Life — April 19, 1883 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-LIFE- + Tue Chinese schoolmaster, Slam Bang Foo, Stood at a keyhole, peeking through ; For some bad little boys Were making a noise, As bad little schoolboys sometimes do. But the bad little boys, they happened to spy The Chinese schoolmaster’s almond-shaped eye ; They got them a squirt Full of water and dirt, And the schoolmaster said Chinese for “Oh, my !” MR. JACOBS. [By the author of ‘* Messrs, Abrahams and Isaacs," “ The Lost Tribes,” ‘ An 'Ebrew Jew,” etc., etc.] CHAPTER V. THR RESCUE. ON the following morning Jacobs sauntered up to my veran- dah and asked : “ Priggs, will you do me a small favor?” Pl “With pleasure ; just mention it.” - : “Tt is merely to risk your life ona little adventure in the Himalaya. In your capacity of reporter for the Bombay Boom- erang, you may perhaps have heard of Shere Ali, the late Emir of Afghanistan ?” « Ali— Ali,” I_ murmured, “1 seem to have seen the name somewhere, but I can’t recall the connection.” ‘ “Well, anyway he is like your hunble servant, a faithful Mos- lem, a philologist and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. He is in the hands of that old villain, the Gaikwar of Kooshbeghi. who means to sell him tothe British. The Governor-General and Ifhave been bidding against one another for him, and I have finally outbid the Governor, my resources being somewhat greater than the revenues of her Majesty, the Eoupres of India. But it has taken all that had. I have been obliged to sell out my biz. in Calcutta,” “Noble, generous man !” I cried fervently. patois of an extinct branch of the great Romany or 191 “O not at all, not-at all. I shall soon catch up again. I makes my money easy and I spends it like ashentleman. But what I want you to do is to go along with me and take seizin of the Shere. He is to be delivered at midnight, precisely a fortnight from to- day, in an inaccessible valley of the Himalaya. The Fakir, who is my agent in the matter, has just telephoned me from the Sum- mit of Kunchinginja that the arrangements are complete. The enterprise is one of considerable danger, and I therefore give you, as my dearest friend, a chance to be in it.” “Thanks, thanks,” I cried.“ How can I ever repay you for this ?” “Take care of Aer, Prigs,” he said with a tremor in his voice, “if L should be run in by this tyrannical government for a viola- tion of the game laws. Taggers in August, you know——” “understand, I understand,” I answered with deep emotion, wringing his hands, ‘have no fears for her. Fitzflaherty shall not get her, D—n it! I'll marry her myself first.” “O that is true friendship,” murmured Jacobs, returning the pressure of my hand, Atthis moment the merry old nabob of Bramapootra came ys, what !”" he called out, shall we go at ‘em again to-morrow? Shall we pot a half a dozen man-eaters belore breakfast ?”” “Tam sorry, Mr. Supe,” answered Jacobs, “but I cannot be with you to-morrow—nor indeed for the next month or so—I have an imperative engagement on the top of Kunchinginja. Cir- cumstances over which I have no control——"" “*O nonsense! Gammon! Cut your engagement, leave us, Jacobs. Why you are the life of the funeral.” “must. [tis my dismet.” “ Why, what—what are you going for?” “It is a profound secret, but I don’t mind telling you in confi- dence, He is Aer uncle,” he murmured sotto voce. “1 am going to save Shere Ali from the hands of your Roveroment. “Shere Ali! © you can’t, you know. Why it would be Shere Folli, Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha !"" And the jovial old sinner laughed at this conceit till his red face turned a dark, morbid purple, and he suddenly fell to the ground foaming at his mouth and clutching wildly at his collar. ‘* Apoplexy,” remarked pecous calmly, and beckoning to the native servants he said, ‘Take this wretched old man to my apartment and give him exactly seven drops of Lydia Pinkham’s Imperial Granum. Prigs, go now and pack your valise, We shall set out this evening at eight o'clock without fail.” It was dark when we rode away from the bungalow, mounted on a pair of fleet Arabian chargers. My companion was some- what in advance. Suddenly from one of the thick upas trees which bordered the road, a heavy body descended upon the croup of Jacob's horse. ‘The noble steed reeled, fell upon his knees, and then summoning all his strength, staggered to his feet and stood trembling under the unwonted burden,. It was too dark to distinguish features, but I could see the fallen body throw its arms around Jacobs ; I recognized the voice which began to whisper in his ear, and the accent of the kisses which followed was unmistakable. With innate delicacy I reined in my horse and remained silent. ‘*God help them !” I thought. |‘ How they do love !"" Presently, the figure slipped from the neck of Jacob's nag and disappeared. Poor girl! It was.so like her. Her maiden mod- esty and the stiff English sense of propriety would not allow her to take a formal farewell of her lover in the genet dayshine. And so with the subtle instinct of her race, she had sought this op- portunity for a parting embrace, when the black shadows of night might cover her young blushes. Vale, vale, white Pickalily of the Thames, blooming for a season on the banks of the blue Bendameer. e On the fourteenth day after our departure we arrived at the snow-clad top of the highest mountain in the Himalaya range. Fol-de-Rol was awaiting us. He had been there for a fortnight occupied in fasting and contemplation, and he was rather cold, ‘The high mountain air had changed his prevailing tint.from a ghastly blue to a lurid pea-green. He and Jacobs compared watches, and then conversed apart for a few moments in the sy tribe, lozen living You can't which patois is probably known to not more than a comicbooks.com