Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 28: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Me = a z +¢*% RP « es z ik e—— . 9 x , a ws steps and reached the roof. without snoring. Rapidly the events of the night came back to Dunboyne. The major had dropped off to sleep while he—Dun- boyne—-was keeping guard on the roofs. He remembered he had awakened the punkah- wallah, chased down the suspicious looking chuprassi, and talked for a while with the publican, who a few moments later had re- turned protesting extreme fatigue. These recollections went through Dunboyne’s brain in a flash while he was shaking the shoulders of the major in an effort to awak- em him. And at that moment a terrifying thought occurred to him. He pulled the major up by his collar and shook his big lanky frame, like a schoolmaster shaking a big boy. ‘For God’s sake wake up, Kesh!” he cried. ‘‘ We’ve been drugged—all of us.”’ Dunboyne abruptly hurried outsige to the stairs, leaving the major crumpled in a half sitting position on the grasshopper chair, staring blankly, mumbling something about the girl. In a few leaps, Dunboyne mounted the He dashed across the tar flooring, kicked aside the ~ punkah-wallah who was fast asleep, and rushed into Diane’s room. A lizard scur- ried to the bureau, and the punkah-wallah, awaking, began a sudden frantic pulling at the cord. Dunboyne rushed to the bed, tore aside the mosquito netting even though he could already see what he had most feared. His fiancée was not there. For a moment the punkah fanned the cold sweat on his forehead. Then he began circling the room like a crazed dog. He stopped at the threshold of the door for a moment, trying to collect himself. The punkah man was there, grunting ostenta- tiously with every pull of the cord. ‘““ How long have you been asleep, boy?” he asked, steadying his voice. “J have not slept, sahib!”’ the coolie cried shrinking from the stern, white figure. “All through this night 1 have toiled. My back is breaking, sahib, but I am a faithful punkah-wallah.” “Then you can tell me where the miss- sahib has gone.” The man looked into the room, lowering his eyebrows like a monkey peering against ~~ ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. the light. When he had ascertained that the girl was not there, he replied: ‘ She went down to chota hazri, sahib!” ‘A lie! She is not downstairs.” “She said she would walk for a while in the mango garden, which is a very pleasant place in the early dawn.” Dunboyne knew he could get nothing but hes from this man, who had slept at his post. Accordingly he hurried down the Stairs and into the dining room where he found the major. The latter stood aghast when he saw the expression on Dunboyne’s face. “‘ The girl—” he prompted irreso- lutely.- ‘ She’s disappeared.” ‘“Nonsense!”’ the major cried. ‘“‘ She’s probably—” his voice faltered as the hor- rors that he tried to reject overpowered him, ‘The thag—” he began voicelessly. ‘The thag is locked up!” Dunboyne snevped impatiently. ‘‘ We locked him in the go-down when you were asleep.” He stopped abruptly, realizing that the chu- prassi might have escaped during the night. With the major at his heels, Dunboyne fled to the chicken-yard beyond which was the go-down. His white hands took on such a palsied shaking when he tried to open the padlock that Surgeon-Major Kesh himself had to insert the key. Both men rushed in and stood staring into the dim room. The mo- ment’s silence was broken by a bandicoot scurrying into a rathole in one corner. Fol- lowing this was a low moan. : A little trough of water, four inches in depth, serving as a barrier, surrounded a central platform on which the stores were kept. On this platform lay the chuprassi. Apparently he had just awakened from a deep sleep and he was rubbing the nape of his neck where on the previous night Dun- boyne had grabbed him. “1 guess this man knows little of what has transpired,” the major said. ‘‘ Wake up, chuprassi! Koi hai! A light for my cheroot!”’ The chuprassi stared vacantly. Again his hand went to his neck, and his features con- torted with a puzzled expression of pain. ‘“ He’s not our man, the devil take him!” Dunboyne cried disgustedly. * CORMICGLOOOKS (E@)