OCR Interpretation


The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, January 30, 1915, LAST EDITION, Image 18

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1915-01-30/ed-1/seq-18/

What is OCR?


Thumbnail for

'mivfmmmmsmmmmmmmmi
-
, THE MOMENT'S JUDGMENT
By Alfred Dennison
(Copyright by W. G. Chapman.)
This is the stbrythey tell in clubs
jn the far east concerning Manner
ing. It is not told to any but mem
bers of the government service, and
these do not tell it too much, for it
is one of those stories that are better
suppressed.
The marvelous loyalty of India to
Great Britain was the most signifi
cant thing m the whole of the great
war. In one quarter only was there
dissatisfaction. That was the little
state of Bundapur, in Central India.
Bundapur was the birthplace of the
ferocious worship of the goddess Kali,
the murder goddess. For centuries
this fierce idolatry had been decay
ing, but of late years there had been
an effort to revive it.
Now Bundapur had strong links
of contact with other idolatrous
states of India. If the rajah of Bun
dopur took advantage of England's
need to throw off her yoke he would
be joined by other potentates and the
flame of revolt would spread all
through the central provinces.
It was Mannenng's task to pre
serve peace in Bundapur. He was
the British resident there and the
power behind the throne. There were
two other rulers in turbulent little
state the Rajah Ferozeshah, whose
ancestors had been Moslems and had
become idolaters in order to retain
their hold upon the kingdom, and
Muzzur, the chief priest, who offic
iated in the magnificent temple of the
goddess, to which votaries came from
all parts of India.
Mannering and old Muzzur were,
good friends, for the British govern
ment scrupulously respects all faiths
in its dominions, but when opportu
nity comes, friendship goes. And op-
portunty had come with the war to
the old king Ferozeshah, who
dreamed of carvingout for himself
an empire which was to embrace all
central India.
Mannering was engaged to an Eng
lish girl, who was to have come out
to marry him, when the war began.
That postponed matters, and Man
nering, chafing under the delay, could
only continue to administer the af
fairs of the kingdom as the represen
tative of the British raj. He had not
a single white soldier to maintain his
authority, for they had all been with
drawn. Meanwhile the annual festi
val of the goddess Kali was approach
ing. Mannering had a shrewd idea of
what was brewing in Bundapur. He
kl Mwl it Am
gf 1KF TO u ra
I TlfllJll
The Old Priest Watched Him With a
Serene Face.
had, in fact, had a frank talk with
old Muzzur. Heliad shown him what
it was no use showing the old king,
because the priest's'word alone could
decide the issue. He had explained
to him that England's might, tempo-"
rarily withdrawn, would fall after the
war with fearful force upon a'rfebel
lious Bundapur. lt Muzzur declare
for England and rich would be liia
reward.
Ji&&JA'"

xml | txt