Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 266, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1910 — RAJAH SINGHA’S CROWN JEWEL [ARTICLE]

RAJAH SINGHA’S CROWN JEWEL

By Charles Edward Barnes.

A tale of complications, great surprises, and muny a slip between the enp and the lip.

Copyright, The Frank A. Munsey Co. From the very first I entertained mingled curiosity and distrust of my unwelcome fellow voyager. We were weighing anchor in the choppy sea of Columbo’s harbor, when r. Cingalese bark swished up alongside, and a swarthy Moorman —an up-coun-try Moorman at that—climbed up the starboard and in good Malabar English demanded quarters in the first cabin. This seemed unusual enough, but I gave the episode little concern until upon going below when the Punjab was well under way, my astonishment waxed to rage at discovering that this repulsive creature had been thrust, by an offensive purser, right into my own tidy quarters. The Moorman was sitting, leg-folded, on the floor rug. He was nursing a pair of swarthy knees half encased in yellow silk trousers. Upon his feet were the regulation flaming red and pointed slippers; over his shrunken body hung limply the regulation drab silk tunic; upon his head was an immaculately white turban. I remonstrated in no mild terms, and expressed my displeasure at having him for a roommate. "Do you believe in God, sair?" was his calm retort to this savage tirade. "What has that to your invading my stateroom and planting yourself here, unwelcome and unasked?" I. responded. "Isn’t there room enough in the hold?” "Pardon me, sair,” he persisted, with one of those mealy, oily inflections peculiar to the diplomats of trade, “but I, too, am a man of consequence among my peopie. What! with all my worldly wealth; must I ship with the coolies simply because 1 am not ot your faith and race?” "You are Christian, I ant Mohammedan; but we both believe in the same Allah. And how do you know that Allah has not thrown us together for a good purpose? I will tell you now, jf may be of great service to you before the voy r age is over.” There was something persuasive in the Oriental's speech. In the clear depths of his wonderful, large, brown eyes, I seemed to read a hidden m&ming. And yet, my anger was not appeased, "I shall disregard the purser and appeal to the captain directly,”—said I, testily, turning abruptly toward the door. "One moment, sair,” he protested with an uplifted hand, very thin and knotty, like a veteran ape's. “Every other stateroom in the first cabin has two or more voyagers. I was told you did not book the whole stateroom for yourself, did you, sair?” He had me there. Though it had always been my custom to avoid just "such unwelcome roommates, my long stay in Ceylon, owing to the monsoon storms, had depleted my budget. Rather than borrow of my generous hosts in the tea-districts north of Dambool, I rashly resolved to forego many accustomed luxuries on the voyage, until I should reach Cairo and friends who awaited me there. ‘‘Well, , then, sair,” he continued, "suppose I place this matter on a business basis. I have paid for this half of the stateroom, but if you will allow me to remain here, sair, 1 do not hesitate to reimburse you. Here is twice my passage-money—seven pounds sterling. You certainly will not now refuse.” He kept his entreating gaze upon me as 1 stood quite nonplussed before him. To behold a Moorman making such a proposition, and backing it up w T ith a cash offer, was as astonishing a spectacle as could be imagined in all the East.

•‘Done!” said I, gathering' up the coins—just the sum I needed—"but with this understanding: if, by the time we reach Egypt—l presume you are going that far; else you would hare taken a coaster—l find that you have behaved yourself, I shall hand you back this seven pounds. If you do not, I shall keep the money and lead you down into the steerage by the ears. Do you understand?” “Perfectly, sair,” replied the crumpled specimen, without the slightest tinge of resentment. "You will have no cause to complain, sair, I assure >ou.” , Once more I turned to go. ‘.Remember,” was my parting sho r . “no littering, greasy trumperies stout this floor; no midnight prayers nor tumtumming; and, above all, no smudging up my stateroom with either hashish or native cookery.” “I have also so promised the purser, sair,” he said deferentially. I rather felt ashamed of my acerbity toward one so lowly of demeanor, butI wished to assure him that 1 was aware of his national idiosypcrasisand disapproved of them in n.v immediate vicinity. And so, hugging my necessary seven gold-pieces rather guiltily, I sauntered up to the smoking-room on the deck forward to test their genuineness in a brandy and soda. But the more I pondered upon the personality of my overmeek roommate, and his exceeding eagerness to share my quarters, the greater 1 marveled. Where was that Moorman going? What was his mission? Why did &e wish to remain so secluded

from his fellow native* below, and wherefore this extravagance? Moormen are known as the Shylocks of Ceylon. They devote themselves almost exclusively to the gem trade. Long training has made them so expert that one of them can take an uncut ruby, sapphire, cat’s-eye, or other gem, roll it over his gnarled palm, and tell within a hair’s weight what it will cut, and within a shilling of its value. And to the Moorman jewels are a passion. He •Will live like a pauper lor months, or even years, in order to become possessed of a particularly fine gem. Such being the characteristics of the Moorman in general, it amazed and puzzled me to behold my roommate throwing gold about recklessly and demanding the best that a P. and O. steamer could provide. Naturally his unusual behavior started a train of thought in my mind, and led me into a deep mystification. Tiffin’s gong roused me, and I sauntered below, giving up the problem as a bad one, but resolved to watch and wait. Some days passed without a clue to ray mysterious feilow voyager and his mission. 1 was still in the dark as to whether he was lined with Bank of England notes and on his way to a foreign port to make a purchase of some gem fit for the turban of a Hindu rajah, or carrying some fine specimens to the London or Amsterdam dealers for negotiation, or perchance merely going to Mecca to perform the Haj, like any other good Mohammedan. But I soon discovered that he had Taken passage ail the way to England. Rounding the lower peninsula during severe weather on the evening of the third day out, a curious incident happened. It was nearing the dinner hour of a very bleak day. I Went below to prepare for dinner. I had been honored with a seat at the captain s table. This demanded the wearing of evening dress —a thing most every good American abhors en voyage, but to which your true Briton clings as his mark of differentiation between the untubbed, plebeian and the Albion-white son of St. George. It was now quite dark. I opened the door of my stateroom softly, peering in. My Moorman mate was there, on his knees before a long oblong box, which I had seen him bearing up the ship’s ,side with great care when he came aboard, but which had all this while stood undistrubed in the corner. My curiosity aroused, I stood still, watching. My wonder grew to absolute alarm when I saw that he was apparently feeding something very guardedly thiough a partially open lid of the box. Then came that sound—that warning, whirring hiss-s! once heard, never forgotten—the angry alarm of the deadly cobra di capello. Softly 1 closed the door and retreated, a strange chill creeping over me. So, my artless -Moorman mate was carrying a venomous serpent with him which, once loose .in our cramped apartment, might make short work of both of us! • I shuddered. Once I escaped the snap of a rattler's jaws by less than an inch, the peak of my cap catching the fangs instead of my nose. That was years ago, but the memory of it clung to me still so tenaciously that the very sound of that rattle froze my blood. I took a turn or two down the deck to recover myself, then stalked to my stateroom, resolved to remonstrate with my fellow voyager, and perchance dump his menagerie through the porthole. To my astonishment the Moorman, in the meantime, had gone. Hastily I dressed for dinner, and in no tender, As a parting shot, I took up my heavy bamboo cane and gave the strange hoxin the corner a sharp blow. “Whir-r-r! Hiss-s-s!” That was enough. Throwing the cane aside, my teeth chattering, I beat my retreat. That seven-pound bribe covered one unwelcome guest, not two. 1 was resolved to see to it that there were no more. Butrthe dinner, followed by an impromptu concert, was particularly live ly and enjoyable. By midnight-my ahger had rather cooled. As I reentered my stateroom I did not speak, although I noted that, as usual, the Moorman was awake, lying on the floor coiled up like a serpent himself, one eye open in the cold white gleams of the moonlight which now and then shone through a rift in the flying cloud.

v I consoled myself frith the thought that if the snake made his escape, he would first meal of the nearest at hand, giving me time to defend myself. So, with a revolver under my pillow and the big stick at my side, I rolled over and tried to sleep. But slumber was not to be wooed, and the morning found me moody, and filled with vague apprehensions. I think there would have been hot words had not my roommate stealthily left the room, leaving me to my own musings. That day, however, found my courage no stronger for an argument, particularly ms four pounds sterling of the Moorman’s money was already gone at bridge whist and other mild indulgences. A quarrel which would only serve to make all things known was not to be rashly entered upon just then. —I resolved to bear up under my inflictions of fear and curiosity till something happened, as happen I was sure It would 1 . And, some days after, happen tt dfif^4We barely touched at Bombay, being delayed by the sttwm. There we took on a few passengers who were half lassoed out of a small craft in the port swell, and received a welcome bundle of newspapers, which we eagerly read. (To be continued.)