OCR Text |
Show II VERDICT OF THE GODS I CHAPTER FIVE TONGUES OF FIRE I (Copyright, IMS, h Dodd, M-l Co 1 Kpow". King of Kings, that iiio iioinK of f perilous deed becomes doubly perilous peril-ous when the doer has nd warning ol hit tns6 iynil is denied cverji accessory in lis .-lccoinplinhment How much more, If his f.:,rs first lulled to sleep hy a false ecuflty hh to lis true nature! Ave. if HiMr-d to the trial there he another peril, -untie, mysterious, and unforeaean alike by Mm who is trii'ii and i" who Beta the ijjjjjjj trial! Of this unknown peril first. Know. O King, that seventeen years he-HJ he-HJ fore the opening of my tale the same HJ year In which jS'arnynn l.nl's reputed HJ father hai entered his master's service HJ bringing with him as a mere child the HJ hero of this tale also, the same year in HJ which that mysterious pundit, Kama Krishna, had likewise appeared on the scene a third man had also followed In HJ the footsteps of the two former. But HJ thi-se two Knew nothing of him; never HJ suspecteil his preSi'liee so near them. Once Indeed N:iraan Lai's reputed fath- HJ er, Hirn Lai, had caught this stranger watching the growing ohlld with rapa- clous eves; hilt he had dei-Bieil th.lt to he mere vulgar curiosity, not an Indication of any evil purpose. And once again, as B hny of 1 Narayan was Unlhinn In the Ganges and hail swum out beyond his i!opth when suddenly he hud cried out that an alligator had eaught him by the foot and was dragging him down, and lllia Lal hn I just hi . n In tine to rescue i ho boy. Kiit looking at the boy's ankle he had found, not the marks of an 'lllgator'8 teeth, but the broken end of a looped wire! Then suddenly he had n-membered n-membered ihnt a boat had heen moored nigh, and hud hn.-tlly o.ulttd Its moor-ingn moor-ingn on the rescue of the child, and gilded dowr-.tre.-im 1 Vet Hlra Lai had failed to connect these two circumstances together, and suspect anv evil machination against the child. Nftv, when a strange man sought to enter tVie service of the ruler of that land, and gradually rose high In ofilce In the royal household even then Hlra La), though seeing him often, failed to rec-ognize rec-ognize In him the stranger that had once cast evil eyes upon the unguarded ohlld. And now, O Heaven-born, when the child was grown up and on his trial he-fore he-fore his master, that stranger had be-come be-come the Jemadar of the Household. Of ids joy. when ha saw Narayan Lai so near death, there was no limit Verily, If the youth were killed, his own task was at an end' Could the youth escape? Surely not' Four more trials had he: within them he must die Thus the Jemai'ar had resolved to ren-del ren-del the trials more arduous still lie had kept vigilant watch upon Leila, for he luapected her of being her mistress's In-Btrumeiit In-Btrumeiit Iti aiding the youth. Also, he had hungered after her for purposes of his own. for Leila was n beautiful mahl-en. mahl-en. Of her own lover. Harnam Has. the captain of the palace guards, the Jemadar feared nothing. He would have the maiden In aplte of him then fling her 1 away. For he still nursed his pierced ear under his turban, and kept In his girdle the Jeweled stiletto that had mado the wound. But the night before Narayan Lai's next trial, the very hour he was scheming schem-ing the youth's death, a call came to him from the outer world the world ho had eft behind a full generation; and yet the call was In furtherance of the mtv purpose In hi heart He was gazing out of the window of his apartment In the niter wing of the palace when a faint -ound trickled Into his ear out of the still-nrsa. still-nrsa. It was short and sharp. It cam" igaln. now long-drawn and more Intense. It was the hooting of an owl. The usual dismal cry of the night-bird, and yet not inlte like It. Thetc was a persistence. Insistence, In-sistence, in the last note. The Jemadar started Dimly, slowly, something awakened to life within him l-'or one brief moment he paused, watering wa-tering In doubt. The sound readied his ar a third time and memory came back o him like a lightning-flush. He quitted the apartments, and stealthily stealth-ily made his way towards the far end of the garden, creeping along the shelter of i he wall: for he deemed It unwise to seek xlt by the palace gates. Reaching the 'ii end. he gathered together an armful r stout creepers, twisted them together into a long rope, found a tall tree whose projecting bough hung over the wall, and j limbed up the trunk. Gaining the end of the bough, he tied to It the rope, and descended de-scended bv It to the other aide of the wan. The owl's hoot he himself gave. once. I'wlce, thrice. From within the shelter of i ravine a dark shadow came up to him in response. form muffled up In a long . hoga. "The fiery trident'" It gave the sign. ' And the axe of sacrifice'" gave bat k the Jemadar the countersign The form threw off the chopa "The Master sends thee this'" He lield out to the Jemadar the serpent-ring And at the sight of the serpent on the little trinket the lemadar's Jows set tight rs a vlcf He ealaatned with both hands, bowing to the ground, saluting this little wisp of gold. For he realized Its fl7-nlflcance. fl7-nlflcance. He must otvy its message even at the peril of his life. Foi though he openly served one master, he was secretly secret-ly In the pay of another, epy in this court. A Thug, an assassin The messenger peered into hli face with narrowed eyelids. "Kor seventeen years hast tho.i eaten in secrel th Master's salt, watching the c ib. Now the Master bide thee strike!" Thrice the Jemadar kissed the serpent-ring serpent-ring ero he answered "To hear Is to bey. For seventeen e;,rs I have sought his life, without the peril of my own: for 1 deemed the cub Ignorant of his birth, and thus the sacrifice of my own ;fe unnecessary. But now tell me Master; Mas-ter; the lion'fl whelp hall db If need be ut the cost of my life In the trials he tiall fall. If not. then In the very hour of tils triumph!" And the Jemadar Btei lad hla heart to the deed he had 60 long dc-:rred. dc-:rred. "Nay. afterwards It were too late: for If he triumphs, his master will aid him to regain his own. Thou must strike within the trials." The Jemadar bowed hie head. "He Is ioo well guarded, for his life Is preclou to hla master for the very purpose of the trials. Nevertheless, ho shall not live. I have spoken!" "It Is well " the messenger answered, eyeing hirn narrowly "And If thou drift want aid. fivo of tho brethren are at thy ecrvlce! Dost thou understand me? ' The jemadar understood. "It Is written!" writ-ten!" he murmured For the five Thugs would aid him to alav his letlm or slav him. If he film hul In his task They were, "plea upon a apy They will ho In the e;,vern beneath the great banyan tree," tho messenger rontlnuod awaiting thy rail if thou "houldst want theni at the palace, give tin -Ign of the owl there will be one at this I .all to hear thre. f beyond the palace. i iron lo the mountains, ihe-n put up the sign of the flaming torch upon the plateau " I Thus In that hour the false jemadar I waa absent from the palace, the gods In a sporthe mood seized the opportunit' to j-i--nd their aid to his victim and, wondrous won-drous caprice of the gods through his other victim! Through the very woman the-Jedamar sought to In Jure! Crossing the courtyard with her sliver pitcher balanced deftly upon her head , and nerirlng the crystal fountain bj the I ojter gate. l.eiia saw an aged mendicant j -eglng alms from the guards. A strange i presentment entered her soul. A begeai losing had power to sway the ,,f the godi-. She called the mendicant with- 1 In the courtyard. But receiving the bounty, and raising ! hla hand to bless her. he murmured. "Up. ' on thy head be Lakme s choicest gfts , tsnd upon his head this' ' I i Something dropped from his hand Into I ' j he folds of her s;rl small phial, no bigger than a man's thumb ' A smothered crv --jnrl the beggar's warn- vVr :ng hmid checked the maiden: for the I I guards were nigh. With startled eyes she H . . d Into his; read therein a perilous message. "; j "Tonight else II were too late'" '.'"jj U nh these whispered words the mendl- ' catU hobbled back to the gate and van- V;J Ishjed Into the dark. H i.J Then light came to her heart, and I i j ill "Holding it Aloft by the Tail. . - .He Approached One of tho Guards." she understood For she realized that upon up-on the morrow. Narayan Lai's nfn would again bo in ril This nlu-bt she niu I act. And upon the morrow, an hour before suns, t. without previous word or notice even as to the daw of the trial, Narayan Lai was taken before his master In the audlenct -hall of ths palace. He was not permitted to bring anything with him, save the clothea ho wore white trousers, white tunic, white turban. His foet were bai e The king eat In his robe of state upon up-on the ivory throne. Around the dais Bat tho councillors: grey-be&raad, grlm-Vfsaged grlm-Vfsaged warriors that vaunted their scars of many battles, clean-shaven, yellow pundits that brazened their caste-marks of sandal wood upon tluir proud foreheads. fore-heads. Behind the guards at the doorway thronged tho people, and in the courtyard beyond a vaster multltjde that, seeing nothing, yet heard each murmuring word floating down the human tldl Narayan IjiI stood before the throne with arms folded over bis breast. Around him was an empty space twelve cubits In diameter. That was his arena. "Make us see and feel something that is not before us now.' spoke the king from his ihrone "I5ut not nil alike Some of wa to see one thing, some another, others a third, and so on, all different each time " And the king smiled grlmlv as he bethought him of the trap he had laid. .in a vague glimmering light In his mind Narayan Lai seemed to discern faintly that ths utmost of his professional skin was now demanded Of him. To cro-ato cro-ato out of nothing w.u difficult enough: to do so repeatedy and each time a different dif-ferent thing w;us be nnil humaji pow r And Hn Indefinable presentment came over him that even this was only a prelude. pre-lude. What potential dangers lurked beyond, be-yond, ho but dimly guessed. Yet one resource was within his reach If In- did not b, lie his own powers. They wauled lo sei things; thing not In existence. ex-istence. Seeing was but a menial phenomenon. phe-nomenon. See they would then; all that they desired That at least be could try--nnd the gods grant him favor and prey upon the visions of these lumps of clay. . . . Would thev see things? Verily they should see ana yet not me! He tore n piece from the end of hit turban. about the size or a handkerchief. From this he tore again a thin strip, rolled It lengthways length-ways between his Angers, and colled It round nnd round Into the shape of a thick disc. Approaching the councillor nearest him, a heavy old warrior with huge slde-whlskers slde-whlskers twirled over his ears, he said to him. "Open thy, right hand, good elr. and lal.a KI o Narayan Lai placed the coll In the other's oth-er's open palm, and pressed It down hard upon It. Next he closed the wanior'a fingers over the coll, and begged him to grli It tight Then he withdrew to tho end rf the spare, twelve cubits away, and addressed the councillor. "I ask thee, air, to think with me of the things 1 mention. Close thine eyes. Imagine Im-agine thyself to he alone In a fortress, it Is midnight, dark tuid silent. Thou art watching by the wall, but feeling tired. "Suddenly a faint sound Is heard: something some-thing moving along the top of the wall' It comes nearer, creeping up by Inches. What lurking (lunger can it be. so alow, ho subtle? To what nropnrtions would It Increase. If unchecked'' StUl creeping up. creeping up. right before thee. Put thy hand on It catch It hard!" The old warrior snatched frantically at the air but only gripped the coll tighter. His hand trembled vlolentlj Els held ihe wrist with the left haul to steady It. but it still shook aa In an ague fit. The fingers began to be forced outwards. His eyes were now wide open with a vacant glassy stare "Hold It fast!" cried out the Juggler. The warrior set hie teeth and clenched his flat, till the blood stood out In Ihe veins: but the Angers began to move up and down as If he were playing upon an Invisible violin A volcanic force seemed to be working beneath. "A Jinn'" gasped the old man, throwing throw-ing open his swollen hand A Utile brown thing Wriggled nut and dropped to the floor It wa a live lizard Wllh tall erect nnd head raised. It be-gan be-gan lo run along the floor to the foot of the rials But Narayan Lai sprang forward for-ward and caught It In his hand Holding it aloft by the tall so that all could se It a moment, he tied It up In the remaining piece of cloth he had torn from his turban. With this he npproached one of the guards by the tide or the dais. This man was a peasant hy caste. "Take this creature In thy hand, my friend,1 he bade him. The guard shook his head dubious! but noting his master's eve upon htm. put out his hand reluctantly Narayan Lai placed the bundle tin-re. and requested r.lm to hold it high above his he. id, then he 1 tlfed to his own place, twelve cubits away I ,ik thee, friend, to think with rne of the things i mention ho repeated the formula "(ir.se thine eyes Imagine that a gre, it famine Is raging In the land Rice and wheal crops are withered by the sun. Thou art hungry; thou hast gone to bed suppetiess. 'Thou ai l ire i roll, g Soni.-tlnng seems lo dangle above thj pillow it comes le irei i.d nearer Suddenly It falls within reach Stretch forth thy hand Size it quick!" The sepoy held on to the cloth with a desperate clutch Something hard lay in It, motionless and Inert, a while ago It was a soft wriggling lizard "Open It. friend, and eat It!" bade the luggl r with an encouraging smile Like n BOUllejU automaton the n po opened out the bundle Something fell out to 'Ii""- floor. It was a maize vt.i'l: a -span in length, and studded with glistening COm "Eal It," asked again the Juggler, But the sepoi would not Maize made Brom llr.airl w'as not toothsome "Then hand it Over to the venerable councillor before the.-, ' requested Nam-'in Nam-'in 1 1 1 Mill retaining his place twelve cubits away Hut thS councillor was a hlgh-enste I'' I" II" turned ,i Tva -. II- head scornfullj . Take it.- good father 1 Narayan Lai begged "merely to hold in thv hand not to eat. Perhaps the gods are about to re. ward thy pleiy. This lie added with a eubtle smile that seemed to convey a hope and a promise Long afterward they realized that It might have erjunllv Implied Im-plied .1 threat and a warning Will, grave curiosity as to what the gods wo ild do foi him so late In life the Bi thmln 1 1 .. k tii malse Afti i all l wai lifeless, "Lay It upon thy lap." the Juggler said to him "and co vol h over with tne cloth, "Now think with me of the things I mention. Close thine eyes Imagine thyself thy-self in the temple of Sarasathi. ihe i, nl- deaa of Wisdom Thou art meditating i m .or. ihi sanctuary on the folly of man-klnd man-klnd and the wisdom of the elect. Grad uailv the merits of thy fourscore ancestors ances-tors pass in review in thy mind. "Suddenly the goddess on th" allar smiles upon thee. She tok'" something from her bOSOm, something bright in glittering In many parts, and showdTS It down upon thee. It falls upon thv late Hold it. father! both hands lest it fail!" The Brahmin snatched al the cloth on his lap with nervous hands he raised It. fumbling at the folds A shining roll. scintillating sparks of lire ail along its length fell out upon ills knees 'The mohan-male, the garland of enchantment:" en-chantment:" whisperer! the priest, with a catch In l-.ls voice "Verily It lis." answered the Juggler 'Tin goddess hris sent II to thee " The Brahmin held n up to ths light hesitatingly. It wan a gold chain wrought in alternate flowers, lotus and champah; the crown of the jeweller's art, "Place it around thy neck, venerable father, so that thou mayest become wiser than thy generation." As one In a dnim scarce believing what h- saw. the prleSl passod It over hM head whilst all around gazed upon It with hungry eyes "Truly, this Is marvelous." murmured to him the hlmple-mindeil sepov by his side. "Didst thou note, father, that Narayan Na-rayan Lai stood all the time twelve cubits away-froin the passing .f the maize to thee till the creation of the garland'" Wonderful'" exclaimed more fanciful neighbor "A chain of gold from a maize, n maize from u lizard; a lizard from a piece of cloth. Wherefore. the chain comes from the cloth " "To fools!" A loud laugh was heard from onie-Where, onie-Where, B derisive laugh, cold and hard and cynical. At the sound of the voice a strangled rj broke from Narayan lal's lips. Involuntarily In-voluntarily he turned his head towards the end of the hall. Something seemed to Knock at his heart For the flrst time the stern and haughty calmness he had maintained so far. deserted him. He trembled like a fright. m d child. But ere they could discover whence the voice had come, Narayan Lai's master Intervened . . Without a word, Ignoring the wonder of the multitude and their applnuse of the Juggler's skill. Narayan L&l S master motioned mo-tioned with his hand to the attendants hy his side One of them withdrew for a while into the adjacent chamber, then reappeared re-appeared with a bundle wrapped up In Jute sacking. He kruit down before the King, who broke with his hands the seal upon It the seal of his own slgnet-rlng The attendant opened the bundle before Narayan Lai; It contained an armful of Straw. Placing It before the juggler, he w. Ithdrew "Breathe fire Into It." bade the King, pointing to the straw. "That is Impossible!" muttered some one to his neighbor. But the latter rebuked re-buked him. saying. i have often seen him bring forth Are from hla mouth ' "That was when he knew beforehand what he himself Intended to perform." protested the Arst speaker "How can he do It forthwith, without warning or pi i para t Ion ! But the King had meant more than thai. To create Are at another's command com-mand n'.lght In Itself be Impossible The King demanded sun more "Bare thy head and place the burning straw upon It." he continued. "Then prove to ns that what had burnt upon thv head was a rnl flee 1 For verily this was the trap he had laid for Narayan Lai. M. i hanlcally. as one moving In his sleep, the Juggler took off his turban, hla thick glossy hair falling down to Ids neck. He seemed hardly to reullzr what was asked of him o wrapt was he In thougnt. For a moment" he stood there, turban In hand, gazing Into vacancy. He looked towards the King, but not at him. rather at some bygone scene that be was vainly striving to recall to memory; somethlnc full of pleasure vet full of pain. ' A pleasant recollection, mingled with deep sorrow sorrow that It was pal ted forever. He knelt down upon the floor and mechanically me-chanically drew the "heap of straw towards him, and gazed Into It as If It were alive and could speak but found no answer there. Like an automaton he handled the straw, raising It to his face smelling It. asking It mute words with suppliant eyes. Rather, as one whose body was there Indeed, In-deed, but whose mind and heart were far away Then with a sudden sigh he caught up n handful of straw Pressing It an Instant upon his lireri head, h began to rub It briskly between his palms Faster anil faster moved his hands, straight up and down. Now and again he blew upon the straw, a long steady breath. The spectators craned l heir necks to watch. A buzzing whisper went around to tell the world what he was doing diluting di-luting upon thlr. simple action with fanri-tul fanri-tul embellishments. "1 have seen his father do It.' murmured mur-mured a wizened Old man. a Behail mer-. mer-. ban! by the shape of his turban "It was at the court of Benares before he took service here HIh hearer, with eyes still upon the Juggler, screwed his mouth aside "Thou ltnowest much, stranger. What more flldsl thov "Tills very youth,' calmly repiled tho other "He was a mere child then. His father placed Are upon hla head, and It did not burn The King rewarded him much: so also a great traveler from over the sea. whom the King was entortaln-lng entortaln-lng ' The lips of the Juggler began to move In Inaudible words, as If he spoke to some kindred spirit hovering round A strange luster came into IiIh eyes. They were not upon the straw, hut straight ahead. It was tin awakening gleam as of one long asleep In darkness seeing light The lost memory was coming back lo his soul "Father!" It was scarce a whisper that broke In-VOluntarlly In-VOluntarlly from his Hps, more like a distant dis-tant echo. His blazing eyes held communion com-munion with some one that others could not see The hands full r,f Ihe straw he tut' hd forth lo lintih the v lelon then r. colh d opeil-mouthed With il sigh, almost a moan, he began to rub the straw anew But that Instant there flashed forth a light of joy In his eyes wild, frantic ecstatic lb- raised hla head higher and higher, I gazing at some approaching object. A smile Quivered upon his lips as the vision paused oyer his head He felt the presence pres-ence of some master-mind overshadowing overshadow-ing him, descending upon him like evening even-ing di n "Mahatms ' 'great spirit), gasped some one that realized tho omen. But those near him fleshly men. of the earth, earthly knew not what he meant lu frenzied haste Narayan 1ji rubbed the straw breathing wild gusts of wind Into H Faster iirui faster, to an i fro. up 1 and down SpasmodtCSJI Suddenly he leapt tO his feet, raiser his quickening hands over ids head offering holocaust to him that hovered theft brought them down to his mouth, emptied his hoi breath Into the straw in rum loud bias I f 1 1 1 1 1 t-r Up his arms, and hurled Hv Straw to the gioiind There vv.ih in instant flash like Ihe selling sel-ling sun reflected from thS 'rest of a wave a tongue of flame leaped to life from the falling straw Tire' ' shrieked i vrdc from som. -wlu ie. n shit'k of mingled fear and Joy. "Living tire' whispered they that saw hushing their voices In sudden awe as the Impending tragedy dawned upon them with a shock But scarcely had the flames rear bed the I floor when Narayan Lai sprang forward I snatching up a handful from the heap ui bis feet, and gathered up the burning straw In Ids bare hands 'Draw thj sword, quick!" he cried oul to thr ncari Ii guard 'Advance hold the naked bind.- over thy head." He fell on his knees mid placed the burning straw upon his head "Hold the blade In the flames 'he mid-die mid-die flat!" ho shrieked out like one possessed. pos-sessed. W'Uh one hand he kept the straw upon his head; with the other he reached run ami piled on trcah lots from the bundle .it his feet. The hot cinders fell over his eyes a nd face, and twinkled upon his shoulders Little black holes began to form lu his flimsy white tunic, a darning wisp fell from his brow, (lanced off his i hi i 1 - d found new life upon his breast. The red line dure, i up then meandered along the collar-bone, then burnt Itself out upon up-on ri braiding And all the while Narayan Lai ferl Ihe flumes upon his head. His ev. ; w ere blazing like a madman's glls-lenlng glls-lenlng through a thick moisture that was not tears. A column of smoke went circling to the roof ,,f th,. hall, and finding no outlet, crept along the walls. Soon a dim hag) mist began to form. The whltf clad llgure kneeling upon the floor Ihe r. d tdhgUCS of An leaping up from his head and ticking the glittering steel -the dased stupefied sepoy standing motionless by ihe flames ail encircled In the wreathing moke; what a picture: i.et me go' i,. t me go!" It was a sudden Hhrlek. a shriek of terror ter-ror and unholy feat It earn-- from the guard He was trembling in every limb, his eyes fixed In blank horror before him. his brow and fare bathed In a hoavv sweat that came not from the flames, for his skin was eoH nnd clammy "Iet me go!" he cried again, dropping (he flat of hn sword upon the Juggler's head. "Sec the Maines--the flames! He pointed with his Other hand to the r.-d tongues. But the longuen of lire swayed to ojihej- d,. nf the Steel, ll'k-lrt ll'k-lrt it hungrily. The multitude thought that he had suddenly gone mad "No' The breath the breath! ''an ye not see him br.athe upon the llanies?" But Narayan Lal knelt motionless, like the bronze ...., ... 1 1 1 n,,. t,.,'pf. ,,f tM, Fire-god upon which burnt the cease.s embers He seemed to be In n trance, his eyea were closed, his lips pursed tight. Only his hand moved mechanically to reach the Straw b his lids "Not him hut the other'" And the guard pointed his shaking hand at the top of the flames But ii was only smoke there S'ay there' bade the King In a cold stern voice. "Hold up the sword to the flames!" Huvlng eyes he could not see. having ears, he could not hear, neither he nor the lumps of clov around him. But the poor mad epov. that held the sword nnd saw visions, was within the Hauling zone; 't,. him the curling smoke was imbc, the materialized spirit of the dead ' "But there Is no flame!" muttered a stranger In the w- of the hall They turned upon him with a savage glare Who dared blaspheme their god-given god-given eyea? It was a man dressed In a black rhup-kan rhup-kan reaching down to his knees; upon h head there wiu no turban, hut a long funnel-shaped hat. A Parol: a flre-WO -shiper. ' It Is a large red flower, the many petals pe-tals waving In the wind'" persisted the ma n. "Art also mad? There is no wind!" But that Instant n civ was heard from someone in front. It was the last handful hand-ful that Narayan Lal was piling upon his head He could scarcely be seen In the denee smoke, only his faint outline The man before him stood like one dazed H- clutched the hilt of the sword with both hands, holding the blade horizontally horizon-tally before him The dying embers flickered glowed, flickered again, then suddenly vanished In ihe smoke heap of ashes fell in a shower around Narayan lull's face and shoulders That Instant he leapt to his feet, a madman's haunted look In his eyes snutched up the sword from the solriler's grasp and sprang to the front of the dais. The middle of the blade was painted red. four Angers In width. Twirling the swr.rd above his head, he brought down the point upon the marble floor. There was a sharp clank ending In a dull thud Again he raised the sword, rapidly turning It In hie hand to the other side. The blade was bent In the middle at the zone of red. Down It came to the Aoor again A heavy thud a loud clatter and half th--blade sprang from the blow and smote upon the foot of the dais. Recoiling. It lay before the juggler His hand Wt fit forth and snatched It up "Behold the fire that was a real Are, n Sun of Life; ' There stood Narayan Lal bowing before the throne. In his left hand he held the pointed half of the blade, m his right was the hill Bui the re, zone had vanished from either half A gray band marked the pluce lu each wlnie It had been A thunder of applause burst from the pent-up spectators It was a babel of voices, shrieks shouts yells of frenzv. Suddenly a single crv was heard "O King! J claim thy Justice!" It was the Brahmin councillor who had received the mohnn-niula from Naravau Lal He was now standing before his seat, his eyen blazing In wrath "There Is a thief In this assembly:" he cried out Aercelv. sweeping his thin bonv Anger to the world around. His rank alone entitled him to such bold words An Instant hush fell upon them all This was bathos indeed. A while ago they were in th.- clouds above; now thev Wl r. hurled to earth with a rude, sordid shock Fach looked at his neighbor askance, und wondered where the blow would fall ' The garland has been stolen from my neck " Truly the beautiful chain of gold no longer shone upon tho Brahmin's breast With one si cud all eyes turned to the ma ii silting In hi nd hlni But he was a bronzed old warrior, the hero of many battles lie wns , hewing his bush) heard and his right hand pla -lug with the hilt of his sword. ' But look! look! Upon thy bosom'" It was a startled . rv from tho guard that stood by the Brahmin's side. He pointed his hand at the Bi-ahmln's breast A loud mocking laugh answered him from the back of the throng cold and hard and cynical. Dazed anr) bewildered, a thousand emotions emo-tions rending' his heart, Hie old priest" put bis hand to his bosom. With a frantic clutch he pulled Out something and held It up It was a long strip of cloth, rolled up lengthways the earns, that Narayan Lal had torn from his turban All eyes saw that The garland of gold had returned to r loth "Gold back to maize; maize to lizard; lizard io cloth'' Such was the comment of the multitude But all the iransformn lion they had not H-en It was merely their fanciful imagination lengthening out the Anal change. "Vanity of vanities, all Is vanity" murmured mur-mured tho priest In a quivering voice, whose bitterness he could not disguise. 'Nay, venerable father. It Is the wll rlom Ol the rlecl The goddess hHs mud. thee Indeed wiser than thy generation." And like a man lis. n from a funeral pyre whilst yet the flames were doing their work Narayan Lal turned to hla King and faced him upon his throne be-gi be-gi lined, besmeared, cold and haughty and domineering. Then tor the third time on the self-same day his master tried him anew In the very moment that Narayan '-al thought his perilous task for the day was over without a word the King descended rqm his throne walked to the courtyard, turned to the right and came upon ihe adjacent lield But lo' whal sight was this upon the tii id' A rectangular trough, thirty cubits long and teti wide, was dug In the ground. It was filled with burning fagots. fag-ots. By Its broader side, towards the west, stood a hillock of the same A crowd of sweating firemen, naked to the waist fed the trough from t h - hillock, and kept It ready foi their master's use, for the had received his command to keep the Are burning lulght In the trough, though they knew not for what purpose At Intervals they cleared the ashes from the top with long rakes, so that the trough wus one level surface of glowing chs roos i lifl . uhlls lo the north was the water- tower thai fed the fountains of the adjacent adja-cent palace with their hundred Jets. But all this day the Jets hud been silent, so that the water-tower was now throbbing with penl-un force; Instead, a "Ingli I'M"' harl been Inserted at ihe base of the tower, ending In a brass nozzle The nOSSle could Is- turned in a socket to point upwards, downwards or at any angle outwards Its purpose no mar. knew. s. atert upon the dais by ihe side of the tow.-r. the King spoke to his prisoner before be-fore him with u veiled sneer: "Thou hont i sniped the Are of thy own creation. Now escape mine' What hideous moekerv was this! What hrutai i poi i of pli llcss Fate to let a man i ipe one deadlj " ril mid then forth-w forth-w th to trj him again with the same i ei II in a di adll'T form ' "Thou must cross the fiery gulf along lis length, upon thv naked feet," the voice of the King spoke in relentless words. 'Thine own Are did nol touch thy ) i Si If mine will burn thy feet! And for the ilrM the King laughed In his bitterness Naruyan Lal stood before him, silent a nil still "What' I lost refuse the ordeal" Post fear the Are? Then thou shalt perish by water." The King pointed to the brass 1 1 r 1 7 7. b beside the dOlS Then nil understood Its purpose. If Nuiavan IjiI n fu-.d th.- li-r, oidi-al. He guords would lav him on his back before the water-tower and Insert the nOSSlS downwards Into his mouth The lever controlling the mechanism WOUl I he pud-denly pud-denly turned and the piled -up watr let loosi In all Its fury through tie nosale Tii. n.-xt instant Naravan Lal would be bad. He bowed bis In ad What is written upon my brow shall be fulAlled, the cruelty of man notwithstanding notwith-standing I accept thy ordeal. . King' The guards escorted him to the south-ern south-ern llde of the burning trough, facing th.' King. At Us edge they left him. and fell back on Either side Tor one brief moment Narayan T-il paused In thought, then quickly took riff his tunic; his turban he hud left behind In the palace hall Seated upon the ground, he rolled up his trousers to his knees. Suddenly he bent low his supple form, and reposed his head upon the ground between his feet, his long hair covering the feet on either side The shades of night were now falling fast The multitude stood by the trough, twenty cubits afar, facing the hillock. Prom left to right Narayan Lal would cross or perlsJn In the Aery gulf. They watched him kei nlv At the edge r.f the trough his half-nude fr.rm gllst'-ned with rolling sweat He raise,) his head a moment, revealing the soles of his feel. Facing the Are. they i aught the Wat full, and seemed to tinkle Inwards Then again Nnrayan Lal lowered his head upon them "He prays to Agnl. the Are-god!' the multitude whispered with bated breath. " To give to his feet the Immunity of his head!" "See. he knocks his head upon his feet." For now with both handr laid upon his long hair Narayan Lal seemed to how his head quickly and repeatedly upon his feet Then suddenly he leapt up and ptocd erect For ihct brief instant he seemed In the lurid gla.c to be but a bronze statue. The sweat streamed down his bod and wetted the ground beneath his feet The next Instant In-stant he plunged Into the burning trough. Th- Arst three strides he took he scarce seemed to touch the Are Then suddenly he seemed to flounder; some treacherous spol re. mei - bid beneath his tri ad "He Is lost!" "Run to the side!" "No' Onwards!" Ay, better to die battling with the Are and upon it, than to perish impotent by water and beneath It. If was all done with the quickness of lightning with Are there could be no pause or hesitation. Naravan lurched forward, reeled. steHtl-led steHtl-led himself, then with one deep gulp of hi Ma i ids onwards Did th. glowing glow-ing embers crackle beneath his tread h recked not: little 'red sparks shot up around his feet he' heeded them not. Willi eyea straight before him. teeth clenched light, nostrils opened wide, he flew o.-r the trough It was one mad rush whilst vet the spertatois took but three short breaths. It roul3 nol be more Within that he must die or conquer. con-quer. He approached the other end. At ten cubits he vaguely saw something before htm. at seven he realized Its Import Per-chunce Per-chunce some careless Arenian had failed In his task and had plied there burning wood, not glowing embers, perchance It was sudden givt of wind; he knew not All that he saw In that Instant s Hash was a million little tongues of Aiime shoot up before him like a million spikes One ahort step to the very edge of the Spikes and he hurled himself headlong tl gh the air over the flaming zone Falling to hard earth, he lay prone un In flames in th.ir fall, w.-re drawn In quickly quick-ly beneath hltu Then staggering up. reeling forward like a drunken man. he reached the dais; cast himself down before be-fore It. "Dohal! dohal. O King'" the words escaped es-caped from his bursting lips It was that terrible cry for Justice, eternal Justice, that the supremest monarch on earth must heed. With these worc! Narayan Lal lay prone at hla master's feet, rigid and Inert In-ert and motionless. Half his task was over. He still lived His master bowed his head An attendant at-tendant approached with a Jar. and poured a stream of cool olive oil upon Narayan s feet "Open the flood-gate." the King bade again. The nearest guard tilted up the nozzle and turned the lever that controlled the plled-up water. There was a short sharp hiss then a furious Jet an Itc h thick at the nozzle, shot out In the air, expanding. Sixty cubits afar It fell upon the flers trough. In that moment all men realized tho power and the fury of the wster, and Inwardly shuddered, thinking of the nameless death In store for Nur.ivan Ial had h refused the Aery ordeal. For. ere the tower was half empty, the trough was but a sluggish luk" "Carry him uwuy. and tend him well,' the King spoke again And at the command the guards car-rled car-rled Narayan Lal away upon a eharpoy Laying him upon hla bed, they wiped the oil from his feel Lo! tho aoles were whole and unburnt, without even a scald! . rlly. the mind Is greater than th-bodv." th-bodv." miirmured the Great King from hla pillow Vet methlnksT in piling fire upon his own head he had died In agonizing agon-izing torture but for the benevolent spirit spir-it of his dead father." This he added with a sigh, as he thought of his own h'lndiid ancestors and their sevenfold virtues Tho Story-teller was silent awhile, letting let-ting the soothing hope do Its work. The ;n,it King was sick unto death; the Great King might vet be saved by thnt hope Cnd yel 11 besl beloved readers, there were found evil-minded detractors who doubted the marvelous nature of th. facts. Away from the presence of the Great King. I afterward heard from th. Story-teller of their foul calumnies For. on the night of the trial, when the multitude mul-titude had dispersed from the .indleii.e-hall .indleii.e-hall a band of opium-soaked besotted knave were gathered together In the den at the outskirts of the city There, amid the fumes of the soul-destroying drug, their foul tongues were loosened 'There Is a traitor within the palace!" said a thick-set man. with n scar upon his nose He had once been a housebreaker house-breaker but having been caught, had been sentenced to have his nosu silt open with a lanc- t 'How knowest thou? ' asked another, holding hi hookah with his left hand. For Ills right hand had been cut off for giving short weight to the poor In the bazar Whofe he Was a bunnlah. "I-ust night, I saw a man In a beggar's garb lea-, e th. palace Meeting me far e to face, he paused put forth hl hand as Ii' lo bg alms then suddenly snatched hark his hand and hastened Into ihe darkness But. In turning his face came full In the light of th... beacon on the gate and I recognized him It was Rama Krishna! "Ay, brothers. ' went on a third knave. ' rnv wife, who goes morn nnd night to the pnluce kitchen, tells a wondrous tale. This morn In clearing away the remains of Narayan Lai's supper she saw a Chappat (un leavened bread) uneate. Ithln It was a dark stain, giving a strong pungent odor Then coming again In the .... i-nltig. whilst the Juggler was away on his trial, she searched the room J1I1(1 came upon f small empu Pa-?"''; Pa-?"''; XM.' thecal?" husk, lci 'Hast tho i in w r( tll0 ,,, ,,, Interrupted h- P QVI his ear; that wore I Is t rlian ( the same that once n.i Incriminating palnr'eW rr"ni for a gold mohur n1 ,fJn mJ house; not with ro 7"forrA nders. nd Then W -re traces !Stf eTLTVwd Sh Cail the leaf though U-'v up'.,, the hit.h. u .in. and t btozed up' with a s.i.l.l-n spurt Then all around turn, d to the man that had I once been a serine In the bazar, and "ke him mockingly, "Read to us mis i, di.- 1 1 j an oi much learning Thin&Miwhlle encircled by the opium fumes and Ignoring the mockery In theli ones the rlbe answered them. " i is known to inont scholars, and therefore to wirl J-ggier. "r: , ,n,i certain other fibers are rendered non-ihflammable wl steeped In tin P of the arakla, b rare plan found only in tl,e bleher elevations of the Teral JVna- ! inhlS urns, have often used hi. sub- 2 t-ince-whcn of his own free will he af- , .'cT. d to pi. "re upon his head hence he must have k.t a ,,,.-. an supp o It In his house Now. when did the King seal up the bundle of straw. "The day before the trial." answered nil For the King had done this ..... nlv In the l,all-of-public-audlcnce. though he had not revealed his purpose. But Rama Krishna Is also a scholar, went on the scribe reviling in his own knowledge "Thus he guessed the l.ni: purpose ami forthwith obtained some Of the arakla from the Jugglers house. This ho conveyed in tho phial to some accomplice accom-plice In the palace The ac. o,, . . hid !h(. p l.i In th- chappat, - Int. ndcl for Naraynn Lai's supper, and thus escaped the vigilance of the guards Then Just before the trial, the Juggler rubbed the arakla Into his thick glossy hair, and ,1,,,;-. ma. h II Immune But you hrn c noticed no-ticed In the trial. O brothers, that bis tunic was not Immune, for It was Ret ,,i,ght by the falling sparks." "But the gray powder? they asked, still In doubt. "Whence came it" Tho scribe opened wide his palms. "How can 1 tell? It Is not In the evidence" evi-dence" Yet. thinking awhile, he continued: con-tinued: "MethlnkS he always had 11; a juggler Is wont to carry hidden about his person things he might need at any moment mo-ment al ove all. the means of making Are Ask any street urchin for the cracker crack-er he Alngs upon the pavement with an explosion. You will And that It rorrair a grav powder and hits of broken gla: '" l,r'"'l"r al.,,,,. , ' 1 ' . ,i I Jhe la "" v,u, win r hl,n '"Ting the fca, NaravanU31 .a, ,:, Ms ,Ull Just a mo,,,, m h..f,,r, n,urPSl mixed with the straw 1 ' "f "d.,i, ." ,h I ' ''hat of , rierv tJ asked hirn lKi.l(.vl"J troj i ol I, urn Ids f. ,f-Vf The scribe nilieri i-I i-I . m f, , ', uWfl "i f-.t l ,' rl from his long ha b ' 1 and thus tendering ?l! likewise B, Mor s t .?Wn 9 If a r ,1 v.. rr . -, t , ' mn '"'"' ' 11 In .,1,,'n ,3 '"" ' " ' "' klv hhln thS uuaricr oi n second tho hVj nnln.h d . ,,,,, ' r'ni il If the h , ..I were Vs., ,1 fh K it heat woM lrs, 11 the water Into stem, whlcfl a thin . . "lu;; ,r, ,! fhn h the molten Iron away for it? tcrval ' r Xh "Now over and above ihJ soles of N' .ra r.ri I j a f '-with '-with - a l na . ,, whole I a i h' aet i, mi nlnB nnuJ H'h . i he sweat i rolling down hi?, horlv imd on Is of id J el f,,r fcf h in 1 a I v.HltPd, edge- oi the trough t hud rovcr-d hN bony wh i.i.i ,n- of sw.-it Thun kj arakla. he bad a second Drot2 feel ' nd th, scribe put nr gleet ed hookah, and refuiSfl further. in I i l hi-si beloved, tho srd foul calumniator For, n the II It were n mawrinl lip that'll had prc.,1 ,. ' r;,.n whv dg Ihe Are-'A a a. I ; . r thlrik It :,' . i;d t- p(.( P 0f cjtf una- a bzard then a malxe si gold ' hnln and i ack again M that also done by a mere m3 lueh as iceesslvo subttl was It not rather the triurni peii .r mind over Inferior oat gler s ov.-r those of hla spoets For of mere physical pig Lal s ma-- - i. "i In .'.tore for ire a i .1 -e.diy peril n w), gler's art was of no avail ph -: al peril of ppnalllnf rni escape from which It neeflij the utmost ckii' of the hums r Rr 0f I heart. '1 |