Show EAST A WEST ONE gy BY TALBOT MUNDY 0 0 TALBOT MUNDY SERVICE THE STORY STORT THUS FAR captain carl norwood has been sent from his native england to the kadur river district in india along with hla his indispensable manservant moses oleary soldier of fortune No lob job Is to survey the district to determine whether a valuable secret diamond mine belongs to the temple priests or to the ruler the Mabara maharajah Mah arajah jali of kadur norwood calls on the british residency to pay his initial respects on his way he catches a glimpse of two women in a palace carriage one ot of whom Is young and beautiful the other woman tie he knows to be the 0 of kadur oleary later tells him that the young woman Is an american girl named lynn harding who with her aunt mrs deborah harding Is a guest at the palace on a sightseeing tour mrs harding sprains an ankle and sends to the palace for aid prince Kund Rund hla hia handsome spoiled nephew of 0 the rulers comes to her rescue and takes her back to the palace where he meets lynn at a banquet that night in the palace attended by captain norwood mrs harding takes one ot of the native dop doctors tors pills and becomes violently III she Is placed in bed and arrangements are made for lynn to move out of the quarters with her aunt and stay with the that evening prince attempts to make love to lynn she Is unwilling to listen to him and at the crucial moment norwood appears on the scene much to Rund hlas hias disgust CHAPTER V continued 6 norwood laughed not about but abed its late however lets hear bear Rund hia yes please sing lynn knew a she he even scratched the surface of No humor so she felt exasperated smiled and plucked a chord or two ever hear bear this one he sang beautifully his voice was a good tenor and he handled the guitar with care he avoided No eyes he sang to lynn the words meant nothing to her but she fall fail to perceive the passion suggested by the B flat minor melody at the end of a stanza norwood interrupted damn that stuff Rund hia sing something decent passed him the guitar he thought he had him at a disadvantage you sing he answered perhaps you know something for good little boys and girls do you know any hymns norwood surprised both ol of them he took the guitar and changed the tuning struck some chords at random and then played the thing better than could he fat felt his way through one air to another until he found one that suited his mood then he trolled strolled out kippings Kip lings on the road to mandalay he had a fine voice baritone and he could whistle the chorus instead ot of repeating familiar words it great art but it was manly it was decent where there no ten commandments norwood plainly had inviolable standards of his bis own As usual the army roars its slogans to the sky said Rund hia 1 I can imagine you in love with a burmese woman norwood why not apply for a rangoon billet and miss this norwood answered he was looking at lynn heres your guitar are we going he offered lynn his arm and sh she was too astonished to refuse he her rightful escort she liar hardly knew him and what she did know had annoyed her however she found herself walking beside him with her arm in his and there was nothing for to do but to follow them down the ancient steps until the garden path was wide enough for three abreast norwood pressed lynns arm to make her listen he spoke so low that she could hardly hear him the is a dotard on Rund hia you cant depend on her for that reason leave kadur the moment your aunt Is fit to travel oh you cant guess yes I 1 know I 1 was an orphan I 1 was raised on stupid discipline and fossilized injustice oh ob hello Rund hia you there thought stayed behind to pray or something was grinding his teeth he answer lynn took pity on him when will you show me the treasure room when were alone answered then spitefully ours is one ol of the few treasures that found their way to london you mean the others were plundered lynn asked pawned said norwood after that they walked in silence to the palace front door good night said pointedly norwood smiled ill ask you to be kind enough to see me to the gate Rund hia the guard let me out once tonight they might think im my own ghost if I 1 turn up alone miss harding you know why the beautiful indian girls are locked up in zenanas dont you Is that a conundrum no why because good looking indian men would be ashamed of em selves it if they make casanova ca ova look like a mere amateur are you being rude came to her aid excuse him lynna soldiers fold their tents and leave their girls behind them they suppose all women are alike he meant it as a friendly warning not to trust me lynn stood at bay on the palace steps it was on the tip of her tongue to insult norwood so thoroughly that he would never presume to speak to her again she quite sure he expect that but she glanced from one man to the other and changed her mind how about a diroll stroll as far as the guesthouse to find out how your aunt is suggested thanks no theres a phone in my bedroom I 1 will use that good night good night captain norwood CHAPTER VI norwood changed into khaki and followed OL OLe carys arys lantern oleary was nervous talkative deliberately disrespectful being only one third irish two thirds of his truculence was assumed not genuine however norwood understood that someone said oleary must have overheard us talking near the palace gate I 1 was followed to camp heard finif him see him blin were followed now take your number down unless you watch out all you officers believe because your uniform was made in london that youve only got to call the police and shut up all right strate strafe me the army for you im not army im an underpaid civilian supernumerary sack me if you want to oleary resumed his discourse then believe this while you was if ra I 1 illy report Is likely to carry weight performing an officers job wi a banjo and a beauty I 1 sat thirsty by the campfire camp fire so the smoke ud keep the off me hoping tor for one 0 my spies to show up but came along a man I 1 dont know crep up surreptitious spoke punjabi mispronouncing it it his right language says he how much gave you money not one annal anna lie he wanted to know your price to side with the priests against the maharajah Mah arajah what did you tell him nothing what did you do he was gone too quick I 1 missed him with the new iron skillet what the cook had stuck to clean itself among the embers damned nigh red hot it if id hit him hed ha sizzled point is that whoever sent him will be figuring they tried the wrong diplomacy next thing knife or bullet dodge em and look out tor for poison make the cook taste everything and then bury the cook from now on I 1 eat nothing even whiskey aint sate safe they can drill and plug the bottle but it kills more comforting than ground glass or bamboo fiber the priests know you dined at the palace tonight dead sure the maharajah Mah arajah greased your palm well theres where the dump is taint safe to go closer wait here said norwood oleary odeary picked up a stick k he H e shadowed norwood along the footpath until norwood peered beneath the waterfall he had to stand on a slippery ledge of rock As olea ry had foretold ilie th e moons rays did wanly penetrate but it was torchlight that revealed the tunnel mouth norwood stood there tor foi several minutes watching spectral figures dump blue clay from baskets to be carried away by the river look cutill out yelled oleary norwood jumped A living cobra flung by an unseen hand struck his face tell fell writhing struck missed norwood almost fell ell into the pool beneath the waterfall but oleary crashed him shoved almost fell in too but scrambled regained his footing attacked the cobra beat it with the long stick slew it now are you satisfied lied to you did I 1 going on in through the hole or acting sensible want to know how it feels to be pitched in the dark down a diamond mine back to camp said norwood thank you ill take whiskeys whis keyl watch your stop step and watch your uncle moses it if I 1 signal dont call me a liar duck quick As fostir foster mother aunty aulty deborah harding had neglected no detail of lynns social education whatever lynn did she did well she had been taught to ride perfectly on one of the maharajahs Mahara jahs thorough bleds in the early morning cool she looked worthy of the splendid animal that she controlled with no visible effort lynn the mystic indian daybreak and the vigor of her motion through the long mauve shadows were all one merriment to make a mans eyes widen and his heart leap one could recognize from a mile off by the way he swung his right arm at the trot an unconscious habit that it had been no blodys business to tell him about but could ride too they were a pair to stop and gaze at lynn seemed to have forgotten the previous nights disagreement she appeared glad to see norwood what are you doing up so early the sight of you on horseback is better than sleep he answered 1 I had dreams about you bad ones 1 I cant remember you know how dreams escape you when you wake up come along for a gallop cant sorry looking at lynns eyes thinking about Rund hia norwood spoke unguardedly my aly man is signalling sign alling some people waiting for me near the waterfall I 1 must go I 1 will call as soon as I 1 can he looked straight at Rund hia it was then that lynn noticed that and norwood spoken should I 1 introduce you she suggested laughing norwood saluted her wheeled his horse and rode away not looking backward he heard laughing oleary met him by the river full of self importance you should send me to geneval geneva im a diplomat waiting it if youre nice and no ones looking they may let you see the mine I 1 convinced em that all youre here tor for is to blow the governments nose it needs blowing I 1 told em on account of some sneak squealing squeal mg on em that their mine safe for laborers and youre here to muzzle the talk 1 I would like to muzzle you said Noi norwood same as it says in the bible about muzzling the ox that grinds your corn oleary answered norwood studied him a moment there was only one way to get the value out ol of oleary no use making him sulky keep him busy go to the bazaar he ordered heres hems some money pick up all the palace gossip going the rounds 1 I get you smell a rat just smell him and ill catch him this much money its all youre going to get one 0 these days said oleary im going to hire a secretary and ad take a chance with the official secrets act and dictate my mem airs page one ill tell em the intelligence Is run by cheap uns make a scotchman fe teel el it like multiplying loaves and fishes f tree for nothings not hingl norwood rode alone along the river bank until the path grew narrow near the waterfall and he could no longer see the huge bulk of 0 the temple nor even the city wall that followed the curve of 0 the river beyond the dam he dismounted and hitched his horse to a shrub the water tumbled innocently lazily over the dam there was hardly a hint behind that beautiful curved translucent screen there might be the mouth of 0 a tunnel the river water was vaguely blue there were tour four men seated near the ledge on which norwood had nearly lost his life the night before they stood up greeting him respectfully they were brahmins Brah mins but not priests they looked me like responsible men of affairs who might perhaps be trusted with the financial details of some of the temple business he plunged straight to his subject one of our air force pilots has reported having glimpsed an open pit surrounded by those outlying buildings near the temple area its an open secret that the priests have been working a diamond mine for centuries we have heard the mine is dangerous I 1 want a secret look at it perhaps I 1 can advise you how to make it sate safe one other thing stop dumping clay in the river perhaps I 1 can advise what to do about that As for the dispute about ownership nay my party is running a survey line to establish facts I 1 have seen nothing yet to suggest that the priests are not the rightful owners it if youve any documents id be glad to see them my report the last word but its likely to carry weight if norwood been thinking about lynn and Rund hia he might have noticed that the brahmins Brah mins looked a lot too pleased one of them pushing past him slipped a tiny black paper envelope into nor woods lefthand left hand tunic pocket he apologized for having brushed against him norwood had hardly noticed that he did the four held a whispered consultation then their spokesman said in excellent english but with a trace too much silk in his voice we appreciate your honors courtesy but we are intermediaries on whom it is incumbent to convey the message to the proper quarter it shall doubtless have immediate c consideration on he paused then added as if choosing an innocuous polite phrase chras L we know well that your honors report will have great weight we hope that your honors judgment may not bo be influenced by worthless arguments back in camp norwood sat under the tent awning to have his boots polished by his servant while he gave orders tor for the day sergeant stoddart he said suddenly theres a middle aged lady in the maharajahs Mahara jahs guesthouse who had a rather bad spill yesterday bruises perhaps abrasions might be complications it if she careful A bengali doctor is attending her and you cant always depend on those fellows to use fresh antiseptic id be awful sick before id let one of em dose me sir well before you go down to the river take a look in my medicine chest find a new two ounce bottle of iodine I 1 think ill take it to her wrap it up so that it wont break im going to see the resident TO BE CONTINUED |