The Argosy — page 251: what you’re looking at

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

234 A Night in Colindia. The smiling faces of the girls behind the refreshment counter, however, soon reassured us in spite of their hideous- dress, evidently the original costume of the “now extinct” female beefeater: black shaded with yellow, like wasps. | Only five minutes more, and we should be locked in. We walked along at hap-hazard and got among a lot of huge Canadian threshing machines. ‘Here we are, Norval. Up you go,” said Will, darting between two of them. I followed in an instant. Notasoul was within sight. Inamoment we had climbed into the hopper of one of the largest. ‘Two minutes after, all the hghts went out like one man, and the scene was changed. Instead of the cheerfully illuminated galleries and corridors, we were in ghost-land. ‘The fantastic shapes of these huge machines stood out in weird outline in the moonlight, while an artistic arrangement of the saucepans and frying-pans shone like burnished silver on the wall. ‘Rather an awkward place this, when the machinery is in motion, Norval.” “Yes, I’m afraid you and I would come out all chaff,” I replied, in a whisper. ‘* Excepting my corn, Norval, which I’ll thank you not to stand on,” said Will, drily. ‘‘ How long do we stop here ?” ‘We needn't stay here at all, and we must keep a sharp look-out,” I said, “and steer clear of the night watchmen.” We crept down and peered along the shed. All was silent, so we stepped out like two tabbies, pretending to admire the frying-pans, but really shaking in our shoes. We were not afraid, only a little cold. We grew more hardened after a while. At the bottom of the room the moon was shining full on a hideous mannikin, life-size, with only one eye, that gave me a fresh attack of the shudders. Long galleries stretched to right and left in patches of silvery light and sombre shade. And the beating of our own hearts was the only sound we heard ; and we didn’t hear that—we felt it. The fact is we were in a highly nervous state with the tea we had had, and not only felt increasingly shy of the watchman but also of the things in the rooms, so magnified and distorted by the moonlight. ‘What in the world is that, Norval ?” said Will, in a stage whisper, clutching my arm. “It’s like a huge grasshopper.” Certainly the creature, which was at least three feet high, looked as if it was just going to spring. “Tf it is a Colonial grasshopper it’s dead,” I said, bravely. ‘‘Come on, Will.” And I marched up to the hideous insect, which developed into a new-fangled machine for learning to swim. Another fright pleasantly disposed of. One of the most lively effects, and which rewarded us for all our fright, was the view of the street of Old London by moonlight. It was the real thing. You could just imagine you were taking a moonlight stroll along Cheapside during GOmiGcndooks (f(0)