The Adventures of Kathlyn

This news plucked up Winnie's spirits considerably. Surely her father

and Kit were brave and cunning enough to circumvent Umballa. What a

frightful country! What a dreadful people! She was miserable over the

tortures her father had suffered, but nevertheless she held him

culpable for not telling both her and Kit all and not half a truth. A

basket of gems! She and Kit did not wish to be rich, only free and

happy. And now her own folly in coming would but add to the miseries

of her loved ones.

Ahmed had told her of the two ordeals, the black dungeon, the whipping;

he had done so to convince her that she must be eternally on her guard,

search carefully into any proposition laid before her, and play for

time, time, for every minute she won meant a minute nearer her ultimate

freedom. She must promise to marry Umballa, but to set her own date.

Unlike Kathlyn, who had Pundita to untangle the intricacies of the

bastard Persian, Winnie had to depend wholly upon sign language; and

the inmates of the zenana did not give her the respect and attention

they had given to Kathlyn. Kathlyn was a novelty; Winnie was not.

Besides, one of them watched Winnie constantly, because the bearded

scoundrel had attracted her fancy and because she hoped to enchain his.

So the note from Kathlyn did not pass unnoticed, though Winnie believed

that she was without espionage.

Kathlyn, her father, Bruce, Ramabai and Pundita met at the colonel's

bungalow, and with Ahmed's help they thrashed out the plan to rescue

Winnie. Alone, the little sister would not be able to find her way out

of the garden of brides. It was Kathlyn's idea to have Winnie pretend

she needed air and sunshine and a walk in the garden after the doctor's

visit. The rescue would be attempted from the walls.

Juggernaut, or Jagannath in Hindustani (meaning Lord of the World), was

an idol so hideously done in wood that the Prince of Hell would have

taken it to be the personification of a damned soul, could he have

glimpsed it in the temple at Allaha. The god's face was dark, his lips

and mouth were horribly and significantly red; his eyes were polished

emeralds, his arms were of gilt, his body was like that of a toad. His

temporal reign in Allaha was somewhere near four hundred years, and no

doubt his emerald eyes had seen a crimson trail behind his car as many

hundred times.

He was married frequently. Some poor, benighted, fanatical woman would

pledge herself and would be considered with awe till she died. But in

these times no one flung himself under the car; nothing but the incense

of crushed flowers now followed his wake. His grin, however, was the

same as of old. Wood, paint, gilt and emeralds! Well, we enlightened

Europeans sometimes worship these very things, though we indignantly

deny it.