Page:In Black and White - Kipling (1890).djvu/33

 and all night we watched for dacoits. Why does the Sahib laugh? Nay, I will make a confession. The dacoits were too clever, and seeing this we made no further trouble. It was in the hot weather. What can a man do in the hot days? Is the Sahib who is so strong—is he, even, vigorous in that hour? We made an arrangement with the dacoits for the sake of peace. That was the work of the Havildar who was fat. Ho! Ho! Sahib, he is now getting thin in the jail among the carpets. The Havildar said:—"Give us no trouble and we will give you no trouble. At the end of the reaping send us a man to lead before the Judge, a man of infirm mind against whom the trumped-up case will break down. Thus we shall save our honour." To this talk the dacoits agreed, and we had no trouble at the Thana and could eat melons in peace, sitting upon our charpoys all day long. Sweet as sugar-cane are the melons of Howli.

Now there was a Stunt Sahib in that district, called Yunkum Sahib. Aha! He was hard—hard even as is the Sahib who without doubt will give me the shadow of his protection. Many eyes had Yunkum Sahib, and moved quickly through his district. Men called him The Tiger of Gokral-Seetarun, because he would arrive unannounced and make his kill, and, before sunset, would be giving trouble to the Tehsildars thirty miles away. No one knew the comings or the goings of Yunkum Sahib. He had no camp, and when his horse was weary he rode upon a devil-carriage. I do not know its name, but the Sahib sat in the midst of three silver wheels that made no creaking and drave them with his legs, prancing like a gram-fed horse—thus. A shadow of a hawk upon the fields was not more without noise than the devil-carriage of Yunkum Sahib. It was here: it was there: it was gone: and the rapport was made and there was trouble.

It fell upon a night that we of the Thana slept according to custom upon our beds, having eaten the evening meal