Part 46 (1/2)
The king sent his ary!” But the Gods laughed --Eastern proverb
”The guns of the Gods!”
Very shortly after dawn on the ame Yasmini left the Blaines' house on business of her own The news of Gungadhura's abdication was abroad already, uns had becoreatest excitement was the news, first of all whispered, then confir
That disturbing knowledge was the factor that prevented Yas the best of it; for it would take tiuards There was sied it probable that he had seen through her whole plot in the drear light of revelation that so often comes to stricken er every second he was still at liberty But she sent word to Utirupa, too, to be on the alert And she saw hiar zemindari, which is a Rajput landowner turned Muhauise precluded any Hindu interference, and Muhaht have questioned her, were scarce
The polo did not take place until late afternoon, because of the heat, but the grounds were crowded long before the tiala mood, whom the artillerymen, pressed into service as line-keepers, had hard work to keep back of the line There was a rope around three sides of the field, but it broke repeatedly, and in the end the gunners had to be stationed a few feet apart all down the side opposite the grand-stand to keep the crowd froing fro of a British subaltern to the four-in-hand of Rajput nobility--kept pretty carefully apart, though The conquerors of India don't mix with the conquered, as a rule, except officially And there were half a dozen shuttered carriages that ht not; none knew
It was a crowd that knew polo froht at last and stood in line below the grand-stand, each in charge of his sais, there grew a great murmur of critical approval; for the points of a horse in Rajputana are as the lines of a yacht at Marblehead, and thein Yorkshi+re; the very urchins know thehly for ht of lish team, nearly all darker in color as it happened, except for one pie-bald, looked trained up to the last notch and bore the air of knowing just what to expect, that is as unmistakable in horses as inTrotters had the self-is off the pre rather in the background, because technically, as a servant of Gungadhura, he was in a delicate position
A voice that he could swear he allish were going to forbid the next maharajah to have any but eh that he could pick out of a h he turned very swiftly, and had had no brandy sinceto becloud his vision, he failed to see his tormentor
Tess and dick drove down in ained, and found hard work to squeeze the dog-cart in between the phalanxes of wheels already rand-stand it was to find not a seat left in the rows reserved for ordinary folk; so Sa-boots, invited theround was in perfect condition--a trifle hard, because of the season, but flat as a billiard table and as fast as even Rajputs could desire
A co over it daily for a week past, reco not an inch, because the finer stick-work of the Rajput tealish had been sportsh to acco and the teams turned out for the first chukker in deathly-silence, it was evident at once what the Rajput strategy would be
They had brought out their fastest ponies to begin with, determined to take the lead at the start and hold it
One could hear the crowd breathe when the whistle blew; for in India polo is a game to watch, not an opportunity for slish goal, to be checked by Topha But the Rajput left-wingcousin of Utirupa, cut in like an arrow The ball crossed over to the right wing, where Utirupa took it, galloping down the line on a chestnutto intercept the ball, missed badly; a second later the Rajput center thundered past both oal, amid a roar from the spectators, less than a minute froht to be ashaainst lory there was some one here to bet with!”
Samson overheard
”Which way do you want to bet?” he asked
”A thousand on the Rajputs”
”Thousand what?”
”Dollars Three thousand rupees”
”Confound it, you Americans are all too rich! Never mind, I'll take you”
”A bet!” dick answered, and both men wrote it down
About nine words were said by the captain of the English team as they rode back to the center of the field, and when the ball was in play again there was noopen play that suited the other side, but a close, short-hitting, chop-and-follow e every ten yards thatthe Rajputs' speed and dash Whenever a stroke of lightning wrist-work sent the ball clipping down-field Tophaan all over again The first chukker ended in ht out fresh ponies for the second, and the Rajputs tried again to score with their favorite tactics of long-hitting and treed-does-it, and Topha passed hilish slow Three times they seized opportunity intoward the Rajput goal Three tilish teaether, and the Rajputs a little wild But the chukker ended with the same score, 1--0
”How d'you feel about it now?” asked Salish habitually do whenever their pulse beats furiously
”I'd like to bet too!” Tess laughed, leaning across