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-