Show ST man son E T BY TALBOT MUNDY 0 0 0 0 TALBOT MUNDY SERVICE e I 1 sy SYNOPSIS 7 carl 1 IorA norwood has been sent horn from XU Kt krotow F to the he kadur river dis als a his ot long alone with indispensable 10 lodia Tw i oses oleary leary o 0 soldier ot of lora job Is to survey the dis 1 naw whether a valuable secret anine ine is blionas to the temple priests I 1 tn oe buier the mahar abah ot of kadur a 1111 as on the brit british ash residency to CA initial respects on his way he ot of two women in a palace y i of whom Is young and on at e 0 f woman he knows to be the ne sot 0 UW mr of kadur oleary later tells sn young woman Is an american t who ho with her ed lyna 1 deborah li arding Is a guest at on n a sightseeing tour mrs fsr sprains brains an ankle and sends to the frold aid rr pance ce Rund hla handsome or phew new ot of the rulers comes to he her copter ill continued 3 harding had been becoming A Je the skillful tyranny matvs moneyed fostering had j lynn to postpone the natural abo IID of youth to an age at which ais iris are steadying down Is s rebellion had hardly more begun attain aged twenty two she ken been denied the democratic tot of college education sty taij who held the purse strings at that colleges corrupt and i auncy aunty knew was so no one cliance aunts opinions lynn 1 I tried to change aunty aulty but ial learned to be strategic and diplomatic she had assented kit enthusiasm to become end I 1 to a decadent but a aunts first reverse had 41 aber her completely off guard an arable able will and an irresistible ire ave met lynn blew up she I 1 merely break the engaged t she smashed it she scat k j its splintered fragments reck I 1 i auncy aunty beat a strategic retreat J decided on a world tour it ten been fairly successful barring f mal incidents on shipboard 2 1 i in hotels the almost 1 beautiful lynn had received J ah h attention from tany rate uncertified strangers I 1 p aunty aulty on the war path x i british officers in india had s faunty aunty plenty to worry about te ie invitation from the mahas i of kadur had come like a zd ad it gave lynn a romantic jt 41 lor for enthusiasm in impeccably triable surroundings where a tvete were no undesirable men to aunts Aun tys dream of a correct and ial ally influential marriage a jillis this prince was a iad hd been absent when the hards arrived frequently ment mentioned mantione ione d bot tot expected to return for sev weeks keks from what was spoken i a vacation aunty aulty had had a look at him ip in the full glare a thead headlights lights of the rolls royce roy ce tes ra a worse shock than the un ad bruise and the twisted anre resembled one of those argentine plutocrats who i to corrupt paris until the price of s and wheat reduced them to trel hel of common mortals A i ad d figure of a man perfectly manners that only money d roy by and cynicism support ad eyes without a trace of i 11 aiace UY and not yet betraying lot 3 ol 01 having lived too furious it ball all conquering male heir ione arone as old as En glands i astonishing strength he lifted a 1 I om the earth and placed her t soft sprigged cushions that ia 10 t ber sigh with physical relief it horror aunty aulty knew she ft against it the prince drove 0 wh skill he avoided bumps lamed ted the guard at the palace gate ete with the voice of a cul 5 lerit gentleman leman and a vocabulary ailcy instinctively knew was sat the arched entrance guesthouse patio he lifted M he caused servants to come alen aen to a burning house he 11 mediately for his is private w doctor a member of his behold hold detent Pe tent mrs harding I 1 as you discreet I 1 discreet I 1 guarantee 11 alast simultaneously with the aal 0 11 i the y bengali doctor who devilishly devilishly discreet disc teet and more at aunty aulty than if she were evas 8 own widow the mahay carriage ee drew up with its aes noses snorting on top of the fit p got lynn 1 too f ull full of excite alarm anaf and tun un and sym member sh she e should veil 44 sho she could hear her aunt IL te open af pf guesthouse win all came running into the lq tf p Rund i do hias headlights junt are y you what is wrong aunt aun thas has hurt herself my I 1 if tot cik and som ole e women are exi woken broken bones b ones I 1 believe yi 1 Ee rious 4 0 was obvious thought othe liking the doc t 4 vas y calling him a tool fool afi ri d ake the word sound I 1 eption zil of a flunkey flankey caught I 1 lahar ifil anee had to be cere 0 had y elded wt out of the carriage I 1 hear d averil ov aunts tys yells 0 1 ete owing with ea eagerness gernes 1 I injured d i but guest with t she run as fast as lynn and then stood fa in the way smiling careful not nto to embarrass lynn with gallantry gs nothing g he said in english to 0 the a ranee A twisted ankle A bruise A little badly shan shaken I 1 i believe my doctor is attending atten diStl to her wont t A you introduce goddess goddess me to the the purred she un veiled her face she put her arm ars m around her lynn darling this is my nephew prince Rund hia he is a bad boy boa but I 1 do S hope you aiu like each n other Rund hia this is miss lynn harding who is teaching me how americans do things and I 1 am hav having such fun pretending she is one of us wish I 1 wish she were oh how I 1 wish it presen presently ty when the doctor came out ru nahi eyed him in m the lamplight slight with a stare that made the bengali flinch he did his best to look like a confidential dignified retainer but it work aunty aulty had broken his dignity and his fe fear a r of the prince had no covering le left t he almost stammered nothing broken tape iodine bandages she will soon recover he made a sudden nervous effort to regain the feeling of being imbor tant and on the inside of events have you heard that captain norwood of the royal engineers has 0 v k ai P P kekk K rg t 5 wonderful but no that wont do arrived he is in camp outside the city looked startled the doctor continued he has with him an eurasian named moses oleary who they say already is poking his ugly nose into what is none of his business lynn harding stood examining the rolls royce she was quite used to luxury but even hollywood owned nothing like that thing its gadgets and gold plated adornments were a sufficiently good excuse for giving aunts temper time to cool off so she lingered letting the go alone into the guesthouse aloneness of course included three servants but a is lucky who endures only six eyes to watch what she does and six ears to hear what she says lynn could not hear what prince was saying to the doctor but he was doing all the talking and she felt fairly sure that he was talking about her lie he strode toward her looking as deadly self assured as mephistopheles lynn fell on guard you win said Rund hia 1 win what whatever you came for 1 I came for a good time uh uh been having it yes your aunt has been conducting me into indian mysteries we have none said Rund hia we are an open book we are three hundred and fifty million people every single one of whom carries his heart on his sleeve you are the mystery have you a hea heart rt where is it lynn laughed Is that any of your business of course its my business why because yo you u are the most beautiful mystery I 1 have ever seen every mystery is an invitation to find the right key to oh are you a detective you bet I 1 am ive detected 1 your cruelty you intend to keep guessing I 1 cant endure it me lynn laughed again sho should UI d I 1 pity you no pity and compassion are of india were so the twin curses compassionate to one another that another for not being we hate one even more ms miserable erable than we are so as to be able to mop up greater floods of useless pity so youre an iron man I 1 have a jellyfish no nor a leathery disposition due to talents lack of use that have dried from oh are arc you lazy no iron has entered into me its like a spur that dug too deep and keeps on working inward it irritates abundant energy that has no outlet add boredom to that and what have you it sounds like an explosive mixture arent you afraid you may blow up I 1 believe youre sorry for yourself sorrow is not in me he retorted 1 I dont know the emotion emotion not even when you make mistakes 1 I never make them A mistake is what a fool does to an opportunity all that I 1 have lacked until now is a real opportunity mrs hardings voice came through the guesthouse window sharply impatient lynn lynn where are you all right aunty aulty im coming experienced tyranny knows countless ways of compelling submission aunty aulty groaned on a sumptuous bed no dont let me trouble you dont let me be a nuisance I 1 am sure that the cares of a palace must be more than enough you must try to forget my existence lynn can look after me lynns eyes met the Mahar anees deep unto deep the looked rather like a new york east side jewess who has risen through the ruck of immigration to the ranks of 0 affluence and prestige full bos omed matronly kind but ut aware that the world is full of pitfalls aware that the world needs kindness but can misinterpret and cruelly resent good intentions she had the genius gentleness iron she had also a will that no debor deborah ah harding could bully to obedience lynn undid a necklace from the palace e heirlooms heir looms and handed it to the she began to remove a bracelet but the complicated fastening prevented she held out her wrist please I 1 must get into some clothes that aunty aulty thinks respectable and stay with her the mild plump countered with surprising firmness darling we will expect you to dinner yes I 1 will take the jewelry because it must be returned to the keeper of the jewels I 1 will choose two women from my own attendants who shall take care of mrs harding she almost a imort flounced out giving aunty aulty no time to reply there was silence until the drumbeat drum beat of the horses hooves died away along the drive in the direction of the palace then aunty aulty spoke this comes of making social concessions ces I 1 never heard of such audacity did you hear her speak to me as if I 1 were a servant or a charity patient go and take off that immodest costume it suggests a fancy dress ball in a bad house aulty aunty the doctor has promised to return with something to relieve the pain so that you will get some sleep sleep while you are doing what wha t in the palace do you think I 1 am deaf blind do you think I 1 have forgotten your flirting on board ship and in hotels until I 1 blushed for you I 1 heard you through the window talking to prince Rund hia aulty aunty I 1 think I 1 hate you it makes me e feel mean and ungrateful I 1 would so much rather love you 1 I have left off hoping to be loved said aunty aulty 1 I demand your respect that may teach you to respect yourself and so merit the respect of your equals love gratitude illusions Illusion sl I 1 have learned that lynn went and changed into black silk chinese pajamas they would remind aunty aulty of that fancy dress ball on board ship when the penniless son of a planter had made the pace so hot that aunty aulty J nearly had fits lynn stared at her own reflection in the mi mirror aror not quite liking it she smiled at herself just to see what the smile would look like the returned from the palace excited fawned on by four women two meek men servants followed her with baskets of provisions lynn ran to greet her the almost squealed at the sight of lynn in black pajamas with her golden hair massed in becoming contrast wonderful Wonder full but no that wont do yes it will yes it willi will I 1 forget I 1 am so excited I 1 forget we are to have an informal supper party at the palace instead of dinner truly truly unconventional modern a picnic oh my god said aunty aulty but the could be as deaf as fate when it pleased her to be she continued almost breathless his highness my husband she always spoke of the maharajah Mah arajah as his highness my husband has heard that captain norwood is in kadur captain norwood is a royal engineer he is said to be a man of great attainments his highness my husband is very eager to be pleasant to him engineer said aunty aulty yes he is to make a survey of the kadur river it would not be etiquette to notice him until after he makes his formal call which he should do tomorrow however I 1 persuaded his highness my husband who is a very conventional man but now and then he listens to me she turned to aunty aulty we are so so sorry mrs harding that you cant be with us 1 I will spare you that regret she answered 1 I will be there you have a rickshaw your women can help me to dress I 1 dont doubt lynn and I 1 will be leaving as soon as I 1 am fit to travel A last supper in your palace will be something to remember oh how gracious of you sa said id the he t but are you quite sure the bengali doctor appeared ca cautious ts lou with a bedside confidential air that did not however prevent the from instinctively veiling her face 1 mrs harding I 1 have a little pellet I 1 et for you just one little pellet prepared ed specially thank you I 1 dont take pe pellets lIets the doctor hesitated the spoke through her veil mrs harding is coming to supper at the palace oh said the doctor well perhaps she will take the medicine at supper shall I 1 send it by a servant she should take it with a little piece of bread or with a glass of water thank you you trouble said faid mrs harding 1 I need no medicine acine come lynn the could hardly wait while lynn looked for a wrap so long aunty aulty see you later does she never consult an astrologer the asked lynn laughed she did once and only oncel once but you you believe in them 1 I think the answer is no I 1 know so little about them practically nothing but arent they charlatans ive been told that they are oh many of them are the admitted there are charlatans in all professions we have a very good court astrologer I 1 will order him to cast your horoscope in fact I 1 have already consulted him about it what tun fun but please do keep it secret from aunty aulty she would have conniption fits TO BE CONTINUED |