Show t jj S ax 1151 cov 0 01 am 14 g 0 1 A of kaithlyn by HAROLD MAC GRATH t sisi illustrated by pictures from the moving picture production of the sells selig co sf batt j wr vw wi rw vv affy sy LA s aimini nn copyright by harold macgrath CHAPTER I 1 under a canopied platform stood a young girl mode modeling liLg in clay the glare of the california sunshine 31 51 bering through the canvas became mello mellowed wei warm and golden above the girl s head yellow like the stalk 4 of wheat there hovered a kind of aureola as if there had risen above it a haze ct of impalpable gold dust A poet I 1 know might have cried out that there ended his quest of the golden girl straight she stood at this 1 moment lovely of face rounded ot of form with an indescribable suggestion of betant physical pomer or magnet ism on her temples there acre mere little daubs of clay caused doubtless by im patient fingers sweeping back occa wind blow blom n loci loel s of hair there was even a daub on the sue side of her handoma han dome sensitive nose her hand still filled with clay dropped to her side and a tableau en dured tor for a minute or two suggesting a remote period a persian idyl may bar liar with a smile on her lips she sho stared at the living model the cha boyant eyes of the leopard stared back a flicker of restlessness in their brilliant yellow deeps the tip of the tail twitched you beautiful thing she said she began kneading the clay again and with deft fingers added bits here and there to the creatkie crea cre tuie atule which bad had grown up under her strong supple fingers kathlyn oh kit the sculptress paused the pucker left her brow ana and she turned her face beaming tor for her slater winnie was the apple of her eye and she brooded over her like the mother would have done had the mother lived for winnie dark aa as kathlyn was light was as careless and aimless as thistledown in the wind A collie leaped upon the platform and began pawing kathlyn and short ly after the younger sister followed neither of the girls noted the stiffen ing mustaches of the leopard the ani ant mal met rose and his nostrils palpitated he ile hated the ag with mith a hatred not unmixed with tear fear treachery is in the marrow of 0 all cats to breed them in captivity does not matter sooner or later they will strike never be tere fare had the leopard been so close to 4 his ble enemy free of te pash kit rit it Is just wonderful however calf you do 10 some day well make dad take us to pans paris where you can exhibit them A snarl from the leopard answered by a growl from the collie brought kathlyn s head about the cat leaped but toward winnie not the collie with a cry of terror winnie turned and ran in the direction of the bunga low kathlyn seizing tie tl e leash tol fol lowed like the wind hampered though she was by the apron the cat loped after the fleeing girl gaining at each bound the rhe yelping of the collie brought forth hom various points low rumbling sounds which presently de into roars winnie turned sharply around the corner of the bungalow toward the empty animal cages to attract her father and at the same time rouse some of the keepers seeing the door of an ail empty cage dpn and that it was approached by a board runway she flew to it entered and slammed the door and held it the cat now hot with the lust to I 1 ill threw himself against the bars sn snarling and spitting kathlyn called out to him sharply and fearlessly approached him she began talking in a monotone hia his ears went flat against lit hl head but he submitted to her touch because in variably it soothed him and because he sensed some power whenever his gaze met hers she js snapped napped the leash on his collar just as her father came running up pale and disturbed he ran to the door and opened it winnie you poor little kitten he said taking her in his arms how many times have I 1 told you never to take that dog about m when hen kit s leopard Is off the leash I 1 didn dian t think she sobbed t no kit here and I 1 must always do thinking tor for you ahmed yes sahib answered the head keehr se if you can stop that racket over there piere sadie may lose ler her litter it if it keeps up the lean brown mohammedan trot ted away in obedience to his orders he ile knew krew how to stop captive lions from roaring he knew how to send terror to their hearts As he ran he began to hiss softly colonel hare with his arm about winnie talked toward the bungalow lock your pet up kit lift he called over his shoulder and come corne into tea kathlyn spoke to the leopard scratched bis his head behind tte pars ars and aap shortly a low satisfied sas fled rum ble stirred his throat and his tall no longer slashed about she led him to his own cage sever never ceasing to tak takk locked the door then turned and f walked thoughtfully toward the bung i low she was wondering what this gift W wa that put awe into the eyes of the keepers on her lathers rather s alia animal farm and temporary peace in the hearts of the savage beasts she realized that she possessed it but t was beyond analysis often some wild eyed keeper would mould burst in upon her some newly captive lion or tiger was hilling killing itself from mere passion and the mem sahib come at once and talk alk to it there was a kind of pity in her heart tor for these poor wild things and perhaps they perceived this pity ity which was fearless she she gets a lit ie from me ia sup pose colonel hare had once an to a query for I 1 ire ve alm always ays had a way with four footed things but I 1 think ahmed is right kathlyn is heaven born I 1 ve seen the night when brocken would be tame beside th pandemonium roundabout yet halt an hour after kit starts the rounds everything quiets down domn the gods are in it the living room of the bungalow was large and comfortable the walls were adorned with tho the heads of wild beasts and their great furry hides shared honors with the persian rugs on the floor hare was a man who would pack up at a moments notice and go to the far ends of the horld w orld to find a perfect black panther a cheetah with a litter or a great horned he ile was mas tall and broad and amazingly active for all that his hair and mustache were almost white for 30 years or more he had gone about the hazardous enterprise of supplying zoological gardens and circuses with wild beasts he ile was known from hamburg to singapore from bombas sa to rio janeiro the lion the tiger and the malayan ly to k gr A al fn A A e the king commanded my presence panther had cause to tear fear hare sahib he lie was even now preparing to return to ceylon tor for an elephant hunt the two daughters went over to the tea where a matronly maid was mas busying with the service the fragrant odor of tea permeated the room hare paused at his desk lines suddenly api eared on his bronzed facea face he gazed for or a space at the calendar I 1 the day was the of july should he go back there or I 1 he give up the expedition 9 he night never ref re f turn ind a and the border countries I 1 what a land full of beauty and ro roi mance and and squalor at once barbaric and civilized he ile loved 1 it and hated it and sometimes fearel it he who had faced on foot many a wounded tiger he shrugged reached into the desh desk for a box of brass enamel and took from it a medal attached to a ribbon the golden d sk was encrust ed with uncut and emeralds girls he called come here a moment II martha that will rill be all with a nod toward the door I 1 never showed you this before goodness gracious cried winnie reaching out her hand why it looks like a decoration fa ther said kathlyn what lovely stones it would make a beautiful pendant vanity vanity all is vanity said the colonel smiling down into their charming faces do you love 5 3 our old dada love you t they exclaimed in son indignantly too since the ques tion was an imputation of the tact fact would you be lonesome if I 1 took the bg big trel 9 whim whimsically leally father dad they pressed presed about him as vines about an oak hang it I 1 swear that this shall be the last hunt I 1 in neb well we 11 get rid of all tl ese brutes and spend the est of ane years seeing the show places I 1 in a bit tired myself of jungle fod der we well 11 go to paris and berlin and rome and vienna and you kit shall go and tell rodin that youve inherited the spirit of gerome and i you winnie shall make a stab at grand opera winnie gurgled her del but her sister searched her father s eyes she did not quite like the way he said those words his voice lacked its usual heartiness and spontaneity i where did you ou get this medal fa ther she asked I 1 that s what I 1 started out to tell you were you afraid we might wish to wear it or have it made ON 0 er 7 laughed winnie who never went below the burbace of things no the truth Is I 1 had almost for gotten it but the preparations for ind a recalled it to mind it represents a royal title conferred on me by the king of aldaha lou IOU have never been to india kit alia a is the name we hunters give that border kingdom borne bome day england will gobble it up only waiting for a good excuse what big thing did you do doa de do banded kathlyn her eyes still filled tiled with scrutiny what makes you ou think it was big biga jestingly because she answered serious seriously you never do anything but big things As the I 1 on is among beasts you are among men good lord the colonel reached embarrassedly for his pipe lit it puffed a few minutes then laid down the pipe india is full of strange tongues and strange kingdoms and principalities most of them are domi bated by the british raj some are only protected while others do about as they please this state touch ing the order does about as it d d since the days of the first white rover who touched the shores of hind it la is small but that signifies nothing for you can brew a mighty poison in a small pot well I 1 happened to save the old king kings s life I 1 knew it would be something like that said kathlyn go on tell it all the colonel had recourse to his pipe again he ile smoked on till the coal was dead the girls waited patiently the knew that his silence meant that he was only marshaling the events in their chronological order the king was mas a kindly old chap simple yet shrewd and with mith that oriental way of accod pi pl shing his ends despite all obstacles underneath this apparent simpi cimpi city I 1 discovered a grim sardonic humor trust the oriental for always having that packed away under his bewilder ing diplomacy he was all alone in the world he was one of thoe rare eastern potentates who wasn gasn t ham per d by parasitical relatives by george the old boy could have given his kingdom lock stock and barrel to the british government and no one could say him nay there was mas a good deal of rumor the last time I 1 was there that when he died england would step in actually the old boy gave me leave to come and go as I 1 pleased to hunt v where here and how I 1 would mould I 1 had a mighty fine collection there are tigers and leopards and bears and fat old pythons 40 toot foot long of course it jsn isn t the tiger country that central india Is but the brutes you find are bigger I 1 have about 60 beasts there now and that s mainly why I 1 in going back want to clean it up and ship em to hamburg where I 1 ve a large standing order I 1 in going first to cey ion for some elephants the colonel knocked the ash from his pipe the old boy used to do some trapping himself and whenever he d catch a fine specimen ciman he d turn it over to me he had a hunting lodge not tar far from my quarters one day ah ali med came to me with a message say ing that the king commanded my m pres ence at the lodge where his slaves had trapped a fine line leopard yes my dears slaves there Is even a slavo slave mart at the capital this day A bar baric fairy land with its good genii and its bad djinis the arabian nights murmured winnie snuggling close to kathlyn the oriental loves pomp went on the colonel he can t give you a chu patti tl what s thata asked winnie something like hardtack well he can t give you that without ceremonial when NA hen I 1 arrived at the lodge with ah ali med the old boy he had the complex ion of a prima donna the old boy sat on his portable throne glittering with orders standing beside him was a chap we called he had been a street rat A bit of impudence had caught the king kings s fancy and he brought up the boy clothed fed him nd sent him away aay down to to school when the boy returned he talked morning noon and eight night till the soldiers began to call him that and from then it passed on to the natives all of whom d sl ked the upstart hanged if I 1 can recall hia his real name he ile was ugly and hand some some at the same time suave pa tient courteous vet net somehow or other I 1 sensed the real man below belo arthe the tar tar blood I 1 took a dislike to him arst off its it s the animal sense you youve ve got it kit behind the king sat the council of three three wise old d icks AAL 1 I t trust with an old um arcla winnie laughed while we me were salaaming and genuflecting and using grand phrases the bally leopard got loose somehow mayba maybe some one let him loose I 1 don dont t know anyhow made for the king who was too thun der struck to dodge the rest of em took to their heels you may lay odds on that now I 1 had an honest I 1 king for the king seeing the brute make tor for him I 1 dashed forward you see at ceremonials you re not permitted to carry arms it had to be with my hands the leopard knocked the old boy flat and began to maul him I 1 kicked the brute in the face swept the king s turban off hia his head and flung it about the head of the leopard somehow or other I 1 got him down some of the frightened natives came up and with the help of ahmed we got the brute tied up securely when the king came around he silently shook hands with me and smiled peculiarly at who now came running up and that s how you got those poor hands exclaimed kathlyn kissing the scars which stood out white against the tan that s how raising the hands and putting them on kathlyn s head in a kind of benediction Is that alla asked winnie breath lessly int I nt n t that he retorted well what is it marthaa dinnery 11 ell if I 1 haven t cheated you girls out of your tea tea sniffed winnie disdainfully do you know dad you re awfully mean to kit and me if ifju you d take the trouble you could be more interesting than any book I 1 ever read he doesn doean t believe his stories m would inhere to t vain young ladies said kath lyn gravely her father eyed her sharply ot of what was she thinking 9 in those calm an wavering eyes of hers he saw a question and he feared in his soul she might voice it he ile could evade the questions of the volatile winnie but there was no getting by kathlyn with evasions frowning he replaced the order in the box which he put away in a drawer it m was as all arrant nonsense anyhow nothing I 1 could pos bibly I 1 appen it if there did he would eel certain that he no longer dwelt n a real mor workaday kaday world the idle wl im of a sardonic old man nothing more than that patter er is the king dead dead what makes you ak that kit the past tense you said he was not is yes he s de d and the news came thia this morning herce the aarn arn will there ba be any danger in re I 1 whenever I 1 I 1 pack my lug ige there is danger A cartridge may stick a man my stumble a man you lely iely on may fail you As tor for that here s always danger it s the penalty of being alive on tl e way may to the dining room rath lyn thourl t deeply why had her ta fa ther asked them if they loved ming why did he speak of or the big there w ws something more than thia this 1 gl I medal something more than this simple tale of bravery iv hat 9 well if I 1 e declined to take her into ilia his confidence he lie must have good reason after d that night the colonel went the rounds as was his habit nightly |