Old Turroo had heard of Chūnnee’s arrival. Everything is known in
a short time in a small community, save such matters as robbery and
gambling, practised under the cover of darkness.
He sent for his grand-nephew--much to that grand-nephew’s surprise--and
beckoning him in with a long, claw-like finger, commanded him to close
the door, and be seated on a charpoy. He then pushed his huka towards
him, and coughed, and said--
“Thou art back, and I have much to say unto thee. How dost thou mean to
live, and keep thy children, O Chūnnee Sing?”
“I hope to hire that plot of land near Ram Lall’s garden, and till it
by hand, and sow it with cotton, jawarri, and dál. I have recovered my
house which Zālim Sing sold.”
“Wouldst thou leave that dog-kennel, and come and abide here with me?”
“Here--with thee!” he echoed incredulously; he could not believe his
ears.
“Yea. Hearken to me, Chūnnee, the son of Duloo Sing. It is in my mind
to make thee mine heir. Thou hast suffered wrongfully for my treasure;
it shall be thine one day.”
“I did not take the money or jewels, it is true, O Turroo Sing, but
it is true that I desired to steal them--not from love of lucre and
gold, or the vice of robbery, but for the sake of my children, who were
perishing. All that day the little ones tasted naught but cow’s food.
The boy asked thee for a few cowries, and thou gavest him blows; and
an evil spirit tempted me as I walked in the fields at even, and said
in mine ear, ‘Turroo is rich--yea, very rich. He hath a house and land
and cattle, and warm bedding, and brass cooking-pots, and a store
of grain laid up in his granary for many seasons. Moreover, he hath
a great treasure buried beneath his floor, which is of no profit to
him, save to handle and to count. Behold, some of this useless silver
will feed my children and me. I will dig through the wall, and steal,
under the cover of darkness. The man is old; he sleeps fast. I shall
take one hundred rupees, and be happy.’ But I failed, as thou knowest.
Nevertheless, I was guilty.”
“Thou wert hungry, and thy children were crying for food; but Zālim
Sing had no such excuse--he is a shaitan, the son of a she ass. Thou
shalt take his place, and come after me; thou shalt live here now with
thy children. Surely a strong man, with a lathi, is better than an aged
chokedar and a dog! I may be robbed again; with thee I am safe; for
doubtless thou wilt guard thine own. Let the old hag remain in thine
hut, and bring thy children hither.”
So, to the amazement of the village, Chūnnee, the pauper and the
prisoner, was elevated to the right hand of the richest man in Paroor,
and rose proportionately in every one’s estimation. He tilled the land,
and sold the crops, and cut the cane, whilst Girunda spent his time
between the fields and the village munshi--as befitted a boy who would
rise in the world, and perchance go to college!
His grand-uncle was proud of him, and never tired of boasting of
Girunda’s seventy-mile march with his sister on his back.
Gyannia now wears a gold nose-ring, silver bangles, and a chain--which
gauds comprise most of her toilette. She is a happy infant, and passes
her four sallow cousins in the narrowest lane, with her head in the air.
Her cousins and their father have resorted to every description of
clever intrigue to get on terms with their lucky relatives, but in
vain. It is the dream of Zālim Sing’s life to bestow one of his
sallow daughters in marriage on Girunda, and thus keep the fortune in
the family; but it is not probable that the boy--who retains a lively
recollection of the ladies’ nips and blows and floutings--will ever
meet his wishes. Moreover, Turroo has already a bride in view.
The cat prospers, though as lanky and grimy as of old; she must be a
cat of some breeding, or of Chinese extraction, for when, after all
her vicissitudes, she found herself once more in her native village,
she did not exhibit the least surprise--she merely stretched out her
long body, and strolled over and sharpened her claws in the bark of
a familiar tree. She has accepted the transformation from poverty to
wealth with complete equanimity, and sits washing her face outside
Turroo’s door, or surveys the village from the tree that grows through
his roof, as if she had never lived elsewhere; she has also implanted a
wholesome fear of her displeasure in the breast of Chondi the pariah.
But then she is a cat who has travelled and seen the world, and he is
but a common village cur!
Who would recognize Chūnnee Sing now? He wears a handsome turban, and
coolies salaam to him, and address him as “ap.” He rides on a white
horse--yes, a horse, not a pony--with a long pink tail, and is the
leading man in those parts; for all he takes in hand appears to thrive.
As he passes through the villages, coquettish glances from pretty dark
eyes are cast at him, and he is greeted with playful remarks. Chūnnee
is as much sought after now as he was formerly shunned. It is a matter
of common talk that a rich thakur would gladly give him his daughter to
wife; but Chūnnee appears satisfied with his present lot, and shows no
signs of changing his condition.
Our story is ended, and we will now take leave of Chūnnee and his
charger, of Gyannia and her ferret-faced cat, of Girunda--who is
almost as precious to Turroo as the forty pairs of pearls again buried
beneath the floor--of the envious, adder-tongued family of Zālim
Sing--and cast a final glance on the sleepy patriarchal village, where
it lies among its waving crops on the hillside, within sight of a glint
of the sacred Ganges.
THE END.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Archaic spellings have been retained.
A number of typographical errors have been corrected silently.
Gadrinath was changed to Badrinath. Badrinath is a well known holy city
and no place by the name of Gadrinath could be located.
The following word pairs were normalized to one spelling by
majority vote:
“Chunnee” to “Chūnnee”
“copybook” to “copy-book”
“cocoa-nut” to “cocoanut”
“deathlike” to “death-like”
“hillman” to “hill-man”
“pockmarked” to “pock-marked”
“race-course” to “racecourse”