第4章

Naturallytheroundrobindidnotsparehim。

HehandedthelettertoDanaDatotranslateintodecentEnglish。

TheeffectonDanaDawascurious。Atfirsthewasfuriouslyangry，andthenhelaughedforfiveminutes。

“Ihadthought，“hesaid，“thattheywouldhavecometome。InanotherweekIwouldhaveshownthatIsenttheSending，andtheywouldhavediscrownedtheOldManoftheMountainswhohassentthisSendingofmine。Doyoudonothing。Thetimehascomeformetoact。WriteasIdictate，andIwillputthemtoshame。Butgivemetenmorerupees。“

AtDanaDa’sdictationtheEnglishmanwrotenothinglessthanaformalchallengetotheOldManoftheMountains。Itwoundup:

“Andifthismanifestationbefromyourhand，thenletitgoforward；butifitbefrommyhand，IwillthattheSendingshallceaseintwodays’time。Onthatdaythereshallbetwelvekittensandthenceforwardnoneatall。Thepeopleshalljudgebetweenus。“

ThiswassignedbyDanaDa，whoaddedpentaclesandpentagrams，andacruxansata，andhalfadozenswastikas，andaTripleTautohisname，justtoshowthathewasallhelaidclaimtobe。

Thechallengewasreadouttothegentlemenandladies，andtheyrememberedthenthatDanaDahadlaughedatthemsomeyearsago。

ItwasofficiallyannouncedthattheOldManoftheMountainswouldtreatthematterwithcontempt；DanaDabeinganindependentinvestigatorwithoutasingle“round“atthebackofhim。Butthisdidnotsoothehispeople。Theywantedtoseeafight。Theywereveryhumanforalltheirspirituality。LoneSahib，whowasreallybeingwornoutwithkittens，submittedmeeklytohisfate。Hefeltthathewasbeing“kittenedtoprovethepowerofDanaDa，“asthepoetsays。

Whenthestateddaydawned，theshowerofkittensbegan。Somewerewhiteandsomeweretabby，andallwereaboutthesameloathsomeage。Threewereonhishearth-rug，threeinhisbathroom，andtheothersixturnedupatintervalsamongthevisitorswhocametoseetheprophecybreakdown。NeverwasamoresatisfactorySending。

Onthenextdaytherewerenokittens，andthenextdayandalltheotherdayswerekittenlessandquiet。ThepeoplemurmuredandlookedtotheOldManoftheMountainsforanexplanation。A

letter，writtenonapalmleaf，droppedfromtheceiling，buteveryoneexceptLoneSahibfeltthatletterswerenotwhattheoccasiondemanded。Thereshouldhavebeencats，thereshouldhavebeencats——full-grownones。Theletterprovedconclusivelythattherehadbeenahitchinthepsychiccurrentwhich，collidingwithadualidentity，hadinterferedwiththepercipientactivityallalongthemainline。Thekittenswerestillgoingon，butowingtosomefailureinthedevelopingfluid，theywerenotmaterialized。

Theairwasthickwithlettersforafewdaysafterwards。UnseenhandsplayedGluckandBeethovenonfinger-bowlsandclockshades；

butallmenfeltthatpsychiclifewasamockerywithoutmaterializedkittens。EvenLoneSahibshoutedwiththemajorityonthishead。DanaDa’sletterswereveryinsulting，andifhehadthenofferedtoleadanewdeparture，thereisnoknowingwhatmightnothavehappened。

ButDanaDawasdyingofwhiskyandopiumintheEnglishman’sgo-

down，andhadsmallheartfornewcreeds。

“Theyhavebeenputtoshame，“saidhe。“NeverwassuchaSending。

Ithaskilledme。“

“Nonsense，“saidtheEnglishman，“youaregoingtodie，DanaDa，andthatsortofstuffmustbeleftbehind。I’lladmitthatyouhavemadesomequeerthingscomeabout。Tellmehonestly，now，howwasitdone？“

“Givemetenmorerupees，“saidDanaDa，faintly，“andifIdiebeforeIspendthem，burythemwithme。“ThesilverwascountedoutwhileDanaDawasfightingwithdeath。Hishandcloseduponthemoneyandhesmiledagrimsmile。

“Bendlow，“hewhispered。TheEnglishmanbent。

“Bunnia——missionschool——expelled——box-wallah(peddler)——Ceylonpearlmerchant——allmineEnglisheducation——outcasted，andmadeupnameDanaDa——EnglandwithAmericanthought-readingmanand——and——

yougavemetenrupeesseveraltimes——IgavetheSahib’sbearertwo-eightamonthforcats——little，littlecats。Iwrote，andheputthemabout——verycleverman。Veryfewkittensnowinthebazaar。AskLoneSahib’ssweeper’swife。“

Sosaying，DanaDagaspedandpassedawayintoalandwhere，ifallbetrue，therearenomaterializationsandthemakingofnewcreedsisdiscouraged。

Butconsiderthegorgeoussimplicityofitall！

INTHEHOUSEOFSUDDHOO

Astone’sthrowoutoneitherhandFromthatwell-orderedroadwetread，Andalltheworldiswildandstrange；

ChurelandghoulandDjinnandspriteShallbearuscompanyto-night，ForwehavereachedtheOldestLandWhereinthePowersofDarknessrange。

FromtheDusktotheDawn。

ThehouseofSuddhoo，neartheTaksaliGate，istwo-storied，withfourcarvedwindowsofoldbrownwood，andaflatroof。Youmayrecognizeitbyfiveredhand-printsarrangedliketheFiveofDiamondsonthewhitewashbetweentheupperwindows。BhagwanDass，thebunnia，andamanwhosayshegetshislivingbyseal-cutting，liveinthelowerstorywithatroopofwives，servants，friends，andretainers。ThetwoupperroomsusedtobeoccupiedbyJanooandAzizunandalittleblack-and-tanterrierthatwasstolenfromanEnglishman’shouseandgiventoJanoobyasoldier。To-day，onlyJanoolivesintheupperrooms。Suddhoosleepsontheroofgenerally，exceptwhenhesleepsinthestreet。HeusedtogotoPeshawarinthecoldweathertovisithisson，whosellscuriositiesneartheEdwardes’Gate，andthenhesleptunderarealmudroof。Suddhooisagreatfriendofmine，becausehiscousinhadasonwhosecured，thankstomyrecommendation，thepostofhead-

messengertoabigfirmintheStation。SuddhoosaysthatGodwillmakemeaLieutenant-Governoroneofthesedays。Idaresayhisprophecywillcometrue。Heisvery，veryold，withwhitehairandnoteethworthshowing，andhehasoutlivedhiswits——outlivednearlyeverythingexcepthisfondnessforhissonatPeshawar。

JanooandAzizunareKashmiris，LadiesoftheCity，andtheirswasanancientandmoreorlesshonorableprofession；butAzizunhassincemarriedamedicalstudentfromtheNorth-WestandhassettleddowntoamostrespectablelifesomewherenearBareilly。BhagwanDassisanextortionateandanadulterator。Heisveryrich。Themanwhoissupposedtogethislivingbyseal-cuttingpretendstobeverypoor。ThisletsyouknowasmuchasisnecessaryofthefourprincipaltenantsinthehouseofSuddhoo。ThenthereisMe，ofcourse；butIamonlythechorusthatcomesinattheendtoexplainthings。SoIdonotcount。

Suddhoowasnotclever。Themanwhopretendedtocutsealswasthecleverestofthemall——BhagwanDassonlyknewhowtolie——exceptJanoo。Shewasalsobeautiful，butthatwasherownaffair。

Suddhoo’ssonatPeshawarwasattackedbypleurisy，andoldSuddhoowastroubled。Theseal-cuttermanheardofSuddhoo’sanxietyandmadecapitaloutofit。Hewasabreastofthetimes。HegotafriendinPeshawartotelegraphdailyaccountsoftheson’shealth。

Andherethestorybegins。

Suddhoo’scousin’ssontoldme，oneevening，thatSuddhoowantedtoseeme；thathewastoooldandfeebletocomepersonally，andthatIshouldbeconferringaneverlastinghonorontheHouseofSuddhooifIwenttohim。Iwent；butIthink，seeinghowwell-offSuddhoowasthen，thathemighthavesentsomethingbetterthananekka，whichjoltedfearfully，tohauloutafutureLieutenant-GovernortotheCityonamuggyAprilevening。Theekkadidnotrunquickly。

ItwasfulldarkwhenwepulledupoppositethedoorofRanjitSingh’sTombnearthemaingateoftheFort。HerewasSuddhooandhesaidthat，byreasonofmycondescension，itwasabsolutelycertainthatIshouldbecomeaLieutenant-Governorwhilemyhairwasyetblack。Thenwetalkedabouttheweatherandthestateofmyhealth，andthewheatcrops，forfifteenminutes，intheHuzuriBagh，underthestars。

Suddhoocametothepointatlast。HesaidthatJanoohadtoldhimthattherewasanorderoftheSirkaragainstmagic，becauseitwasfearedthatmagicmightonedaykilltheEmpressofIndia。I

didn’tknowanythingaboutthestateofthelaw；butIfanciedthatsomethinginterestingwasgoingtohappen。IsaidthatsofarfrommagicbeingdiscouragedbytheGovernmentitwashighlycommended。

ThegreatestofficialsoftheStatepracticeditthemselves。(IftheFinancialStatementisn’tmagic，Idon’tknowwhatis。)Then，toencouragehimfurther，Isaidthat，iftherewasanyjadooafoot，Ihadnottheleastobjectiontogivingitmycountenanceandsanction，andtoseeingthatitwascleanjadoo——whitemagic，asdistinguishedfromtheuncleanjadoowhichkillsfolk。IttookalongtimebeforeSuddhooadmittedthatthiswasjustwhathehadaskedmetocomefor。Thenhetoldme，injerksandquavers，thatthemanwhosaidhecutsealswasasorcererofthecleanestkind；

thateverydayhegaveSuddhoonewsofthesicksoninPeshawarmorequicklythanthelightningcouldfly，andthatthisnewswasalwayscorroboratedbytheletters。Further，thathehadtoldSuddhoohowagreatdangerwasthreateninghisson，whichcouldberemovedbycleanjadoo；and，ofcourse，heavypayment。Ibegantoseehowthelandlay，andtoldSuddhoothatIalsounderstoodalittlejadoointheWesternline，andwouldgotohishousetoseethateverythingwasdonedecentlyandinorder。Wesetofftogether；andonthewaySuddhootoldmehehadpaidtheseal-