipped to the wais ike a sai or at a gu , la l i for l y in a ong chair, wait ng night te egrams . He had a theory that if a man did not stay by his work all day and most of the night he laid himself open to fever so he ate s and slept among hi ﬁles. ’ ’ ‘ ou it ° ‘ Can y do i he said drowsily. I didn t mean to i ’ br ng you over. ’ About what ? I ve bee n dining at the Martyns WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 27

’ u n f t The famine, of co rse, Marty s warned or i , too. ’ ’ ﬁn d They re taking men where they can em. I sent a ou l n note to y at the C ub just now, aski g if you could do us a letter once a week from the south—between two and

lu sa . l of three co mns, y Nothing sensationa , course, b ut u la f j st p in acts about who is doing what, and so forth. O ur ul — u ’ reg ar rates ten r pees a column. ’ out of li ’ Sorry, but it s my ne, Scott answered, staring ’ absently at the map of India on the wall! It s rough on — ’ . ll Martyn very Wonder what he do with his sister. ’ Wonder what the deuce they ll do with me ? I’ve no ’ f mi . first of a ne experience This is the I ve heard it. Am I ordered 1 ’ ’ ’ es. . l ut ou Oh, y Here s the wire They l p y on relief ’ s n ou f M d work , Rai es went , with a horde o a rassis dying like flies ; one native apothecaryand half a pint of cholera u f ou mixt re among the ten thousand o y . It comes of your ’ being idle for the moment. Every man who isn t doing two ’ men s work seems to have been called upon. Hawkins evi ’ s u bad dently believes in Punjabis. It going to be q ite as ’ las as anything they have had in the t ten years. ’ ’ l u s ll It s all in the day s work, worse uck. I s ppo e I sha m I’m l get my orders officially some time to orrow. g ad

o c . I happened to drop in. Better g and pa k my kit now — ’ Who relieves me here do you know ? ’ l a . Mc an Raines turned over a sheaf of te egr ms , said ’ he f . , rom Murree l all Scott chuckled . He thought he was going to be coo ’ . ll summer. He ll be very sick about this We , no good

l l him Two hours later, Scott, with a c ear conscience, aid self down to rest on a string cot in a bare room. Two worn - - - l his bullock trunks, a leather water bott e, a tin ice box, and l pet saddle sewed up in sacking were pi ed at the door, and ’ the Club secretary’s receipt for last month s bill was under 28 THE KIPLING READER

his pillow. His orders came next morning, and with them e an unofficial telegram from Sir Jam s Hawkins, who did not men i l all forget good , bidding him report h mse f with speed at some unpronounceable place fifteen hundred miles to the the m l south, for fa ine was sore in the and, and white men were needed. f - A pink and attish youth arrived in the red hot noonday, l l f mi ll d whimpering a itt e at fate and a nes, which never a owe ’ ’ He any one three months peace . was Scott s succe ssor hi f n another cog in the mac nery, moved orward behi d his v official u fellow, whose ser ices, as the anno ncement ran, were placed at the disposal of the Madras Government ’ for famine duty until further orders . Scott handed over w l the funds in his charge, sho ed him the coo est corner in x z l l the office, warned him against e cess of ea , and, as twi ight ll f lu i fe , departed rom the C b in a h red carriage, with his

u l l l baggage atop, to catch the So thern Mai at the oopho ed

- and bastioned railway station . The heat from the thi ck brick walls struck him across the face as if it had been l reﬂected l t ﬁv e a hot towe , and he that there were at eas

c of v lu n used to the chan es ser ice, p nged i to the crowd on l f l l the stone p at orm, whi e Scott, a b ack cheroot between hi s ll hi s ul teeth, waited ti compartment sho d be set away. A na l n riﬂes u dl dozen tive po iceme , with their and b n es, ul u f sho dered into the press of P njabi armers, Sikh crafts

reas ~locked Afreedee dl wi men, and g y pe ars, escorting th ’ all un f s - l - pomp Martyn s i orm ca e, water bott es, ice box, and ’ - ll . Ullah s l f bedding ro They saw Faiz i ted hand, and steered

‘ M ’ ’ y Sahib and your Sahib, said Faiz Ullah to Martyn s

ll l . I O ll man, wi trave together Thou and , brother, wi ’ u s u l l s b us th s ec re the servants p aces c o e y, and beca e of our ’ e u ll to ’ mast rs a thority none wi dare disturb na.

30 THE KIPLING READER

’ — ’ haven t got it bmk yet b ut she wouldn t hear of any ’ A a l r l hus compromise . wom n s entit ed to t ave with her ’ t ll s s band if she wan s to, and Wi iam ays she s on the ame ’ f in You se e o all our l oot g. , we ve been t gether ives, more ’ l c l . as she or ess, sin e my peop e died It isn t if were an

’ ‘ All the sisters I ve ever heard of would have stayed where they were well ’ ’ ‘ as l as u She s c ever a man, confo nd her, Martyn went ‘ u u l l ou. She broke p the b nga ow over my head whi e I l l was talking at her. Sett ed the who e smbchi z [outﬁt] in ’ — all three hours servants, horses , and . I didn t get my ’ orders till nine. ’ ’ k s l t. Jimmy Haw in won t be p eased, said Scot ’ ’ famine s no place for a woman. ‘ —I ’ him Mrs . Jim mean Lady Jim s in camp with . At

she she ll l ft . lli any rate, says wi ook a er my sister Wi am to r n l n if she wired down her on her own espo sibi ity, aski g ul u u co d come, and knocked the gro nd from nder me by ’ showing me her answer. l ‘ If d Scott laughed a oud. she can o that she can take ’ f lf . let run n care o herse , and Mrs Jim won t her i to any ’ mischief. There aren t many women, sisters or wives, who l i wi ’ would wa k into a fam ne th their eyes open. It isn t as ’ d n if she idn t k ow what these things mean. She was ’ l l la through the Ja oo cho era st year. r o A t o The t ain st pped at mri sar, and Sc tt went back to l ’ l the adies compartment, immediate y behind their carriage . ‘ - ll l u l e aﬁabl . Wi iam, a c oth riding cap on her c r s, nodd d y ’ ‘ a ‘ Come in and h ve some tea, she said . Best thing in ’ f r — l the world o heat apop exy. ’ Do I look as if I were going to have heat-apoplexy 1 ’ ’ N ell ll l ever can t , said Wi iam, wise y. It s always best ’ to b e ready. She had arranged her belongings with the knowledge of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 31

old A - - campaigner. felt covered water bottle hung in u the dra ght of one of the shuttered windows ; a teaf set of s a a ad Rus ian chin , p cked in a w ded basket, stood ready on the seat ; and a travelling spirit-lamp was clamped against the woodwork above it. ll u l l Wi iam served them genero s y, in arge cups, hot tea, which saves the veins of the neck from swelling inoppor tun el y on a hot night. It was characteristic of the girl l l that, her p an of action once sett ed, she asked for no mm t t f co en s on i . Li e with men who had a great deal of l l in work to do, and very itt e time to do it , had taught her wi of ff ll f i f r the sdom e acing as we as o fend ng o herself. She r s ul f l did not by wo d or deed sugge t that she wo d be use u , f n ful in r els com orti g, or beauti thei trav , but continued about her business serenely ! put the cups back without clatter

for u . when tea was ended, and made cigarettes her g ests ’ ’ t l di er This ime ast night, said Scott, we dn t expect ’ - hi n di d 1 t s kind of thi g, we ’ ’ I l hi ll . You v e earned to expect anyt ng, said Wi iam ur v l of l know, in o ser ice, we ive at the end the te egraph ; for us all but, of course, this ought to be a good thing ,

’ u our P It knocks na out of the r nning in own rovince,

l d ual . Scott rep ie , with eq gravity I hoped to be put on ’ the Luni Protective Works thi s cold weather ; but there s ’ no saying how long the famine may keep us. ’ l . Hardly beyond October; I shou d think, said Martyn ’

. It will be ended, one way or the other, then ’ ’ ’ ’ ll . And we ve nearly a week of this, said Wi iam Sha n t ’ ’ we be dusty when it s over 1 For a night and a day they knew their surroundings ; f da ir i of and or a night and a y, sk t ng the edge the great

- u l Indi an Desert on a narrow ga ge ine, they remembered how in the days of their apprenticeship they had come by n l u i n hi that road from Bombay. The the ang ages w ch the 32 THE KIPLING READ ER

s ri n name of the stations were w tten cha ged, and they f l launched south into a oreign and, where the very smells

l l - r were new. Many ong and heavi y laden g ain trains were f ul of m in ront of them, and they co d feel the hand Ji my far f i s n Hawkins from o f. They wa ted in extemporised idi gs blocked by processions of empty trucks returning to the l l i north, and were coup ed on to s ow, crawling tra ns, and as dropped at midnight, Heaven knew where ; but it w u l and l n f rious y hot ; they wa ked to and fro amo g sacks, l and dogs how ed. Then they came to an India more strange to them than u ll l — ﬂat of al to the ntrave ed Eng ishman the , red India p m — l l i u - tree, pa myra pa m, and rice, the India of the p ct re books, — of Little Henry M His Bearer all dead and dry in the

l - baking heat. They had eft the incessant passenger traﬁi c far of the north and west far and behind them. Here the l r l i l i li l peop e c aw ed to the side of the tra n, ho d ng their tt e ones in their arms ; and a load ed truck would be left lu e l behind, men and women c st ring round and above it ike nc t l saw ants by spilled honey. O e in the wi ight they on a li l dusty plain a regiment of tt e brown men, each bearing a body over hi s shoulder and when the train stopped to leave ur yet another truck, they perceived that the b dens were not b ut l fo dl f l r d corpses, on y o ess o k picked up beside thei dea r l Now oxen by a corps of I regu ar troops. they met more o l s white men, here one and there two, whose tents st od c o e l u to the ine, and who came armed with written a thorities t and angry words to cu off a truck . They were too busy to u u l do more than nod at Scott and Martyn, and stare c rio s y l ul n at Wil iam, who co d do nothi g except make tea, and how off of l n al i watch her men staved the rush wai i g, w k ng l t i ske e ons, putting them down three at a t me m heaps, with d u l u their own han s ncoup ing the marked tr cks, or taking f ll - d receipts rom the ho owed eye , weary white men, who WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

h out of - t out of T ey ran out of ice, soda wa er, and tea ; for they were six days and seven nights on the road, and it l seemed to them ike seven times seven years. At las l n of t, in a dry, hot dawn, in a a d death, lit by l ﬁres a l l w ong red of r i way s eepers, where they ere burni ng c the dead, they ame to their destination, and were met by im ki of u a J Haw ns, the Head the Famine, nsh ven, unwashed, l of ff r but cheery, and entire y in command a ai s. was l Martyn, he decreed, then and there, to ive on trains ll f r o u ti u ther orders ; was to g back with empty tr cks, ﬁllin m a l as f g the with st rving peop e he ound them, and dropping them at a famine-camp on the edge of the Eight i He ul l and and his D stricts . wo d pick up supp ies return,

l - l constables would guard the oaded grain cars, a so picking l ul l up peop e, and wo d drop them at a camp a hundred mi es — was l south. Scott Hawkins very g ad to see Scott again — ul of ull wo d, that same hour, take charge of a convoy b ock t l o f di car s, and wou dg south, ee ng as he went, to yet another f m - far r l ul l hi s a ine camp, from the ai , where he wo d eave starvi ng—there would be no lack of starving on the route — ll was and wait for orders by telegraph . Genera y, Scott , in all small things to do what he thought best. li William bit her under p. There was no one in the wide ’ world like her on e brother, but Martyn s orders gave him d u f a no discretion. She came out, maske with d st rom he d

— ul , as ever. Mrs . Jim who sho d have bee—n Lady Jim but that no one remembered to call her aright took possession of her with a little gasp. ’ ’ ’ l she l . Oh, I m so g ad you re here, a most sobbed You ’ ’ — u t oughtn t to, of co rse, but there there isn t ano her

s l c , woman in the place, and we mu t he p ea h other you ’ l httle know ; and we ve all the wretched peop e and the ’ babies they are selling . 34 THE KIPLING READER

’ ‘ ’ ll . I ve seen some, said Wi iam ’ ’ Isn’t it ghastly ? I ve bought twenty ; theyre in our ’ ’ camp ; but won t you have something to eat ﬁrst 1 We ve more than ten people can do here and I’ve got a horse for ’ ’ ’ I m l u u you . Oh, so g ad yo ve come You re a P njabi too, ’ you know. ’ ’ z ul . ll Steady, Li zie, said Hawkins, over his sho der We ’ is . look after you, M s Martyn Sorry I can t ask you to ’

. ll o. breakfast, Martyn You have to eat as you g Leave ’ two of your men to help Scott. These poor devils can t

l . au s en ine driv er stand up to oad carts S nders (thi to the g , half asleep in the cab), back down and get those empties ’ ’ ’ u li l An un dra illa ll away . Yo ve ne c ear to p y they give l t you orders north of that. Scott, oad up your car s from “ P . be oﬂ as ou . that B. P. truck, and as soon y can The

’ You ll find an apothecary of sorts tied to the yoke of the ’ ’ e s l second wagon. H been trying to bo t ; you ll have to to and look after him. Lizzie, drive Miss Martyn camp, ’ tell them to send the red horse down here for me. Ull l l Scott, with Faiz ah and two po icemen, was a ready n busy o the carts, backing them up to the truck and l n aideb oards u l il bo ti g the q iet y, wh e the others pitched ll in the bags of mi et and wheat. Hawkins watched him for fill on a as long as it took to e c rt. ‘ ’ ’ ‘ . If a That s a good man, he said ll goes well I shall ’ ' ’ — a i im wl work him h rd. Th s was J Ha fl ns s notion of the l u ul highest comp iment one h man being co d pay another. An hour later Scott was under way the apothecary n l of law for h threatening him with the pe a ties the that e, a of u al ar m member the S bordinate Medic Dep t ent, had been coerce d an d bound against his will and all laws governing the libe rty of the subject ; the pink-shirted Eurasian beg l to see a ging eave his mother, who h ppened to be dying l ! l some three mi es away On y verree, verree short leave WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 35

f s ll l ur o ab ence, and wi present y ret n, sar the two con l i stab es, armed with staves, br nging up the rear ; and Faiz ’ lla f U h, a Mohammedan s contempt or all Hi ndoos and l of f l foreigners in every ine his ace, exp aining to the drivers that though Scott Sahib was a man to be feared on all r he Ull h was A fou s, , Faiz a , uthority itself. ’ — The procession creaked past Hawkins s camp three stained tents under a clump of dead trees ; behind them the famine-shed where a crowd of hopeless ones tossed their

- arms around the cooki ng kettles . ’ ll a out of it Wish to Heaven Wi i m had kept , said Scott ‘ ’ i lf f l . ll l as to h mse , a ter a g ance We have cho era, sure a ’ un R g , when the ains come. But William seemed to have taken kindly to the opera of hi h f l tions the Famine Code, w c , when amine is dec ared,

e n f law. saw supers de the worki gs o the ordinary Scott her, f n l the centre of a mob o weepi g women, in a ca ico riding

- l habit and a blue gray felt hat with a go d puggaree. l f J f ﬁft u s . I want y r pees, p ea e I orgot to ask ack be ore ’ l 1 for n he went away. Can you end it me It s co densed ’ milk for the babies, said she. n his l Scott took the mo ey from be t, and handed it over ’ ‘ s of u lf without a word. For goodne s sake take care yo rse ,

he said . ‘ l in all . u Oh, I shall be right We o ght to get the mi k

B was ll , two days. y the way, the orders are, I to te you ’ ’ ’ that you re to take one of Sir Jim s horses. There s a gray ’ u l so I v e Cab uli here that I thought would be just yo r sty e, ’ ’ 1 said you d take him. Was that right ’ ’ us al That s awfully good of you. We can t either of t k ’ ’ l I m f ai . much about sty e, a r d - ll - y Scott was in a weather stained dri shooting kit, ery

wri . white at the seams and a little frayed at the sts ll l to William regarded him thoughtfu y, from his pith he met ‘ — l c hi . Are his greased ankle boots . You ook very ni e, I t nk 36 THE KIPLING READ ER

’ ’ u u ll — ui you sure yo ve everything yo need q nine, chloro so on 1 dyne, and ’ ao ai t u of Think , s d Scott, pat ing three or fo r his shoot was led u ing pockets as the horse p, and he mounted and rode alongside his convoy. ’ - Go . od bye, he cried ’ ’ - o lu ll . I m ull Good bye, and g od ck, said Wi iam awf y ’ u obliged for the money. She t rned on a spurred heel and l t disappeared into the tent, whi e the car s pushed on past famin es heds as l of the , p t the roaring ines the thick, fat

ﬁres n u . , down to the baked Gehe na of the So th

38 THE KIPLING READER

— r u o rice unhusked paddy, such as they we e acc st med to n and, when they fou d that there was none, broke away was use weeping from the sides of the cart. What the of these strange hard grains that choked their throats 1 They n and ma would di e. And the there were ny of them kept r ll d their word . Others took thei a owance, and bartere enough millet to feed a man through a week for a few l A handfuls of rotten rice saved by some ess unfortunate . - u it and few put their shares into the rice mortars, po nded , f l made a paste with ou water ; but they were very few. Scott understood dimly that many people in the India of l e the South ate rice, as a ru e, but he had spent his servic in n had l e n l a grain Provi ce, se dom se rice in the b ade or the and l as of all ul l of ear, e t wo d have be ieved that, in time ’ ul l of l deadly need, men wo d die at arm s ength p enty, n di d ai soo er than touch food they not know. In v n the in terpreters interpreted ; in vain his two poli cemen showed mi ul by vigorous panto me what sho d be done. The starving i u l and l crept away to the r bark and weeds, gr bs, eaves, c ay, and le& the open sacks untouched. But sometimes the ’ l l f t women aid their phantoms of chi dren at Scott s ee , looking back as they staggered away. Faiz Ullah opin ed it was the will of God that these ul f foreigners sho d die, and there ore it remained only to give l orders to burn the dead. None the ess there was no reas on hi ul lac his f why the Sa b sho d k com orts, and Faiz Ullah, a a of n c d u camp igner experie e, had picke p a few lean goats and n had added them to the processio . That they might l for i l f give mi k the morn ng mea , he was eeding them on the ’ n l ‘ good grai that these imbeci es rejected. Yes, said Faiz ‘ Ull ii a ﬁt l l ah the S hib thought , a itt e milk might be n of ll n give to some the babies but, as the Sahib we k ew, and for babies were cheap, , his own part, Faiz Ullah held that there was no Government order as to babies . Scott full Ull l Spoke force y to Faiz ah and the two po icemen, and WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 39

full , for was they most joy y did it a recreation, and many l ri in . c fed owner ess goats were d ven On e , the poor brutes w ll u ll ’ were i ing eno gh to fo ow the carts, and a few days — u good food food s ch as human beings died for lack of—set

‘ am ’ But I no goatherd, said Faiz Ullah. It is against my izzat [my

When we cross the Bias River agai n we will talk of ’ izzat l d ill , Scott rep ie . T that day thou and the police ll if ’ men sha be sweepers to the camp, I give the order. ’ an l Thus, then, it is done, gr ted Faiz Ul ah, if the Sahi b ’ wi ll so l have it and he showed how a goat shou d be milked, hil w e Scott stood over him. Now ll f d ’ we wi ee them, said Scott ; thrice a day we will to mil feed them and he bowed his back the king, l and took a horrib e cramp. When you have to keep connection unbroken between a restless mother of ki ds and a baby who is at the point of uff all death, you s er in your system. But the babies were fe . ni and n n ul l d Mor ng, noon eve i g Scott wo d so emnly lift them out on e by one from their nest of gunny-bags under - al l the cart tilts. There were ways many who cou d do no t l was more than brea he, and the mi k dropped into their l n tooth ess mouths drop by drop, with due pauses whe they fed and choked . Each morning, too, the goats were ; since l n they would struggle without a eader, and si ce the natives hir l f to di a were e ings, Scott was orced give up ri ng, and p ce f ﬂocks n his e slowly at the head o his , accommodati g st p to sufﬁcien tl their weaknesses. All this was y absurd, and he l l was s l f felt the absurdi ty keen y ; but at east he aving i e, i l r die and when the women saw that the r chi d en did not , l of f they made shift to eat a litt e the strange oods, and

l ft l of th . craw ed a er the carts, b essing the master egoats ’ l for i to Give the women something to ive , sa d Scott 40 THE KIPLING READ ER

s as e u u l l him elf, he sne zed in the d st of a h ndred itt e feet, ‘ ’ ’ and they ll hang on somehow. But this beats William s

condensed milk trick all to pieces. I shall never live it ’ down, though . hi s l l u He reached destination very s ow y, fo nd that a u of rices hip had come in from B rmah, and that stores paddy were available ; found also an overworked English of l d rt man in charge the shed, and, oa ing the ca s, set back l e l f to cover the ground he had a ready passed. H e t some l t f - of the children and ha f his goa s at the amine shed. For l m had l this he was not thanked by the Eng ish an, who a ready ’ more stray babies than he knew what to do with. Scott s l back was supp ed to stooping now, and he went on with his to i n wayside ministrations in addition d stributi g the paddy . More babies and more goats were added unto hi m ; but now w a ad u wr some of the babies ore r gs, and be s ro nd their ists ’ That as di d or necks . , said the interpreter, though Scott si nifies u l not know, g that their mothers hope in event a ' ’ u m fi ciall contingency to res me the o ee y. ’ b ut i The sooner the better, said Scott ; at the same t me d wi he marke , th the pride of ownership, how this or that was l m little Ramasawmy putting on flesh ike a banta . As ’ the paddy carts were emptied he headed for Hawkins s a lw i hi s r l fit c mp by the rai ay, t ming ar iva to in with the

n - u for was l l din er ho r, it ong since he had eaten at a c oth. He to had no desire make any dramatic entry, but an acci ' u dent of the s nset ordered it that, when he had taken oﬁ l n low l ul his he met to get the eveni g breeze, the ight sho d f ll ad an d ul see a across his forehe , he co d not what was l i l before him ; whi e one wait ng at the tent door behe d, un man ful as with new eyes, a yo g , beauti Paris, a god in l of l u t l l l a a ha o go den d s , wa king s ow y at the he d of his ﬂocks l k ll Cu , whi e at his nee ran sma naked pids. But she l — ll sh tm lom ed l s l aughed Wi iam, in a b ou e, aughed con sumedl ill f y t Scott, putting the best ace he could upon the WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 41

m e l hi s att r, ha ted armies and bade her admire the kinder

. u l garten It was an nseem y sight, b ut the proprieties had

ft - l , Amr been e ages ago with the tea party at itsar Station, fifi e en un dr l h ed mi es to the northward. ’ i l a ’ They are coming on n ce y, s id William. We ve only fiv e- - and twenty here now. The women are beginning to ’ . take them away again . ’ Are a s you in ch rge of the babie , then 1 — ’ . im I. i hi Yes Mrs J and We d dn t t nk of goats, though. ’ il ’ We ve been trying condensed m k and water. ’ An y Iosses 1 ‘ ’ n of a ll More than I care to thi k , s id Wi iam, with a An shudder. d you 1 hi Scott said no—t ng. There had been many little burials along hi s route many mothers who had wept when they did n ot find again the children they had trusted to the care of the Government. k Then Haw ins came out carrying a razor, at whi ch c l r l for had S ott ooked hung i y, he a beard that he did not An n love. d whe they sat down to dinn er in the tent ol hi s l as he t d ta e in few words, it might have been an

oﬂi cial . . im snuﬁled report Mrs J from time to time, and ’ Jim bowed his head j udicially ; but William s gray eyes l - f were on the c ean shaven ace, and it was to her that Scott seemed to speak. f r u e ll n Good o the Pa p r Province said Wi iam, her chi

- as l n f in l . in her hand, she ea ed orward among the w e g asses ll n in f Her cheeks had fa e , and the scar on her orehead was i ll- u n more prom nent than ever, but the we t r ed neck rose roundly as a column from the rufﬂe of the blouse whi ch was

- the accepted evening dress in camp. ’ im . It was awfully absurd at t es, said Scott You see ’ ’ a ll I didn t know much about milking or b bies . They ’ ff off if l n . cha my head , the ta e goes orth ’ ‘ ’ ’ ll l . all Let em, said Wi iam, haughti y We ve done 42 THE KIPLING READER

’ - l i . coo ie work s nce we came I know Jack has . This was ’ add m l l to Hawkins s ress, and the big man s i ed b andly. ’ ’ l effi cient ofi cer ll he Your brother s a high y , Wi iam, said , ’ and I v e done him the honour of treating him as he ’ e confidential deserves . Remember, I writ the reports . ’ Then you must say that William s worth her weight in ’ ’ kn l Mrs. im. ul go d, said J I don t ow what we sho d have ’ n . us do e without her She has been everything to . She ’ n ll hi was u dropped her ha d upon Wi iam s, w ch ro gh with

beamed on the company . Things were going well with his l world. Three of his more gross y incompetent men had l e ﬁlled d . die , and their p aces had be n by their betters n Every day brought the rains earer. They had put out f m ﬁv e of t f all the a ine in the Eight Distric s, and, a ter , the

- — i death rate had not been too heavy th ngs considered . He l ull r l ooked Scott over caref y, as an og e ooks over a man, in r - and rejoiced his thews and i on hard condition. ’ ’ ‘ u l as l u im He s j st the e t bit in the wor d tucked p, said J ’ ’

i lf b ut . to h mse , he can do two men s work yet Then he

Mrs. im l him was aware that J was te egraphing to , and ‘ according to the domestic code the message ran ! A clear case . Look at them lis n All He looked and te ed. that William was saying was ! What can you expect of a country where they call a ’ ' bhistee [a water-carrier] a tzmnia mtch 1 and all that Scott answered was ! I shall be precious glad to get back to the ’ ’ l . n ll C ub Save me a da ce at the Christmas ba , won t you 1 ’ ll ’ It s a far cry from here to the Lawrence Ha , said Jim. ’ - - u in l . d Better t rn ear y, Scott It s pa dy carts to morrow ; ’ ’ you ll begin loadi ng at ﬁv e . ’ ’ ’ ‘ Ar en t you goin g to give Mr. Scott one day s rest 1 ‘ ’ ’ s l i . As l Wi h I cou d, Lizz e Fraid I can t. ong as he can ’ stan d up we must use him . ’ ‘ ll I v e l We , had one Europe evening, at east WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 43

’ I d rl f ! Jove, nea y orgotten What do I do about those ’ babies of mi ne 1 ’ r l Leave them he e, said Wi liam we are in charge of t — as as ou tha and many goats y can spare. I must learn ’ how to milk now. ’ If you care to get up early enough to morrow I ll show

. l ou alf f you I have to mi k, y see ; and, by the way, h o ’ s and em have bead things round their necks. You must be ’ ’ ful off u u care not to take em , in case the mothers t rn p. ’ ’ You f orget I ve had some experi ence here. ’ ’ ’ I hope to goodness you won t overdo. Scott s voice was unguarded . ’ ’ I ll . im l i take care of her, said Mrs J , te egraph ng dr - e as she ll off l hun ed word m ssages carried Wi iam , whi e n w Jim gave Scott his orders for the comi g campaign. It as ’ —n l l very late ear y nine o c ock. ’ ’ im u hi s f n J , yo re a brute, said wi e, that ight ; and the f l Head o the Famine chuck ed. ot of it n ﬁrst N a bit , dear I remember doi g the Jandiala Settlement for the sake of a girl in a crinoline ; ’ l . I v e and she was s ender, Lizzie never done as good a ’ ’ e ll l . piece of work since. H work ike a demon ’ But you mi ght have given him one day. ? ’ And let things come to a head now No, dear ; it s

’ ’ ‘ I don t believe either of the dears know what s the ’ ’ ’ ’ b eautiful l n l l 1 matter with them. Isn t it Is t it ove y l l l ! Getting up at three to earn to mi k, b ess her heart ’ Y old 1 e gods, why must we grow and fat ’ She s a darli ng. She has done more work under me a Un der you The day after she came she was in ch rge ’ and and ou were her subordi nate, you ve stayed there ever y ’ l as ll n . since . She manages you a most we as you ma age me ’ ’ ’ l . She doesn t, and that s why I ove her She s as direct — ’ as a man as her brother. 44 THE KIPLING READ ER

’ ’ Her brother s weaker than she is. He s always coming ’ he s lu . to me for orders but honest, and a g tton for work ’ ll if I confess I m rather fond of Wi iam, and I had a daughter n b The talk ended there . Far away i the Deraja was a ’ old im child s grave more than twenty years , and neither J n or his wi fe spoke of it any more. ’ ’ ‘ All n l Jim f the same, you re respo sib e, added, a ter a ’ moment s silen ce . ‘ ’ ’ l . im l l . B ess em, said Mrs J , s eepi y l l Before the stars pa ed, Scott, who s ept in an empty cart, waked and went about his work in silence ; it seemed at that hour unkind to rouse Faiz Ullah and the interpreter. n l n d did ll His head bei g c ose to the grou , he not hear Wi iam

hi m ol - till she stood over in the dingy d riding habit, her l cu of ast eyes still heavy with s eep, a p tea and a piece of to r was on n in her hands. The e a baby the ground, squirmi g f l si x- - ld l on a piece o b anket, and a year o chi d peered over ’ ul Scott s sho der. ’ ‘ l l u ou Hai, you itt e rip, said Scott, how the de ce do y ’ expect to get your rations if you aren t quiet 1 A l d t coo white hand stea ied the bra , who forthwith l u l his t choked as the mi k g rg ed into mou h . l ’ said the mi ker. You ve no notion how w l ’ these little fello s can wrigg e. ‘ ’ h . hi u Oh, yes, I ave She w spered, beca se the world ‘ l . nl f was as eep O y I eed them with a spoon or a rag. ’ f e mi d Yours are att r than ne. An you ve been doing ft ’ this day a er day, twice a day 1 The voice was almost l ost. ‘ ’ u . ou Yes ; it was abs rd Now y try, he said, giving ’ ’ l c r l. A p a e to the gi Look out goat s not a cow. u The goat protested against the amate r, and there was a scufﬂe u , in which Scott snatched p the baby. Then it was all to ill l do over again, and W iam aughed softly and

46 THE KIPLING READER

l l as at Scott, who stood he p ess and, it were, ham

’ ’ l ll I ll n Go back, said Scott quick y to Wi iam. se d the ’ little chap over in a minute. of u had ff The tone a thority its e ect, but in a way Scott

l . l hi s did not exact y intend The boy oosened grasp, and

did n was n . said with gravity, I not k ow the woman thi e ’ f ll o. s o I wi g Then he cried to his companion , a mob

— - three four and ﬁv e year olds wai ti ng on the success of his

! Go ven ture ere they stampeded back and eat. It is our ’ ’ ll his man s woman. She wi obey orders. Jim collapsed where he sat Faiz Ullah and the two police ’ cartmen l men grinned and Scott s orders to the ﬂew like hai . ‘ That is the custom of the Sahib s when truth is told in

n e w r . u ll u must seek se vice Yo ng wives, especia y s ch as speak our language and have knowledge of the ways of the e u l for l th matter Police, make gr at tro b e honest but ers in a ’ of weekly accounts . ll u all she di d b ut What Wi iam tho ght of it not say, when t l c for r and her bro her, ten days ater, ame to camp orde s, ’ c t m l u n ! ll heard of S ot s perfor ances, he said, a ghi g We , ’ ll Balm? c f that settles it. He be S ott to the end o his days

Baleri ul . h ( , in the northern vernac ar, means a goat) W at ’ ’ a lark l I d have given a mon th s pay to have seen him

’ but that was all right. ’ ’ l is u t hi s t l It s perfect y d g s ing, said sis er, with b azing A man hi n li e —l — n eyes. does somet g k ike that a d all you n to hi m u n n m other men thi k of is give an abs rd ick a e, and ’ ’ hi it s then you laugh and t nk funny. ’ h . Jim ll . A , said Mrs , sympathetica y ’ ll ou l ll . You l We , y can t ta k, Wi iam christened litt e Miss Demby the Button-quail last cold weather you know ’ ’ n l of you did. I dia s the and nickn ames . WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 47

’ ’ ’ h di ﬁerent ll l T at s , Wi iam rep ied . She was only a i l ’ l l g r , and she hadn t done anything except wa k ike a quail, ’ ’ does. fai fun f and she But it isn t r to make o a man. ’ ’ n ’ Scott wo t care, said Martyn. You can t get a rise ’ out old . n for a of Scotty I ve bee trying eight ye rs, and ’ u nl n ’ yo ve o y know him for three . How does he look ? ’ He l ll ll ooks very we , said Wi iam, and went away with u Balm! a ﬂ shed cheek. Scott, indeed Then she laughed to lf for herse , she knew the country of her service. But ’ it will be Balm! all the same ; and she repeated it under her l l l n f breath severa times s ow y, whisperi g it into avour. W tu hi s on il rt hen he re rned to duties the ra way, Ma yn ad far and as spre the name wide among his sociates, so that

- Scott met it as he led his paddy carts to war. The natives l li l of ur t be ieved it to be some Eng sh tit e hono , and the car ll l ll Ull di d drivers used it in a simp icity ti Faiz ah, who not

of f ad . approve oreign japes, broke their he s There was l l i for il very itt e t me m king now, except at the big camps ’ im and was f di where J had extended Scott s idea, ee ng

large ﬂocks on the useless northern grains . Enough paddy l l f if had come into the Eight Districts to ho d the peop e sa e, it were only distributed quickly ; and for that purpose no i n l ofﬁcer l one was better than the b g Ca a , who never ost his

temper, never gave an unnecessary order, and never ou vi hi s questioned an order given. Scott pressed , sa ng l ll n l so catt e, washing their ga ed ecks dai y, that no time should be lost on the road ; reported himself with his

- l ad and n rice at the minor famine sheds, un o ed, we t back — e n light by forced ni ght march to the next distributing c tre, ’ ’ And to ﬁn d Hawkins s unvaryi ng telegram ! Do it again. ain l i111 he did it again and again, and yet ag , whi e J H ﬁft l off on awkins, y mi es away, marked a big map the l tracks of his wheels gridironing the stricken ands. Others ll did well —Hawkins reported at the end that they a did

- ll n for well but Scott was the most exce e t, he kept good as THE KIPLING READER

all t of u i the spot, and ran to meet sor s ncons dered extras,

u l . i ll trusting to be reco ped ater Theoret ca y, the Govern l lin ment shou d have paid for every shoe and chpin, for every hand employed in the loadi ng ; b ut Government s l l l lli vouchers cash them e ves s ow y, and inte gent and l k l est author efﬁci ent c er s write at great ength, cont ing un

ised expenditures of eight annas. The man who wishes to make his work a succe ss must draw on his own bank -account i of money or other th ngs as he goes. ’ ’ ‘ ou I told y he d work, said Jimmy to his wife at the ’ He s s l end of si x weeks. been in o e charge of a couple of u on Mosuhl l tho sand men up north the Cana for a year, and he gives one less trouble than young Martyn with his ten ’ — constables ; and I m morally ce rtain only Government ’ — ’ doesn t recognise moral obligations that he s spent about

l hi s l . f r ha f pay to grease his whee s Look at this, Lizzie, o ’ on e week s work ! Forty miles in two days with twelve ! carts ; two days halt building a famine-shed for young u u l him l Rogers (Rogers o ght to have b i t it se f, the idiot l l six Then forty mi es back again, oading carts on the

u n all u a . way, and distrib ti g S nd y Then in the evening he c i n - demi ~oﬁicial pit hes a twenty page to me, saying that the people where he is might be adv antageously employed on ” ’ f- u relie work, and s ggesting that he put em to work on ’ -d old he s some broken own reservoir discovered, so as to -s l s He have a good water upp y when the Rain come . thinks f he can caulk the dam in a ortnight. Look at his marginal — ’ sketches aren t they clear and good ? I knew he was ’ ’ M b ut I didn t know he was as pukka as this ! ‘ ’ ‘ us ll m Mrs. I m t show these to Wi ia , said Jim. The ’ ’ lf out n child s wearing herse amo g the babies. ‘ h . ll Not more t an you are, dear We , another two ’ u to see na out ’ months o ght of the wood. I m sorry it s not ’ for V in my power to recommend you a .C. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 49

ll l Wi iam sat ate in her tent that night, reading through ft u n page a er page of the sq are ha dwriting, patting the c of sket hes proposed repairs to the reservoir, and wrinklin g her eyebrows over the columns of ﬁgure s of estimated

’ And ﬁnds all r lf he time to do this, she c ied to herse , ’ ll l . I v e and we , I a so was present saved one or two

She dreamed for the twentieth time of the god in the l f l lac go den dust, and woke refreshed to eed oathsome b k l e of m r l chi dren, scor s the , wast e s picked up by the way n l n r l and side, their bo es a most breaki g their skin, ter ib e covered with sores.

his - Scott was not allowed to leave cart work, but his n letter was duly forwarded to the Gover ment, and he had a of w the consolation, not rare in Indi , kno ing that another l was man was reaping where he had sown. That a so dis u ciplin e proﬁtable to the so l . ’ ’ on n l ai . He s much too good to was te ca a s, s d Jimmy ’ d a Any one can oversee coolies. You nee n t be ngry, — ll William ! he can but I need my pearl among bu ock ’ r n s r , drivers, and I ve t a sferred him to the Khanda di t ict ' ’ He ul where he ll have it all to do over again. sho d be

marchi ng now. ’ ’ ll fu l . He u He s not a coolie, said Wi iam rious y o ght to ’ be doing hi s regulation work. ’ ’ He s the best man in hi s service, and that s saying a ut good deal ; but if you must use razors to c grindstones, ’ f l . why, I pre er the best cut ery ’ ’ Mrs im. Isn t it almost time we saw him again 1 said J ’ l l for I’m sure the poor boy has n t had a respectab e mea a n s He l month. probab y sits on a cart and eats sardi e with ’ ﬁn ers. his g ’ f — as t 1t All i n good time, dear. Duty be ore decency w n 1 Mr. Chucks said. that

K . R . 50 THE KIPLING READER

’ ‘ ll l u ‘ No ; it was Midshipman Easy, Wi iam a ghed . I sometimes won der how it will feel to dance or listen to ’ f. l a band again, or sit under a roo I can t be ieve that ’ - I ever wore a ball frock in my life . ‘ ’ Mrs. n O ne minute, said Jim, who was thinki g. If he

a fiv e l us. goes to Khand , he passes within mi es of Of ’ ’ course he ll ride in . ’ ’ n ll . Oh, no, he wo t, said Wi iam ’ ou e 1 How do y know, d ar ’ ’ ff his He It ll take him o work. won t have timd ‘ ’ ’ it . n l He ll make , said Mrs Jim, with a twi k e . ’ It depends on his own judgment. There s absolutely no ’ ul ’ if fit reason why he sho dn t, he thinks , said Jim. ’ ’ He fit lli l won t see , Wi am rep ied, without sorrow or ’ ’ ul n him emotion. It wo d t be if he did. One certainly gets to know people rather well in times li ’ im l ll ’ ke these, said J , dri y ; but Wi iam s face was serene an d m hesi ed as ever, even as she p p , Scott did not appear. R f ll las l l dr The ains e at t, ate, but heavi y ; and the y, was mud ll gashed earth red , and servants ki ed snakes in was - u for f the camp, where every one weather bo nd a ort —all in l night except Hawk s, who took horse and sp ashed

n . r about in the wet, rejoici g Now the Government dec eed - i ul i l as ll that seed gra n sho d be d stributed to the peop e, we as advances of money for the purchas e of n ew oxen ; and h l for the w ite men were doub y worked this new duty, while William skipped from brick to brick laid down on l wi the tramp ed mud, and dosed her charges th warming medicines that made them rub their little round stomachs ;

- on and the milch goats throve the rank grass . There was f in n ri never a word rom Scott the Kha da dist ct, away u - l l to the so th east, except the regu ar te egraphic report u to Hawkins . The rude co ntry roads had disappeared ; ’ his drivers were half mutinous ; one of Martyn s loaned policemen had di ed of cholera and Scott was taking WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 51 thirty grain s of quinin e a day to ﬁght the fever that comes if one works hard in heavy rain ; but those were thi ngs

s . He he did not con ider necessary to report was, as u ual f l on l s , working rom a base of supp ies a rai way lin e, to l of ﬁfte en l and cover a circ e mi es radius, sin ce full loads l u -l were impossib e, he took q arter oads, and toiled four times as hard by consequence ; for he did not choose to risk an epidemic which might have grown uncontrollable

l n ll n l - by assemb i g vi agers in thousa ds at the re ief sheds. It was ll cheaper to take Government bu ocks, work them to and l l death, eave them to the crows in the wayside s oughs . That was the time when eight years of clean living and ’ n i l l hard co d tion to d, though a man s head were ringing ike ll f n and un a be rom the cincho a, the earth swayed der his i If feet when he stood and under h s bed when he slept. ﬁt hi m ull -dr Hawkin s had seen to make a b ock iver, that, he ’ s l ff . thought, wa entire y Hawkins s own a air There were men in the North who would know what he had don e ; ’ men of thirty years service in hi s own department who was alf b ad im would say that it not h and above, f was ill measurably above all men o all grades, there W iam ﬁ ht ul a s in the thick of the g , who wo d approve bec u e she

hold fast to the mechanical routine of the day, though his own and hi s n s own voice sounded stran ge in his ears, ha d , l ll ll when he wrote, grew arge as pi ows or sma as peas at the f t hi s end of his wrists. That stead as ness bore body to the — l - n and t l telegraph ofﬁce at the rai way statio , dic ated a te e s i wa , gram to Hawkins, say ng that the Khanda district in ’ n n ow f an . hi s judgme t, sa e, dhe waited further orders — d of l r The Madrasse e telegraph clerk di not approve a a ge, f n gaun t man fallin g over him in a dead ai t, not so much of l because of the weight, as because the names and b ows ll that Faiz Ullah dealt him when he found the body ro ed Ull la u l under a ben ch. Then Faiz ah took b nkets and q i ts 52 THE KIPLI NG READ ER

la u and coverlets where he found them, and y down nder ’ and bs un d hi s ms e t them at his master s side, ar with a t n filled him l e set rope, and with a horrib e st w of herbs, and the policeman to fight him when he wished to escape from the intolerable heat of his coverings, and shut the door of the telegraph-ofiice to keep out the curious for two nights n and l n i l and o e day when a ight e g ne came down the ine, n i l hi m l and Hawki s k cked in the door, Scott hai ed weak y, u l aiz ll o but in a nat ra voice, and F U ah stood back and t ok all the credit. ’ - was a al s i ai z For two nights, Heaven born, he p g , a d F

Ullah. Look at my nose, and consider the eye of the He us hi s policeman. beat with bound hands ; but we sat hi m n - n z upon , Heave bor , and though his words were ta , we

He is weaker now than a child ; but the fever has gone out of . n him, by the grace of God There remai s only my nose

constab eel. ll f and the eye of the Sahib, sha I ask or my

u f all be s re that the ever was gone, ere he went out to open tinned soups and di scourage such as laughed at his swelled nose. ’ ’ ’ all hi The district s right, Scott w spered . It doesn t make any di fferen ce. You got my wire 1 I shall be ﬁt in a ’ ’ u t . week. Can t nders and how it happened I shall be ﬁt ’ a few days. ’ ’ i n o us You re com ng i t camp with , said Hawkins. But look here—but ’ ’ ’ It s all over except the shouting . We sha n t need you ’ ’ u a . Ou n P njabis ny more my ho our, we sha n t. Martyn ’ goes back in a few weeks Arb uthn ot s return ed already ; Ellis and Clay are putting the last touches to a new feeder ’ ’ n n uil l - lin e the Gover me t s b t as re ief work. Morten s dead ’ — e n l man u ul n h was a Be ga , tho gh you wo d t know him.

54 THE KIPLING READ ER

‘ ! M ll ou William could say was y word, how pu ed down y look ’ ’ f You l ll I v e had a touch o fever. don t ook very we ’ yourself. ’ ’ I m ﬁt u . . Oh, eno gh We ve stamped it out I suppose ’ you know 1

ll all . Scott nodded . We sha be returned in a few weeks ’ Hawki n s told me . ’ ’ f a . Jim s. l Be ore Christm s, Mrs say Sha n t you be g ad to go back ? I can smell the wood-smoke already ' ‘ W ll s William sniﬂed. e sha be in time for all the Christma ’ s s u doings. I don t uppo e even the P njab Government ’ would be bas e en ough to transfer Jack till the new year 1 ‘ — It seems hundreds of years ago the Punjab and all ’ ’ that—doesn t it 1 Are you glad you came 1 ’ it s all es. n l You Now over, y It has bee ghast y here. had to sit ll hi and im know we sti and do not ng, Sir J u ’ away so m ch . ’ Do nothing How did you get on with the mi lking 1 —ft ’ I managed it somehow a er you taught me. l an l l Then the ta k stopped with a most audi b e jar. Still

no Mrs . Jim. That remi nds me I owe you fifty rupees for the con ’ doused milk. I thought perhaps you d be coming here sf t when you were tran erred to the Khanda dis rict, and I ’ ’ could pay you then ; but you didn t. s i fiv e il of I pas ed with n m es the camp . It was in the mi l of a ou dd e a m rch, y see, and the carts were breaking u ul ’ ’ down every few min tes, and I co dn t get em over the ll ’ l ground ti ten o c ock that night. But I wanted to come ’ full n aw y . You k ew I did, didn t you 1 ’ I— l —I—did ll f c n be ieve , said Wi iam, a i g him with level n l n i eyes. She was o o ger wh te. Did you understand 1 ’ ’ ou in Oi Why y didn t ride ? course I did. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 55 Why 1 ’ u ’ ’ ou ul of . n Beca se y co dn t course I k ew that. ‘ ’ Did you care 1 — ’ If you had come ia but I knew you wouldn t—but if had ul you , I sho d have cared a great deal. You know I ’ should. ’ ! b t ’ Thank God I didn t Oh, u I wanted to 1 I couldn t u l f of tr st myse f to ride in ront the carts, because I kept ’ ’ i ! n edg ng em over here, don t you k ow 1 ’ ’ ul lli contentedl I knew you wo dn t, said Wi am, y; ’ ’ ‘ ur fift Here s yo y. Scott ben t forward and ki ssed the han d that held the Its f greasy notes. ellow patted him awkwardly but very l tender y on the head. ’ And ou n ou 1 s ll in y k ew, too, didn t y aid Wi iam, a new v 01ce .

’ ’ he— u di d . a t No, on my hono r, I n t I h dn t the cheek n of n to expect a ything the ki d, except I say, were you ’ out ridi ng anywhere the day I passed by to Khanda 1 W ll and il ft of l i iam nodded, sm ed a er the manner an ange surprised in a good deed. Then it was just a speck I saw of your habit in

- - saw u Palm grove on the Southern cart road . I yo r l helmet when you came up from the nullah by the temp e ’ — D ou just enough to be sure that you were all right. y

d for in This time Scott did n ot kiss her han , they were ’ - u ll the dusk of the dining tent, and, beca se Wi iam s o knees i n were trembling under her, she had to sit down the

l l , nearest chair, where she wept ong and happi y her head l on her arms ; and when Scott imagined that it wou d be hi of well to comfort her, she needed not ng the kind she t l ran to her own tent ; and Scott went ou into the wor d, ll n and smiled upon it largely and idi otica y. But whe Faiz 56 THE KIPLING READER

n f u u Ullah brought hi m a dri k, he o nd it necessary to s pport one hand with the other, or the good whisky and soda

would have been spilled abroad. There are fevers and f evers. as — — i But it w worse much worse the stra ned, eye i ll r shirking talk at d nner ti the servants had withd awn, im had and worst of all when Mrs . J , who been on the edge w i ill of weepin g from the soup do n, k ssed Scott and W iam, l l u and they drank one who e bott e of champagne, hot, beca se and and W ll there was no ice, Scott i iam sat outside the

f more ever.

n l u see has Being engaged is abomi ab e, beca se, you , one no ’ u n ul l ofﬁcial position. We m st be tha kf that we ve ots of ’ things to do. ‘ ’ ! when that was re rted to him. Thi ngs to do said Jim, po ’ ’ of an .an They re neither them y good y more. I can t get ’ f ’ ﬁv e hours work a day out o Scott . He s in the clouds half ’ the time. ’ b ut u ul J Oh, they re so bea tif to watch, immy. It will ’ break my heart when they go. Can t you do anythi ng for

’ I v e m —at given the Govern ent the impression len t, — I h0pe I have that he pe rsonally conducted the entire t all n fami ne. Bu he wa ts is to get on to the Luni Canal ’ lli t b ad . Works, and Wi am s jus as Have you ever heard

’ t l of . their s y e spooning, I suppose ’ im l l . Ah Mrs . J smi ed tender y , that s in the intervals ’ ’ bless em. And so Love ran about the camp unrebuked in broad l l day ight, whi e men picked up the pieces and put them WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 57

Morning brought the penetratin g chill of the Northern l of - December, the ayers wood smoke, the dusty gray blue s of of the tamarisk , the domes ruined tombs, and all the ll hi l ns — sme of the w te Northern p ai , as the mail train ran mi — l l n l . ll on to the e o g Sut ej Bridge Wi iam, wrapped in

— - a poshtem s ilk embroidered sheepskin jacket trimmed with — rough astrakhan looked out with moist eyes and nostrils that dilated joyously. The South of pagodas and palm

the - la e n w trees, over popu t d Hindu South, was do e ith. was l n l and f Here the a d she knew and oved, be ore her la lif she u a f l of y the good e nderstood, mong o k her own

They were picking them up at almost every station now — n for as men and women comi g in the Christm Week, with

ue l of l - u rae q ts, with bund es po o sticks, with dear and br ised

- - fox l . cricket bats, with terriers and sadd es The greater ’ l ill for part of them wore jackets ike W iam s, the Northern cold is as little to be triﬂed with as the Northern heat. of And William was among them and them, her hands ll ur deep in her pockets, her co ar t ned up over her ears, stampin g her feet on the platforms as she walked up and i r and down to get warm, visiting from carr age to ca riage, was everywhere being cong atulated. Scott with the ' r chaﬁed bachelors at the far end of the t ain, where they him mercilessly about feedi ng babies and milking goats ; but ’ ll lli n from time to time he would stro up to Wi am s wi dow, ’ ’ n n 1 and ll ul and mur mur ! Good e ough, is t it Wi iam wo d ’ n . i of l ! , answer, with s ghs pure de ight Good e ough indeed The large open names of the home towns were good to

a Ludianah Phillour ull , listen to . Umball , , , J undur they felt deeply and truly sorry for all strangers and outsiders t f - for visitors, touris s, and those resh caught the the country. l It was a glorious return, and when the bache ors gave 58 THE KIPLING READER

a ll ll was unofficiall the Chris tm s ba , Wi iam , y, you might f u n t say, the chie and honoured g est amo g the s ewards, who l as n could make things very p e ant for their frie ds . She and l all sat Scott danced near y the dances together, and out the rest in the big dark gallery overlooking the superb teak u m l d li floor, where the nifor s b aze , and the spurs c nked, and the new frocks and four hun dred dancers went roun d and round till the draped flags on the pillars flapped and bellied to the whirl of it. About midnight half a dozen men who did not care for f l l ‘ t ’ dancing came over rom the C ub to p ay Wai s, and — that was a surpri se the stewards had arranged before any had t and hi one knew what happened, the band s opped, dden ’ o l u voices broke int Good King Wences a s, and William in the gallery hummed and beat time with her foot

ar m oo ste s e ll m a e M k y f t p w , y p g , rea t ou in e m b ol l T d h th d y, ’ Thou shalt fe e l the wi nte r s rage Fre eze thy blood less coldly !

us ’ Oh, I hope they are going to give another ! Isn t it ar in — pretty, coming out of the d k that way 1 Look look ’ w ’ down. There s Mrs . Gregory iping her eyes 1 ’ ’ It s like home, rather, said Scott. I remember ’ — ’ Heh l Listen d ear. And it began again !

When shephe rds watched the ir ﬂocks by n ight

‘ A-h-h ill n l said W iam, drawi g c oser to Scott.

The An el of the Lo r cam o g d e d wn , An d lor shone aroun g y d . ’ Fear n ot sai he for mi , d ( ghty dread Had se ize d their troubled mind) Glad tidin gs of great j oy I brin g ’ To ou an d all man i n y k d . WEE WILLIE WINKIE

AN O FFICER AND A GENTLEMAN

HIS ull was l ll f name Perciva Wi iam Williams , but he

u u - picked p the other name in a n rsery book, and that was ’ of n l His the end the christe ed tit es. mother s ayah called ll -Baba b u f him Wi ie , t as he never paid the aintest attention n h a ah m to a ything t at the y said, her wisdo did not help

His f l l of 195th as ather was the Co one the , and soon as Wee Willi e Winkie was old enough to understand what li t l l l ll Mi ary Discip ine meant, Co one Wi iams put him under t. n i There was o other way of managing the child. When for dr - he was good a week, he ew good conduct pay ; and bad was his - u when he was , he deprived of good cond ct

. as b ad for ff stripe Generally he w , India o ers many

- - chances of goin g wrong to little six year olds . f Children resent familiarity rom strangers, and Wee

Willie Winkie was a very particular child. Once he sl l to accepted an acquaintance, he was graciou y p eased l of 195th on thaw. He accepted Brandis, a suba tern the , l l’ sight. Brandis was having tea at the Co one s, and Wee Willi e Winkie entered strong in the possession of a good conduct badge won for not chasing the hens round the n wi for l ast compound. He regarded Bra dis th gravity at e

l lf of his . ten minutes, and then de ivered himse opinion 59 60 THE KIPLING READER

’ ou ai l l i off I like y , s d he s ow y, gett ng his chair and ‘ l o coming over to Brandis . I ike y u. I shall call you

u of . mind ll Coppy, beca se your hair Do you being ca ed ’ 1 t us v e ou . Coppy I is beca e of hair, y know Here was one of the most embarrassing of Wee Willie ’ He l l f r Winkie s peculiarities . wou d ook at a stranger o i l n n some time, and then, without warn ng or exp a atio ,

. And n u would give him a name the ame st ck. No regi mental pen alties could break Wee Willie Winkie of this He l - for habit. ost his good conduct badge christening the ’ Commission er s wife Pobs but nothing that the Colonel

ul t i . co d do made the S at on forego the nickname, and Mrs ll Collen remained Pobs ti the end of her stay. So Brandis ’ f was christened Coppy, and rose, there ore, in the estima tion of the regiment. Wee ll e If Wi ie Winkie took an int rest in any one, the fortunate man was envied alike by the mess and the rank

And in n la u - and ﬁle. their e vy y no s spicion of self interest. ’ l son lis The Colone s was ido ed on his own merits entirely. ll l l Yet Wee Wi ie Winkie was not ove y. His face was per manen tl l l l y freck ed, as his egs were permanent y scratched, ' and in spite of hi s mother s almost tearful remonstrances he had insisted upon havin g his long yellow locks cut short in ‘ n the mili tary fashio . I want my hair like Sergeant Tum ’ ’ l ai W lli an d f r n mi s, s d Wee i e Winkie, , his athe abetti g, the sacriﬁce was accomplished.

° Three weeks afte r the bestowal of hi s youthful affections — on Lieutenant Brandis hen ceforward to be called Coppy — for the sake of brevity Wee Willie Winkie was destined to l n his beho d stra ge things and far beyond comprehensi on. him wear for ﬁv e rapturous min utes hi s own big sword W ll just as tall as ee Wi ie Winkie . Coppy had promised him a terrier puppy ; and Coppy had permi tted him to a l s n witness the mir cu ou operatio of shaving. Nay, more

62 THE KIPLING READER

with great craft managed to keep their engagement secret e as n for a fortnight. There were urgent and imp rative re o s why Major Allardyce should n ot know how matters stood le s sm ll l had for at a t another month , and this a marp ot

discovered a great deal too much . ‘ ’ ‘ saw ou ll n al l . v e I y , said Wee Wi ie Wi kie c m y But ’ sai Hai aa sais didn t see . I d, j ’ u n u Oh, you had that m ch se se, you yo ng Rip, groaned ‘ lf u an d lf n . And poor Coppy, ha am sed ha a gry how many ’ people may you have told about it 1 ’ di d ll twi ed to Only me myself. You n t te when I wide v e buffalo v en my pony was lame an d I fought you ’ ’ wouldn t like.

’ f ll o o . u hand, you re the best good fe ows Look here, y ’ i n can t un derstand all these th gs . One of these days ’ it see —I m hang , how can I make you it going to marry ’ 11 M All r . 0o as sa . iss a dyce, and then she be Mrs ppy, you y If your young min d 18 so scandali sed at the idea of kissing ’ l o ll f . big gir s, g and te your ather ’ ll en 1 ll nk What wi happ said Wee Wi ie Wi ie, who firml ha a hi s f was y be ved th t ather omnipotent. ’ ll o r l l I sha get int t oub e, said Coppy, p aying his trump wi li n l l f card th an appea g ook at the ho der o the ace. ’ ’ n ll W b ri efl Ven I wo t, said Wee Wi ie inkie y. But ’ f uh -man -l l s my aver says it s y to be a ways kis ing, and I ’ ’ ’ i fink ou d v at . d dn t y do , Coppy ‘ ’ ’ I m n ot l s n old . a ways ki si g, chap It s only now and ’ ’ n ll f the , and when you re bigger you do it too. Your ather ’ ’ it s for l l meant not good itt e boys . ‘ ’ Ali ! ll full nl said Wee Wi ie Winkie, now y e ightened. ’ ’ It s like v e sputter-brush 1 ‘ l ’ l Exact y, said Coppy grave y . ’ ’ ‘ fink I ll i l But I don t ever want to kiss big g r s, nor no ’ ’ one muv v er. An d must ou , cept my I vat, y know. WEE WILLIE WINKIE 63

l There was a ong pause, broken by Wee Willie Winkie . ‘ Ar e f i l ’ you ond of vis big g r , Coppy1

‘ ’ Fonder v an you are of Bell or v e Butcha—or me 1 ’ di ff ’ n . It s in a ere t way, said Coppy You see, on e of these days Miss Allardyce will belong to me but you’ll —, grow up and command the Regiment and all sorts of ’ ’ . ff ou . things It s quite di erent . y see ’ ll ll ’ Very we , said Wee Wi ie Winkie, rising. If you re ’ f n v e l ’ ll an . us o d of big gir , I won t te y one I m t go now. ll u Coppy rose and escorted his sma g est to the door, ’ a di of l l f ll d ng You re the best itt e e ows, Winkie. I tell o y u what. In thirty days from n ow you can tell if you ’ l — ll o l ike te any one y u ike. Thus the secret of the Bran dis-Allardyce engagement ’ was httle ld . 0oppy n dependent on a chi s word , who k ew ’ ll Winkie s of as Wee Wi ie idea truth, was at e e, for he felt ul that he wo d not break promises. Wee Willie Winkie r ial u u l t All bet ayed a spec and nus a interes in Miss ardyce, l l l t l and, s ow y revo ving round tha embarrassed young ady, was u r l wi n n He sed to regard her g ave y th u winki g eye. was 0oppy l h s trying to discover why shou d ave ki sed her. u She was not half so nice as his own mother. O the other ’ and w l s l hand, she was Coppy s property, ou d in tim be ong f to him . There ore it behoved him to treat her with as ’ much respect as 0oppy s big sword or shiny pistol. The idea that he shared a great secret in common with Coppy kept Wee Willie Winkie unusually virtuous for e O ld A ad three we ks . Then the dam broke out, and he m e ’ - what he called a camp ﬁre at the bottom of the garden. How could he have foreseen that the ﬂying sparks would ’ have lighted the Colon el s little hay-rick and consumed a ’ week s store for the horses 1 Sudden and swift was the

— - ad pun ishment deprivation of the good conduct b ge and, ’ m w ul of all conﬁ nement to r ost sorro f , two days ba racks 64 THE KIPLING READER — the house and veranda c oupled with the withdrawal of ’ the light of his father s coun tenan ce . l be He took the sentence ike the man he strove to , drew hi l u n n -li alu mse f up with a q iveri g u der p, s ted, and, once l the to l i n u s —call c ear of room ran, weep bitter y his n r ery ed ‘ ’ f by him my quarters . Coppy came in the a ternoon and attempted to console the culprit . ’ ’ awwest ll Wnk u ull I m under , said Wee Wi ie i ie mo rnf y, ‘ ’ ’ and I didn t ought to speak to you. Very early the next morni n g he climbed on to the roof of — the house that was not forbidden—and beheld Miss

Allardyce going for a ride. ’ n 1 ll Where are you goi g cried Wee Wi ie Winkie. ‘ A ’ cross the river, she answered, and trotted forward.

‘ Now the cantonmen t in which the 1 95th lay was bounded n — i n on the orth by a river dry the winter. From his l ll n o ear iest years, Wee Wi ie Winkie had been forbidde to g an d n — across the river, had noted that eve Coppy the l — t f n i a most almighty Coppy had never se oot beyo d t. W ll n e ad of l Wee i ie Wi kie had once be n re to, out a big b ue wonderful tale of a land where the Goblin s were always warring with the children of me n until they were defeated in e by one Curdie . Ever s ce that dat it see med to hi m that the bare black an d purple hills across the river were ia o li in r habited by G b ns, and, t uth, every one had sai d that Men in h there lived the Bad . Even i s own house the lower halves of the win dows were covered with green paper on n of Men ll l accou t the Bad who might, if a owed c ear view, a f l - an d ﬁre into pe ce u drawing rooms comfortable bedrooms. l n of all Certain y, beyo d the river, which was the end the ’ a l . And Allard ce s E rth, ived the Bad Men here was Major y ’ l n u i big gir , Coppy s property, preparing to ve t re into the r borders ! What would 0oppy say if anything happened to her ? If the Goblins ran 011 with her as they did with WEE WILLIE WINKIE 65

’ Curdi e s Princess 1 She must at all hazards be turned

back. u was The ho se still. Wee Willie Winkie reﬂected for a l —moment on the very terrib e wrath of his father ; and then hi s ! was u s l broke arrest It a crime n peakab e. The low sun d w l l threw his sha o , very arge and very b ack, on the

n - trim garde paths, as he went down to the stables and

ordered his pony. It seemed to him in the hush of the dawn that all the big world had been hidden to stand still l ll n i u l of and ook at Wee Wi ie Wi k e g i ty mutiny. The dr sais him his u and owsy gave mo nt, , since the one great sin all insi niﬁcant W lli made others g , Wee i e Winkie said was n that he going to ride over to Coppy Sahib, and we t f - ft ul of d out at a oot pace, stepping on the so mo d the ower borders . ’ The devastating track of the pony s feet was the last mis hi m off f all of u He deed that cut rom sympathy H manity. n o l f d f turned i t the road, eaned orwar , and rode as ast as the pony could put foot to the groun d in the di rection of the

ri ver. But the li veliest of twelve-two ponies can do little against All far h the long canter of a Waler. Miss ardyce was a ead, the l - n had passed through crops, beyond the Po ice posts, whe l was r all the guards were as eep, and her mount scatte ing the pebbles of the river-bed as Wee Willie Winkie left the f cantonmen t and British India behind him. Bowed orward ll A n and still ﬂogging, Wee Wi ie Winkie shot into fgha

ul All l e , territory, and co d just see Miss ardyce a b ack sp ck n of ﬂickering across the stony plain. The reaso her wander o of too- l ing was simple enough . Coppy, in a t ne hasti y had l ust as sumed authority, to d her overnight that she m An d not ride out by the river. she had gone to prove her l n own spirit and teach Coppy a esso l ll ll Almost at the foot of the inhospitab e hi s, Wee Wi ie

w l . Winkie saw the Waler blunder and come do n heavi y

K.R 66 THE KIPLING READER

u l l b ut l Miss Allardyce str gg ed c ear, her ank e had been

u shown her spirit, she wept, and was s rprised by the appar

pony . ’ ‘ Are ou dl l u 1 ll y ba y, bad y h rted shouted Wee Wi ie

’ ought to be here . ’ ’ M s Alla ull I don t know, said i s rdyce ruef y, ignoring il ou the reproof. Good gracious, ch d, what are y doing here 1 ’ ‘ ’ ai ou was acwoss v e You s d y going wiver, panted Wee hr n ms lf off ‘ And Willie Winkie, t owi g hi e his pony. no — — us o acwoss v e body not even Coppy m t g wiver, and I ’ fte so b ut ou ul n and came a r you ever hard, y wo d t stop, ’ u lf l wiv now you ve h rted yourse , and Coppy wi l be angwy ’ ’ — b woken s w e ! I v e woken me, and I ve my e t b my awwest l l 195 The future Co one of the th sat down and sobbed. i n l l In spite of the pa n in her a k e the gir was moved. ou r all l l Have y idden the way from cantonments, itt e man 1 What for 1

You belonged to 0oppy. Coppy told me so wailed l l ‘ Wee Willie Winkie disconso ate y. I saw him kissing ou f of ou ll v e y , and he said he was onder y van Be or

An d so . Butcha or me . I came You must get up and ’ . You u to come back didn t o ght be here. Vis is a bad ’ ’ l I ve b woken awwest. p ace, and my ’ ’ ‘ nk All I can t move, Wi ie, said Miss ardyce, with a ‘ ’ ’ I v e ur t. groan. h t my foo What shall I do 1 ad to e ad She showed a re iness we p anew, which ste ied ill n u l Wee W ie Wi kie, who had been bro ght up to be ieve

u nl . ll that tears were the depth of nma iness Sti , when one ll is as great a sinner as Wee Wi ie Winkie, even a man may r n be pe mitted to break dow . WEE WILLIE WINKIE 67

’ ki ll ’ Win e, said Miss A ardyce, when you ve rested a l a ell to litt e, ride b ck and t them send out something to ’ r in. u ull car y me back It h rts fearf y . The child sat still for a little time and Mi ss Allardyce l i was l c osed her eyes ; the pa n near y making her faint. She was roused by Wee Willie Winkie tying up the reins ’ on his pony s neck and setting it free with a vicious cut of s hi a s hi w p that m de it whi ker. The li ttle animal headed r towa ds the cantonments. i i ’ Oh, W nk e, what are you doing ? — v e . t wi v o fa one of Bad Men I must s ay y u. My vor man u alwa s says a m st y look after a girl. Jack wi ll go ’ ’ and v e ll l for na. h home, ven y come and ook Vat s w y ’ I let him go. Not one man b ut two or three had appeared from behind r k the hill of ll the oc s of s, and the heart Wee Wi ie Winkie in hi m us n l ns sank with , for j t in this ma ner were the Gob i ’ had wont to steal out and vex Curdie s soul. Thus they ’ — — played in Curdie s garden he had seen the picture and ’ He thus had they frightened the Princess s nurse. heard l n n them ta ki g to each other, and recog ised with joy the bastard Pushto that he had picked up from on e of his ’ l father s grooms lately di smissed. Peop e who spoke that nl tongue could not be the Bad Men. They were o y natives after all . ’ Allard ce s They came up to the boulders on which Miss y horse had blundered. ll l of Then rose from the rock Wee Wi ie Winkie, chi d h - u the Dominant Race, aged six and t ree q arters, and said b ri eﬂy and emphatically Jao The pony had crossed the

u one The men laughed, and la ghter from natives was the He thing Wee Willie Winkie could not tolerate. asked them what they wanted and why they did not depart. 68 THE KIPLING READER

lls ll s Wee ll crept out of the shadows of the hi , ti , oon, Wi ie

' Winln e was face to face with an audience some twenty All s d strong. Miss ardyce creame ’ ‘ n of Who are you 1 sai d o e the men. ’ l son ou I am the Colone Sahib s , and my order is that y

l M . go at once . You b ack men are frightening the iss Sahib One of you must run into cantonments and take the news u l l l’ that the Miss Sahib has h rt herse f, and that the Co one s ’ son is here with her. ’ t f ? was l Pu our eet into the trap the laughing rep y. ‘ Hear this boy’ s speech ’ ou—I l l Say that I sent y , the Co one s son . They will ’ give you money. What is the use of thi s ta1k 1 Take up the child and l l u the gir , and we can at east ask for the ransom. O rs are ’ ll ai the vi ages on the heights, s d a voice in the back

’ it needed all Wee Willie Winkie s trai ning to prevent him from burstin g in to tears But he felt that to cry before a ’ ' l hi s a ah ul f native, excepting on y mother s y , wo d be an in amy

. he l greater than any mutiny Moreover, , as future Colone 195th had i of the , that grim reg ment at his back. ’ ‘ Are you goin g to carry na away 1 said Wee Willi e

’ l l Sahib Bahadur s ll Yes, my itt e , aid the ta est of the men, w ’ and eat you afte r ards . ’ ’ l l ill en That is chi d s ta k, said Wee W ie Winkie. M do ’ not eat men . A ll of l u u him ﬁrml ye a ghter interr pted , but he went on y ‘ - An d if us ll you do carry away, I te you that all my regi ment will come up in a day and kill you all without ll leaving one. Who wi take my message to the Colonel Sahib ? ’

70 THE KIPLING READER

’ ’ ’ ’ m l 0 l im the got i . For the ove Gawd don t ook for in ’ ’ nullahs ! Let s go over the river. ’ ’ E s li , There s sense in Mott yet, aid Dev n Company, — double out to the river sharp So E rts l a l l for Company, in its shi eeves m in y, doub ed l o l i the dear ife, and in the rear t i ed the persp ring Sergeant, l adjuring it to double yet faster. The cantonment was a ive 1 95th u ll i with the men of the h nting for Wee Wi ie W nkie, l ﬁnall E o and the Colone y overtook C mpany, far too ex u l l - hausted to swear, str gg ing in the pebb es of the river bed. ’ Up the hill under whi ch Wee Willie Winki e s Bad Men ‘ were discussing the wisdom of carrying oﬁ the child and

- l l out fired . the gir , a ook two shots ’ a What have I s id 1 shouted Din Mahommed. There is the warning ! Thepulton are out already and are coming across the plain ! Get away ! Let us not be seen wi th the boy e for i s r The men wait d an n tant, and then, as anothe was fired i ll il shot , withdrew nto the hi s, s ently as they had appeared. ’ we iment is ill The g coming, said Wee W ie Winkie con ’ ’ fidentl All e i t s all W . cw y to Miss ardyc , and ight Don t y He lf n l needed the advice himse , for ten mi utes ater, when hi s u was in l father came p, he weep g bitter y with his head ’ l s la in Miss Al ardyce p. And the men of the 1 95th carried him home with shouts and rejoicings ; and Coppy, who had ridden a horse into a l him i us ather, met , and, to his intense d sg t, kissed him men O penly in the presence of the . But al n there was b m for his dig ity. His father assured him not l ul a that on y wo d the bre king of arrest be condoned, but that the good-conduct badge would be restored as soon l sew his blo as his mother cou d it on use sleev e . Miss Allar dyce had told the Colonel a story that made him proud of his son. WEE WILLIE WINKIE 71

’ l ou ll nki She be onged to y , Coppy, said Wee Wi ie Wi e, c All for ﬁn er indi ating Miss ardyce with a grimy e g . I ’ o dn o acwoss v e kn w she di t ought to g wiver, and I knew ’ w iment ul v e eg wo d come to me if I sent Jack home. ’ ’ ‘ u nk 0oppy ukka Yo re a hero, Wi ie, said a p hero ’ ’ ll I don t know what vat means, said Wee Wi ie Winkie, u t ’ I’m but you m s n t call me Winkie any no more.

And in this manner did Wee Willie Winkie enter into O F A A MATTER F CT.

u the tale I ell An d if ye do bt t , Ste er through the South Paciﬁ c swell Go where the bran chin g coral hi v es

’ Where lea ue a ou the wil ere oat , g d b t d d b , The rainbow j elli es ﬁll and ﬂoat ;

The starﬁsh trips on all her ﬁngers ;

The sea-egg ripples down the rock An oran e won er iml uesse g d d y g d, From e whe re the cuttles rest darkn ss , ’ Moore d o e r the darker deeps that hide The b lin d white Seao snake and hi s b ride

NCE l c l O a priest, a ways a priest ; on e a mason, a ways a

b ut u l st l f r . mason ; once a jo rna i , a ways and o ever a

us all nl There were three of , newspaper men, the o y passengers on a li ttle tramp steamer that ran where her l had l owners to d her to go. She once been m the Bi bao u had l to iron ore b siness, been ent the Spanish Govern ment for se rvice at Manilla and was ending ‘ her days in

a l - as l ri the C pe Town coo ie trade, with occ iona t ps to Mada l f gasear and even as far as Eng and. We ound her going to Southam ll and u a in ba ast, shipped in her beca se the 72 A MATTER O F FACT 73

f m l . ll ares were no ina There was Ke er, of an American

paper, on his way back to the States from palace executions

was l l - in Madagascar ; there a bur y ha f Dutchman, called Zu land y , who owned and edited a paper up country n ear lf l Johannesburg ; and there was myse , who had so em all li put away journa sm, vowing to forget that I had ever kn own the differe nce between an imprint and a stereo advertisement. Ten mi ft ll nutes a er Ke er spoke to me, as the Rathmims l al c eared Cape Town, I had forgotten the ooﬁi ess I desired f was in to eign, and heated discussion on the immorality of i l ﬁxed expand ng te egrams beyond a certain point. Then Zu land of we all y came out his cabin, and were at home l of f instant y, because we were men the same pro ession no f ll needing introduction. We annexed the boat orma y, ’ — broke open the passengers bath-room door ou the Manilla li nes the Dons do not wash- cleaned out the orange -peel

-e and cigar nds at the bottom of the bath, hired a Lascar to a shave us thr oughout the voyage, and then asked e ch ’ other s names . Three ordinary men would have quarrelled through We sheer boredom before they reached Southampton. , f our ft r by virtue o cra , were anything but ordina y l of l men. A large percentage of the ta es the wor d, the thirty- nine that cannot be told to ladies and the one that can n of . , are common property comi g a common stock We of f all l l and told them all, as a matter orm, with their oca n speciﬁc variants whi ch are surprising. The came, in the

- l l of intervals of steady card p ay, more persona histories adven ture and things seen and suffered ! panics among l f m white folk, when the b ind terror ran ro man to man on an d 0 1 us the Brooklyn Bridge, the pe p e cr hed each other to r s death they knew not why ﬁ e , and faces that opened and shut their mouths horribly at red-hot window fra mes ; f l - d wrecks in frost and snow, reported rom the s eet sheathe 74 THE KIPLING READER rescue-tug at the risk of frost-bite ; long rides after diamond thi eves ; skirmishes on the veldt and in municipal com mittee s with the Boers glimpses of lazy tangled Cape

ul - s l a - l politics and the m e rule in the Tran vaa ; c rd ta es,

— -tal o l hun horse tales, woman es, by the sc re and the ha f t us all dred ; till the ﬁrs mate, who had seen more than t l l his tal sat put together, b u acked words to c othe es with, open-mouthed far into the dawn . When the tales were don e we picked up cards till a curi ous hand or a chance remark made one or other of us which and the anecdotes would continue while the Rathmines kicked her way northward through the warm

In the morning of one specially warm night we three

i m i l l- us were sitting m ed ate y in front of the whee ho e, where an old Swedish boatswain whom we called Frithiof l di the Dane was at the whee , preten ng that he could not w Frit hear our stories . O nce or t ice hi of spun the spokes u usl ll lift f l c rio y, and Ke er ed his head rom a ong chair to ’ ask it 1 - , What is Can t you get any steerage way on

’ ‘ l in e Frithi of There is a fee the wat r, said , that I i cannot understand. I th nk that we run downhills or ’ s n somethings. She steers bad thi morni g. Nobody seems to know the laws that govern the pulse of l the big waters . Sometimes even a andsman can tell that l il a hi the so id ocean is at t, and th t the s p is workin g herself l u s l sometim% a up a ong n een s ope ; and the capt in says, when neither full ste am nor fair wi nd j ustiﬁes the length of ’ run i i hi ll w a day s , that the sh p is sagg ng down but ho these ups an d downs come about has not yet been settled

’ ‘ ll Frithi ‘ No, it is a fo owing sea, said of; and with a ’ f ll n ou all e - o owi g sea y sh not get good ste rage way. A MATTER O F FACT 75

sea u - for The was as smooth as a d ck pond, except a la l ll As l regu r oi y swe . I ooked over the side to see where m ll us fr m sun l it ight be fo owing o , the rose in a perfect y clear sky and struck the water with its light so sharply that it seemed as though the sea should clang like a i f t burn shed gong. The wake o he screw and the little white streak cut by the log-line han ging over the stern were l far as ul the on y marks on the water as eye co d reach. Keller rolled out of his chair and went aft to get a pine apple from the ripening stock that was hung in side the after awning. ’ f l — of w Frithio ; the og line has got tired s imming. It s ’ n d l d comi g home, he raw e ’ t f u r l . What 1 said Fri hio , his voice j mping seve a octaves ‘ ’ ll d l n . Comin g home, Ke er repeate , eani g over the stern

lo -l hi ll I ran to hi s side and saw the g ine, w ch ti then had li l l been drawn tense over the stern rai ng, s acken, oop, and hj f ll a come up off the port quarter. Frit o ca ed up the spe k e ing tube to the bridge, and the bridg answered, Yes, ’ thiof nine knots . Then Fri spoke again, and the answer ’ of ki 1 Ih‘ithi of was, What do you want the s pper and ’ ll ll u . be owed, Ca him p Zu land ll and l By thi s time y , Ke er, myse f had caught ’ i something of Frithiof s excitement, for any emot on on ran of shipboard is most con tagious. The captain out his

r thiof l lo -l u on cabin, spoke to F i , ooked at the g ine, j mped l t the bridge, and in a minute we fe t the s eamer swing round as Frithiof turned her. ’ ’ Going back to Cape Town 1 said Keller.

l. Frithiof did not answer, but tore away at the whee l l l Then he beckoned us three to he p, and we he d the whee it f our down till the Rathmines answered , and we ound ll selves looking into the white of our own wake, with the sti w u om oily sea tearing past our bo s, tho gh we were not g g

more than half steam ahead. 76 THE KIPLING READER The captain stretched out his arm from the bridge and u l l l shouted. A min te ater I wou d have given a great dea

for - l to have shoute d too, one ha f of the sea seemed to l in shoulder itself above the other ha f, and came on the n u l shape of a hill . There was either crest, comb, nor c r over to it ; nothing but black water with little waves chas s saw e t ing each other about the ﬂank . I it str am pas and ’ — on a level with the Rathmines bow plates before the ul u steamer hove up her b k to rise, and I arg ed that this f l for would be the last o all earth y voyages me. Then we and ill ll r i lifted for ever and ever ever, t I heard Ke e say ng l in my ear, The bowe s of the deep, good Lord and the - u n Rathmines stood poised, her screw racing and dr mmi g on the slope of a hollow that stretched downwards for a good

ll We went down that ho ow, nose under for the most l u l t part, and the air sme t wet and m ddy, ike hat of an was ll empti ed aquarium. There a second hi to climb ; I saw that much ! b ut the wate r came aboard and carried me

l- us aft till it jammed me against the whee ho e door, and before I could catch breath or clear my eyes again we were ll u r ur n ro ing to and fro in torn water, with the sc ppe s po i g like eaves in a thun derstorm . t ’ ll ‘ There were hree waves, said Ke er ; and the stoke ’ ’ hold s ﬂoode d. ﬁremen w n r The were on deck aiti g, appa ently, to be in drowned. The eng eer came and dragged them below, and r as n e th the c ew, g pi g, b gan to work e clumsy Board of

T u . a hi rade p mp Th t showed not ng serious, and when I

it as not beneath , I ked what had happened . — — The captain says it was a blow up under the sea a l ’ ll vo cano, said Ke er. ’ ’ as s It h n t warmed anything, I aid. I was feeling l l l lm u bitter y co d, and co d was a ost nknown in those waters.

78 THE KIPLING READER

n a hi l away, and somethi g shot p st in the w teness that ooked as though it were gray and red. ’ l to u ll i The Pembroke Cast e bot m p, said Ke er, who, be ng ’ al l s. a journalist, ways sought for exp anation That s the ’ ’ for colours of a Castle liner. We re in a big thing. ’ - hj f l u . The sea is bewitched, said Frit o from the whee ho se ‘ There are two steamers our l l Another siren sounded on bow, and the itt e steamer f had rolled in the wash o something that passed unseen. ’ ’ l l ﬂeet ll We re evident y in the midd e of a , said Ke er ‘ ’ run us the ll. quietly. If one doesn t down, other wi Phew l What in creation is that 1 for r was u ll l I sniffed, the e a poisono s rank sme in the co d

ul sa was lli If I was on lan d I sho d y that it an a gator. It ’ w . smells like musk, I ans ered ’ u ll ul mak h ll s Not ten tho sand a igators co d e t at sme , aid ‘ l ’ Zuyland I have sme t them. c Fri hi Bewitched ! Bewit hed said t of. The sea she is ’ al al n tum ed upside down, and we are w king o g the bottom. Again the Rathmi/Ms rolled in the wash of some unseen

il - leavin ship, and a s ver gray wave b—roke over the bow, g on the deck a sheet of sediment the gray broth that has its fa ml A place in the tho ess deeps of the sea. Sprinkling of ll so l the wave fe on my face, and it was co d that it stung as boiling water stings The dead and most untouched deep water of the sea had been heaved to the to by the — p submarine volcano the chill sti ll water that kills all life l and smells of deso ation and emptiness. We did not need either the bli nding fog or that indescribable smell of musk — to make us unhappy we were shi vering with cold and n wretched ess where we stood. ‘ ’ l fo the The hot air on the co d water makes this g, said ’ ‘ it u to l l l i captain ; o ght c ear in a itt e t me. ’ ’ h l oh l l l of it ll W ist e, whist e, and et s get out , said Ke er A MATTER or FACT 79

l d The captain whist e again, and far and far astern the l — ns invisib e twin steam sirens a wered us. Their blasting l ll l s shriek grew ouder, ti at a t it seemed to tear out of the u our u fog j st above q arter, and I cowered while the Bath mines lu u l ll p nged bows under on a do b e swe that crossed. ’ Frithiof No more, said , it is not good any more. Let as ’ get away, in the name of God. w if - No a torpedo boat with a City of Paris siren went n l mad and broke her moori gs and hired a friend to he p her, ’ it s just conceivable that we might be carried as we are r i now. Othe w se this thing is l ll ’ l The ast words died on Ke er s ips, his eyes began to a and f ll start from his he d, his jaw e . Some six or seven l feet above the port bu warks, framed in fog, and as utterly u ull nsupported as the f moon, hung a Face. It was not u ce l l h man, and it rtain y was not anima , for it did not l e be ong to this arth as known to man. The mouth was l n di ul l —a open, revea i g a ri c ous y tiny tongue s absurd as the tongue of an elephant ; there were ten se wrinkles of s a l f r n l f l white kin at the ng es o the d aw ips, white ee ers l of l u l ike those a barbe Spr ng from the ower jaw, and there f u But r of was no sign o teeth within the mo th. the hor or fa la for l — hi e the ce y in the eyes, those were sight ess w t , in

and l d. for all sockets as white as scraped bone, b in Yet hi f l of l n dr w i n t s the ace, wrink ed as the mask a io is a n

A r ul u was l and . ssy ian sc pt re, a ive with rage terror One n f long white feeler touched our bulwarks . The the ace disappeared wi th the swiftness of a blindworm popping I into its burrow, and the next thing that remember is my l nm t own voice in my own ears, saying grave y to the mai as , But the air-bladder ought to have been forced out of its ’ n . mouth, you k ow He a as . Keller came up to me, hy white put his h nd it it t into hi s pocket, took a cigar, bit , dropped , thrus his . d l i n shaking thumb into his mouth an mumb ed, The g a t 80 THE KIPLING READER — gooseberry and the rainin g frogs ! Gimme a light gimme

m l . A l l l a light ! Say, gi me a ight itt e head of b ood — dropped from his thumb joint.

I respected the motive, though the manifestation was ’ u ll e ai absurd. Stop, yo bit your thumb I s d, and u i nl Keller laughed brokenly as he picked p his c gar. O y

Zu land l ul l y , eaning over the port b warks, seemed se f

l l t . possessed. He dec ared ater hat he was very sick ’ ’ ’ it u ni n u . it. We ve seen , he said, t r g ro nd That is

fo l and As he spoke the g was b own into shreds, we saw mud llin us the sea, gray with , ro g on every side of and u l empty of all li fe. Then in one spot it b bb ed and became f l o r like the pot o ointment that the Bib e speaks f. F om — red Thing with a neck a Thi ng that bellowed and writhed Frithiof hi s l ll the in pain . drew in breath and he d it ti red ’ of his r l letters the ship s name, woven across jersey, st agg ed u had and opened out as tho gh they been type badly set. l l lu ‘ Then he said with a itt e c ck in his throat, Ah me ! It ’ E ur illa ! n l n is blind . That thi g is b i d, and a murmur of us all ul se pity went through , for we co d e that the thing on

the wate r was blin d and in pain . Something had gashed and cut the great sides cruelly and the blood was Spurting of sea la i n n out. The gray ooze the undermost y the mo wrin l u strous k es of the back, and po red away in sluices . li ad ﬂun The b nd white he g back and battered the wounds, and the body in its torment rose clear of the red and gray waves till we saw a pair of quivering shoulders streaked u ll b ut with weed and ro gh with she s, as white in the clear s as l l l hl space the hair ess, mane ess, b ind, toot ess head . Afte s rward , came a dot on the horizon and the sound of a ill and was as u u l shr scream, it tho gh a sh tt e shot all across a h n the se in one breat , and a seco d head and neck tore h l l i n t rough the eve s , driving a wh speri g wall of water to A MATTER or FACT 8 1

l — right and eft. The two Things met the one untouched

its e - — l l and the other in d ath throe ma e and fema e, we said, al mi l the fem e co ng to the ma e . She circled round him ll l be owing, and aid her neck across the curve of his great l - u for turt e back, and he disappeared nder water an instant, ﬂun u u l but g p again, gr nting in agony whi e the blood ran . Once the entire head and neck shot clear of the water and ff d ll t sti ene , and I heard Ke er saying, as hough he was ’ watching a street accident, Give him air. For God s sake, ’ - . l give him air Then the death strugg e began, with cramp ings and twistings and jerkings of the white bulk to and fro ll li l m ll n , ti our tt e stea er ro ed agai , and each gray wave o l l l c ated her p ates with the gray s ime. The sun was c ear, th wi n d l ere was no d, and we watche , the who e crew,

all in b ut chi eﬂ . stokers and , wonder and pity, y pity The n was so l l for his so l Thi g he p ess, and, save mate, a one. No human eye should have beheld him ; it was monstrous and indecent to exhibit him there in trade waters between l l H n w u l at as degrees of atitude . e had bee spe ed p, mang ed

his on -ﬂoor and dying, from rest the sea , where he might l ll Jud ment of have ived ti the g Day, and we saw the tides his life go from him as an angry tide goes out across rocks in n Hi s la the teeth of a la dward gale . mate y rocking on l l off ll n ll the water a itt e distance , be owing conti ua y, and the smell of musk came down upon the ship making us cough . 1 ' At last the battle for life ended in a batter of coloured saw n f ll l ﬂail seas . We the writhi g neck a ike a , the carcase l of ll an d turn sideways, showing the g int a white be y the all inset of a gigantic hind leg or dipper. Then sank, and

t l un u , sea boiled over i , whi e the mate swam ro d and ro nd i darting her head in every direction . Though we m ght

have feared that she would attack the steamer, no power l on earth could have drawn any one of us from our p aces e l n a h . m that hour. We watched, bo di g our bre t s The at F K. R . 82 THE KIPLING READER paused in her search ; we could hear the wash beating ul h along her sides ; rearedher neck as high as she co d reac , sea blind and lonely i n all that loneliness of the , and sent ' one desperate bellow booming across the swells as an n off oyster shell skips across a pond . The she made to the sun n ad a westward, the shini g on the white he and the w ke ll n was l to but l tl n behi nd it, ti othing eft see a it e pin poi t t our u n of silver on the horizon. We s ood on co rse agai ; s e sea- d n and the Rathmine , coat d with the se ime t from bow

l m . to stem, looked ike a ship ade gray with terror

’ l ur ﬁrst We must poo o notes, was the coherent remark ’ e ournalists—we l from Keller. We re thr e trained j ho d ’ r t absolutely the biggest scoop on reco d . S art fair. Nothin ll I objected to this. g is gained by co aboration l all l a ac so in journa ism when dea with the s me f ts, we r hi s li ll went to work each acco ding to own ghts . Ke er ’ l - d hi s u l u our all ca trip e hea ed acco nt, ta ked abo t g ant ptain,

to s that it was a citizen of Day n, Ohio, that had een the

n u r sea l m of Creatio , m ch more a me e ta e , but as a speci en the picture-writing of a half-civilised people it was very

in . Zu land a l an d lf interest g y took a he vy co umn a ha , xi l n an d d l giving appro mate e gths brea ths, and the who e list of the crew whom he had sworn on oath to testify to his facts. There was nothin g fantastic or ﬂamboyant in Zu lan - y d. I wrote three quarters of a leaded bourgeois lu u l f co mn, ro gh y speaking, and refrained rom putting any journalese into it for reasons that had begun to appear to me . ll was l n H Ke er inso e t with joy. e was going to cable f o World rom Southampt n to the New York , mail his to A account merica on the same day, paralyse London h his c lu s of l l t wit three o mn oose y knit ed headlin es, and A MATTER or FACT 83

' ll efiace ’ genera y the earth. You ll see how I work a big it ’ scoop when I get , he said. ’ ur first i to l 1 Is this yo vis t Eng and I asked. ’ ’ he. Yes, said You don t seem to appreciate the beauty ’ — . I of our scoop t s pyramidal the death of the sea-serpent ! ’ l it s Good heavens a ive , man, the biggest thi ng ever vouch safed to a paper u us ll C rio to think that it wi never appear in any paper, ’ 1 isn t it I said. Zu land was y near me, and he nodded quickly. ’ ou e 1 ll ‘ ’ What do y m an said Ke er. Ii you re enough i hi ’ of a Brit sher to throw this t ng away, I shan t. I ’ u - tho ght you were a newspaper man. ’ ’ m. a n . I That s why I k ow Don t be an ass, Keller. ’ I m u Remember, seven hundred years yo r senior, and what u ldr l fiv e u yo r grandchi en may earn h ndred years hence, I learned from my grandfathers about fiv e hundred years ’ ’ ’ . You it s ago won t do , becau e you can t. hi was l T s conversation he d in open sea, where every l r l f u thing seems possib e, some hund ed mi es rom So th Needles and ampton. We passed the Light at dawn, the lifti ng day showed the stucco villas on the green and the l —l u l ll u awful orderliness of Eng and ine pon ine, wa pon

l s l l . ai wal , o id stone dock and mono ithic pier We w ted an l th e for hour in the Customs shed, and there was amp e the ff e ect to soak in . Havel w ll fa e . The No , Ke er, you c the music goes out ’ -da ail I ll to l to y. M by her, and take you the te egraph ’ oﬁi ce d. , I sai I heard Keller gasp as the inﬂuence of the land closed

n hi m as Newmarket about him, cowi g they say Heath cows a young horse unused to open courses. 1 tlll I want to retouch my stuff. Suppose we wa t we ’ get to London 1 he said . Zu land had n u u y , by the way, tor p his acco nt and 84 THE KIPLING READ ER

l His a thrown it overboard that morning ear y. re sons were my reasons. ll i In the train Ke er began to rev se his copy, and every l l l ﬁelds ll ti me that he ooked at the trim itt e , the red vi as, l l l l and the embankments of the ine, the b ue penci p unged He remorselessly through the slips. appeared to have ul dredge d the dicti onary for adjectives . I co d think of none that he had not used . Yet he was a perfectly sound poker-player and never showed more cards than were l suﬁicient to take the poo . ’ ‘ Aren t you going to leave him

ll . sympathetica y Remember, ’ - - t r e u l e l . S ates, f om a trous r b tton to a doub e ag e ’ ’ f t s o i ll l h. That s just the curse , aid Ke er be ow his breat ’ ’ We ve played em for suckers so often that when it comes l —I’d l to the go den truth ike to try this on a London paper. ’ ﬁrst ll u You have ca there, tho gh. I’m Not in the least . not touching the thing in our ’ ll b e a l l papers. I sha h ppy to eave em al to you but ’ ’ surely you ll cable it home 1

No. Not if I can make the scoop here and see the s ’ Briti hers sit up. ‘ ’ l f l l n You won t do it with three co umns o s ushy head i e, ’ ’ l . n be ieve me They do t sit up as quickly as some people. ‘ ’ I m ni n n begin g to thi k that too. Does nothing make ’ d ff in n 1 ai l i of any i erence this cou try he s d, ook ng out the l ’ window. How o d is that farmhouse 1 ‘ ’ New. It can t be more than two hundred years at the ’ most.

Um. l Fie ds, too 1 ‘ That hedge there must have been clipped for about ’ eighty years. Labour cheap—eh 1 ’ ’ . ll Pretty much We , I suppose you d like to try the ’ ’ Ti mes ul n ou 1 , wo d t y

8 6 THE KIPLING READ ER

’ l l to don t you leave the English papers a one and cab e New ’ York 1 Everythi ng goes over there . ‘ ’ ’ ’ d Can t you se e that s just why 1 he repeate ’ l I saw it a long time ago . You don t intend to cab e then 1 ’ d - of Yes, I do, he answere , in the over emphatic voice one who does not know hi s own mind. u That afternoon I walked him abroad and abo t, over the streets that run be tween the pavements like cham els of n l ad grooved and to gued ava, over the bridges that are m e

- n u l yard thick concrete, between houses that are ever reb i t,

n f l . and by river ste ps hew , to the eye, rom the iving rock

n ul ing there in the dark ess, I co d hear the wings of the f dead centuries circling round the head o Litchﬁeld A. ll l s i m Ke er, journa i t, of Dayton, Oh o, whose ission u it was to make the Britishers sit p.

fﬁ i l of the tra c came to h s bewi dered ears. ’ ’ - to l oﬂi ce l . Let s go the te egraph and cab e, I said ’ Can t you hear the New York World crying for news of - r li lli u the great sea se pent, b nd, white, and sme ng of m sk, l s stricken to death by a submarine vo cano, and a sisted by his lov in f o di in mi d- as v isualised b an g wi e t e ocean, y A n i n merica c tizen, the breezy, newsy, brainy newspaper ma 1 Rah u of Dayton, Ohio for the B ckeye State. Step ’ lively ! Both gates ! Szz ! Boom ! Aah ! Keller was a i d ura Pr nceton man, and he seeme to need enco gement. ’ ‘ u u ’ h You ve got me on yo r own gro nd, said e, tugging

his . He ll at over—coat pocket pu ed out his copy, with the cable forms for he had written out hi s telegram—and put ’ m all ‘ the into a . If h my hand, groaning, I p ss I adn t come — ’ to your cursed coun try Ii I d sent it O Kat Southampton —If of Alle hanni s if I ever get you west the g e , A MATTER O F FACT 87

’ ’ ll . ur Never mind, Ke er It isn t yo fault. It s the fault u u of yo r co ntry. If you had been seven hundred years ’ ’ l u am o der yo d have done what I going to do. ‘ What are you going to do 1 ‘ ll li ’ Te it as a e . ’ Fiction 1 This with the full-blooded disgust of a n l s for ll f jour a i t the i egitimate branch of the pro ession. ’ all if l . ll ll You can c it that you ike I sha ca it a lie . And li e has for u lad and a it become ; Tr th is a naked y, is u sea if by accident she drawn p from the bottom of the , it behaves a gentleman either to giv e her a print petticoat a or to turn hi s face to the wall and vow th t he did not see. MO WGLI ’ S BROTHERS

Now Chil the Kite bri ngs home the night That Mang the Bat sets fre e The herds are shut in byre and hut are e For loose d till dawn w . is is the our of ri e an d o e r Th h p d p w , — O h hear the call Good hun ti n g all That keep the Jungle Law N - ight Song i n the Jungle.

’ IT was seven o clock of a very warm evening in the ’ Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day s lf d ws rest, scratched himse , yawne , and spread out his pa one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their lf la o tips . Mother Wo y with her big gray n se dropped f u u lin l across her o r t mb g, squea ing cubs, and the moon n of sho e into the mouth the cave where they all lived . ’ ‘ ’ ‘ Au rh l W lf it g said Father o , is time to hunt again ; and he was going to spring down hill when a little shadow

l o ou 0 f l uck g with y , Chie of the Wo ves ; and good luck r n hi e o l l and st o g w te t eth g with the nob e chi dren, that f l ’ they may never orget the hungry in this wor d.

l—Tab a ui - — It was the jacka q , the Dish licker and the wolves of In dia despise Tabaqui because he runs about ki c f ll l an d ma ng mis hie , and te ing ta es, eating rags and

of l fr ll u - pieces eather om the vi age r bbish heaps . But they 88 ’ MOWGLI S BROTHERS 89

f u Tab a ui are a raid of him too, beca se q , more than any one l in u l is o e se the j ng e, apt to g mad, and then he forgets of n that he was ever afraid any o e, and runs thr ough the t n forest biting every hi g in his way. Even the tiger run s i l l Taba ui and h des when itt e q goes mad, for madness is the r f l l most disg ace u thing that can overtake a wi d creature. ll — We ca it hydrophobia, but they call it dewa/nee the s— run madnes and . ‘ ’ n n l l stifﬂ E ter, the , and ook, said Father Wo f, y ; but f ’ there is no ood here. ’ lf Tab a ui For a wo , no, said q ; b ut for so mean a as l is f a person myse f a dry bone a good e st. Who are we, ’ Gidur-lo l l the g [the jacka peop e] , to pick an d choose 1 He u l the sc tt ed to the back of cave, where he found the u wi on it bone of a b ck th some meat , and sat cracking the l end merri y. ’ Al l for l l k n thanks this good mea , he said, ic i g his lips . How beautiful are the noble children ! How large are ! And so u ! n their eyes yo ng too I deed, indeed, I might have remembered that the children of kin gs are men from

ow Tab a ui ll l t i s N , q knew as we as any one e se tha there nothi ng so unlucky as to complimen t children to their faces ; and it pleas ed him to see Mother and Father Wolf

Tab a ui sat ill oicin mi f q st , rej g in the schie that he had m f ll ade, and then he said spite u y n has ft his un Shere Kha , the Big One, shi ed h ting l u n ll for grounds. He wil h nt amo g these hi s the next ’ n so has l . moo , he to d me Shere Khan was the tiger who li ved near the Waingunga

l . River, twenty mi es away B He has no right Father Wolf began angrily y the Law of the Jungle he has n o right to change his quarters e ll i of without due warning. H wi fr ghten every head 90 THE KIPLING READER

l I—I ll for game within ten mi es, and have to ki two, these ’ days . His mother did not call hi m Lungri [the Lame One] for ’ H l in u l . e nothing, said Mother Wolf, q iet y has been ame f is l ll one foot rom his birth. That why he has on y ki ed w Wai n un a cattle. No the villagers of the g g are angry owr ll with him, and he has come here to make vi agers w ll u l 18 far angry. They i scour the j ng e for him when he hil us run away, and we and our c dren m t when the grass is ’ . d ful 1 set alight Indee , we are very grate to Shere Khan ’ ll hi m ur 1 Tab Shall I te of yo gratitude said aqui . lf O ut O ut snappe d Father Wo . and hunt with thy ’ master. Thou hast done harm enough for one night. ’ o Tab a ui u l . Ye I g , said q , q iet y can hear Shere Khan l be ow in the thickets. I might have saved myself the ’ message . l l Father Wo f listened, and be ow in the valley that to l tl r na l down a it e iver, he heard the dry, angry, s r y,

all u l i not care if the j ng e knows t. ’ The fool said Father Wolf. To begin a night s work

with that noise . Does he think that our buck are like his ’ fat Waingunga bullocks 1 ’ - Hsh. ull un to It is neither b ock nor buck he h ts night, ’ lf. said Mother Wo It is Man. The whine had changed to a sort of hummi ng purr that seemed to come from every

quarter of the compass. It was the noise that bewilders u r l woodc tte s and gipsies s eeping in the open, and makes i o u them run somet mes int the very mo th of the ti ger. I W l wi all Man said Father o f, sho ng his white teeth. Faugh t Are there not enough beetles and frogs in the t s ust eat our ank that he m Man, and on ground too of un le hi i n The Law the J g , w ch never orders anyth g u as f s to witho t a re on, orbid every beast eat Man except n ill his h l kll and whe he is k ing to show c i dren how to i , ’ MOWGLI S BROTHERS 9 1 then he must hunt outside the hunting-grounds of his pack

. l - ll or tribe The rea reason for this is that man ki ing means, l l of l h n sooner or ater, the arriva white men on e ep a ts, with un g s, and hundreds of brown men with gongs and rockets and . un le uff torches Then everybody in the j g s ers. The reas on the beas ts give among themselves is that Man is the

and f s l of all l hin weakest most de en e ess iving t gs, and it is n nl u — u sportsma ike to to ch him. They say too and it is — -e e true that man aters b come mangy, and lose their teeth.

u l u - The p rr grew o der, and ended in the full throated Aaarh of ’ the tiger s charge. — Then there was a howl ah un tigeri sh howl- from Shere ’ ’ K n. He lf ha has missed, said Mother Wo . What is it 1 Father Wolf ran out a fe w paces and heard Shere Khan u u li l as l m ttering and m mb ng savage y, he tumb ed about in the scrub. The fool has had no more sen se than to jump at a wood ’ ’ e -ﬁre hi s f cutt rs camp , and has burned eet, said Father ’ lf u . Taba ui is hi m. Wo , with a gr nt q with ’ u ll lf Something is coming p hi , said Mother Wo , twitch ’ ing one ear. Get ready. l l l hi The bushes rust ed a itt e in the t cket, and Father f hi s u his Wol dropped with haunches nder him, ready for l . ou ul eap Then, if you had been watching, y wo d have — seen the most wonderful thi n g in the world the wolf

- H his f checked in mid spring. e made bound be ore he saw at 0 what it was he was jumping , and then he tried to st p himself. The result was that he shot up straight into the

f l in l l ft . air for four or ﬁv e eet, and g a most where he e ground ’ ’ A ma cub . Man 1 he snapped. n s Look l in l low Direct y front of him, ho ding on by a —branch, stood a naked brown baby who could j ust walk a s soft and as dimpled a little atom as ever came to a wolf’ s cave ’ l u l f at night. He ooked p into Father Wo f s ace, and 92 TIE KIPLING READ ER

’ ’ l ‘ Is that a man s cub 1 said Mother Wo f. I have ’ r never seen one. B ing it here.

hi s own if neces~ A wolf accustomed to movi ng cubs can, u kin it sary, mouth an egg witho t brea g , and though Father ’ ’ Wolfs jaws closed right on the child s back not a tooth l even scratched the skin, as he aid it down among the u c bs . ‘ — l How little ! How naked, and how bo d said Mother

f l . u n Wolf, so t y The baby was p shi g his way between the ‘ A ! cubs to get close to the warm hide. hai He is taking ’ And hi b . his meal wi th the others . so t s is a man s cu Now, ’ was there ever a wolf that could boast of a man s cub among her children 1 ’ n of u i n but I have heard now and agai s ch a th g, never ’ lf He in our Pack or in my time, said Father Wo . is l a r and ul ll wi ou a together without h i , I co d ki him th a t ch l ’ f f . But . o my oot see, he ooks up and is not afraid li l of f a The moon ght was b ocked out the mouth o the c ve, ’ for Shere Khan s great square head and shoulders were

in ! l l r I g My ord, my o d, it went in here ’ us u l Shere Khan does great hono r, said Father Wo f,

but his eyes were very angry . What does Shere Khan n eed 1 ’ ’ u r A n My q ar y . man s cub we t this way, said Shere ’ . off. t Khan Its parents have run Give it o me . ’ n u - a Shere Kha had jumped at a woodc tters camp ﬁre, s W l ai and u u Father o f had s d, was f rio s from the pain of his l burned feet. But Father Wo f knew that the mouth of r for the cave was too na row a tiger to come in by. Even ’ n l an where he was, Shere Kha s shou ders d fore paws were ’ cm for n of m as d wa t roo , a man s would be if he tried

’ l l ai The Wo ves are a free peop e, s d Father Wolﬁ They r r take o ders f om the Head of the Pack, and not from any

94 THE KIPLING READ ER

l ill be shown to the Pack. Wi t thou st keep him, Mother 1 ‘ ’ ‘ H m 1 . e i Keep him she gasped ca e naked, by n ght, un a ! alone and very h gry ; yet he was not afr id Look, he And has pushed one of my babes to one side already. that lame butcher would have killed him and would have run off to the Wai ngunga while the villagers here hunted through all our lairs in revenge Keep hi m 1 Assuredly

t ll l l . l I will keep him. Lie s i , itt e frog 0 thou Mowg i — for Mowgli the Frog I will call thee the time will come ’ when thou wilt hunt Shere Khan as he has hunted thee . ’ t will our sa 1 l Bu what Pack y said Father Wo f. The Law of the Jungle lays down very clearly that any l a r the wo f may, when he m r ies, withdraw from Pack he belongs to ; b ut as soon as hi s cubs are old enough to stand e u l on their fe t he must bring them to the Pack Co nci , is ll l full r e which genera y he d once a month at moon, in o d r l i f that the other wo ves may ident y them. After that u f run l inspection the c bs are ree to where they p ease, and until they have killed their ﬁrst buck no excuse is accepted l c ll if a grown wo f of the Pa k ki s one of them. The punishment is death where the murderer can be found ; and if n for u ou ll i you thi k a min te y wi see that th s must be so. l ll his u ul run Father Wo f waited ti c bs co d a little, and then on the night of the Pack Meeting took them and — Mowgli and Mother Wolf to the Council Rock a hilltop covered with stones and boulders where a hun dred wolves

ul . A l r co d hide ke a, the great g ay Lone Wolf; who led all the u la ull l Pack by strength and c nning, y out at f ength on hi s l f rock, and be ow him sat orty or more wolves of every l ad - l u size and co our, from b ger co o red veterans who could

n l l n l - - ha d e a buck a o e, to young b ack three year olds who u ul tho ght they co d. The Lone Wolf had led them for a

’ He f ll wi - year now. had a en t ce intO a wolf trap in his u yo th, and once he had been beaten and left for dead ; so ’ MOWGLI S BROTHERS 95

the of he knew manners and customs men. There was very l l l itt e ta king at the rock. The cubs tumbled over each other in the centre of the circle where their mothers and fa thers sat, and now and again a senior wolf would go l u l full quiet y p to a cub, ook at him care y, and return to his l l f m p ace on noise ess eet . So etimes a mother would push far l her cub out into the moon ight, to be sure that he had l not been over ooked. Akela from his rock would cr ! Ye — y k e n . ll now the Law y k ow the Law Look we , 0 Wolves and the anxious mothers would take up the call ! Look l ll 0 l ook we ,—Wo ves At last and Mother Wolfs neck-bristles lifted as the c — lf l ’ time ame Father Wo pushed Mowg i the Frog, as ll hi m o they ca ed , int the centre, where he sat laughing and l wi l l t p aying th some pebb es that g is ened in the moonlight. A la f hi s ke never raised his head rom paws, but went on with the monotonous cry ! Look well A mutﬂed roar — came up from behind the rocks the voice of Shere Khan him W crying ! The cub i s mine . Give to me. hat have ’ ’ the Free People to do with a man s cub 1 Akela. never

hi s ! all ! ll 0 even twitched ears he said was Look we , Wolves ! What have the Free People to do with the orders of any save the Free People 1 Look well l u lf There was a chorus of deep grow s, and a yo ng wo in ' his fourth year flun g back Shere Khan s question to Akela ’ ’ What have the Free People to do with a man s cub 1 Now the Law of the Jungle lays down that if there is any dispute as to the right of a cub to be accepted by the Pack, he must be spoken for by at least two members of the Pack who are not his father and mother. ’ Am Who Speaks for this eub 1 said Akela. ong the n Free People who speaks 1 There was no a swer, and Mother Wolf got ready for what she knew would be her l fi ht fi htin . ast g , if things came to g g Then the only other creature who is allowed at the Pack 96 THE KIPLING READER

l- l o l a the Counci Ba o , the s eepy brown be r who teaches lf un le old l wo cubs the Law of the J g Ba oo, who can come and go where he pleases because he eats only nuts and n — ru roots and ho ey rose up on hi s hind quarters and g nted . ‘ ’ — ’ ’ ‘ The man s cub the man s cub 1 he said. I speak for ’ ’ in cub . the man s cub . There is no harm a man s I have

f of r the u . run wi no gi t wo ds, but I speak tr th Let him th n l ll the Pack, and be e tered with the others . I myse f wi ’ teach hi m. ‘ ’ ‘ We A l . l need yet another, said ke a Ba oo has spoken, f r k and he is our teacher o the young cubs . Who spea s ’ beside Baloo 1 a o A black sh dow dropped down int the circle. It was l l all Bagheera the B ack Panther, inky b ack over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the l n a pattern of watered si k. Everybody k ew B gheera, and a his cun nin as nobody c red to cross path , for he was as g Tab a i l wil ff l l as qu , as bo d as the d bu a o, and as reck ess the l But f l wounded e ephant. he had a voice as so t as wi d

kin fte a . honey dripping from a tree, and a s so r th n down ’ A l e r l u d O ke a, and y the F ee Peop e, he p rre , I have no right in your assembly ; b ut the Law of the Jungle says that if there is a doubt whi ch is not a killi ng matter in to n ew l f of ha u regard a cub, the i e t t cub may be bo ght at And a price . the Law does not say who may or may not ’ pay that price . Am I right 1 ! u l l Good good said the yo ng wo ves, who are a ways n t Ba he hu gry. Lis en to g rra. The cub can be bought for ’ r . a p ice . It is the Law a no Knowing th t I have right to speak here, I ask your ’ leave . ’ n r Speak the , c ied twenty voices . ‘ ll . i To ki a naked cub is shame Bes des, he may make e t for n n bett r spor you whe he is grow . Baloo has spoken ’ lf. l ll on ull in his beha Now to Ba oo s word I wi add e b ,

98 THE KIPLING READER

out ul fill among the wolves , because if it were written it wo d He u ever so many books . grew up with the cubs, tho gh l al s they, of course, were grown wo ves mo t before he was a and l u hi s u child, Father Wo f ta ght him b siness, and the l ill u l meaning of thi ngs in the jung e, t every r st e in the a grass, every bre th of the warm night air, every note of the ’ c l owls above hi s head, every scrat h of a bat s c aws as it in l of l l roosted for a while a tree, and every sp ash every itt e l as u as fish jumping in a poo , meant just m ch to him the u n s ma W was work of his othee means to a b si e s n. hen he t in sun l ate not learning he sa out the and s ept, and and went to sleep again ; when he felt dirty or hot he swam in the forest pools and when he wanted honey (Baloo told him that honey and nuts were just as pleasant to eat as raw l m for it a meat) he c i bed up , and that B gheera showed him l li e ll how to do. Bagheera wou d out on a branch and ca , ’ l first l ul Come al ong, Litt e Brother, and at Mowg i wo d l l ft w l flin h ms lf c ing like the s oth, but a er ard he wou d g i e l l r H through the branches almost as bo d y as the g ay ape . e l u l Ro took his p ace at the Co nci ck, too, when the Pack met, lf and there he discovered that if he stared hard at any wo , lf ul dro hi s us the wo wo d be forced to p eyes, and so he ed to f r At l l stare o fun . other times he wou d pick the ong ‘ h s of ads of fri l ah t orn out the p his ends, for wo ves s er terribly from thorns and burs i n their coats He would go ll ul l s down the hi side into the c tivated and by night, and l l ll in b ut had ook very curious y at the vi agers their huts, he a mistrust of men because Bagheera showed him a square box with a drop-gate so cunningly hidden in the jungle that l l it and l he near y wa ked into , to d him that it was a trap. He loved better than anything else to go with Bagheera into of f the dark warm heart the orest, to sleep all through the drowsy day, and at night see how Bagheera did hi s killing. ill l as f l Bagheera k ed right and eft he e t hungry, and so did — Mowgli with one exception . As soon as he was old MOWGLI’S BROTHERS 99

u i enough to nderstand th ngs, Bagheera told him that he u l m st never touch catt e because he had been bought into of ull’ l f the Pack at the price a b s i e . All the jungle is ’ ‘ Ba herra u thine, said g , and tho canst kill everything that thou art strong enough to kill ; but for the sake of the bull that bought thee thou must never kill or eat any cattle ’ u old. i s of yo ng or That the Law the Jnagle. Mowgli

An d he grew and grew strong as a boy must grow who a is l i l n does not know th t he earn ng any esso s, and who has l of x n nothing in the wor d to think e cept thi gs to eat. Mother Wolf told him on ce or twice that Shere Khan s was not a creature to be tru ted, and that some day he must kill Shere Khan ; but though a young wolf would have h v r l f remembered t at ad ice eve y hour, Mowg i orgot it — because he was only a boy though he would have called himself a wolf if he had been able to speak in any human tongue . was l n his l Shere Khan a ways crossi g path in the jung e, for as Akela grew older and feebler tb e lame tiger had come to be great friends with the younger wolves of the a ll f r n A l ul P ck, who fo owed him o scraps, a thi g ke a wo d never have allowed if he had dared to push his authority to l the prope r bounds. Then Shere Khan wou d ﬂatter them an d won der that such ﬁne young hunters were content to be

’ ’ led i l ell by a dy ng wo f and a man s cub They t me, Shere ul l e l Khan wo d say, that at Counci y dare not ook him between the eyes and the young wolves would growl and

a B gheera, who had eyes and ears everywhere, knew w l l so something of this, and once or t ice he to d Mowg i in many words that Shere Khan would kill him some day ; and Mowgli would laugh and answer ! I have the Pack and l l r I have thee ; and Ba oo, though he is so azy, might st ike l 1 ’ a blow or two for my sake . Why shou d I be afraid 100 THE KIPLING READER

It was one very warm day that a new notion came to — f h Bagheera born o something that he ad heard. Perhaps Sahi the Porcupine had told him ; but he said to Mowgli le la hi s when they were deep in the jung , as the boy y with ’ ’ f l l ki l h r head on Bagheera s beauti u b ack s n Litt e Brot e , how often have I told thee that Shere Khan is thy enemy 1’ ’ ‘ s u on l As many time as there are n ts that pa m, said

l u ll l u . it 1 Mowg i, who, nat ra y, cou d not co nt What of I e all l a l am sleepy, Baghe ra, and Shere Khan is ong t i and — ’ loud talk like Mor the Peacock. l n al But this is no time for s eepi g. B oo knows it ; I it f l l s know it ; the Pack know ; and even the oo ish, foo i h ’ l e . Ta a ui . deer know b q has to d the , too ’ ‘ ‘ l Tab a Ho l ho ! said Mowg i . qui came to me not ’ long ago with some rude talk that I was a naked man s cub and not ﬁt to dig pig-nuts ; but I caught Tabaqui by the tail and swung hi m twice against a palm-tree to teach ’ n him better ma ners . That was foolishness ; for though Tabaqui is a mischief ul l n maker, he wo d have to d thee of somethi g that con

l l . e l r . cerned thee c ose y Open those ey s, Litt e B other h ill u l Shere K an dare not k thee in the j ng e ; but remember, A l old n n ke a is very , and soo the day comes whe he cannot ll and n ll l ad n ki his buck, the he wi be e er no more . Ma y of the wolves that looked thee over when thou wast n l ﬁrst old and un brought to the Cou ci are too, the yo g l l u wo ves be ieve, as Shere Khan has ta ght them, that a

- l man cub has no p ace with the Pack. In a little time thou ’ n wilt be a ma . ‘ An d what i s a man that he should not run with his ’ ‘ 1 l . l brothers said Mowg i I was born in the jung e. I have of un le and lf obeyed the Law the J g , there is no wo of ours f ull rom whose paws I have not p ed a thorn. Surely they are my brothers

102 THE KIPLING READER

’ ‘ k i l ull nl I did not now these th ngs, said Mowg i, s e y is l w and he frowned under h heavy b ack eyebro s . ‘ What is the Law of the Jun gle 1 Strike ﬁrst and then B a l give tongue. y thy very c re essness they know that

is . thou art a man. But be w e It is in my heart that ll — ac when Akela mi sses his next ki , and at e h hunt it in — ll u costs him more to p the buck, the Pack wi t rn against ll l l him and again st thee . They wi ho d a jung e Council at and — —I the Rock, then and then have it said Bagheera, ’ l u Go u w l eaping p. tho do n quick y to the men s huts in all of Red l the v ey, and take some the F ower which they u grow there, so that when the time comes tho mayest have even a stronger fri en d than I or Baloo or those of l t ’ the Pack that ove thee . Ge the Red Flower. B l ﬁre l u y Red F ower Bagheera meant , on y no creat re in l ll b the jung e will ca ﬁre y its proper name . Every beast l in l f it u ives dead y ear of , and invents a h ndred ways of

l ’ l The Re d F ower 1 said Mowg i . That grows outside li t ll ’ their huts in the twi gh I wi get some. ’ ’ r The e speaks the man s cub, said Bagheera, proudly.

Re l l t . member that it grows in itt e po s Get one swiftly, ’ f n and keep it by thee for M e o eed.

li . o. But u u 0 m Good said Mowg I g art tho s re, y —he l hi s n l Bagheera s ipped arm rou d the sp endid neck, —‘ and looked deep into the big eyes art thou sure that all ’ ’ this is Shere Khan s doing 1 ‘ B n r am u y the Broke Lock that f eed me, I s re, Little ’ Brother. ‘ ll ll Then, by the Bu that bought me, I wi pay Shere ull l for and l l ’ Khan f ta e this, it may be a itt e over, said l n Mowg i and he bou ded away. ‘ ’ man . all That is a That is a man, said Baghee ra to ‘ ms lf l . n hi e , ying down again Oh , Shere Kha , never was a ’ blacker hunting than that frog-hunt of thin e ten years ago 1 MOWGLI’ S BROTHERS 103

li f t u i Mowg was far and far through the ores , r nn ng hard, his and heart was hot in him . He came to the cave as the ni eve ng mist rose, and drew breath, and looked down the

ll . u out va ey The c bs were , but Mother Wolf, at the back k of the cave, new by his breathing that something was l troub ing her frog. ‘ is i ’ t 1 she . What , Son. said ’ ’ of n ll Some bat s chatter Shere Kha , he ca ed back. I hunt among the ploughed ﬁelds to-night and he plunged u downward thro gh the bushes, to the stream at the bottom of ll . d for ll of the va ey There he checke , he heard the ye tin a ll of u u the Pack hun g, he rd the be ow a h nted Sambh r, n and the snort as the buck turned at bay. The there were

l u l ! A l ! wicked, bitter how s from the yo ng wo ves ke a n lf Akela ! Let the Lo e Wo show his strength. Room l f ! Ak l for the eader o the Pack Spring, e a ru his l The Lone Wolf must have sp ng and missed ho d, for Mowgli heard the snap of his teeth and then a yelp as

the Sambhur knocked him over with his fore foot. H hi on e di d not wait for anyt ng more, but dashed g and the yells grew fainter behind hi m as he ran into the crop lands where the villagers lived. t ’ tl Bagheera spoke tru h, he panted, as he nes ed down in — - some cattle fodder by the window of a hut. To morrow ’ is on e day both for Akela and for me . Then he pressed his face close to the window and watched ’ He saw us n n f the ﬁre on the hearth. the h ba dma s wi e get up and feed it in the night with black lumps and when ll l the morning came an d the mists were a white and co d, ’ las e he saw the man s child pick up a wicker pot p t red

- l ﬁll l m of , inside wi th earth, it with u ps red hot charcoa o in put it under his blanket, and g out to tend the cows

‘ ’ b it is l . cu Is that all 1 said Mowg i If a can do , there nothing to fear so he strode round the corn er and met 104 THE KIPLING READ ER

bo i the y, took the pot from his hand, and d sappeared into the mist while the boy howled with fear. ’ ‘ h l k sa l l o T ey are very i e me, id Mowg i, b owing int the

n an . hi n ll if pot, as he had see the wom do T s thi g wi die ’ I do not give it things to eat ; and he dropped twigs and ' l - hi ll dried bark on the red stuﬂ . Ha f way up the he met Bagheera with the morning dew shi ning like moonstones on

’ i d . ul Akela has m sse , said the Panther They wo d have

last l . killed him night, but they needed thee a so They were ’ looking for thee on the hill . ‘ I was among the ploughed lands . I am ready. See

- Mowgli held up the fire pot. Good ! Now I have seen men thrust a dry branch into ' s fl n l l l s that tu , and prese t y the Red F ower b o somed at the ’ f Art fr 1 end o it. thou not a aid ‘ f 1 n —if No. Why should I ear I remember ow it is r — W lf la not a d eam how, before I was a o , I y beside the Red l e l ’ F ow r, and it was warm and p easant. All that day Mowgli sat in the cave te nding his fire-pot and dipping dry branches into it to see how they looked. He un satisfied n fo d a branch that him, and in the eveni g when Tabaqui came to the cave and told him rudely enough that n n l l ll a a ui he was wa ted at the Cou ci Rock, he aughed ti T b q

w . n l to u l t ll l u . ran a ay The Mowg i went the Co nci , s i a ghing Akela the lone wolf lay by the side of his rock as a sign l d of ha that the ea ership the Pack was open, and Shere K n with his following of scrap-fed wolves walked to and fro

O l ﬂattered. la l l and pen y being Bagheera y c ose to Mowg i, ’ ﬁre- l the pot was between Mowg i s knees. When they all were gathered together, Shere Khan began to speak a thing he would never have dared to do when Akela was in hi r 0 s p im . ‘ ’ He no ‘ H has right, whispered Bagheera. Say so. e ’ ’ He Will f n is a dog s son. be righte ed.

106 THE KIPLING READER

What has a man to do with us 1 Le t him go to his own l p ace . ’ ‘ And turn all the people of the villages against us 1 ‘ to H clamoured Shere Khan . No give him me . e is a ’ us l him . man, and none of can ook between the eyes ‘ ai ! He has Akela liited his head again, and s d eaten our He us. f food He has slept with has driven game or us. ’ of of Jun l He has broken no word the Law the g e. for ll was Also, I paid him with a Bu when he accepted . ’ f ull l l The worth o a b is itt e, but Bagheera s honour is ’ n ll ﬁ ht for somethi g that he wi perhaps g , said Bagheera, in his gentlest voice . ’ ‘ ‘ a n ! l h A bull p i d te years ago the Pack snar ed. W at ’ do we care for bones ten years old 1 ’ l 1 hi s O r for a p edge said Bagheera, white teeth bared ll e ll l under his lip. We are y ca ed the Free Peop e ’ ’ l of u l No man s cub can run with the peop e the j ng e, ’ howled Shere Khan. Give him to me 1 ’ all l Ak l ‘ He is our brother in but b ood, e a went ou ; and l ll ! u l l ye wou d ki him here In tr th, I have ived too ong. e l of Some of y are eaters of catt e, and others I have heard ’ t in e o hat, under Shere Khan s teach g, y g by dark night ’ n h l fr ll - and s atch c i dren om the vi ager s door step. There f e r ore I know y to be cowa ds, and it is to cowards I speak . n a l of It is certai th t I must die, and my ife is no worth, or ’ ff - I would o er that in the man cub s place . But for the sake of u the —a l l the Hono r of Pack, itt e matter that by being l e a f —I e without a eader y h ve orgotten, promise that if y let - o l will the man cub g to his own p ace, I not, when my

s e. ll di e time comes to die, bare one tooth again t y I wi htin l without ﬁg g . That will at east save the Pack three li . if e ll e ves More I cannot do but y wi , I can save y the shame that comes of killing a brother against whom there n o f ul —a for u i is a t, brother spoken and bo ght nto the Pack ’ f un le according to the Law o the J g . ’ MOWGLI S BROTHERS 107

He - a — is a man man a man snarled the Pack ; f and most o the wolves began to gather round Shere l ni Khan, whose tai was begin ng to switch. u n is ’ Now the b si ess in thy hands, said Bagheera to ’ l . We can ﬁ Mowg i do no more except ght. — li ﬁre- Mowg stood upright the pot in his hands. Then hi s he stretched out arms, and yawned in the face of the

u l ; b ut was fu u f r Co nci he rio s with rage and sorrow, o , lf-l l wo ike, the wo ves had never told him how they hate d him. Listen you he cried. There is no need for this ’ Y dog s jabber. e have told me so often to night that I am a man (and in deed I would have been a wolf with you to ’ lif s f l my e end), that I ee your words are true. So I do c ll e sa s as not a y my brothers any more, but y [dog ] , a

ul . e ll e ll man sho d What y wi do, and what y wi not do, is sa not yours to y. That matter is with me ; and that see m l l I we may the atter more p ain y, , the man, have u l t l of l e s bro ght here a i t e the Red F ower which y , dog ,

He flun fire - n and of g the pot on the grou d, some the red l lit of flared u all coa s a tuft dried moss that p, as the Council drew back in terror before the leaping dames Mowgli thrust hi s dead branch in to the fire till the twigs lit l and l d n and crack ed, whir ed it above his hea amo g l the cowering wo ves. ’ u . Tho art the master, said Bagheera, in an undertone ’ He was f n . Save Akela from the death. ever thy rie d l i old lf for Ake a, the gr m wo who had never asked mercy in his l l M l as ife, gave one piteous ook at owg i the boy n l l n stood all aked, his ong b ack hair tossi g over his shoulders in the light of the blazing branch that made the shad ows jump and quiver.

l r l l . Good said Mowg i, sta ing round s ow y I see that l —if ye are dogs . I go from you to my own peop e they be u l is and ust my own people . The j ng e shut to me, I m 108 THE KIPLING READER forget your talk and your companionship ; b ut I will be was all u more merciful than ye are . Because I b t your l d n am brother in b oo , I promise that whe I a man among ’ men I will not betray ye to men as ye have betrayed me .

fire his f a u . He kicked the with oot, and the sp rks flew p ‘ n i There shall be no war between any of a n the Pack. f ’ But here is a debt to pay be ore I go. He strode forward sat l u l flames to where Shere Khan b inking st pid y at the , and caught him by the tuft on his chin. Bagheera followed ‘ ‘ of . U l . U in case accidents p, dog Mowg i cried p, ll l when a man speaks, or I wi set that coat ab aze ’ la flat his d Shere Khan s ears y back on hea , and he shut

l n . his eyes, for the b azi g branch was very near This cattle -killer said he would kill me in the Council because he had not killed me when I was a cub. Thus and

u . th s, then, do we beat dogs when we are men Stir a u r an d l whisker, L ng i, I ram the Red F ower down thy gullet He beat Shere Khan over the head with the i a branch, and the tiger wh mpered and whined in an gony of f ear. — — Pah ! Singed jungle cat go now But remember when the un l o ul next I come to Co ci R ck, as a man sho d come, it ’ hi will be with Shere Khan s de on my head. For the rest,

A l f l l . Ye will not ll ke a goes ree to ive as he p eases ki him, because that i s not my will. Nor do I think that ye will l l ll u u sit here any onger, o ing out yo r tongues as tho gh ye n of t— were somebodies, i stead dogs whom I drive ou thus ! ’ Go 1 The ﬁre was burni ng furiously at the end of the l u l t l branch, and Mowg i str ck right and ef round the circ e, and the wolves ran howling with the sparks burning their fur At l s l A l . a t there were on y ke a, Bagheera, and perhaps ’ te n l a l wo ves that had t ken Mowg i s part. Then something u l him began to h rt Mowg i inside , as he had never been u his l f f r his h rt in i e be o e, and he caught breath and sobbed, and the tears ran down his face.

E O THE LOST L GI N.

out li l i WHE N the Indi an Mutiny broke , and a tt e t me of l r ula before the siege De hi, a regiment of Native I reg r u n of i Horse was stationed at Peshaw r on the Fro tier Ind a. That regiment caught what John Lawrence called at the ’ l n ul h timc the preva e t mania, and wo d ave thrown in its e ll so lot with the mutin eers had it b en a owed to do . The ‘ for as sw ofl chance never came, ; the regiment ept down h d mn lis sout , it was hea ed up by a re ant of an Eng h corps hi f Af l - into the lls o ghanistan, and there the new y conquered ai l u tribem en turned ag nst it as wo ves turn against b ck. It was hunted for the sake of its arms and accoutrements ll hill from hi to , from ravine to ravine, up and down the of un ul of luff ill dri ed beds rivers and ro d the sho ders b s, t it as e inks — officerless disappeared wat r s in the sand this , l l ft of rebel regiment. The on y trace e its existence tod ay is a nominal roll drawn up in neat round hand and counter officer c lle l A u l signed by an who a d himse f dj tant, ate ’ — al Irregular Cav ry . The paper is yellow with years i rt ou can ll and d , but on the back of it y sti read a pencil ff note by John Lawrence, to this e ect ! See that the two native officers who remain ed loyal are not deprived of their — ’ J L. O f six fift estates . hundred and y sabres only two t a e in stood s r in, and John Lawrenc the midst of all the agony of the first months of the mutiny found time to think about their merits . hi n That was more than t rty years ago, and the tribesme 1 10 THE LOST LEGION 1 1 1

A across the fghan border who helped to annihilate the old regiment are now men. Sometimes a graybeard speaks ’ hi s . ll sa of share in the massacre They came, he wi y, the d ll n across border, very prou , ca i g upon us to rise and ill l o of l k the Eng ish, and g down to the sack De hi. But we who had just been conquered by the same English knew l that they were over bo d, and that the Government could l for - n account easi y those down cou try dogs. This Hindu

f and stani regiment, therefore, we treated with air words, kept standing in one place till the redcoats came after them very hot and angry. Then this regiment ran forward a l l ll of l itt e more into our hi s to avoid the wrath the Eng ish, and we lay upon their ﬂanks watching from the sides of the hills till we were well assured that their path was lost

i . for r d beh nd them Then we came down, we desi e their l dl riﬂos t c othes, and their bri es, and their , and heir boots ll ll n more especia y their boots. That was a great ki i g ’ l l old man ll done s ow y. Here the wi rub his nose, and his l l and l l and shake ong snaky ocks, ick his bearded ips,

- ll ll . ll grin ti the ye ow tooth stumps show Yes, we ki ed r them because we needed their gear, and we knew that thei lives had been forfeited to God on account of their sin the sin of treachery to the salt which they had eaten. ll l in They rode up and down the va eys, stumb ing and rock g

i and l n for . r in the r saddles, how i g mercy We d ove them s l d in l slowly like cattle till they were all as emb e one p ace, t had f the ﬂat wide valley of Sheor K6 . Many died rom ut ll l t and want of water, b there sti were many ef , they ulli could not make any stand. We went among them, p ng and our them down with our hands two at a time, boys killed them who were new to the sword. My share of the — u and n plunder was such and such so many g ns, so ma y

uns . saddles. The g were good in those days Now we

s ls. ste al the Government riﬂe , and despise smooth barre f off Yes, beyond doubt we wiped that regiment rom the 1 12 THE KIPLING READER

face of the earth, and even the memory of the deed is now But dying. men say l ul 0 u l At this point the ta e wo d st p abr pt y, and it was nd r impossible to ﬁ out what men said across the bo der. l l The Afghans were a ways a secretive race, and vast y preferred doing something wi cked to saying anything at

ll- . ul a for all They wo d be quiet and we beh ved months, i ul till one night, without word or warn ng, they wo d rush

l - cut of t l a po ice post, the throats a cons ab e or two, dash ll u through a vi age, carry away three or fo r women, and ra l of u c withd w, in the red g are b rning that h, driving the f l l cattle and goats be ore them to their own deso ate hi ls. The Indian Government would become almost tearful on ‘ s . i ul sa l these occasion F rst it wo d y, P ease be good and ’ ’ la we ll forgive you . The tribe concerned in the test depre dation would collectively put its thumb to its nose and ‘ ’ s l ! an wer rude y. Then the Government would say Hadn t you bette r pay up a li ttle money for those few corpses you ’ left behind you the other night 1 Here the tribe would e s lie ull of u t mpori e, and and b y, and some the yo nger men, l of u ul ai mere y to show contempt a thority, wo d r d another

l - ﬁre mud f po ice post and into some frontier ort, and, if l ll l n l ofﬁcer. ucky, ki a rea E g ish Then the Government would say ! Observe ; if you really persist in this line of ’ ll u n conduct you wi be h rt. If the tribe k ew exactly what on i l l s u was going in Ind a, it wou d apo ogi e or be r de, accordi ng as it learned whether the Government was busy l with other things, or ab e to devote its full attention to their performances . Some of the tribe s knew to one corpse

far o. d l ds how to g Others became excite , ost their hea , l n and to d the Gover ment to come ou. With sorrow and on e tears, and eye on the British taxpayer at home, who insiste d on regarding these exercises as brutal wars of i ul annexat on, the Government wo d prepare an expensive l l ﬁeld- ri u all u itt e b gade and some g ns, and send p into the

1 1 4 THE KIPLING READER

ar ul l u an The Government p tic ar y wished for his capt re, d once invited him formally to come out and be hanged on account of a few of the murders in which he had taken a He l direct part. rep ied ‘ m l l fli es r I a on y twenty mi es, as the crow , f om your ’ m c . border. Co e and fet h me ill ’ Some day we w come, said the Government, and ’ hanged you wi ll b e . ull let m n The Gulla Kutta M ah the matter from his i d . He knew that the patience of the Government was as long as a summer day but he did not realise that its arm was hs f as long as a winter night. Mont a terwards when there all i was u was peace on the border, and Ind a q iet, the Indian Government turned in its sleep and remembered ull ll Bersund the G a Kutta Mu ah at , with his thirteen l of l out aws . The movement against him one sing e regi — ment which the telegrams would have translated as war — l would have been highly impo itic. This was a time for il all l s ence and speed, and, above , absence of b oodshed. You must know that all along the north-west frontier of India there is spread a force of some thirty thousand foot u u l and horse, whose d ty it is q iet y and unoste ntatiously to of shepherd the tribes in front them. They move up and w u l do n, and down and p, from one deso ate little post to ’ another ; they are ready to take the field at ten minute s notice ; they are always half in and half out of a di fficulty somewhere along the monotonous line ; their lives are as u l hard as their own m sc es, and the papers never say any u thing abo t them. It was from this force that the

Government picked its men. O ne night at a station where the mounted Night Patrol ﬁre as ll they cha enge, and the wheat rolls in great blue r u our l g een waves nder co d northern moon, the ofﬁcers

l ll - w ll l - were p aying bi iards in the mud a ed c ub house, when orders came to them that they were to go on parade at THE LOST LEGION 1 15

f r o ni ht drill. u l once a g They gr mb ed, and went to turn t — ou men a un l 00 let us sa their h dred Eng ish tr ps, y, two u Goorkhas u h ndred , and abo t a hundred cavalry of the ﬁnest l native cava ry in the world .

- u When they were on the parade gro nd, it was explai ned to them in whispers that they must set off at once across b ll Bersun the i s to d. The Engli sh troops were to post themselves round the hills at the side of the valley ; the

Goorkhas ul n - wo d comma d the gorge and the death trap, and the cavalry would fetch a long march round and get to of l of ll the back the circ e hi s, whence, if there were any difﬁcult l ch ’ y, they cou d arge down on the Mullah s men. But orders were very strict that there should be no ﬁghting and no noise. They were to return in the morning with of un i t every round amm it on in act, and the Mullah and the u l u If thirteen o t aws bo nd in their midst. they were u ful ul i s ccess , no one wo d know or care anyth ng about their fa l r a l ll der in work ; but i u e me nt probab y a sma bor war, which the Gulla Kutta Mullah would pose as a popular l ull n w of n eader against a big b yi g po er, instead a commo o b rder murderer. l l l of Then there was si ence, broken on y by the c icking the

n of - compass needles and snappi g watch cases, as the heads of columns compared bearings and made appointments for i l - n the rendezvous . F ve minutes ater the parade grou d was empty the green coats of the Goorkhas and the overcoats of the English troops had faded into the darkness, and the cavalry were cantering away in the face of a blindi ng drizzle. What the Goorkhas and the English did will be seen la for later on . The heavy work y with the horses, they

l f a i s . had to go far and pick their way c ear o habit t on Many of the troopers were natives of that part of the

fi ht t r k m, world, ready and anxious to g against hei and d unofficial some of the officers had made private an excur sion s into those hills before. They crossed the border, 1 16 THE KIPLING READ ER

u l u found a dried river bed, cantered p that, wa ked thro gh s s low ill u a tony gorge, ri ked crossing a h nder cover of

ll l i - the darkness, skirted another hi , eav ng their hoof marks l u f l l deep in some p o ghed ground, e t their way a ong another u n watercourse, ran over the neck of a sp r, prayi g that no n mti n one would hear their horses g g, and so worked on in ll l f Bersund the rain and the darkness, ti they had e t and its l l hi l ft crater of hills a itt e be nd them, and to the e , and it Th as was time to swing round . e cent commanding the d was l back of Bersun steep, and they ha ted to draw breath

ad l l ll l . sa in a bro eve va ey be ow the height That is to y, men u b ut l the reined p, the horses, b own as they were,

us al . was u l u ref ed to h t There nchristian ang age, the worse l i e o for being de ivered in a wh sp r, and y u heard the saddles n l squeaking in the dark ess as the horses p unged . The subaltern at the rear of one troop turned in his

‘ a l ou C rter, what the b essed heavens are y doing at the

n u man . rear 1 Bri g your men p, was ll l There no answer, ti a trooper rep ied f —not Carter Sahib is orward there . There is nothing

’ ’ sub altarn. u There is, said the The sq adron s walking ’ l ’ on it s own tai . Then the Major in command moved down to the rear swearin g softly and asking for the blood of Lieutenant ll — l u Ha ey the suba tern who had j st spoken. ‘ ft u d ’ Look a er yo r rearguar , said the Major. Some of u l ’ yo r infernal thieves have got ost. They re at the head of ’ ’ u n and l of the sq adro , you re a severa kinds idiot. ’ ll ll off 1 su ltem l Sha I te my men, sir said the ba sulki y, f r f lin o he was ee g wet and cold . ‘ ’ ’ ll off 1 s . Whi off Gad ! Te em aid the Major p em , by ’ ’ all You re squandering them over the place . There s a tr00p behind you now I

1 18 THE KIPLING READER

been murdered. There was no need for reasons. The ’ A s r l lun Maj or s big u t a ian charger b dered next, and the column came to a halt in what seemed to be a very grave~ yard of little cairns all about two feet high. The manoeu l v res of the squadron are not reported . Men said that it fe t like mounted quadrilles without training and without the as n i n musi c but at l t the horses, breaki g rank and choos g r own wa l l a ll of thei y, wa ked c e r of the cairns, ti every man the squadron re-formed and drew rein a few yards up the

l of ll . accordi n ll s ope the hi Then, g to Lieutenant Ha ey, there was another scen e very like the one which has been all described . The Major and Carter insisted that the men had not joined rank, and that there were more of them in the ’ l n r rear choking and b underi g among the dead men s cai ns . Lieutenant Halley told off hi s own troopers again and ol resigned hi ms elf to wait. Later on he t d me ’ ’ I di dn t much know, and I didn t much care what was ou of e f ll going . The row that troop r a ing ought to l and ul have scared ha f the country, I wo d take my oath tal ll that we were being s ked by a fu regiment in the rear, and they were making row enough to rouse all Afghanistan ’ but in d I sat tight, noth g happene ’ The mysterious part of the night s work was the silence ll k on the hi side . Everybody new that the Gulls Kutta ullah had hi s ut of l M o post huts on the reverse side the hi l, and everybody expected by the time that the Major had sworn hi mself into a state of quiet that the watchmen there

ul ﬁre . h cu wo d open W en nothing oc rred, they said that mof a u of the m the r in had deadened the so nd the horses,

l a l ft e n a se f ( ) that he had e no one b hi d among the c irns, and (b) that he was not bein g taken in the rear by a large ’ ful v ah' and power body of ca y. The men s tempers were u l l l thoro gh y spoi ed, the horses were athered and unquiet, all f r l and one and prayed o the day ight. THE LOST LEGION 1 19

set l l ll They themse ves to c imb up the hi , each man leading his u ull mo nt caref y. Before they had covered the lower l the as t l and u s opes or bre p ates beg n to tighten, a thunder ll storm came up behind, ro ing across the low hills and i an l of drown ng y noise ess than that cannon . The first flash li of of the ghtning showed the bare ribs the ascent, the ll - a l lu l hi crest st nding stee y b e against the b ack sky, the l l f ll l of and itt e a ing ines the rain, , a few yards to their l ft flank A - - u l e , an fghan watch tower, two storied, b i t of stone, l and entered by a adder from the upper story. The ladder was u p, and a man with a rifle was leaning from the window . The darkn ess and the thunder rolled down in an st lull ll f in ant, and, when the fo owed, a voice rom the watch ’ Who 1 tower cried, goes there al b ut his The cav ry were very quiet, each man gripped

an . A ll carbine d stood beside his horse gain the voice ca ed, Wh ’ l 0 o goes there 1 and in a ouder key, , brothers, give l l the alarm Now, every man in the cava ry wou d have di ed in his long boots sooner than have asked for quarter ; but it is a fact that the answer to the second call was a r ! i a long wail of Ma f karo Mar k ro which means, Have mercy ! Have mercy It came from the climbing

u ll The cavalry stood dumbfo ndered, ti the big troopers h n was had time to whisper one to another ! Mir K a , that ’ thou ca11 1 u ll thy voice 1 Abdullah, didst Lie tenant Ha ey So l ﬁrin stood beside his charger and waited . ong as no g A ﬂash l h in was going on he was content. nother of ig tn g showed the horses with heaving danks and nodding heads, -b ll l the men, white eye a ed, g aring beside them and the

- i stone watch tower to the left. Th s time there was no n- l e head at the window, and the rude iro c amped shutt r that could turn a riﬂe bullet was closed. ’ . u Go ou, men, said the Major Get p to the top at ’ u n l any rate . The sq adro toi ed forward, the horses wag 1 20 THE KIPLING READER

ull n l gi ng their tails and the men p i g at the brid es, the l ﬂ in stones rolling down the hi lside and the sparks y g. Lieutenant Halley declares that he never heard a squadron

his l . c l u make so much noise in ife They s ramb ed p, he had l a said, as though each horse eight egs and a sp re horse u f to follow him . Even then there was no so nd rom the

- and e x te watch tower, the men st pped e haus d on the ridge that overlooked the pit of darkness in whi ch the village of

- nd la . l e u c ifte Bersu y Girths were oos d, c rb hains sh d, and u r saddles adj sted, and the men d opped down among the

n . h a u sto es W atever might h ppen now, they had the pper

The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered a for n f ll w them ll. Except the sou d of a ing ater among the

n e l till. ravi s be ow, everything was s They heard the shutter t - l r wi l of the wa ch tower be ow them th own back th a c ang, of ll ! Haﬁz ll and the voice the watcher ca ing Oh, U ah ‘ e u ll a l -la An The choes took the ca , L a d an answer p— came from the watch tower hidden round the curve of the ll ‘ it 1’ hi , What is , Shahbaz Khan Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the ’ mountaineer ! B ast thou seen 1 ‘ The answer came back ! Yes . God deliver us from all evil spiri ts l ‘ was us n ! Haﬁz Ull There a pa e, and the ah, I am alone ! Come to me 1 am l l b u Shahbaz Khan, I a one a so ; t I dare not leave my post 1 ‘ ’ That is a li e ; thou art afrai d . ‘ A l u ll ! am onger pa se fo owed, and then I afraid . Be ’ l ! l us ll . to si ent They are be ow sti Pray God and sleep. The e l n for troop rs istened and wo dered, they could not understan d what save earth and stone could lie below the

122 THE KIPLING READER

His too l n God l . . Mullah, if p ease teeth have grown o g No harm will come to thee un less the daylight shows thee ll m as a face which is desired by the ga ows for cri e done. ’ But what of the dead regiment 1 ’ ll own man im I only ki within my border, said the , ‘ a l . mensel reli eved. The De d Regiment is be ow The y — men must have passed through it on their journey four n l n hundred dead o horses, stumb i g among their own graves, ’ — all l among the little heaps dead men , whom we s ew. ‘ ‘ u i Whew said Halley. That acco nts for my curs ng

u . u u r Carter and the Major c rsing me Fo r h nd ed sabres, eh 1 No wonder we thought there were a few extra men ’ u u e l in the tr00p. K rr k Shah, he whisp red to a grizz ed ‘ ﬁi r la h few hi m a u native o ce that y wit in a feet of , h st tho ’ heard anything of a dead Rissala in these hills 1 ’ u uk l . Assuredly, said K rr Shah with a grim chuck e w I u Other ise, why did , who have served the Q een for

e -and~twent ll hill- u s ven y years, and ki ed many dogs, sho t aloud for quarter when the lightning revealed us to the watch-towers 1 When I was a y oung man I saw the killing ll of Sheor-Két f in the va ey there at our eet, and I know the tale that grew up therefrom. But how can the ghosts

’ n l l A Strap that dog s ha ds a itt e tighter, Sahib. An fghan ’ is like an eeL ’ ’ But ad l ai ll a de Rissa a, s d Ha ey, jerking his captive s ‘ . a l t l u u a wrist Th t is foo ish a k, K rr k Sh h . The dead are ’ . l till sa . A l . dead Ho d s , g The fghan wrigg ed ad s The dead are de , and for that rea on they walk at 1 night. What need to talk We be men ; we have our

. h see eyes and ears Thou canst bot and hear them, down ’ ll a u l the hi side, s id K rruk Shah composed y. ll i l n Ha ey stared and l stened o g and intently. The valley was full stiﬂed n s ll u t i of oi es, as every va ey m s be at n ght b ut whether he saw or heard more than was natural Halley THE LOST LEGION 193

l a one knows, and he does not choose to speak on the subject. At l f ast, and just be ore the dawn, a green rocket shot up of ll of Bersun from the far side the va ey d, at the head of

, Goorkhas the gorge to show that the were in position. A l f nf n r l f s it red ight rom the i a t y at e t and right an wered , al r ﬂar A and the cav ry bu nt a white e. fghans in winter are l l was l ate s eepers, and it not til full day that the Gulla ’ ull n l f Kutta M ah s men bega to stragg e rom their huts,

u n . men r bbi g their eyes They saw in green, and red, and uni l on r l brown forms, eaning thei arms, neat y arranged all u ll of Bersund ro nd the crater of the vi age , in a cordon that l l not even a wo f cou d have broken. They rubbed their s i -f u eye the more when a p nk aced yo ng man, who was not A n l l a even in the rmy, but represe ted the Po itica Dep rtment, ll li tripped down the hi side with two order es, rapped at the ’ of ull ull u door the G a Kutta M ah s ho se, and told him ui l out and u for f q et y to step be tied p sa e transport. That un u uts same yo g man passed on thro gh the h , tapping here one cateran an d there another lightly with his cane and as n so was u a n l l each was poi ted out, he tied p, st ri g hope ess y at the crowned heights aroun d where the English soldiers l looked down with incurious eyes. On y the Mullah tried ff s hi ds ll l to carry it o with curse and gh wor , ti a so dier who

’ ’ None 0 your lip ! Why didn t you come out when you ’ ’ ’ ns 0 us all 1 was ordered, i tead keepin awake night You re ’ rr k- ou hi - eaded no better than my own ba ae sweeper, y w te old polyanthus ! Kim up Half an hour later the troops had gone away with the ll Mullah and his thirteen friends. The dazed vi agers were looki ng ruefully at a pile of broken muskets and snapped n n l swords, and wo deri g how in the wor d they had come so to miscalculate the forbearance of the Indian Govern 124 THE KIPLING READER

l l ff l out It was a very neat itt e a air, neat y carried , and the

Yet it seems to me that much credit is also due to another regiment whose name did not appear in the brigade d of orders, and whose very existence is in anger being

126 THE KIPLING READER and the ringstraked horse and the cavalry of the State — two men in tatters and the herald who bore the silver

. ul l stick before the King, wo d trot back to their own p ace, which lay between the tail of a heaven-climbin g glacier and

- a dark birch forest . n l n Now, from such a Ki g, a ways rememberi g that he l l h ul u possessed one veritab e e ep ant, and co d co nt his f r l un w n was descent o twe ve h dred years, I expected, he it hi s no my fate to wander through dominions, more than mere license to live. had l ll l u s l The night c osed in rain, and ro ing c o d b otted v ll l out the lights of the villages in the a ey. Forty mi es l l away, untouched by c oud or storm , the white shou der of — Don ga Pa the Moun tain of the Council of the Gods n o ull upheld the Evening Star. The mo keys sang s rrowf y to each other as they hun ted for dry roosts in the fem l t ff of - u wreathed trees, and the as pu the day wind bro ght f u ll n a - rom the nseen vi ages the sce t of d mp wood smoke,

u wt - hot cakes, dripping ndergro h, and rotting pine cones. u ll of l if That is the tr e sme the Hima ayas, and once it l ll l st creeps into the b ood of a man, that man wi at the a ,

f all l to ll . l orgetting e se, return the hi s to die The c ouds l ll c osed and the sme went away, and there remained nothing in all the world except chilling white mist and the of l n boom the Sut ej river raci g through the valley below. A fat— l to l tai ed sheep, who did not want die, b eated u l He s u piteo s y at my tent door. was o tﬂing with the Prime Minister an d the Director-General of Publi c Educa i n and l i ft me t o , he was a roya g to and my camp serv ants . s u a l if I expres ed my thanks s it b y, and asked I might have of audience the King. The Prime Ministe r readjusted hi s n had ll n off l turba , which fa e in the strugg e, and assured me Ki ul l f that the ng wo d be very p eased to see me. There ore, tl f I despatched two bot es as a oretaste, and when the sheep had en te red upon another incarnation went to the NAMGAY DOOLA 1 27

’ n l u Ki g s Pa ace thro gh the wet. He had sent his army to

s o , b ut l e c rt me the army stayed to ta k with my cook. l l all So diers are very much a ike the world over.

l was f ur- The Pa ace a o roomed, and whitewashed mud - u finest ’ and timber ho se, the in all the hills for a day s u . n was l l ac jo rney The Ki g dressed in a purp e ve vet j ket, ‘ usli u safi ron - ll u white m n tro sers, and a ye ow t rban of price . He gave me audi ence in a little carpeted room Opening 011 the palace courtyard which was occupied by the Elephant of State . The great beast was sheeted and anchored from r l ur of t unk to tai , and the c ve his back stood out grandly ai ns ag t the mist. — The Prime Minister and the Director General of Public u to u all Ed cation were present introd ce me, but the court mi s l t l f had been dis sed, es the two bott es a oresaid should u l corr pt their mora s . The King cast a wreath of heavy e flowers u as scent d ro nd my neck I bowed, and inquired u e had f l how my hono red pr sence the e icity to be . I said that through seeing hi s auspicious countenance the mists of u n n of the night had t rned i to su shine, and that by reason his b eneficent sheep his good deeds would be remembered h t in had ma ni ficent by the Gods. He said t a s ce I set my g foot i n hi s Kin gdom the crops would probably yield seventy M e of per cent. more than the average. I said that the f n of and the King had reached to the our cor ers the earth, that the nati ons gnashed their teeth when they heard da1 ly — of the glories of his realm and the wisdom of his moon like Prime Mimster and lotus-hk e D1rector-General of Public

Education. u Then we sat down on clean white c shions, and I was at ’ n l te was ll the King s right hand . Three mi utes a r he te ing me that the state of the maize cr0p was something disgrace ful Ra l y ul h m , and that the i wa companies wo d not pay i l f Wi enough for his timber. The ta k shi ted to and fro th

nd d t l i , the bottles , a we discusse very many s ate y th ngs and 1 28 THE KIPLING READER the King became conﬁdential on the subject of Government all l i of generally. Most of he dwe t on the shortcom ngs u f m all ul one of his s bjects, who, ro I co d gather, had been paralysing the executive ’ old ul a In the days, said the King, I co d h ve ordered l to w the Elephant yonder to tramp e him death. No I must e’en send hi m seventy miles across the bills to be

d l n t . El trie , and his keep wou d be upo the S ate The ephant t ’ ea s everything. ’ ’ a I be 1 ai . What the man s crimes, R jah Sahib s d ‘ ir l u l of mi F st y, he is an o t ander and no man ne own l l n f u l peop e. Second y, si ce of my avo r I gave him and

ﬁrst o u u . Am upon his c ming, he ref ses to pay reven e I l l l not the ord of the earth—, above and be ow, entit ed by right and custom to one eighth of the crop ? Yet this l t l n lf fus n l tax a devi , es ab ishi g himse , re es to pay a si g e nd ’ he brings a poison ous spawn of babes ‘ l ’ Cast him into jai , I said. ’ ‘ hi n n hi fti l l Sa b, the Ki g a swered, s ng a itt e on the ’ u n l e f s c shio s, once and on y once in thes orty years sickne s so l o came upon me that I was not ab e to g abroad. In that hour I made a vow to my God that I would never again out man or woman from the light of the sun and the of God for a u air ; I perceived the n t re of the punishment. How can I break my v ow 1 Were it only the lopping of a f ul n ot l B hand or a oot I sho d de ay. ut even that is l l impossib e now that the Eng ish have rule . On e or another — of my people he looked obliquely at the Director-Gen eral of Publi c Education would at once write a letter to the s ul Viceroy, and perhaps I ho d be deprived of my ruthe of ’ drums.

He un l e - screwed the mouthpiece of his si ver wat r pipe, ﬁtted l a p ain amber mouthpiece, and passed hi s pipe to me. ‘ ’ ‘ c f n n d Not ontent with re usi g revenue, he conti ue , this ! outlander refuses also the begs? (this was the corvée or

1 30 THE KIPLING READER

Next morning a crier went through the State proclaiming that there was a log-jam on the river and that it behoved it l u all loyal subjects to remove . The peop e po red down l t ll -ﬁelds from their vi lages o the moist, warm va ey of poppy ; u and the King and I went with them. H ndreds of dressed

- of deodar logs had caught on a snag rock, and the river l the was bringin g down more logs every minute to comp ete w e l and blockade . The at r snar ed and wrenched worried l of at the timber, and the popu ation the State began prod ding the n earest logs with a pole in the hope of starting a u of general movement. Then there went up a sho t ‘ Namgay Doola ! Namgay Doola and a large red-haired

l g u r u s off hi s l . vil a er h r ied p, tripping c othes as he ran ‘ ’ ‘ l n . That is he . That is the rebe , said the Ki g Now ’ will the dam be cleared. ’ ‘ 1 as c But why has b e red hair I ked, sin e red hair - l among hill folks i s as common as b ue or green. ’ l n . ll ! He is an out a der, said the King We done ll Oh, we done Namgay Doola had scrambled out on the jam and was clawing out the butt of a log with a rude sort of boat l l as all hook. It slid forward s ow y an igator moves, three ll it an d or four others fo owed , the green water spouted m ill through the gaps they had ade . Then the v agers l l l ull how ed and shouted and scramb ed across the ogs, p ing an d ushi n t n ad of p g the obs i ate timber, and the red he am a l all l N g y Doo a was chief among them . The ogs swayed and chafed and groaned as fresh consignments from up n All stream battered the now weakeni g dam. gave way l of l l at ast in a smother foam, racing ogs, bobbing b ack ds n l Th hea and confusio indescribab e. e river tossed every f it a o thing be ore . I saw the red he d g down with the last remnants of the j am and disappear between the great grind

- l ing tree trunks . It rose c ose to the bank and blowing like a grampus. Namgay Doola wrung the water out of his NAMGAY DOOLA 131

n eyes and made obeisance to the Ki g. I had time to him l l observe c ose y. The v irulent redness of his shock head and board was most startli ng ; and in the thicket of hair wri nkled above high cheek bones shone two very

lu . He was l merry b e eyes indeed an out ander, b ut yet a l u and Thibetan in ang age, habit, attire. He spoke the Lepcha dialect wi th an indescribable softening of the

u u al . u l s g tt r s It was not so m ch a isp a an accent. ’ h n u 1 W e ce comest tho I asked. ’ hi . He hill From T bet pointed across the s and grinned. i That gr n went straight to my heart. Mechanically I held out Nam a l my hand and g y Doo a shook it. No pure Thibetan would have understood the meani ng of the

u . He l l as gest re went away to ook for his c othes, and he l a his ll u ll c imbed b ck to vi age, I heard a joyo s ye that u l l was o of seemed naccountab y fami iar. It the who ping m l Na gay Doo a. ’ ‘ ul n ot ll You see now, said the King, why I wo d ki ’ him. l l b ut He is a bo d man among my ogs, , and he l f shook hi s head like a schoo master, I know that be ore u long there will be complaints of him in the co rt. Let us ’ ’ n return to the Palace and do justice . It was that Ki g s custom to judge hi s subjects every day between eleven and ’ saw u t l thr ee o clock. I him decide eq i ab y in weighty - l and l l f t ali n . matters of trespass, s ander, a itt e wi e s e g

Then his brow clouded and he summoned me. ‘ ’ ‘ m a l e l . Again it is Na g y Doo a, he said d spairing y Not his art content with refusin g revenue on own p , he has

l as . bound half his v illage by an oath to the ike tre on Never before has such a thing befallen me ! Nor are my ’ taxes heavy. - lun d A -f ll l s s u b e rabbit aced vi ager, with a b u h ro e stck He i n l . his ear, advanced tremb ing had been the con ’ s irac b ut ol r t for p y, had t d eve y hing and hoped the King s f avour . 132 THE KIPLING RE ADER

‘ ’ ‘ ’ 0 I. If ll let King, said it be the King s wi this

‘ matter stan d over till the morning . Only the Gods can do f l ll l ’ right swi t y, and it may be that yonder vi ager has ied. ‘ for u Nam a l Nay, I know the nat re of g y Doo a but l u since a guest asks let the matter remain. Wi t tho speak

- d l He l harshly to this red heade out ander. may iste n to ’ thee . t a but l I made an a tempt th t very evening, for the ife of l u n Nam a l me I cou d not keep my co nte ance . g y Doo a nn l ll gri ed persuasive y, and began to te me about a big

-ﬁ l ul c brown bear in a poppy e d by the river. Wo d I are to i us l sin of ns shoot t 1 I spoke a tere y on the co piracy, and ’ Nam la u the certainty of punishment. gay Doo s face clo ded f a f or a moment. Shortly afterw rds he withdrew rom my a to l tl tent, and I he rd him singing himse f sof y among the

. un lli l b ut u pines The words were inte gib e to me, the t ne, l hi s l u ike iq id insinuating speech, seemed the ghost of

Dir b ane mard-i -yemen dir To la w eeree a gee ,

Nam a l sang g y Doo a again and again, and I racked my n fo l t u ill ft a brai r that os t ne . It was not t a er dinner th t I discovered some one had cut a square foot of velvet from m t a- l so the centre of y bes camer c oth. This made me angry that I wan dered down the valley in the hope of meeting the big brown bear. I could hear him grunting l s -ﬁel w ike a di contented pig in the poppy d, and I aited shoulder deep i n the dew-d1i pping Indian corn to catch him i was after h s meal. The moon at full and drew out the r of ll the u ich scent the tasse ed crop. Then I heard ang ished ll l of l l la u be ow of a Hima ayan cow, one the itt e b ck cr mmies l no bigger than Newfound and dogs . Two shadows that l l cub u ri was ooked ike a bear and her h r ed past me . I in act to ﬁre when I saw that they had each a brilliant red l head. The lesse r animal was trai ing some rope behind it

134 THE KIPLING READ ER

The door was thrown open and I entered the smoky l interior of a Thi betan hut crammed with chi dren. And ’ A l la every child had ﬂaming red hair. raw cow s tai y on t of l l t—m he ﬂoor, and by its side two pieces b ack ve ve y — l n as black velvet rudely hacked into the semb a ce of m ks. ‘ ’ An d Nam a la 1 I. what is this shame, g y Doo said l He grinn ed more win ning y than ever. There is no ’ ’ he di d off l of ha shame, said . I but cut the tai t t man s

He . was . cow. betrayed me I minded to shoot him, Sahib l l ’ But not to death. Indeed not to death. On y in the egs, And all u why at , since it is the c stom to pay revenue ’ to the King 1 Why at all 1 ’ ‘ B ll Nam a y the God of my father I cannot te , said g y

Doola . ’ ‘ And who was thy father 1 ‘ ’ hi s un H The same that had t g . e showed me his — weapon a Tower musket bearing date 1832 and the stamp f o the Honourable East India Company. ’ ’ ‘ An I d thy father s name 1 said . ‘ ’ ‘ Timla l he . At ﬁrst y Doo a, said the , I being then a l l l ’ itt e chi d, it is in my mind that he wore a red coat. O f u But that I have no do bt. repeat the name of thy ’ u im father thrice or fo r t es. He and obeyed, I understood whence the puzzling accent

‘ s u ’ To thi ho r I worship his God. ‘ May I see that God ? ’ ‘ ’ In l l l —at l a itt e whi e twi ight time . ’ Re memberest thou aught of thy father s speech 1 ‘ It l is ong ago . But there is one word which he said “ f . u Shim o ten Th s . Then I and my brethren stood f ’ upon our eet, our hands to our sides . Thus. ’ An d Even so. what was thy mother 1 ‘ A ll . of l woman of the hi s We be Lepchas Darjee ing, but ’ ll u l au me they ca an o t ander bec se my hair is as thou seest. NAMGAY DOOLA 1 35

f The Thibetan woman, his wi e, touched him on the arm l l gent y. The ong parley outside the fort had lasted far w l — into the day. It as now c ose upon twilight the hour

- An lu . l m l of the ge s Very so e n y, the red headed brats rose m ﬂoor mi l N m l fro the and formed a se circ e. a gay Doo a l hi s un s ll l l l oil la aid g again t the wa , ighted a itt e mp, and ull set it before a recess in the wall. P ing aside a curtain of dirty cloth he revealed a worn brass cruciﬁx leaning agai nst the helmet-badge of a long forgotten East India ’ did s i n lf regiment. Thus my father, he aid, cross g himse

f l n f ll u . n all clumsily. The wi e and chi dre o owed s it The together they struck up the wailing chant that I heard on the hillside Dir hané mard-i -yemen dir

To we eree ala gee .

A and I was puzzled no longer. gain again they crooned l i of as if their hearts wou d break, the r version the chorus ' of the Wecm ng of the Green

’ and women too The y re hanging men , e For the wearing of the gr en .

of A diaboli cal inspiration came to me. One the brats, a

ld was h as . boy about eight years o , watc ing me he sang ull out u l h I p ed a r pee, he d the —coin between uger and - 1 l at un i thumb, and looked on y ooked the g aga nst the of ll n f m n n wall . A gri n bri ia t and per ect co prehe sio over for s spread the face of the child. Never an in tant stopping for and l the song he held out hi s hand the money, then s id m s am a l the gun to my hand . I ight have hot N g y Doo a - i n ut satisﬁed. The l as he chanted. B I was b ood inst ct Nam a l u of the race held true. g y Doo a drew the c rtain

A l was . across the recess. nge us over was Thus my father sang. There much more, but I u have forgotten, and I do not know the p rport of these

will u . am words, but it may be that the God nderstand I ’ ll . not of thi s people, and I wi not pay revenue 136 THE KIPLING READER

’ ‘ And why 1 ‘ - ll h Again that soul compe ing grin. W at occupation would be to me between crop and crop 1 It is better than ’ l He scaring bears. But these peop e do not understand. as ﬂoor l picked the m ks from the , and ooked in my face as simply as a child By what road didst thou attai n knowledge to make ’ 1 . these devilries I said, pointing

ll. am of li an I cannot te I but a Lepcha Darjee ng, d ‘ yet the atuh ‘ ’ Which thou hast stolen. ‘ l 1 l so. uff Nay, sure y. Did I stea I desired it The st — — the stuff what else should I have done with the stuff 1 l He twisted the ve vet between his ﬁngers. — ’ But the si n of maimin g the cow consider that 1 ru hi and That is t e but oh, Sa b, that man betrayed me — ’ I had no thought but the heifer s tail waved in the moon n f l ul n light an d I had my k i e. What e se sho d I have do e 1

l off was . The tai came ere I aware Sahib, thou knowest I ’ more than . ‘ ’ ‘ I. . o to That is true, said Stay within the door I g ’ speak to the King. n f n The populatio o the State were ranged o the hillsides. n I wen t forth and spoke to the Ki g. ’ K n s I . n i man Oh i g, aid Touchi g th s there be two course s open to thy wisdom. Thou canst either hang him f an d his ll a n rom a tree, he brood, ti there rem i s no hair ’ that is red wi thi n the land. ‘ ’ ‘ . l u l l Nay, said the King Why shou d I h rt the itt e

They had poured out of the hut door and were making

with his gun across his arm . ‘ O r thou canst, discarding the impiety of the cow

a e i n . e m iming, rais him to honour thy Army H comes of

- A GERM DESTROYER.

Pleme n t it is for the Little Tin Gods When great Jov e n ods But Little Tin Gods make their little mistakes t o In missing the hour when grea J v e wakes.

As rul is dl u a general e, it inexpedient to med e with q estions of State in a land where men are hi ghly paid to work them

u al ustiﬁable . o t for you. This t e is a j exception ﬁv e ou Once in every years, as y know, we indent for a new a v his b ggage, a Pri ate Secretary, who may or may not be

u as . l t the real Viceroy, j st Fate ordains Fate ooks af er the an l Indian Empire because it is so big d so he pless. There was a Viceroy once who brought out with him a — turbulent Private Secretary a hard man with a soft manner

and a morbid passion for work. This Secretary was called — Wonder John Fennil Wonder. The Viceroy possessed no — name nothi ng but a sti i ng of counties and two-thirds of H l e . e confiden the a phabet aft r them said in ce, that he l o- l t fi urehead of l n t the e ectr p a ed g a go de administra ion, ’ w in us and he atched a dreamy, am ed way Won der s attempts to draw matters whi ch were entirely outside his province ‘ ’ i his own . all u nto hands When we are cher bims together, His c ll n fii en said Ex e e cy once, my dear, good d Wonder ’ will head the con spiracy for pluckin g out Ga briel s tail ’ ’ f s e l . 1716 11 ll eather or st a ing Peter s I sha report him. keys A GERM-DESTROYER 1 39

u ’ But, tho gh the Viceroy did nothing to check Wonder s ofi ciousness 0 1 l a , other pe p e said unp eas nt things . May be the Members of Council began it ; but finally all Simla agreed that there was too much Wonder and too little r ul n Vice oy in that r e. Wo der was always quoting His ll ’ ‘ Exce ency. It was His Excellency this His Excellency ’ ni of Hi s ll that, In the opi on Exce ency, and so on . The mil He . l Viceroy s ed; but he did not heed said that, so ong ’ as his old u l hi s men sq abb ed with dear, good Wonder, they u l might be ind ced to eave the Immemorial East in peace . ’ has l ‘ A l No wise man a Po icy, said the Viceroy. Po icy l 1 is the b ackmail levied on the F00 by the Unforeseen . ’ am not l l . I not the former, and I do be ieve in the atter l f I do not quite see what this means, un ess it re ers to an ’ Insurance Policy. Perhaps it was the Viceroy s way of ’ n low. sayi g, Lie That season came up to Simla one of these crazy people T with only a single idea. hese are the men who make ’ thi ngs move ; b ut they are not ni ce to talk to. This man s l for fifte en on name was Mellish, and he had ived years

al l a. He land of hi s own, in Lower Beng , studying cho er held that cholera was a germ that pmpagated itself as it ﬂew through a muggy atmosphere ; and stuck in the

- ul branches of trees like a wool flake . The germ co d be ’ Mellish s n v l rendered sterile, he said, by Own I incib e ’ Fumigatory —a heavy violet-black powder the result of ’ fifte en years scientifi c investigation, Sir al Inventors seem very much alike as a caste. They t k ’ ll u n of l loudly, especia y abo t co spiracies monopo ists they and h r beat upon the table wi th their fists ; t ey secrete f ag ments of their inventions about their persons. l n l Melli sh said that there was a Medica Ri g at Sim a,

- l l u , headed by the Surgeon Genera , who was in eag e l all al As i t . apparent y, with the Hospit s stan s in the Empire it b ut i n I forget exactly how he proved , it had someth g 140 THE KIPLING RE ADER

‘ ’ to do with skulking up to the Hills and what Mellish wanted was the independent eviden ce of the Viceroy ’ u n ir Steward of our Most Gracious Majesty the Q ee , S . ll ml i i - u So Me ish went up to Si a, w th e ghty fo r pounds of F his u umigatory in tr nk, to speak to the Viceroy and to show hi m the merits of the in venti on. o al But it is easier to see a Vicer y than to t k to him, as as llishe a unless you chance to be important Me of Madr s .

- - u s He was a six thousand r pee man, o great that his ’ ’ . r lli daughters never married They cont acted a ances . ’ He He ims lf . l t h e was not paid received emo umen s, and ’ hi u r r of s journeys about the co nt y were tou s observation. His b usiness was to stir up the people in Madras with a — — long pole as you stir up tench in a pond a nd the people had to come up out of their comfortable old ways and gasp ‘ ’ ’ — s is nl n an d Thi E ightenme t Progress. Isn t it ﬁn e l h Mellishe t l in T en they give s atues and jasmine gar ands, the hope of getting rid of him Mellishe l f ’ came up to Sim a to con er with the Viceroy.

That was one of his perquisites . The Viceroy knew noth ing of Mellishe except that he was one of those middle class deities who seem necessary to the spiri tual comfort of ’ l -cl this Paradise of the Midd e asses, and that, in all proba bilit d s f u y he had suggested, e igned, o nded, and endowed all l s u s ’ the pub ic in tit tion in Madras . Which proves that ll u His Exce ency, tho gh dreamy, had experience of the

of six- u - ways tho sand rupee men. ’ Melli she s E Melli sh ’ . e name was , and Mellish s was E S. ll Me ish, and they were both staying at the same hotel, and the Fate that looks after the Indian Empire ordained that ‘ ’ Wonder should blunder and drop the ﬁnal e that the s l l Chapra si shou d he p him, and that the note whi ch ran

Dm ME . ME LLISH Can ou se t asi e our o e r n a , y d y th e g gements, d l - an unch wi th na at tw o to morrow ? His Excellency has an hour at our is osal en y d p th ,

142 THE KIPLING READER

t. ﬁzzed pipe and shut i The powder hissed and , and sent r ll ou out blue and g een sparks, and the smoke rose ti y

se e . ll could neither , nor breathe, nor gasp Me ish, however, t was used to i . ’ ‘ ia u — l Nitrate of stront , he sho ted ; baryta, bone mea , f u doctora l Thousand cubic eet smoke per c bic inch. Not — Y’ ll a germ could live not a germ, Exce ency ﬂed But His Excellency had , and was coughing at the i l all Peterhoff um lik foot of the sta rs, whi e h med e a hive . in a as who Red Lancers came , and the head Ch pr si speaks lis i n a - in l d Eng h came , and m ce bearers came , and a ies ran ‘ i ’ f i downstai rs screaming, F re for the smoke was dri t ng u out through the ho se and oozing of the windows, and ll l a r be yin g a ong the verand hs, and w eathing and writhing ul across the gardens. No one co d enter the room where Mellish was lecturing on hi s Fumigatory till that unspeak l ab e powder had burned itself out.

h A - - V h T en an ide de Camp, who desired the . C., rus ed u ll l and ul lli thro gh the ro ing c ouds ha ed Me sh into the hall. tr l u e The Viceroy was pros ate with a ght r, and could only a l nds l lli w gg e his ha feeb y at Me sh, who was shaking a fresh a ul of b gf powder at him. l u ! l u 150b His ll n G orio s G orio s Exce e cy. Not a ou u tl er ul ! germ, as y j s y obs ve, co d exist I can swear it. ’ A ’ magniﬁcent success 1 l u ill Then he a ghed t the tears came, and Wonder, who u l Mellishe ll had ca ght the rea snorting on the Ma , entered l and was deep y shocked at the scene . But the Viceroy was l s de ighted, becau e he saw that Wonder would presently

. ll wi umi o l depart Me ish th the F gat ry was a so pleased, ’ l as i l ‘ for he fe t that he had sm hed the S m a Medical Ring.

Few men could tell a story like His Excellency when ‘ l un of m he took the troub e, and his acco t y dear, good Wonder’s friend with the powder went the round of . As he . was See ee Wonder meant to do It at a p Picnic. was i us i Wonder sitt ng j t beh nd the Viceroy. ’ An d I all for re y thought a moment, wound up His ll Exce ency, that my dear, good Wonder had hired an assassin to clear his way to the throne Every one laughed ; b ut there was a delicate sub-tinkle ’ i n H f the Viceroy s tone which Wonder understood. e ound that hi s health was giving way and the Vice roy allowed him o him w ami e to g , and presented ith a ﬂ ng charact r for use at Home among big people. ’ l His ll a My fault entire y, said Exce ency, in fter seasons, s u l wi th a twinkle in hi s eye. My incon istency m st a ways l ’ have been distasteful to such a master y man. TIGER-TIGER

a of the unti n un er b ol ? Wh t h g, h t d wat was lon and cold Brother, the ch g . What of the quarry ye we nt to kill !

ro s i n he un l l. Brother, he c p t j g e stil Whe re is the power that made your pride ? nk sid Brother , it ebbsf rom myﬂ a and e. Where i s the haste that ye hurry b y ? r to m lair to di Brothe , [ 9 0 y e.

’ WHEN Mowgli left the wolf s cave after the ﬁght with the l l u Pack at the Counci Rock, he went down to the p o ghed lla l b ut ul lands where the vi gers ived, he wo d not stop u was u l there beca se it too near to the j ng e, and he knew l ou that he had made at east one bad enemy at the C ncil. So u r u e u he h r ied o , ke ping to the ro gh road that ran down ll ll a o - for rl the va ey, and fo owed it at a ste dy j g trot nea y n mil ill u twe ty es, t he came to a co ntry that he did not ll out l know. The va ey opened into a great p ain dotted ut u At over with rocks and c p by ravines. one end stood l l i lla u l a itt e v ge, and at the other the thick j ng e came w e - r u do n in a sw ep to the grazing g o nds, and stopped there ff as though it had been cut o with a hoe. All over the l n l uff l l l p ai , catt e and b a oes were grazing, and when the itt e boys in charge of the herds saw Mowgli they shouted and ll ran away, and the ye ow pariah dogs that hang about

n ll . l l u every I dian vi age barked Mowg i wa ked o , for he 144

146 THE KIPLING READER

u l m p at the sky for a minute, and said so e nly ! What the u l has l e j ng e taken the jung e has r stored. Take the boy not ur into thy house, my sister, and forget to hono the f ’ priest who sees so ar into the lives of men. ’ ‘ B ull l lf y the B that bought me, said Mowg i to himse , ‘ but all this talking is like another looking over by the ’ ! ll if am man I us b e . Pack We , I a man, a m t The crowd parted as the woman beckoned Mowgli to her hut l , where there was a red acquered bedstead, a great

-c t f t on it lf earthen grain hes with unny raised pat erns , ha

z n - t of a do en copper cooki g po s, an image a Hindu god in a l l l ll l l - la u itt e a cove, and on the wa a rea ooking g ss, s ch as for they sell at the country fairs eight cents. l i of l She gave him a ong dr nk mi k and some bread, and then she laid her hand on his head and looked into his eyes ; for she thought perhaps that he might be her real son come back from the jungle where the tiger had taken ‘ hi m S ! li . o she said Nathoo, O Nathoo Mowg did not show that he knew the name . Dost thou not remember ’ the day when I gave thee thy new shoes ? She touched ’ his f was l as . a oot, and it a most as hard horn No, she s id, ull f h s u sorrowf y ; those eet ave never worn hoes, but tho ’ art l u l . very ike my Nathoo, and tho sha t be my son l u a us u Mowg i was ne sy, beca e he had never been nder a r f f r l oo be o e but as he ooked at the thatch, he saw that he ul out co d tear it any time if he wanted to get away, and f is that the window had no astenings . What the good of ’ l l ‘ if u a man, he said to himse f at ast, he does not nder ’ stand man s talk ? Now I am as silly and dumb as a man l would be with us in the jung e. I must speak their ’ al t k. He had not learned while he was with the wolves to imitate the challenge of bucks in the j ungle and the grunt

l fun. So of the little wi d pig for , as soon as Messua pro oun d l l i l f l n ce a word Mowg i wou d mitate it a most per ect y, ‘ TIGER-TIGER ! ’ 147

d f an be ore dark he had learned the name of many things in the hut. was difﬁcult There a y at bedtime, because Mowgli would l not s eep under anything that looked so like a panther- trap h as t at hut, and when they shut the door he went through ’ ’ . him his ll M the window Give wi , said essua s husband. ‘ ll Remember he can never ti now have slept on a bed. If he is indeed sent in the place of our son he will not run

So Mowgli stretched himself in some long clean grass at of the ﬁeld but l the edge , be fore he had c osed his eyes a t d sof gray nose poke him under the chin. Phew l said Gray Brother (he was the eldest of Mother ’ ll f r Wa s cubs) . This is a poor reward o following thee l u ll o - l twenty mi es. Tho sma est f wood smoke and catt e

l l l . l a together ike a man a ready Wake, Litt e Brother ; I ’ bring news.

l . Are all well in the jungle said Mowg i, hugging him All except the wolves that were burned with the Red l has F ower. Now, listen. Shere Khan gone away to hunt f r off ll dl . a ti his coat grows again, for he is ba y singed When he returns he swears that he will lay thy bones in ’ the Waingunga. l l l There are two words to that. I a so have made a itt e

- n l . am n promise. But ews is a ways good I tired to ight, — very tired with new things, Gray Brother, but bring me ’ the news always . Thou wilt not forget that thou art a wolf ? Men will

e u l . n ot make thee forget said Gray Broth r, anxio s y w l and all Never. I will al ays remember that I ove thee in our cave 3 b ut also I will always remembe r that I have ’ been cast out of the Pack. ’ Men And that thou may st be cast out of another pack. l n l and l l are only me , Litt e Brother, their ta k is ike the ta k ll , of frogs i n a pond. When I come down here again I wi 148 THE KIPLING READ ER wait for thee in the bamboos at the edge of the grazing ’ ground. For three months after that night Mowgli hardly ever l f the ll so u l e t vi age gate, he was b sy earning the ways and u a a cloth c stoms of men. First he had to we r round him, which annoyed him horribly and then he had to learn l about money, which he did not in the east understand, and

l u of di d use . about p o ghing, which he not see the Then the l l l ll hi m . u l itt e chi dren in the vi age made very angry L cki y, of l e hi s the Law the Jung e had taught him to ke p temper, f r u l l f e u o in the j ng e, ife and ood depend on ke ping yo r temper ; b ut when they made fun of him because he would not l ﬂ t u u p ay games or y ki es, or beca se he misprono nced nl l d a u a l some word, o y the know e ge th t it was nsportsm n ike to kill little naked cubs kept him from picking them up and He own n breaking them in two. did not know his stre gth l a in the least. In the jung e he knew he was weak comp red sts b ut ll l a was with the bea , in the vi age, peop e said th t he as n as ull He n l had stro g a b . certai y no notion of what for ll l him fear was, when the vi age priest to d that the god ’ in the temple would be angry with him if he ate the priest s e u u mango s, he picked p the image, bro ght it over to the ’ e ri pri st s house, and asked the p est to make the god angry ﬁ ht and he would be happy to g him. It was a horrible ’ l b ut u Me ssua s scanda , the priest hushed it p, and husband f And paid much good silver to com ort the god. Mowgli had not the faintest idea of the difference that caste makes ’ n man and W n betwee man . he the potter s donkey slipped l - l ul il in the c ay pit, Mowg i ha ed it out by the ta , and helped to stack the pots for their journey to the market at Khan hiwara. was n the That very shocki g, too, for potter is a

- low man and . th caste , his donkey is worse When e priest l im l hi m sco ded h , Mowg i threatened to put on the donkey, ’ t l Messua s u too, and the pries to d h sband that Mowgli had better be set to work as soon as possible ; and the village

150 THE KIPLING READER

’ ‘ u u u d True, tr e, that m st be the tr th, said the graybear s, d n nod i g together. ’ ‘ Are all these tales such cobwebs and moontalk 1 said w l ‘ l u was l Mo g i . That tiger imps beca se he born ame, as

l of ul of -l every one knows. To ta k the so a money ender in ’ a beast that never had the courage of a jackal is child s ’ talk. i hl u se for Bu deo was speec ess with s rpri a moment, and

- the head man stared . ’ ‘ ‘ ! i s u l it i s Buldeo Oho It the j ng e brat, is aid . If u b Khanhi wara tho art so wise, etter bring his hide to , for u u l f the Government has set a h ndred r pees on his i e. ill l l ’ Better st , ta k not when thy e ders speak. ‘ Mowgli rose to go. All the evening I have lain here ’ l ll d hi s ul ‘ istening, he ca e back, over sho der, and, except Buldeo has ai u once or twice, not s d one word of tr th con un l w cerning the j g e, hich is at his very doors. How then h l l l of t l s a l I be ieve the ta es ghos s and gods, and gob ins whi ch he says he has seen 1 ’ ‘ It d n is full time that boy went to her i g, said the head ’ man ul ff l im , while B deo pu ed and snorted at Mowg i s i pert nence . The custom of most Indian villages is for a few boys to take the cattle and buffaloes out to graze in the early n d r morning, and bring them back at night ; a the ve y cattle that would trample a white man to death allow themselves to be banged and bullied and shouted at by l l s l chi dren that hard y come up to their nose . So ong as f the boys keep with the herds they are sa e, for not even i of l if the t ger will charge a mob catt e . But they straggle ﬂowe rs l r t r to pick or hunt iza ds, they are some imes car ied off l h u ll e . Mowg i went t ro gh the vi age stre t in the dawn, i of a ull sitt ng on the back R ma, the great herd b and the

la - lu ff l l - s ty b e bu a oes, with their ong, backward sweeping out of horns and savage eyes, rose their byres, one by one, and ‘ ’ TIGER-TIGER ! 15 1

ll him w l fo owed , and Mo g i made it very clear to the children hi m he' with that was the master. He beat the buffaloes

l , l l Kam with a ong po ished bamboo, and to d ya, one of the

, l l boys to graze the catt e by themse ves, while he went on uff l with the b a oes, and to be very careful not to stray away f rom the herd.

Ah - i s all Indian grazing ground rocks, and scrubs, and and l l v tussocks, itt e ra ines, among which the herds scatter and disappear. The buffaloes generally keep to the pools u l c lie and m ddy p a es, where they wallowing or basking in mud for r l the warm hou s . Mowg i drove them on to the edge of the plai n where the Waingunga came out of the ’ u l m off j ng e ; then he dropped fro Rama s neck, trotted to a lu f ‘ Ah ’ bamboo c mp and ound Gray Brother , said Gray

Brother, I have waited here very many days. What is the meaning of this cattle-b erding work 2 ’ is l am ll for It an order, said Mowg i ; I a vi age herd a ’ l W of n 1 whi e . hat news Shere Kha H e e has come back to this country, and has wait d here has n off for a long time for thee. Now he go e again, the ’ But ll . game is scarce. he means to ki thee ’ l . So l Very good, said Mowg i ong as he is away do thou or one of the four brothers sit on that rock, so that I W can see thee as I come out of the village. hen he comes back wait for me in the ravine by the dhéik-tree in the ’ al n h centre of the plain. We need not w k i to S ere Khan s ’ mouth . l la and Then Mowgli picked out a shady p ace, and y down slept while the buffaloes grazed round him. Herding, in l l . India is one of the laziest things in the wor d The catt e

li e , and move and crunch, and down, and move on again l ff l s they do not even low. They on y grunt, and the bu a oe n u very seldom say anything, but get down i to the m ddy pools one after another, and work their way into the mud till only their noses an d staring china-blue eyes show above 152 THE KIPLING READ ER

f li e l l s. sun e the sur ace, and then they ike og The mak s

- l r the rocks dance in the heat, and the herd chi d en hear one kite (never any more) whi stling almost out of sight over k w head, and they no that if they died, or a cow died, that ul n l kite wo d sweep dow , and the next kite mi es away ul him ll wo d see drop and fo ow, and the next, and the next, and almost before they were dead there would be a score of l hungry kites come out of nowhere . Then they s eep and l a an d l l of wake and s eep gain, weave itt e baskets dried a nd s gr ss a put gra shoppers in them, or catch two praying mantises and make them fight ; or string a necklace of red la u l - t l z s and b ck j ng e nu s , or watch a i ard ba king on a rock, l or a snake hunting a frog near the wal ows. Then they n l l u of si g ong, ong songs with odd native q avers at the end ’ s l l l them, and the day eems onger than most peop e s who e l mud l fi ures ives, and perhaps they make a cast e with mud g ff l ut the of men and horses and bu a oes, and p reeds into ’ n men s hands, and prete d that they are kings and the fi ures are r a are g thei rmies, or that they gods to be h l ll worshipped. T en evening comes and the chi dren ca , and the buffaloes lumber up out of the sticky mud with li off afi e r noises ke gunshots going one the other, and they all string across the gray plain back to the twinkling village

Day after day Mowgli would lead the buffaloes out to ll w aft da ul their wa o s, and day er y he wo d see Gray ’ Brother s back a mile and a half away across the plain (ao a a he knew that Shere Kh n had not come b ck), and day after day he would lie on the grass listening to the noises

i old un l . round him, and dream ng of days in the j g e If Shere Khan had made a false step with his lame paw up in u l Wain un a l ul r the j ng es by the g g , Mowg i wo d have hea d him l ll in those ong sti mornings. At last a day came when he did not see Gray Brother at al l he -l u ff l the sign p ace, and a ghed and headed the bu a oes

154 THE KIPLING READER

u l . at the foot. We m st b ock that end Gray Brother, canst ’ thou cut the herd in two for me 1 ‘ — ’ I but w l . Not , perhaps I have brought a ise he per

Gray Brother trotted off and dropped into a hole. Then l u u h l ll there ifted p a h ge gray head t at Mowg i knew we , and the hot air was ﬁlled with the most desolate cry of all — - l of l -da the jungle the hunting how a wo f at mid y. ‘ l l l l i ‘ Ake a ! Ake a said Mowg i, c app ng his hands. I w l might have kno n that thou wou dst not forget me. We

a . Out Ak l . have a big work in h nd the herd in two, e a l ull Keep the cows and ca ves together, and the b s and the ' ’ - l plough b uﬁ aloes by themse ves. ’ l l - a h out The two wo ves ran, adies chain f s ion, in and of u its the herd, which snorted and threw p head, and ' l -b uﬁal s separated into two c umps . In one, the cow oe stood r l l with thei ca ves in the centre, and g ared and pawed, ad l ul l ll re y, if a wo f wo d on y stay sti , to charge down and

l l f of hi m. ull tramp e the i e out In the other, the b s and ull n b ut the young b s s orted and stamped, though they l u l u for ooked more imposing they were m ch ess dangero s, they have no calves to protect. N0 six men could have l divided the herd so neat y. ’ ‘ What orders ! panted Akela ‘ They are trying to join agai n? ’ l on ‘ r Mowgli s ipped to Rama s back. D ive the bulls leﬁ A la n away to the , ke Gray Brother, whe we are gone, l i f ho d the cows together, and drive them nto the foot o the

’

far 1 n . How said Gray Brother, panting and snappi g ’ ‘ ll hi u Ti the sides are gher than Shere Khan can j mp, li ‘ l ’ shouted Mowg Keep them there ti l we come down . ' ull oﬁ Ak l The b s swept as e a bayed , and Gray Brother stopped in front of the cows . They charged down on him, u f f and he ran j st be ore them to the oot of the ravine, as l Akela drove the bulls far to the eft. TIGER-TIGER 155

ll A We done nother charge and they are fairly started . f l — , ul A l . A n Care u now caref , ke a s ap too much, and the ull ll B u b s wi charge. j ak! This is wilder work than l - driving b ack buck. Didst thou think these creatures ’ l so ftl ? cou d move swi y Mowgli called. e— u ’ I hav have h nted these too in my time, gasped A la u ke in the d st. Shall I turn them into the jungle ‘ A u y ! T rn . Swiftly turn them ! Rama is mad with

. if ul l ll rage Oh, I co d on y te him what I need of him to ’ day.

ull u d as The b s were t rne , to the right this time, and cr hed

- a . l into the st nding thicket The other herd chi dren, watch l lf l ing with the catt e ha a mi e away, hurried to the ll l ul vi age as fast as their egs co d carry them, crying that uff l 11 m ’ the b a oes had gone mad and away. But Mowgli s l ll n p an was simple enough. A he wa ted to do was to make l u ll and of a big circ e phi get at the head the ravine, and then take the bulls down it and catch Shere Khan between the bulls and the cows for he knew that after a meal and a full drink Shere Khan would not be in any condition to ﬁght or to clamb er up the sides of the rav ine. He was l e and A l soothing the buffa oes now by voic , ke a had nl dropped far to the rear, o y whimpering once or twice to

- was l l i l for hurry the rear guard. It a ong, ong c rc e, they did not wish to get too near the ravine and give Shere l l l Khan warning. At ast Mowg i rounded up the bewi dered herd at the head of the ravine on a grassy patch that sloped r ou steeply down to the ravine itself. F om that height y could see across the tops of the trees down to the plain of below ; but what Mowgli looked at was the sides the an d l of f n ravine, he saw with a great dea satis actio that l v an d they ran nearly straight up and down, whi e the ines f creepers that hung over them would give no oothold to a ut tiger who wante d to get o . ’ l i ldi n u 111 8 Let them breathe, Ake a, he sa d, ho g p hand 156 THE KIPLING READER

‘ i him . Le t They have not w nded yet them breathe . I must te ll Shere Khan who comes. We have him in a

He put his hands to his mouth and shouted down the —it l l n tunne —and ravine, was a most ike shouti g down a L to the echoes jumped from rock rock. l i l sl After a ong t me there came back the draw ing, eepy

- u snarl of a full fed tiger j st wakened . ll 1 ’ h l Who ca s said Shere K an, and a sp endid peacock

ﬂutte red up out of the ravine screeching.

l . l f I, Mowg i Catt e thie , it is time to come to the — u d A l ! Council Rock ! Down h rry them own, ke a Down,

Rama, down u n the 810 e The herd pa sed for an i stant at the edge of p , u full u ll but Akela gave tong e in the h nting ye , and they pitched ov er one after the other j ust as steamers shoot u u rapids, the sand and stones spurting p ro nd them. was of s f O nce started, there no chance topping, and be ore they were fairly in the bed of the ravine Rama winded ll Shere Khan and be owed. ’ ‘ ‘ Ha l Ha ! ! said Mowg i, on his back. Now thou l uz l knowest and the torrent of b ack horns, foaming m z es, and staring eyes whirled down the ravin e j ust as boulders go down in ﬂood-time ; the weaker buffaloes being shouldered out to the sides of the ravine where they tore through the h u e creepers. They knew w at the b sin ss was before them — the te rrible charge of the buffalo herd against which no tiger can hope to stand. Shere Khan heard the thunder of i elf u l their hoofs, picked h ms p and umbered down the r l f for of avine, ooking rom side to side some way escape, b ut the walls of the ravine were straight and he had to hold on and d i ll , heavy with his dinner r nk, wi ing to do any ﬁ t l s thing rather than gh . The herd sp a hed through the l u l ft ll i ll r cut poo he had j st e , be owing t the nar ow rang. Mowgli heard an answering bellow from the foot of the

158 THE KIPLING READER anxious to correct Mowgli for not takin g better care of the l e of i as herd. The wo ves dropp d out s ght soon as they saw the man coming. ‘ ll Buldeo n l . n What is this fo y ? said , a gri y To thi k that ' thou canst skin a tiger ! Where did the b uﬁaloes kill him ? is e It is the Lame Tiger, too, and there a hundred rupe s on W ll ll ll l l hi s head. e , we , we wi over ook thy etting the ff ll of u herd run o , and perhaps I wi give thee one the r pees n Khanhi of the reward when I have taken the ski to wara. l ai t- l ﬂint l He fumb ed in his w s c oth for and stee , and ’ stooped down to singe Shere Khan s whiskers. Most ’ native hunters always singe a tiger s whiskers to prevent i his ghost from haunt ng them. ‘ Hum l l hi l e said Mowg i, ha f to mse f as he ripp d back So l the skin of a forepaw. thou wi t take the hide to Khanhiwara u ? for the reward, and perhaps give me one r pee

Now it is in my mind that I need the skin for my own use. ’ ! ol man ﬁre 1 Heh d , take away that ‘ What talk is this to the chief hunter of the village ? Thy luck and the stupidity of thy buffaloes have helped

ill. has u fed ul av thee to this k The tiger j st , or he wo d h e l m gone twenty mi es by this ti e . Thou canst not even skin l l l f s I Buld him proper y, itt e beggar brat, and or ooth , eo,

l n hi s . l ll must be to d not to si ge whiskers Mowg i, I wi not n of b ut l give thee one an a the reward, on y a very big beat in g. Leave the carcass ’ ‘ B ull u li w y the B that bo ght me, said Mowg , who as try ul u ing to get at the sho der, m st I stay babblin g to an old ’ all ? Ak l man l u ape noon Here, e a, this p ag es me. ’ Buldeo was ill ad , who st stooping over Shere Khan s he , f u i lf l n lf o nd h mse spraw i g on the grass, with a gray wo il l standing over him , wh e Mowg i went on skinning as though l he were a one in all India . — ’ Ye e s e . u l , he said, between his te th Tho art a together

Buldeo. u l right, Tho wi t never give me one anna of the ‘ ’ TIGER-TIGER ! 159

re . h i s old ward— T ere an war between this lame tiger and lf a old —I ’ myse very war, and have one . Buldeo u To do j stice, if he had been ten years younger he would have taken hi s chance with Akela had he met the lf lf wo in the woods, but a wo who obeyed the orders of this boy who had private wars with man-eating tigers was not a

l. common anima It was sorcery, magic of the worst kind, Buldeo thought , and he wondered whether the amulet round ul . He la as ll ll his neck wo d protect him y sti as sti , expect u li ing every min te to see Mowg turn into a tiger, too. Ki ’ l Maharaj Great ng, he said at ast, in a husky whisper. ’ l u n Yes, said Mowg i, without t r ing his head, chuckling a little . am old man I an . I did not know that thou wast any

herdsb o . u o thing more than a y May I rise p and g away, or will thy servant tear me to pieces 1 ’ Go c o l , and pea e g with thee. On y, another time do not ’ Le t l a . o A l . medd e with my g me him g , ke a Bulde o b l ll f l ho b ed away to the vi age as ast as he cou d, looking back over his shoulder in case Mowgli should l v ll change into something terrib e . When he got to the i age he told a tale of magi c and enchantment and sorcery that made the priest look very grave . his n l il Mowgli went on with work, but it was ear y tw ight before he and the wolves had drawn the great gray skin l c ear of the body . Now we must hide this and take the buffaloes home ! ’ l A l . He p me to herd them, ke a l and The herd rounded up in the misty twi ight, when ll l l they ge t near the vi age Mowg i saw ights, and heard the n lf couches and bells in the temple blowing and bangi g. Ha ‘ the village seemed to be waiting for him by the gate. That ’ n lf is because I have killed Shere Kha , he said to himse ; his and but a shower of stones whistled about ears, the 160 THE KIPLING READER

' villagers shouted ! Sorcerer ! Wolf s brat ! Jungle-demon l u l ll Go away ! Get hence q ick y, or the priest wi turn thee

l . o Buldeo I into a wo f again Sh ot, , shoot old off and u The Tower musket went with a bang, a yo ng buffalo bellowed in pain . ’ He u More sorcery l shouted the villagers. can t rn ’ ’ ull s. Buldeo th b uﬂalo. b et , that was y ‘ ‘ ow is 3 l l r as the N what this said Mowg i, bewi de ed, stones ﬂe w thicker. ’ l r of i They are not un ike the Pack, these brothe s th ne,

A l e l . is said ke a, sitting down compos d y It in my head ’ ull e n i ul out. that, if b ets m an a yth ng, they wo d cast thee ’ l ! Go I Wo f ! Wolf s cub away shouted the priest, n ? l wavi g a sprig of the sacred tidal p ant. ‘ A gain ? Last time it was because I was a man. This ’ i u am w lf. na o A l . t me it is beca se I a o Let g , ke a A —it u — woman was Mess a ran across to the herd, and ‘ ! O h son ! cried , my , my son They say thou art a sorcerer

u l ll. l who can t rn himse f into a beast at wi I do not be ieve, h ll ll Buldeo b ut go away or t ey wi ki thee . says thou art a ’ ’ z b ut n u Nathoo s . wi ard, I k ow tho hast avenged death ‘ u s u Come back, Mess a ho ted the crowd. Come back, ’ or we will stone thee . l l l l u l l for Mowg i aughed a itt e short g y augh, a stone had

. s f hit him in the mouth Run back, Mes ua. This is one o the foolish tales they tell under the big tree at dusk I have ’ l for li . r ll u l at east paid thy son s fe Fa ewe ; and run q ick y, for I shall send the herd in more swiftly than their brick

em u . bats . I no wizard, Mess a Farewell ’ ‘ ’ Now A la , once more, ke , he cried. Bring the herd in . uff l u h The b a oes were anxio s enoug to get to the village . ’ l e A l ll They hard y ne ded ke a s ye , but charged through the e l l e w gat ike a whir wind, scatt ring the cro d right and left. ‘ ’ l ‘ u ! u nfull . t Keep co nt sho ted Mowg i, scor y I may be

l n of . u fo w ll that I have sto e one them Keep co nt, r I i do

1 62 THE KIPLING READER

A la la u it ll the old all th ke y down pon , and ca ed c to e ’ u il ‘ l ll 0 l l as had Co nc , Look, ook we , Wo ves, exact y he

called when Mowgli was ﬁrst brought there.

Ever since Akela had been deposed, the Pack had been

u l un ﬁ htin l a u . witho t a eader, h ting and g g at their own p e s re But they answered the call from habit ; and some of them had ll were lame from the traps they fa en into, and some

- u s limped from shot wo nds, and ome were mangy from a f t e ting bad ood, and many were missing ; bu they came to the u l k all l of Co nci Roc , that were eft them, and saw Shere ’ Khan s striped hide on the rock, and the huge claws dang ling at the end of the empty dangling feet ‘ ‘ ’ ll 0 l s. w Look we , Wo ve Have I kept my ordl said l l Yes an Mowg i ; and the wo ves bayed , d one tattered wolf

‘ - na a i 0 A l . us ai 0 cub Lead ga n, ke a Lead ag n, man , for of l l we be sick this aw essness, and we would be the Free l ’ Peop e once more. ‘ ’ ‘ a u b e. N y, p rred Bagheera, that may not When ye ull u are f fed, the madness may come pon you again . Not e ll r l Ye u for nothing are y ca ed the F ee Peop e. fo ght for ’ is ur . it 0 l freedom, and it yo s Eat , Wo ves . ‘ ’ Man- lf- v as out Pack and Wo Pack ha e c t me , said ’ l . ll u l l Mowg i Now I wi h nt a one in the jung e . ’ An d ll u u u we wi h nt with thee, said the fo r c bs. Se Mowgli went away and hunte d with the four cubs in

u l fr ou. But he lw l the j ng e om that day was not a ays a one, t n because, years af e rward, he became a ma and marri ed MOWGLI’ S SONG

T AT HE S H ANG AT THE CO UNCIL RO CK WHEN HE DANCED O N sasas H ’ K AN S HIDE.

THE of l —I l am Song Mowg i , Mowg i singin g. Let the l l n j . ung e iste to the things —I have done Shere Khan said he would kill would kill ! At the gates w l ul ll in the t i ight he wo d ki Mowgli, the Frog ! He . ate and he drank Drink deep, Shere Khan, for when l u a ? l f wi t tho drink ag in S eep and dream o the kill, am l - ro I a one on the grazing g unds . Gray Brother come to ! lf fo me Come to me, Lone Wo , r there is big game afoot !

‘ u ll-b uﬂaloes - Bring p the great bu , the blue skin ned herd ull b s with the angry eyes. Drive them to and fro as

. l u ll ? I order S eepest tho sti , Shere Khan Wake, 0 ! H I ull wake ere come , and the b s are behind . of uff l f Rama the king the b a oes stamped with his oot. Waters of the Waingunga whither went Shere Khan ? He i s l a not Sahi to dig ho es, nor Mor, the Pe cock, that he

ul ﬂ . He i s in sho d y not Mang, the Bat, to hang the l e ll branches. Litt e bamboos that cr ak together te me where he ran ? U f of Owl he is there. Ahoo/ he is there . nder the eet a ! U ! U Rama li es the L me One p, Shere Khan p l and kill ! Here is meat ; break the necks of the bul s. h ll for Hs ! he is asleep. We wi not wake him, his strength

s n it. i very great. The kites have come dow to see

The black ants have come up to know it. There is a l n hi s u great assemb y i hono r. ll Alala I I have no cloth to wrap me. The kites wi see am all that I am naked. I ashamed to meet these l peop e .

Lend me thy coat, Shere Khan. Lend me thy gay striped

coat that I may go to the Coun cil Rock. 163 164 THE KIPLING READ ER — By the Bull that bought me I mad e a promise a little l f promise. Only thy coat is acking be ore I keep my

word. use With the knife, with the knife that men , with the knife

of ll f . the hunter, I wi stoop down for my gi t W Wain un a aters of the g g , Shere Khan gives me his

for l . ll coat the ove that he bears me Pu , Gray Brother !

ull A l ! is of n. P , ke a Heavy the hide Shere Kha al The Man Pack are angry. They throw stones and t k ’

l l l . run chi d s ta k. My mouth is b eeding Let me

u u run l Thro gh the night, thro gh the hot night, swift y with

. ll l l me, my brothers We wi eave the ights of the ill o low v age and g to the moon . in un a Waters of the Wa g g , the Man Pack have cast me out.

m b ut ai . I did the no harm, they were afr d of me Why ?

l e out . un le Wo f Pack, y have cast me too The J g is shut to lla Wh ? me and the vi ge gates are shut. y A s Mang flies be tween the beasts and birds so fly I between un l the village and the J g e. Why ? i b t I dance on the h de of Shere Khan, u my heart is very cut heavy . My mouth is and wounded with the stones r ll is l s f om the vi age, but my heart very ight, becau e I un l have come back to the J g e . Why? These two thi ngs fight together in me as the snakes fight in the spring. The water comes out of my eyes ; yet lau l ll I gh whi e it fa s. Why? am l b ut I two Mowg is, the hide of Shere Khan is under f my eet. All un le ll the J g knows that I have ki ed Shere Khan . l ll W l ! Look, ook we , 0 o ves Ahae ! my heart is heavy with the things that I do not u n ndersta d.

166 THE KIPLING READER

the shocking spectacle of a Le gal Member and a Lieutenant Go el t r vernor h ping, under the direc pat onage of a Com —in - i ll mander Ch ef and a Viceroy, one sma and very dirty ’ l u an d l of a o boy, in a sai or s s it a tang e brown h ir, to c erce l off a ively and rebellious kid. They headed it down the ll l path to the Ma , and Tods went home in triumph and to d his Mamma that all the Councillor Sahibs had been helping ti Wh hi s for him to catch Mo . ereat Mamma smacked Tods

s e t l Tod met the Legal Memb r the nex day, and to d him in conﬁdence that if the Legal Member ever wanted to catch

h ul him all l hi s . a goat, e, Tods, wo d give the he p in power ‘ ’ nk ou s l r. Tha y , Tod , said the Lega Membe l wm anis l as Tods was the ido of some eighty ﬂ p , and ha f H ‘ ’ saises. alut l e many e s ed them a l as O Brother. It nev r his orders ; and he was the buffer between the servants and m ’ l his Mam a s wrath . The working of that househo d turned s dho on Tod , who was adored by every one from the by to

- . Futteh ll l khit the dog boy Even Khan, the vi ainous oafer ’ u ds l asu from M ssoorie, shirked risking To disp e re for fear his co- ul l mates sho d ook down on him . So Tods had honour in the land from Boileaugunge to l ul l n his Chota Sim a, and r ed just y accordi g to li ghts. O f u U u b ut l co rse, he spoke rd , he had a so mastered many

u - l choice 60168 q eer side speeches ike the of the women, and

l s e ll- he d grave conver e with shopkeep rs and Hi coolies alike. He was c u for pre ocio s his age, and his mixing with natives had taught him some of the more bitter truths of life ! the it H u his meanness and the sordidness of . e sed, over bread l to l s l and l and mi k, de iver o emn serious aphorisms, trans ated ul n n l d from the vernac ar i to the E g ish, that ma e his Mamma m t o ju p and vow that Tods ! ma g Home next hot weather. l of Just when Tods was in the b oom his power, the TODS’ AMENDMENT 167

Supreme Legislature were hacking out a Bill for the Sub n Ac Montane Tracts, a revision of the the t, smaller than ' u ll aﬁectin f the P njab Land Bi , but g a ew hundred thousand

l l . l ha peop e none the ess The Lega Member d built, and l and bo stered, and embroidered, amended that Bill till it l u ul ooked bea tif on paper. Then the Council began to l ll ’ sett e what they ca ed the minor details. As if any Englishman legislating for natives knows enough to know are mi i are the fr which the nor and wh ch major points, om n of an asu ill the native poi t of view, y me re ! That B was a ‘ ’ r u - u i i of t i mph of safe g ard ng the nterests the tenant. One clause provided that land should not be leased on longer ﬁ t c c if l l terms than v e years at a s ret h ; be ause, the and ord for ul had a tenant bound down , say, twenty years, he wo d lif him squeeze the very e out of . The notion was to keep up a stream of independent cultivators in the Sub -Mon tan e Trac ts ; and ethnologically and politically the notion was l was was l correct. The on y drawback that it a together ’ l di l l f of hi s son. wron g. A native s ife in In a imp ies the i e n l l for one t Wherefore, you ca not egis ate genera ion at a u considar f i time. You m st the next rom the native po nt u l and n of v iew. Curio s y enough, the native now the , and

t But that is an other s ory. lai l l For many reasons, to be exp ned ater, the peop e con

cerned objected to the Bill. The Native Member in n Council knew as much about Punjabis as he k ew about in l ll was Charing Cross . He had said Ca cutta that the Bi f l entirely i n accord with the desires o that arge and

ou. l and so on, important class, the cu tivators and so ’ l of n was l The Legal Member s know edge atives imited to che - w , English speakin g Butbaris, and his own red the 168 THE KIPLING READER

Deputy Commi ssioners were a good deal too driven to a n u m ke representatio s, and the meas re was one which

- l ll la l l . l dea t with sma nd ho ders on y Neverthe ess, the l for Lega Member prayed that it might be correct, he was n u did n a nervously conscie tio s man. He not k ow that no man can tell what natives think unless he mixes with them

And l . with the varnish off. not a ways then But he did And the best he knew. the measure came up to the u l for ﬁnal il ll S preme Counci the touches, wh e Tods patro ed u r i l his i and l the B r a S m a Bazar in morning r des, p ayed l n ull bunnia with the monkey be ongi g to Ditta M , the , and l l l t to all r al u hi istened, as a chi d is ens, the st ay t k abo t t s ’ a new freak of the Lord S hib s. ’ One day there was a dinner- party at the house of Tods al ds was be Mamma, and the Leg Member came . To in d, but he kept awake till he heard the bursts of laughter ff l u in from the men over the co ee. Then he padd ed o t his

fu hi s f k re ge by the side of ather, nowing that he would not ‘ f be sent back. See the miseries o having a family said ’ r un Tods father, giving Tods th ee pr es, some water in a las had l ll him g s that been used for c aret, and te ing to sit

i ll. s l l wi st Tod sucked the prunes s ow y, kno ng that he ul o ﬁn ished wo d have to g when they were , and sipped the i l l p nk water ike a man of the wor d, as he listened to the

r . l l l conve sation Present y, the Lega Member, ta kin g shop ad of his to the He a Department, mentioned Bill by its full name The Sub-Montane Tracts Ryotwa/ry Revised ’ E . c i liﬁ in nactment Tods aught the one nat ve word, and g up his small voice said

k all ! ' Oh, I now about that Has it been mun amutted ’ et n ll Sahib 1 y , Cou ci or ’ ‘ How ? al much said the Leg Member. ‘ — — — e mnutted . theale ou n mended Put , y k ow made nice to pleas e Ditta Mull 1

170 THE KIPLING READER

b ut o Jelumnum ‘ courts once is wisdom, to g twice is . That ’ ‘ uite rue l ds l . All ri sa is q t , exp ained To grave y my f ends y ° so. And ull Al takkw Ditta M says, ways fresh and paying money to vakils and chaprassis and law-courts every ﬁv e

ls l l r o. years, or e e the and o d makes me g Why do I want Am f l 1 am l n to go 1 I a oo If I a foo and do not k ow, ft la it let di e ! But a er forty years, good nd when I see , me u t for teen rs if the new bmndob s says fif yea , that it is good l l am b ur and and wise . My itt e son is a man, and I nt, he u n l fo takes the ground or another gro nd, payi g on y once r takkas— and hi s l l son n the stamps on the papers, itt e is bor , But a and at the end of fifteen years is a man too. wh t profit is there in fiv e years and fresh papers 1 Nothing b ut dihk l dikh un , troub e, . We are not yo g men who take these l old — b ut r ands, but — ones not farmers, t adesmen with a little mon ey and for fifte en years we shall have peace ” Nor are we children that the Sirkar should treat na ao. e e r for l l Her Tods stopp d sho t, the who e tab e were

l . l to a all 1 istening The Lega Member said Tods, Is th t ’ ‘ All ‘ But ou ul see I can remember, said Tods. y sho d ’ ’ ’ t ull I s . Di ta M s big monkey. t just like a Councillor Sahib ‘ ’ ! ! a Tods Go to bed said his f ther.

s - Tod gathered up his dressing gown tail and departed. The Legal Member brought his han d down on the table ’ w r —‘ B ! l ‘ li ith a c ash y Jove said the Lega Member, I be eve ’ the boy is right. The short tenure is the weak point. He l f l kin n had d, e t ear y, thi g over what Tods sai Now, it was obvi ously impossible for the Legal Member to play ’ bwmia s wa 7 of t t i with a monkey, by y get ing unders and ng ,

. He ad u r ri but he did better m e inq i ies, always bea ng i n f a al n — mind the act th t the re ative not the hybrid,

Uni - r ul — as mi l and l l versity t ained m e is ti d as a co t, itt e by l l of itt e, he coaxed some the men whom the measure intimwel concerned most y to give in their views, which ’ u l e l sq ared very c os y with Tods evidence . ’ TODS AMEND MENT 171

So the Bill was amended in that clause ; and the Legal Member was ﬁlle d with an uneasy suspicion that Native Members represent very little except the Orders they carry u on their bosoms . But he p t the thought from him as H l man lli al. l i ber e was a most ibera . After a time the news spread through the bazars that s ill in u - l if Tod had got the B recast the ten re c ause, and ’ f ul d Tods Mamma had not inter ered, Tods wo d have ma e himself sick on the baskets of frui t and pistachio nuts and

Cab uli grapes and almonds that crowded the verandah . e ef Till he went Hom , Tods ranked some few degrees b ore n for l l l f the Viceroy in popular estimatio . But the itt e i e of him Tods could not understand why. ’ In the Legal Member s priv ate-paper-box still lies the — ' rough draft of the Sub Montane Tracts Ryotwmy Revised n - la Enactment ; and opposite the twe ty second c use, l al pen cilled in blue cha k, and signed by the Leg Member ’ ’ are the words Tods Amendment. THE STORY O F MUHAMMAD DIN

Who is the ha man 2 He that se e s in hi s own house at ome ppy h , li tle c il ren cro ne wi h ust lea in an d allin an d cr in . t h d w d t d , p g f g y g Munichandra ran sla e b Pro essor Pe e rson , t t d y f t .

- THE lo ll was old di . po ba an one, scarred, chipped, and nted It stood on the mantelpiece among the pipes tems which

’ Does the Heaven-born want this ball 1 said Imam Din f de erentially. The Heaven- born set no particular store by it ; b ut of what use was a polo~b all to a khi tmatgar ? ’ l n He B u l so . y Your Hono r s favour, I have a itt e has t ll l seen his ba , and desires it to p ay with, I do not want ’ it for myself. No on e would for an instant accuse portly old Imam Din of l lo- He wanting to p ay with po balls . carried out the battered thi ng into the verandah ; and there followed a u ri f f l u of m ll f h r cane o joy u sq eaks, a patter s a eet, and the th —t - ll ud hud tlmd of the ball ro ing along the ground. Evi dently the little son had been waiting outside the door to u h But na sec re is treasure . how had he ma ged to see that polo-ball 1

1 74 THE KIPLING READ ER on the neutral ground of the garden we greeted each other u conﬁn ed with m ch state, though our conversation was to ’ ‘ Talaa/m bi hi s Salaam Muhammad , Ta b from side, and , ’ Din n l u ofﬁce l l from mi e. Dai y on my ret rn from , the itt e white shi rt and the fat little body used to rise from the shade of the creeper-covered trellis where they had been hid l m alu and dai y I checked , y horse here, that my s tation might n ot be slurred over or given unseemly. u Muhammad Din never had any companions. He sed to

u u i n out -oil trot abo t the compo nd, and of the castor bushes, of on myste rious errands hi s own . One day I stumb led u far pon some of his handiwork down the grounds. He l u l —ll u t an d six ll had ha f b ried the po o ba in d s , stuck shrive ed

old l ﬂowers circle round it. u l marigo d in a . O tside that circ e a n was u u out gai a r de sq are, traced in bits of red brick alternating with fra gments of broken china ; the whole

f us - bounded by a little bank o d t. The water man from the - ut in l for ll hi well curb p a p ea the sma arc tect, saying that it was only the play of a baby and did not much di sﬁgure my garden. Heaven knows that I had no intention of touching the ’ l l b ut ll chi d s work then or ater ; , that evening, a stro through the garden brought me unawares full on it ; so

l n l - a u - n that I tramp ed, before I k ew, marigo d he ds, d st ba k,

of i . xt u hope mend ng Ne morning, I came pon Muhammad tl l mi Din crying sof y to himse f over the n I had wrought . Some one had cruelly told him that the Sahib was very angry s li n ar had with him for poi g the g den, and scattered his u i b ad l u l r bbish, us ng ang age the whi e . Muhammad Din laboured for an hour at effacin g every trace of the dust

’ l f Talaam Tahib apo ogetic ace that he said, , , when I came f otﬁce A ast home rom . h y inquiry resulte d in Imam Din THE STORY OF MUHAMMAD DIN 175

mi i hi s l as was per tted to d sport m e f he pleased. Whereat hil the c d took heart and fell to tracing the ground- plan of ediﬁ e an c which was to eclipse the marigold-polo-ball creation. For some months the chubby little eccentricity revolved — in his humble orbit among the castor oil bushes and in the dust ; always fashi oning magniﬁcent palaces from stale

ﬂowers w - thrown a ay by the bearer, smooth water worn l of la f peeb es, bits broken g ss, and eathers pulled, I fancy, f f l —al l rom my ow s ways a one, and always crooning to h i mself. A ga i -siiotted sea-shell was dropped on e day close to the last of his little buildin gs and I looked that Muham mad Din should build somethi ng more than ordinarily

l ndi of it. sp e d on the strength Nor was I disappointed. He for meditated the better part of an hour, and his croon l n ing rose to a jubi ant so g. Then he began tracing in the l l n u l one dust. It wou d certain y be a wo dro s pa ace, this ,

- for it was two yards long and a yard broad in ground plan.

But the palace was never completed. Next day there was no Muhammad Din at the head of

-dr Talaam Tahlb l the carriage ive, and no , to we come my ha w u return . I d gro n acc stomed to the greeting, and its da Immn l ha omi ssion troubled me. Next y Din to d me t t the child was suffering slightly from fever and needed

and n l . quinine . He got the medicine, an E g ish Doctor t ’ They have no stamina, these bra s, said the Doctor, as ’ he left Imam Din s quarters . ul n h A week later, though I wo d have give much to ave ul u i avoided it, I met on the road to the Muss man b ry ng n ri n a ground Imam Din, accompa ied by one other f e d, c rry l all was l ft in hi s rm in t , g in a s, wrapped a whi e c oth that e of little Muhammad Din. THE FINANCES O F THE GODS

’ THE al was Dhunni Bha at s u a evening me ended in g Ch bar , i u t and the old priests were smok ng or co n ing their beads. A l tl l i n w n it e naked chi d pattered , ith its mouth wide ope , r l ﬂowers in l f a handful of ma igo d one hand, and a ump o r to l a conserved tobacco in the other. It t ied knee and m ke was f ll f obeisance to Gobind, but it so fat that it e orward its ll its n on shaven head, and ro ed on side, kicki g and as l l u l and g ping, whi e the marigo ds t mb ed one way the l u u tobacco the other. Gobind a ghed, set it p again, and l ﬂowers as blessed the marigo d he received the tobacco. ’ l . He From my father, said the chi d has the fever, ’ . l 1 and cannot come Wi t thou pray for him, father l l l u Sure y, itt est ; but the smoke is on the gro nd, and

- hill o the night c is in the air, and it is not good to g abroad ’ naked in the autumn. ’ l l all - I have no c othes, said the chi d, and to day I have

- been carrying cow dung cakes to the bazar. It was very ’ am . hi l l f r hot, and I very tired It s vered a itt e, o the

Gobind lifted an arm under hi s vast tattered quilt of l ur ad l l many co o s, and m e an inviting itt e nest by his side.

l in and n ﬁlled - The chi d crept , Gobi d his brass studded l n ew eather waterpipe with the tobacco . When I came to the u u Ch bara the shaven head with the t ft atop, and the beady black eyes looked out of the folds of the quilt as 176

1 78 THE KIPLING READ ER

! Am 1 Are are are! ll Look up I angry , , Sha I weep our r us too, and of tears make a g eat pond and drown f ll ll l both, and then thy ather wi never get we , acking thee r 1 e ll ll to pull his bea d Peac , peace, and I wi te thee of the ’ u l ? Gods. Tho hast heard many ta es ’ Very many, father. ‘ s u a . Now, thi is a new one which tho h st not heard Long and long ago when the Gods walked wi th men as d b ut i i they do to ay, that we have not fa th to see, Sh v, the Parbati his f al i greatest of Gods, and wi e, were w k ng in the ’ garden of a temple. ’ ‘ Which temple 1 That in the Nandgaon ward 1 said

. Hurdwar Nay, very far away Maybe at Trimbak or , l whither thou must make pi grimage when thou art a man. n u u Now, there was sitti g in the garden nder the j jube n a trees, a mendica t th t had worshipped Shiv for forty and l ff n u years, he ived on the o eri gs of the pio s, and ’ medi tated holiness night and day . ’ u ? h l l i u Oh, father, was it tho said the c i d, ook ng p with large eyes . l i Nay, I have said it was ong ago, and, moreover, th s ’ mendi cant was married. ‘ ﬂowers Did they put him on a horse with on his head, and forbid him to go to sleep all ni ght long ? Thus they d ’ did to me when they made my wed ing, said the child, had few who been married a months before . ‘ And u 1 I what didst tho do said . ll l a I wept, and they ca ed me evi n mes, and then I ’ her . smote , and we wept together ’ u di d i ‘ Th s not the mendicant, said Gob nd ; for he was

l and . Parb ati a ho y man, very poor perceived him sitting l t all u naked by the temp e s eps where went p and down, ll and she said to Shiv, What sha men think of the Gods when the Gods thus scorn the worshippers 1 For forty THE FINANCES OF THE GODS 179

n man us years yo der has prayed to , and yet there be on] a few grains of rice and some broken cowries before him ’ ” t all. ll e af er Men s hearts wi be harden d by this thing. ” An d i all l Sh v said, It sh be ooked to, and so he called to l was l hi s n the temp e which the temp e of so , Ganesh of the l is e ephant head, saying, Son, there a mendicant without ” who is very poor. What wilt thou do for him 1 Then that great elephant-headed One awoke in the dark and if answered, In three days, it be thy will, he shall have ” ’ l k . P rb a one a h of rupees Then Shiv and a ti went away. But there was a money-lender in the garden hidden — among the marigolds the child looked at the ball of l l its s a crump ed b ossoms in hand y, among the yellow

r l an d Go l n . He ma igo ds, he heard the ds ta ki g was a ou man of l i covet s , and a b ack heart, and he des red that r hi lf lakh of rupees fo mse . So he went to the mendicant 0 u u and said, h brother, how m ch do the pio s give thee

n ll. daily 1 The mendicant said, I ca not te Sometimes l l l l few a litt e rice, sometimes a itt e pu se, and a cowries and, ” as l fi . it h been, pick ed mangoes, and dried sh ’ s ld a its l . That is good, aid the chi , sm cking ips

-l us l Then said the money ender, Beca e I have ong l l watched thee, and earned to ove thee and thy patience, I will give thee now ﬁv e rupees for all thy earni n gs of the l three days to come. There is on y a bond to sign on ” di ai u . the matter. But the men cant s d, Tho art mad ” of ﬁv e u In two months I do not receive the worth r pees,

ni n . n and he told the thing to hi s wife that eve g She, bei g W n -l a woman, said, hen did mo ey ender ever make a bad fat bargain 1 The wolf runs the corn for the sake of the

in h of . l deer. Our fate is the ands the Gods P edge it not ” even for three days . -l So the mendi cant returned to the money ender, and ll man sat all day f would not se . Then that wicked beore ’ mn s. him offering more and more for those three days ear g 180 THE KIPLING READ ER

i ﬁft u F rst, ten, y, and a h ndred rupees ; and then, for he di d l t not know when the Gods wou d pour down their gif s, u ll ff al l rupees by the tho sand, ti he had o ered h f a akh ’ u U sum f of r pees . pon this the mendicant s wi e shifted u her co nsel, and the mendicant signed the bond, and the money was paid in silver ; great white bullocks bringing nl all it by the cartload. But saving o y that money, the r all mendicant received nothing f om the Gods at , and the heart of the money-lender was uneasy on account of expecta

o i -l tion. Therefore at no n of the th rd day the money ender l un l went into the temp e to spy upon the co ci s of the Gods, Ev and to learn in what manner that gift might arrive . en was as he maki ng his prayers, a crack between the stones of

d and lo u him l. the oor gaped, , c sing, ca ght by the hee Then he heard the Gods walking in the temple in the darkness of lu ll his Ga i the co mns, and Shiv ca ed to son nesh, say ng as u l u Son, what h t tho done in regard to the akh of r pees ” for And the mendicant 1 Ganesh woke, for the money l u l his u l ender heard the dry r st e of trunk ncoi ing, and “ - l has a he answered, Father, one ha f of the money been p id, and the debtor for the other half I hold here fast by the heel. il u l l u And The ch d b bb ed with a ghter. the money l 1 ’ ender paid the mendi cant it said. ‘ r l for ds l l Su e y, he whom the Go ho d by the hee must

u t o . ai all pay to the t erm st The money was p d at evening, ’ l u di d his . si ver, in great carts, and th s Ganesh work ‘ Nathu ! O hc Nathu A woman was calling in the dusk by the door of the o c urtyard . ’ l a r l . h The chi d beg n to w igg e T at is my mother, it said. ’ Go n l l n re the , itt est, a swe d Gobind but stay a ’ moment.

He u d r his - u l ut ripped a genero s yar f om patchwork q i t, p ’ il ul it over the ch d s sho ders, and the child ran away.

182 THE KIPLING READER

ul o l (1 Deesa wo d g to s eep between Moti q forefeet, and as i l u l Deesa generally chose the m dd e of the p b ic road, and as Moti Guj mounted guard over him and would not permit a as b traﬁi c ll horse, foot, or c rt to p s y, was congested ti

Deesa saw fit to wake up. ’ There was no sleepin g in the daytime on the planter s clearing the wages were too high to risk. Deesa sat on ’ i r il Mot Guj s neck and—gave him orde s, wh e Moti Guj rooted up the stumps for he owned a magnifi cent pair of — tusks ; or pulled at the end of a rope for he had a magni ficen r ul l t pai of sho ders, whi e Deesa kicked him behind the f ears and said he was the kin g o elephan ts . At evening ’ time Moti Guj would wash down his three hundred pounds f u weight o green food with a q art of arrack, and Deesa ’ would take a share and sing songs between Moti Guj e legs ll l ti it was time to go to bed. Once a week Deesa ed Moti Gu la hi s lu u j down to the river, and Moti Guj y on side x riousl ll l y in the sha ows, whi e Deesa went over him with a - u coir swab and a brick. Moti G j never mistook the pound ing blow of the latter for the smack of the former that a u r w rned him to get p and tu n over on the other side . ul l f Then Deesa wo d ook at his eet, and examine his eyes, and turn up the fringes of his mighty ears in case ofsores or

u al . Alt b dding ophth mia er inspection, the two would ’ n f come up with a so g rom the sea, Moti Guj all black and vi r l shining, wa ng a torn tree b anch twelve feet ong in his u t l tr nk, and Deesa knot ing up his own ong wet hair. ac l ll— l f It was a pe efu , we paid ife till Deesa elt the return of s to d He . f r the de ire rink deep wished o an orgie. The li ttle draughts that led nowhere were taking the manhood

’ ’ He to l r went the p anter, and My mothe s dead, said he,

She di ed on the last plan tation two months ago ; and she died once before that when you were working for me — MOTI GUJ MUTINEER 183

l ’ l ast year, said the p anter, who knew something of the

’ n u The it s my a nt, and she was just the same as a ’ ai mother to me, s d Deesa, weeping more than ever. She l ll l l has eft eighteen sma chi dren entire y without bread, and ’ u ﬁll l l ai it is I who m st their itt e stomachs, s d Deesa, beat on ing his head the ﬂoor. u ? ’ Who bro ght you the news said the planter. ‘ ’ The post, said Deesa. h ’ There asn t been a post here for the past week. Get back to your lines

A i f ll vill devastat ng sickness has a en on my age, and all ’ ll ll my wives are dying, ye ed Deesa, rea y in tears this time. ’ ’ ll Chihun s f e ll Ca , who come rom Dees s vi age, sai d the ’ l Chihun if p anter. , has this man a w e 1 ‘ ’ ‘ ai Chihun . He ! s d No. Not a woman of our village ’ ’ l l hi m. wou d ook at They d sooner marry the elephant. ll Chi hun snorted . Deesa wept and be owed . ’ ‘ Y u ll difﬁcult u o wi get into a y in a min te, said the u planter. Go back to yo r work ’ ’ ll u ul Now I wi Speak Heaven s tr th, g ped Deesa, with ’ un for . an inspiration . I haven t been dr k two months I “ desire to depart in order to get properly drunk afar oil and distant from thi s heavenly plantation . Thus I shall cause ’ no trouble . ’ ‘ ’ l n f A ﬂickering smile crossed the p a ter s ace . Deesa, ’ h ’ u I d ou l said e, you ve spoken the tr th, and give y eave on the spot if anythi ng could be done with Moti Guj while ’ ’ ll l d . you re away. You know that he wi on y obey your or ers May the Light of the Heavens live forty thousand Aft u I shall be absent but ten li ttle days. er that, pon my

ul . As in consider fai th and honour and so , I return to the s e of able interval, have I the graciou p rmission the Heaven born to call up Moti Guj 1 ’ ’ D eesa s s ri ll Permission was granted, and, in answer to h 184 THE KIPLIN G READER

ll l l u u ye , the ord y t sker sw ng out of the shade of a clump of trees where he had been squirting dust over himself till ul u his master sho d ret rn . c u o Light of my heart, Prote tor of the Dr nken, M untain ’ a him of Might, give ear, said Dees , standing in front of . ‘ ‘ i Gru lu ru am Mot j gave ear, and sa ted with his t nk, I

’ He l Moti Guj e eyes twi nkled . iked jaun ts as well as his ul all master. One co d snatch manner of nice things from the roadside then.

But ou ou u old u t . y , y f bsy pig, m s stay behind and work l di out u r l l The twink e ed as Moti G j t ied to ook de ighted . He - ul w u l . ha d st mp ha ing on the p antation It hurt his teeth .

ll te n l l . l I sha be gone for days, oh De ectab e One Ho d u u I’ll m p yo r near forefoot and i press the fact upon it, ’ - - warty toad of a dried mud puddle . Deesa took a tent peg n t u and ba ged Moti Guj ten times on the nails . Mo i G j u fﬂ gr nted and shu ed from foot to foot. ’ ou ul Ten days, said Deesa, y must work and ha and hih h n root trees as C un here shall order you. Take up C ihu and set him on your neck Moti Guj curled the tip of hi s u k hihun his u tr n , C put foot there and was sw ng on to the Chihun the azaleas neck. Deesa handed heavy , the iron

’ Chihun thumped Moti Guj e bald head as a paviour

‘ ’ Be ill w . Chihun s u st , hog of the back oods yo r mahout

And - as af m for ten days. now bid me good bye, be t ter ine l ! l all own heart. Oh, my ord, my king Jewe of created l l l of rv u u al e ephants, i y the herd, prese e yo r hono red he th ; ’ A u 1 be virtuous . die Moti Guj lapped his trunk round Deesa and swung him

in to the air twice . That was his way of bidding the

186 THE KIPLING RE ADER

in Moti Guj put his hands his pockets, chewed a branch s r ll l est for a toothpick, and t o ed about the c earing, making j

f l had to . o the other e ephants, who just set work t ffa l Chihun reported the s ate of a irs to the p anter, who

Guj paid the whi te man the compliment of charging him nearly a quarte r of a mile across the clearing and ’ Hrrumphi ng him into the verandah . Then he stood l to hi lf n all outside the house chuck ing mse , and shaki g

fun of it as l ll . over with the , an e ephant wi ’ ’ im la . He ll We ll thrash h , said the p nter sha have the

ﬁnest thras hi n g that ever elephant received. Give Kala Na N l of ll g and azim twe ve foot chain apiece, and te them ’ to lay on twenty blows .

of t l li r two the bigges e ephants in the nes, and one of thei s un e duties was to admini ter the graver p ishments, sinc no — They took the whippin g chains and rattled them in their un dl an to tr ks as they si ed up to Moti Guj , me ing hustle Gu all his l him between them. Moti j had never, in ife of

- i d i thirty nine years, been wh ppe , and he did not ntend to

x . So open new e periences he waited, weaving his head l ft uri i l from right to e , and meas ng the prec se spot in Ka a ’ l s ul n Nag s fat side where a b unt tu k wo d si k deepest. Kala Nag had no tusks ; the chain was his badge of authority ; b ut he judged it good to swing wide of Moti at l i an d Guj the ast m nute, seem to appear as if he had _ u ai for u bro ght out the ch n am sement. Nazim turned

u l He f l ﬁ hti - ro nd and went home ear y. did not ee g ng ﬁt

his ears cocked. l r u That decided the p anter to a g e no more, and Moti ll ns i l Guj ro ed back to his i pect on of the c earing. An l ll u e ephant who wi not work, and is not tied p, is not asked them if the stumps were coming away easily ; he talked nonsense concerning labour and the inalienable h l rig ts of e ephants to a long nooning and wandering to fro , l l u l u and thorough y demora ised the garden nti s ndown, u his when he ret rned to pickets for food.

’ Go u u l back to yo r j ng e. ’ Chihun s l l lli itt e brown baby, ro ng on the ﬂoor of the hut c its fat , stret hed arms to the huge shadow in the door way. Moti Guj knew well that it was the dearest thin g on hihun He u earth to C . sw ng out his trunk with a fascinat ing crook at the end, and the brown baby threw itself u n i Gu sho ti g upon t. Moti j made fast and pulled up till the brown baby was crowing in the air twelve feet above ’ his father s head.

i Chihun . l of Great Ch ef said F our cakes the best, l f mm ll twe ve in number, two eet across, and soaked in sha ’ un s be yours on the instant, and two hundred po d weight

- - l of fresh cut young sugar cane therewith. Deign on y to put down safely that insignificant brat who is my heart and my ’ life to me . Moti Guj tucked the brown baby comfortably between ul n all hi s forefeet, that co d have k ocked into toothpicks ’ for his f . He it Chihun s hut, and waited ood ate , and the Gu u brown baby crawled away. Moti j dozed, and tho ght f of Deesa. One o many mysteries connected with the elephant is that his huge body needs less sleep than any fiv e u in sufli ce thing else that lives . Four or ho rs the night

- l i on s two just before midnight, y ng down one ide ; two ’ he l l on . just after one o c ock, ying down the other T rest ﬁd etm of the silent hours are ﬁlled with eating and g g and long grumbling soliloquies. 188 THE KIPLING READER

At mi dnight, therefore, Moti Guj strode out of his pickets, for a thought had come to him that Deesa might be lying drunk somewhere in the dark forest wi th none to look after u r him. So all that night he chased through the nde growth, H blowing and trumpeting and shaking his ears . e went down to the river and blared across the shallows where t wa H b u s . e Deesa used to wash him, there no answer l ﬁnd all l cou d not Deesa, but he disturbed the e ephants in l l ri to the ines, and near y f ghtened death some gipsies in the woods. w u to l n H At da n Deesa ret rned the p antatio . e had ru been very d nk indeed, and he expected to fall into trouble for outstayin g his leave. He drew a long breath when he saw that the bungalow and the plantation were ’ still uninjured ; for he knew something of Moti Guj s s l w l temper ; and reported him e f ith many ies and salaams. f Moti Guj had gone to his pickets for break ast. His night

’ t ai l Call up your beas , s d the p anter, and Deesa shouted r u l -l n u a in the myste io s e ephant a g age, th t some mahouts l in l be ieve came from Ch a at the birth of the wor d, when elephants and not men were masters. Moti Guj heard and

all . came. Elephants do not g op They move from spots at varying rate s of speed. If an elephant wished to catch an ul ll express train he co d not ga op, but he could catch the

f Chihun l t be ore noticed that he had ef his pickets. He fell ’ Deesa s ru wi into arms t mpeting th joy, and the man and st slob bea wept and over each other, and handled eac h l see other from head to hee to that no harm had befallen. ‘ ’ ‘ ow ill . ft u N we w get to work, said Deesa Li me p, my ’ son and my joy. Moti Guj swung him up and the two went to the codes

l n The p anter was too asto ished to be very angry.

190 THE KIPLING READER

And owr faith and our hope and our honowr We pledge to our native soil

I charge you charge your glasses

n o the Fawr New Nat To the me f ions, And the Islands of the Sea To the last leas t lump of coral

A nd our own good pri de shall teach us

To the hush of the breathless morning

To the haze of the burned back-ranges An d the dust of the shoeless hoofs n To the risk of a death by drowni g, To the risk of a death by drouth lli e To the men of a mi on acr s, To the Sons of the Golden South !

To the Sons o the Golden South Stand u I f ( p ), he i e we live and know And t lf , ’ Let a ellow si n o the little thin s he cares about f g g , If a fellowﬁghts for the little things he cares about With the weight of a single blow

a To the smoke of a hundred co sters, u ill To the sheep on a tho sand h s, sun n l To the that ever b isters, To the rain that never chills l n t To the and of the waiting spri g ime,

- our ﬁv e l meatr fed To mea , men, THE NATIVE-BORN

ll - To the ta , deep bosomed women, And the children nin e and ten !

Amt the children nine and ten Stand u I ( p ), Amt the li e we live and know f , ’ Let a ellow sin o the little thin s he cares about f g g , If a fellow ﬁghts for the little things he cares about With the weight of a two-fold blow !

To the far-ﬁung fenceless prairie Wh l - ere the quick c oud shadows trail, ’ To our neighbour s barn in the ofﬁn — g And the line of the new cut rail ; To the plough in her league-long furrow

With the gray Lake gulls behind“ ’ To the weight of a half-year s winter An d the warm wet western wind !

of ﬂoods To the home the and thunder, To her pale dry healing blue f To the li t of the great Cape combers, f And the smell o the baked Karroo. To the growl of the sluicing stamp-head - ld To the reef and the water go , l To the last and the argest Empire, To the map that is half unrolled !

f s - To our dear dark o ter mothers, To the heathen songs they sung Tothe heathen speech we babbled ’ Ere we came to the white man s tongue. To the cool of our deep verandas ll n To the blaze of our jewe ed mai , l nl To the night, to the pa ms in the moo ight, And the ﬁre ﬂy in the cane ! 192 THE KIPLING READER

’ To the hearth of our people s people ll- l u sea To her we p o ghed windy , To the hush of our dread hi gh-altar Where The Abbey makes us We ;

l - To the grist of the s ow ground ages, To the gain that is yours and mine nk of n di To the Ba the Ope Cre t, To the Power-house of the Line !

’ — We ve drunk to the Queen God bless her 1 ’ ’ We ve drunk to our mothers land ; ’ We ve drunk to our English brother A ’ ( n d we hope he ll understand) . ’ ’ un as l We ve dr k as much we re ab e, And the Cross swi ngs low for the mom ; — Last toast and your foot on the table ! A health to the Native-born !

A health to the Natioe-bom (Stand up

’ ll o the little thin s we care about A bound to sing g , All bownd toﬁghtfor the little things we care about With the weight of a sixf old blow ! B the mi ht o our cable tmo Take handsl y g f ( ), From the Or n s to the Ham k ey , A ll rmmd the world and a little loo ull it b ( p top y), A ll round the world and a little stra to buckle i t ( p ), A he alth to the Natioe—bom /

1 94 THE KIPLING READ ER

l n - a l to Robin down the oggi g ro d whist es, Come me

l - sa n Spring has found the map e grove, the p is runni g free l lou hi n r ain All the winds of Canada cal the p g g . w r u u l Take the ﬂo e and t rn the hour, and kiss yo r ove again

Buy my English posies Here’ s to match your need Bu al y a tuft of roy heath , Buy a bunch of weed White as sand of Muysenberg Spun before the gale Buy my heath and lilies ’ An d I ll tell you whence you hail ! Under hot Constantia broad the v ineyards lie Throned and thorned the aching berg props the speckless sky Slow below the Wynberg ﬁrs trails the tilted wain w r ur u u l Take the ﬂo e and t n the ho r, and kiss yo r ove again

Buy my English posies !

— l m Buy my hot wood c e atis, ’ Buy a frond o fern Gathered where the Erskine leaps Down the road to Lorne Buy my Chri stmas cree per ’ And I ll say where you were born 1 West away from Melbourne dust holidays begin They that mock at Paradise woo at Cora Lynn Through the great South Otway gums sings the great

ﬂower u u Take the and t rn the ho r, and kiss your love again !

Buy my English posies ’ Here s your choice un sold THE FLOWERS 195

Bu l - l - l y a b ood red myrt e b oom, ’ Buy the kowhai s gold lu ft ’ f F ng for gi on Taupo s ace, Sign that spri ng is come Buy my clin ging myrtle ’ An d I ll give you back your home ! ’ Broom behi nd the wi ndy town ; pollen o the pine Bell- bird in the leafy deep where the ratas twine l - ﬂax u n l n Fern above the sadd e bow, po the p ai ﬂower u u k l Take the and t rn the ho r, and iss your ove again

Buy my English posies ! a Ye th t have your own, ’ Buy them for a brother s sake

l . Overseas, a one Weed ye trample underfoot Floods his heart abrim e Bird y never heeded, ll hi m ! Oh , she ca s his dead to Far and far our homes are set round the Seven Seas ; h l ! Woe for us if we forget, we t at ho d by these

- l l n Unto each his mother beach, b oom and bird and a d

n l u . Masters of the Seve Seas, oh, ove and nderstand MUNICIPAL .

Why is my Distri ct death-rate low 2 Said Binks of B ezabad ells rains an d sewa e -out alls are W , d , g f d My own peculiar fa . t ran I learnt a lesson once . I

A u lad IT was an ug st evening and, in snowy garments c , I paid a round of visits in the lin es of B ezabad ; s l l saw di d li all When, pre ent y, my Wa er , and not ke at ,

A Commissariat elephant careering down the Mall.

’ ee s I couldn t s the driver, and acro s my mind it rushed m l l n us h That that Co missariat e ephant had sudden y go e m t . ’ ’ ould ll I didn t care to meet him, and I c n t we get down, l t al it So I e the W er have , and we headed for the town.

ai was a new one and, pr se Dykes, it stood the

1111 the Waler jumped a bullock just above the City Drain; And r of l the next that I remember was a hu ricane squea s, And the creature makin g toothpicks of my ﬁv e-foot pate nt

He so ﬂed r u seemed to want the owner, I , dist a ght with

fear, To the Main Drain sewage outfall while he snorted in my

THE COA STWISE LIGHTS

O UR brows are bound with spindrift and the weed is on our knees ’ O ur l are us n oins battered neath by the swi ging, smoking

m f — la d n Fro ree and rock and skerry over head n , ess, and m e The Coastwi se Lights of England watch the ships of England go l

dl l l l l Through the en ess summer evenings, on the ine ess, eve ﬂoors Through the yelling Channel tempest when the siren boots and roars ’ By day the dipping house-ﬂag and by night the rocket s trail As the sheep that graze behind as so we know them where

they hail.

r l We bridge ac oss the dark, and bid the he msman have a

care, The ﬂash that wheeling inland wakes his sleeping wife to THE COASTWISE LIGHTS 199

our l From vexed eyries, head to ga e, we bind in burning chains

l - — The over from the sea rim drawn his love in English l anes.

We greet the clippers wing- and-wing that race the Southern wool ; a l of t We w rn the craw ing cargo tanks Bremen, Lei h, and Hull ; To each and all our equal lamp at peril of the sea The whi te wall- sided war-ships or the whalers of Dundee !

u a fr u - f Come p, come in from E stward, om the g ard ports o the Morn u i n u l 0 of He m ! Beat p, beat from So ther y, gipsies the ’ if l of an l us Sw t shutt es Empire s oom that weave , main to a m in, The Coastwise Lights of England give you welcome back again !

Go ou u - l sea- u , get y gone p Channe with the cr st on your plates ; Go ou o u of f , get y int London with the b rden your reights al of and if Haste, for they t k Empire there, say, any seek, The Lights of England sent you and by silence shall ye

speak. THE ENGLISH FLAG

' Abov e the ortico a fla -stafi earin the Uni on Jack remaine p g , b g , d flutterin in the flames for some time b ut ul imate l when it ell the g , t y f crow s re n the ai r wi h shou s an d eme to see si nificance in d t t t , se d g

INDS l ns ! W of the Wor d, give a wer They are whimpering to and fro And what should they know of England who only England know 1 The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and

brag, They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the

— Must we borrow a clout from the Boer to plaster anew

’ ’ An r s l a l 1 I i h iar s b ndage, or an Eng ish coward s shirt ’ We may not speak of England her Flag s to sell or share . l ? l What is the Flag of Eng and Winds of the Wor d, declare 1

The North Wind blew From Bergen my steel-shod vanguards go ; I chase your lazy whalers home from the Disko ﬁoe ; By the great North Lights above me I work the will of

And the liner splits on the ice -ﬁeld or the Dogger ﬁlls with

cod .

202 THE KIPLING READER

f l ’ f I have spread its o d o er the dying, adri t in a hopeless sea u l wi t l l I have h r ed it s f on the s aver, and seen the s ave set f ree .

sunfish it l l My basking know , and whee ing a batross, Where the lone wave fills with fire beneath the Southern

Cross. What is the Flag of England 1 Ye have b ut my reefs to a d re, Ye fu Go f for have but my seas to rrow. orth, it is there

R ut l The East Wind roared From the i es, the Bitter

Seas, I come,

And ll - th l me men ca the Home Wind, for I bring e Eng ish

home . — Look look well to your shipping ! By the breath of my mad typhoon I swept your close-packed Praya and beached your best at Kowloon !

l u and The ree ing j nk behind me the racing seas before, s — I raped your richest roadstead I plundered Singapore ! Hoo li I set my hand on the g ; as a hooded snake she rose, And I ﬂung your stoutest steamers to roost with the

startled crows.

‘ l u l l -f l Never the ot s c oses, never the wi d ow wake, But a soul goes out on the East Wind that died for ’ England s sake l Man or woman or suck ing, mother or bride or maid Because on the bones of the English the English Flag is

stayed.

-du it ﬂ in il - n The desert st hath dimmed , the y g w d ass k ows, c l l The s ared white eopard winds it across the taint ess snows. THE ENGLISH FLAG 203

What is the Flag of England ? Ye have but my sun to

dare, Ye l. Go f have but my sands to trave orth, for it is there

The West Wind called In squadrons the thoughtless galleons ﬂy

l l - That bear the wheat and catt e est street bred people die .

They make my might their porter, they make my house

their path, Till I loose my neck from their rudder an d whelm them all

I draw the gliding fog-bank as a snake is drawn from the l ho e,

ll f - ells ll They be ow one to the other, the righted ship b to , For day is a drifting terror till I raise the shroud with my

breath, And they see strange bows above them and the two go l ocked to death.

al - a But whether in c m or wrack wreath, whether by d rk or da y, l l I heave them who e to the conger or rip their p ates away, s un First of the scattered legion , der a shrieking sky,

ll l l b . Dipping between the ro ers, the Eng ish F ag goes y — The dead dumb fog hath wrapped it the frozen dews hav e kissed - n it f ll i . The naked stars have see , the e ow star m the m st What i s the Flag of England ? Ye have but my breath to

Go f h for Ye have but my waves to conquer. ort , it is there ENGLAND ’S ANSWER

TRULY ye come of The Blood ; slower to bless than to ban Little used to li e down at the bidding of any man l the of F esh of ﬂesh that I bred, bone the bone that I bare ; l — f Stark as your sons sha l b e stern as your athers were. S e l l Deeper than p ech our ove, stronger than ife our tether, But we do not fall on the neck nor kiss when we come

together. h b My arm is nothing weak, my strengt is not gone y ; n b ut b dr Sons, I have borne many so s, my reasts are not y, e la Look, I have made y a p ce and opened wide the doors, h e ma l u ll T at y y ta k toge ther, yo r Barons and Counci ors a u s W rds of the O ter March, Lords of the Lower Sea , A l u t her y, ta k to yo r gray mo her that bore you on knees l ’ That e may ta k together, brother to brother s face y — Thus for the good of your peoples thus for the Pride of

the Race .

Al ll . So l l so, we wi make promise ong as The B ood endures, I shall know that your good is mine ! ye shall feel that my

A las ﬁ ht of all In the day of rmageddon, at the t great g , r us s ll That Ou Ho e tand together and the pi ars do not fall. n ow f l ﬁrm ld Draw the three o d knot on the ninefo bands, And the Law that ye make shall be law after the rule of l your ands . for for l - l This the waxen Heath, and that the Watt e b oom,

for l -l af for u This the Map e e , and that the so thern Broom.

THE O VERLAN D MAIL — [FO OT SERVICE TO THE HILLS]

IN e s the name of the Empr s of India, make way, 0 r un le Lo ds of the J g , wherever you roam, The woods are astir at the close of the day

We exiles are waiting for letters from Home . — Let the robber retreat let the tiger turn tail N of l il ! In the ame the Empress, the Over and Ma

t le ll u i a Wi h a n of be s as the d sk gathers , He turns to the foot-path that heads up the hill l hi s The bags on his back and a c oth round chin, And i n l O fﬁce ll , tucked his waistbe t, the Post bi ; ‘ d i il Despatche on th s date, as received by the ra , ‘ ’ Per of l n l runner, two bags the Over a d Mai .

Is the torrent in spate ? He must ford it or swim. Has the rain wrecked the road 1 He must climb by the

Does the tempest cry halt 1 What are tempests to him 1 ‘ ‘ if ’ The service admits not a but or an . THE O VERLAND MAIL 207

’ hil hi s u h u l W e the breath s in mo t , he m st bear without fai , In of l n the Name the Empress, the Over a d Mail .

r l - f - ﬁr F om a oe to rose oak, rom rose oak to , l l l f l From eve to up and, rom up and to crest,

—ﬁeld - - From rice to rock ridge, from rock ridge to spur, Fi t- ll f s y the sof sanda ed eet, strain the brawny brown

chest. — From rail to ravin e to the peak from the vale U hr l l p, up t ough the night goes the Over and Mai .

’ ll- on There s a s eck on the hi side, a dot the road p — A jingle of bells on the foot path below ’ ’ There s a scuﬂle abo v e i n the monkey s abode

The world is awake and the clouds are aglow. For the great Sun hi mself must attend to the hail N f E l l 1’ In the ame o the mpress, the Over and Mai IN SPRING TIME

MY garden blazes brightly with the rose -bush and the

peach, And koil it siris ll the sings above , in the by the we , — ’ From the creeper covered trellis comes the squirrel s

chattering speech, And the blue jay screams and ﬂutters where the cheery hai ll satb dwe . l ra But the rose has ost its f grance, and the W 3 note is

am dl u l - u I sick of en ess s nshine, sick of b ossom b rdened

bough . Give me back the leaﬂess woodlands where the winds of Springtime range ’ l for Give me back one day in Eng and, it s Spring in

’ - u s b c wn Thro gh the pines the gu ts are booming, o er the

From the furrow of the plough -share streams the ra n l f gra ce of the oam, ' An d the hawk n ests on the cliﬂside and the jackdaw in the 11 111, ’ And my heart is back in England mid the sights and

sounds of Home . But the garland of the sacriﬁce this wealth of rose and

peach is, Ah koil l l koil n siris , itt e , si ging on the bough, In my ears the knell of exile your ceaseless bell-like speech i s Can you tell me aught of England or of Spring in England now 1