S. Levett Yeats

“ Manuel hesitated a moment here. A glass of toddy, a liquor made out of the fermented sap of the palmyra, would be very grateful; but--he glanced round only to find the pastor standing at the gate and watching him. With a sigh the Goanese turned and went on; but, now that he had passed the curve of the street, slackened his pace to a leisurely walk. He remained away for more than an hour, during which time Galbraith paced the little veranda impatiently, wondering whether there would be any reply to his note. It was impossible to think of anything else, and each moment seemed to him an age. ”

“ He had looked with scorn on the professor of a faith who calculated on the advantages that would accrue to him from his fidelity; he despised the human being who sold good works for a price and speculated in futurity like a stock broker making a time bargain. He was young and very cocksure. The solitary up-and-down tramp, combined with the cheroot and his naturally calm temper, began to quiet Peregrine's excitement, and he finally put aside all thoughts of Hawkshawe and stopped for a moment near the huge crane which stretched out its long arm over the river as if begging for something. ”

“ She opened this with a little cry of welcome. "I am so glad you have come," and then she started back with a faint shriek, for the man who stepped into the passage and removed his dripping hat, diffusing a stale odour of damp clothes and liquor as he came in, was not John Galbraith, but Stephen Lamport. There was no mistaking him as he stood there, leaning somewhat unsteadily on a stout cane, the light from a wall lamp shining full on his face, the face she knew so well, and whose memory brought up days of horror before her. ”

“ It is nothing but gold with you. Yes, I will buy you. Here, take this. Is it a fair price?" and, unclasping the bracelet, she tossed it to him with an imperial gesture, and it fell with a tinkling crash on the polished wood of the floor. Hawkshawe paled to an ashy gray. He raised his hand as if to strike the proud face before him, but his eyes sank as he met Ma Mie's fearless gaze, and his hand slowly drooped again. Then he stooped and picked up the bracelet. "It is worth ten thousand," he murmured to himself, and the elvish light in his eyes answered the wicked sparkle of rubies in his hand. ”

“ It was as if the old man had said, "Do not rob me of the honour," and the mute appeal won its way. "No, on second thoughts, I don't think I shall come, Serferez."
"May you end as a lord sahib!" said the inspector. "By sunset the heads of the base born will be in your veranda."
"Take a strong body of men with you, inspector," said Jackson, and Serferez said, "Huzoor!" saluted, and went out. He passed down the drive with rapid strides, and regained the police barracks with all speed. ”

“ There was no knowing what direction Lamport had taken, and with a curse on his ill-luck Bill squared his broad shoulders and strode through the mud toward the quay. He could have--in fact, to keep up the tradition of his kind, he ought to have--hailed a cab and been driven toward the harbour roaring a wild song. But Bill did not fancy this to-night. It was enough for him that his prey had escaped for the present. If they should meet! Dungaree swore under his bushy black beard that no mortal should part them until he had exacted his tithe of vengeance to the uttermost farthing. ”

“ Sarkies felt a little nettled, but made no reply. He hit the horse smartly, and the beast kicked up its heels, and then went on.
"I say, give me the whip."
"Here you are; and look here, Eddy, I want you to do something for me."
"Aw!"
"Do you know Florry Bullin?"
"She's my sweetheart," replied Eddy; "I'm going to marry her when I grow up."
Better and better, thought Sarkies. "Well, look here, Eddy: Lizzie is my sweetheart, and I want to marry her."
"Then you are not going to marry Aunty Halsa? But she wouldn't marry you; she is going to marry Mr. Galbraith." ”

“ Away in the swamp lie twenty good men who would raze this place to the ground if anything were to happen to me. I, too, want revenge, and upon Jackson--he who ruined your husband, he who has hunted me until I live a beast of the field. I could kill him at any time, but that is not enough. I want him to live with a wound on his heart from which he will never recover. I will kill him afterward if it suits me, and now--stoop--see here," and the dacoit rapidly whispered to Ma Mie words that made her start back and say, "No! no!" "But I say yes--think of it--it is a vengeance worthy of a Burman. ”

“ Lamport, the pretty widow, was observed standing outside the door of the Methodist meeting-house in Rigaum one Sabbath morning after service, the congregation began to wonder and cast little inquiring looks at each other.
They were serious folk, and it was clear to them that the proper course to pursue, after attending divine worship, was to make one's way soberly home, looking neither to the right nor to the left, lest the enemy of mankind should seize his opportunity to the ruin of a soul. Her presence excited curiosity the more as none of the worshippers had seen her in church that day. ”

“ The images were alternately of white and black marble, and at the extreme end lay a huge recumbent casting of the Messiah of the East. Small lozenge-shaped cuttings in the wall above let in bars of light, which fell on the dim statues and made the polished brass of the recumbent image glow as if it were red-hot. The girl leaned lightly against the arm of the huge figure, and something flashed in her hand as she did so. Bah Hmoay observed it as he pointed to the dagger, and said with a smile, "You are very careful, Ma Mie; too careful for one so beautiful." ”

“ Why, man," and Hawkshawe rose and began to pace the room, "what have we got to live for in this infernal country? You rot here--rot, I say--and your mind and your body both go to ooze and slime. Books! One can't read in this climate. The blue mould covers them up, as it has covered me, and as it will cover you and many a better man yet, and you will be as I am." Hawkshawe filled his glass and drank to the dregs. It seemed as if he were toasting the success of his hideous prophecy. "And you will be as I am!" The words hit Jackson like a life sentence. ”

“ She told him how, two years back, the Mahi sailed from Cochin for the Mauritius, and from that time was heard of no more, until a solitary survivor came back with a dreadful tale of the sea. He told how the ship had been scuttled, how all the boats were rendered useless except one, into which the captain and two others escaped. Clinging to a spar himself, he had seen a great green wave swamp the boat, and then for him came three days of hideous agony, and at last rescue. Of the death of her husband no doubt ever crossed Halsa's mind. ”

“ The wind bore to him the soft tinkle of the bells that swung from the golden umbrella on the spire of the pagoda. Their dreamy monotone fitted exactly with the scene, and seemed to call all good Buddhists to that Nirvana which to them is the end of all things. Everything was calm except the mind of the man who paced the teak planking of the jetty. Jackson was in that temper which would have been horrible doubt to an older man, but which to him in his youthful confidence in his own power was absolute certainty. ”

“ Elder Bullin, arrayed in a solemn suit of black, stood, hat in hand, at his doorstep. His brownberry was ready, the lamps flashing brightly in the darkness of the evening.
It was the date of the monthly meeting of the tabernacle, and the elder was determined to put Mr. Sarkies out of the fold, that "tainted wether," whose further touch was contamination. His daughters stood beside him to see him off, and the elder, rapping his stick on the fibre matting, impressed upon the girls the necessity for holding godly communion among themselves during his absence. ”

“ Brave hearts! They had won a race for life, and ten minutes later kind hands were rubbing them down on the deck of the little Beeloo, and the old Panjabi was purring over the neck of his roan.
"There is none like thee in the land, my pearl," he said softly as he stroked her silver mane--"there is none like thee in the land. By the Prophet's head, I swear that for this night's work I will never forget thee--never!"
"What's the time, Phipson?"
"Two thirty," said Phipson, holding his watch out to the broad moonlight. "We reach Pazobin at seven to-morrow, pick up the men, and go straight on." ”

“ Pazobin had no more to give, and for him the orange was sucked dry. His real business did not lie among the lead-foil packets of bad tea, with the cubes of China sugar, that crumbled to dust at the touch, with the inferior writing paper, the preserved ginger, and the pickled bamboo, with which his little shop was stocked. No, it had other and more paying ramifications, or Li could not have looked so sleek and comfortable as he sat in his cane chair beneath a green and yellow paper lantern and inhaled a long cigarette, the soupcon of opium in the tobacco imparting a dreamy flavour to his smoke. ”

“ Each as he approached the priest bowed lowly before him. They took their places in a semicircle whose ends were to the right and left of Bah Hmoay. He gazed on them for a moment; they were a strong and likely looking set of men, fit for any devil's work. The chequered light fell on the bronze of their bodies, for they were naked to the waist, lit up the hideous blue and red of the tattoo marks with which they were covered, and ran in a line of fire on the long straight blades of the dahs they held in their hands. ”

“ They remained for a moment silent. "Ma Mie," said Hawkshawe, "would you be very sorry if I were to go away for a short time?"
She looked up at him with a startled air and drew back. "You go away; you are not ill, are you? Yes, I think you are ill. You were ill that night when that man Jackson came to dine here and cast his spell on you. You have never been well since. At night I have heard you call out strange things. Yes, if you like, we will go away--you and I, to Ava; it is cool and pleasant there, and you will get well. You want rest, and you are tired. ”

“ With a yell of rage the police grounded their boat and rushed into the jungle. There was but half an acre of ground, and Bullen, son of Bishen, Sikh from the Doab, had gone Berseker.
As the men landed the dacoits made for the opposite side of the little island, but to their dismay found Phipson there. With a curse Bah Hmoay darted back into the cover, followed in hot haste by Phipson. And here in the uncertain light, where the jungle was so tangled that there was barely room to use a sword, there was a short but desperate fight. "Come on, Jackson, we have the lot here! Where on earth are you?" ”

“ Galbraith's hold tightened round Halsa's waist, but she drew herself from him.
"It is true; every word he has spoken is true; but he has forgotten the whole story--the ill-treatment, the wilful desertion, the devilish malignity of his last action. Oh, God is very merciful, is he not?" she cried hysterically; "and yet you," and she pointed to Lamport, "are my husband, and I suppose the law gives you the right to claim me. ”

“ Of a light, volatile character by nature, the strain of having to live under the restraints of the sect to which he belonged was sometimes too much for Sarkies, and he often broke out occasionally, as on the memorable Sunday when the elder fell foul of him, with disastrous results to himself. He was idolized by his mother and his aunt, and was a contributor to the Poet's Corner of the Bombay Bouncer. He had been much touched by the emotion displayed by Lizzie Bullin when the elder attacked him. ”

“ His excited brain conjured up strange images about him, and finally the wild beast within the man awoke in its full strength, and he was no longer a human being, but had gone back to that early time when man was as savage as a tiger is now. It seemed as if the soul had flitted from him while he still lived. He had now got out of hand entirely, and Ma Mie dared not approach him, but she hung around trying to anticipate his wants and watching his progress with a sickening heart. Finally the time came when she went mad also, for one night Hawkshawe put a fearful insult on her. ”

“ Bullin fairly gurgled with rage. "I will read it aloud," he said, "and let the council judge." The paper trembled in his hand as he spoke, and it was with a voice quivering with anger that he read the unfortunate Sarkies's production.
Almost as the first verse was begun, however, a smile appeared on the faces of the members in assembly, and as the elder went on they burst out into uncontrollable mirth.
Bullin dashed the paper on the table, and made as if he were about to leave the meeting. "I will depart," said he; "the devil has possessed you that you laugh at the mockery to my gray hairs." ”

“ So strong indeed was the feeling on the point that Elder Bullin concluded an extempore prayer one day with the words, "And we pray Thee, O Merciful Father! to teach us to forgive our enemies; but to send down the lightning of thy wrath on the heathen, that they, the revilers and mockers of thy worship, may burn in torment without end--Amen."
With the exception of the pastor, John Galbraith, and Halsa Lamport, the congregation consisted of Anglo-Indians and Eurasians of the middle and lower classes, the hereditary office hands of the Indian government. ”