Part 36 (1/2)
”Won't the English get to hear of this?” Tess asked
Yashed
”Their spies are everywhere But there has been great talk of a polo tournalish side of the river at Sialpore The English encourage ga they keep us Rajputs out of mischief-- as indeed is true This, then, is a conference to decide which of our young bloods shall take part in the tournalish lend one another ponies; why not we? The spies will report great interest in the polo tournalish will sets in to see the cereested
Yaslare behind theestive of the wintry fjords whence one of her royal ancestresses came
”Let him!” she said ”It would be the last of him!”
Tess considered a while in silence
”When is the tournalish think it strange that the conference about men and ponies should be put off until so late?”
”They atherings But a o orked up a dispute entirely for their benefit This is supposed to be a last-hour effort to bring cohesion out of jealousy The English like to see Rajputs quarrel a theovern!' I do not understand the English altogether--yet; but in some ways they are like an open book They will let us quarrel over polo to our heart's content”
There is so the thread of an intrigue, sitting on soft cushi+ons with the sunlight sending layers of golden shafts through jalousies into a cool rooer of it; soherself to the top of her bent
”But when the ceremony is over,” she said, ”and you yourself have proclai of Sialpore, there will still renize hiet out of the way; and Gungadhura's sons--how s
Who takes a reverter's colt to school into a charger? The English will turn their eyes away froadhura hilish: they are slow to reach conclusions--slower still to change their policy; but when theires to the Northwest tribes How do I know? You saw Isateman?
His very brother took the letters back and forth!”
”But why should Gungadhura risk his throne by anything so foolish?”
”He thinks to save it He thinks to prove that the tribes began the dickering, and then to offer his arlish--Tom Tripe and all! Patali put him up to it Perhaps she wants a necklace adhura went deeply into debt with Mukhuold than prolish will let him levy, extra taxes afterward to recoup himself Besides, there would be the daily expenses of his army, from which he could extract a lakh or two Patali yearns for dias of her teeth!”
”Did you work out all this deep plot for yourself?” Tess asked
”I and the Gods! The Gods of India love intrigue My father left h my mother tried to make a Christian of me, and I always ood He shall have t te for the treasure ever since your father died?”
”Ever since My father prophesied on his death-bed that I should have it in the end, but all he told to help me find it was a sort of conundrum
'Whoever looks for flowers,' be said, 'finds happiness Who looks for gold finds all the harness and the teeth of war! A hundred guard the treasure day and night, changing with the full moon!' So I have always looked for flowers, and I am often happy I have sent flowers every day to the temple of Jinendra”
”Who or what can the hundred be, who guard the treasure day and night?”
Tess wondered
”That is what puzzled ht theyhow to handle even cobras without fear of the, but are only Widyadharas--beautiful lost fairies dreadfully afraid of an to think the hundred must be priests So I made friends with the priests, and let the! They are parasites! They teach only ill keep men in their power, and wo what they teach! I soon learned that if the priests were treasure-guards their charge would have been dissipated long ago! Then I looked for a hundred trees, and found theether! But that was only like the first goal in the very first chukker of the game--as you shall learn soon!”
”Then surely I know!” said Tess excitedly ”In the grounds of the palace across the river, that you escaped froht before you came to see me, there is quite a little forest of pipals”