Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/176

Rh and went direct to the palace. He approached the king as he was about to enter the queen’s apartments, and falling at the king’s feet reported as follows :— “The thief who without a crowbar or a shovel, but with only the help of, his incantations, caused the palace guards to fall asleep, and stole the queen’s anklet: and who eluded the vigilant search of the city guards hitherto, is now in my little cottage.” The king called some of the guards and commanded them to see if the anklet is in the thief’s hands, and if it is, to kill the thief and bring the jewel. The goldsmith, glad to find that his scheme succeeded so well, led the guards to Kovilan’s presence, and told him, “These soldiers have come to see the anklet under the orders of the king.” Kovilan showed the jewel to them. They looked at the jewel and at Kovilan, and taking the goldsmith aside, said “This man’s appearance is noble: he certainly is not a thief.”

“Thieves are armed with spells and drugs,” said the cunning oldsmith “if you delay carrying out the king’s orders, he may make himself invisible by his incantations, or he may throw you into a profound sleep by the use of his drugs. In any case, you will incur the displeasure of the king and suffer punishment.”

"Have any of you,” he further asked them, “traced that thief, who during the day sat at the palace gate, attired like the courier of a foreign king, and after nightfall entered the palace in the disguise of a servant maid and walking along the shadow of the pillars, found his way into the bedroom of the king’s brother and removed the necklace from the prince’s person : and who, when the prince awoke and drew his sword to cut down the thief, defended himself with the scabbard, and disappeared dexterously behind a pillar, leaving the prince to wrestle with that pillar of stone,” “Thieves are extremely cunning,” said one of the’ soldiers, "I remember on a dark and rainy night, when I was going my rounds in the city, there appeared before me suddenly a burglar armed with a crowbar, and prowling like a hungry tiger. I drew my sword, but he snatched it from my hands and in the darkness of the night I found neither him nor my sword again. Comrades! we must decide quickly what to do: or we shall be surely punished by the king.” Scarcely had he ceased speaking when another soldier, an illiterate youth, drew his sword,