Part 9 (1/2)
”Hira Singh,” said I
”And your rank?”
”Havildar,” said I
”Oh-ho!” said he ”So you're all non-commissioned in here, are you? Seven of you, eh? Seven is a lucky nu his eyes so that we could scarcely see them under the yellow lashes ”Well,” said he, ”they won't mistake me for any of you, nor any of you for hed at that joke for about twoall the louder when I showed ent spirits from his pocket, and offered it tothe glass flask through theThen he settled himself in the corner froe of the seat opposite, and prepared to sleep But before very long our Gerreat haste, a station official opening the door for hiain afterward He rode for hours with the staff officer and Gooja Singh exa rereat aht to sleep in our compartment, but before he cah theto the troopers in the carriage next behind
”Ranjoor Singh,” said I, ”warns us all to be on guard against this German He is a spy set to overhear our talk”
That ent all down the train fro all the days that followed Tugendheihts, although he tried a thousand tiht Our train crawled, and waited, and crawled, and waited, and we in our coendheih alone with his thoughts in the next co because of solitude that he see swiftly down the train at h to eat and that there were no sick
I reached the conclusion ainst the Russians, and I know not what the troopers thought; they were beginning to be like caged madmen But suddenly we reached a broad river I knew must be the Danube and were allowed at last to leave the train We were so glad to ood news, and when Ranjoor Singh, after much talk with our staff officer and soaria had joined the war on the side of the Central Powers, we laughed and applauded
”That h said darkly
”Our road whither?” said I
”To Stamboul!” said he
”What are we to do at Stah, and the staff officer, whose name I never knew, heard him and caood Punjabi, ”you will strike a blow beside our friends, the Turks Not very far froeance on the British The next-to-the-last stage of your journey lies through Bulgaria, and the beginning of it will be on that stea with its nose toward the bank It was no very big one for our nu at our head as if all the world were unfolding before him, and all were his We were packed on board and the steah and the staff officer sharing the upper part with the stea us for room on the open deck So we journeyed for a whole day and part of a night down the Danube, Tugendhei the route, but gruiment
”You bloody Sikhs!” said he ”I would rather march with lice-yet what can I do? I must obey orders See that castle!” There werethe river ”They built that,” said he, ”in the good old days before men ever heard of Sikhs Life orth while in those days, and a i not to take offense; for one fool can make trouble that perhaps a thousand wise ht, he iments, and therefore know more about such iven to thought, although not ill-hu!” said he ”That looks like a brewery! Consider the sea of beer they brew there once a month, and then think of your oath of abstinence and what youe revolted at his foolishness So we sailed, passing along a river that at another tihted ht we sailed, our little steas and tugs there were, all pulling strings of barges It was as if all the tugs and barges out of Austria were hurrying with all the plunder of Europe God knehither
”Whither are they taking all this stuff?” I asked Ranjoor Singh when he caether at the stern, and I waved s We were alh there were soldiers here and there on the tugs and barges, taking charge and supervising
”To Staaria is in The road to Stamboul is open”
”Sahib,” said I, ”I know you are true to the raj I know the surrender in Flanders was the only course possible for one to whoi the German side is all pretense Are we on the way to Stamboul?”
”Aye,” said he
”What are we to do at Stamboul?” I asked him
”If you know all you say you know,” said he, ”why let the future trouble you?”
”But--” said I