A Scion of the Kumpani Bahadur

Hastings Standard, Issue 244, 11 February 1897, Page 4

A Scion of the Kumpani Bahadur

A TALE OF INDIAN SPORT. [Specially written for the Hastings Standard.j By F. D'A. C. De Lisle. (All rights reserved by the author, j Chapter Vlll.—Jones' Jingling Johnny! " Lay the whip on him ; cut it out of him," cried the Guardsman. " Jam the hooks into* him," roared the rough rider after the flying Jones. " That I most distinctly decline to do," said Jones, returning. "It is unwarrantable punishment. The horse is simply acting naturally as all of them do. If you ill-treat him now, you may ruin him for ever. If you treat him well, he'll be a perfect troop horse. Now then, sir, I think I have safely won my bet." " Aw—Yaas—I suppose so—aw I didn't know you aw —were a professional you know," said Lieut. Plantagenet. " I'm no professional," answered Jones. " My card will tell you that. I'm only a humanitarian, and a sportsman. Don't insult me; I'm rather hasty in my temper." The look that accompanied this remark rather disconcerted the pride of Piccadilly. " I'd like to punch his blasted head," growled Lieut. Plantagenet, as CarrJones rode away. "Don't you, sir," said a "noncom " standing by who had seen the Sandfly win the Grand Military Cup at Lahore. " That's Polo Jones. He can fight two men his weight, and he's the biggest take down in the hills." Of course this little episode spread all over the cantonments at Balwal in less than no time. " Dam'd impertinence," growled Col. Bunne-Annar of the 48th P.W.O. " What right had he, a dam'd outsider, to interfere with the private business of an English regiment. By sirs, snub the infernal griffin or we may never get rid of him here." And all the regiments at Balwal vowed to make it warm for the intrusive lieutenant of the 28th B.L. There were two polo clubs in the Balwal district, and honors were pretty' even between them, though the Juttiala Confederacy claimed to have the best polo team in India. The P.W.O. went one better, and swore they had the finest and best polo team in the world ! Carr-Jones almost jumped for joy when he found that he had arrived at Balwal just as the two district polo clubs were about to hold their Monsoon Sky race meeting. Racing or polo were to him as the sun to the lotus, and it was with unconcealed pleasure that he joined a meeting of the two clubs a few days after his arrival at Balwal. The deserter was safely collared and lodged in the 4oth P.W.O.'s ehoki, and Jones was waiting patiently for orders to return, as soon as the Government transport had arranged for himself, prisoner and escort to go up country. So Jones strolled into the meeting room of the Balwal Club, and, during a lull in the conversational hubbub, said to Major Currie, of the P.W.O. — "If any of yours want a man to ride for them I shall be glad to take a mount. I'm Carr-Jones of the 28th 8.L." All eyes were turned on " The Sandfly" as old Currie screwed his glass into his eye and looked the lancer up and down. " Carr-Jones," ho drawled. " Never heard the name before !" " Eh! what"?" said Jones. " Don't know mo '?" "No! Does your regiment play polo k ?" asked Captain Rice rather pointedly. " Well " said Jones, "we fancy we do ! And the general opinion on the frontier is in favor of our being rather good !'" " Lieut. Jones will excuse us, I feel sure, for not knowing him," said the stately young Nawab Futteh Jung—a prince of the royal l'hul dynasty. " Wo are too isolated from the world down here in the Dhoons. Some day when Juttiala goes on tour we may have the mutual pleasure of meeting. But Juttiala always ride their ponies themselves." The polished prince turned calmly away and entered into conversation with a group of jewelled natives who were apparently the flower of the Juttiala Confederacy. " And there's not a man in the P.W.O. who requires a ;/ to ride his ponies ! " remarked Col. BunneAnnar with a lordly air ; " Is that so? " calmly replied Jones, though he flushed crimson with chagrin. " Well, 1 regret having spoken. When do your entries close ?" Some wild idea of getting First Jiiood, Eclipse and The Sultan down in time had flashed through his mind. " To-morrow night " answered ('apt. Ric>. " Got, anything to enter " I don't know. 1 may have." And savage with humiliation Lieut. Jones left the meeting and dashed down to the telegraph office. In half an hour he knew that his ponies could not be sent down under five days— too late by two days for the Juttiala emu P.W.O. Gymkhana. Of course they had snubbwl him he knew. Snubbed him on purpoM . The puffed-up, vanityeaten warriors of the l*th P.W.O. had learnt some of the manners of the cunning, pride stricken cavaliers of the Jheend, and they I i 1 i'i->*antly " sat " upon Jone.s for h i' tt n j t to patronis«.them as they had n t_» ned, and his impertinence in << nntiti m with Lieut, I'lantaganet of the 12nd L.G. Poor little Jones ; he was as savage an a " elephant. Out of the ! pure gladmof ln> heart he had ; offeri il tu ride. hopit:_* to have some fun - and thu-e pr>ud, -tuck-up pigs had -nul-U i! hitn. They had di>n«- it mi p.irposo, too ; j - OH ludi* Company. j

for after Jones' departure from the meeting-room the Maharajah of Jopal turned to Major Currie and said :

" That dam'd little griffin -wants snubbing. The 28th B.L. have said that they can smother Jopal and Juttiala put together !" "If ever the P.W.O. get up to Rawal Pindi, we'll show them what polo is !" growled Col. Bunne-Annar. Jones did not attend the ( 48th P.W.O.'s mess that evening, but'dined in his own tent in solitary grandeur. Now that they had snubbed him, he was going to show them that they couldn't ride the high horse over the 28th B.L. He turned out his whole escort by call of bugle, and, with pennons flaunting and accoutrements clashing, the escort cantered through the cantonments of the Carabineers to the chiiki, where, before the gaping Tommy Atkinses of the P.W.0., The Sandfly" changed guard over the deserter imprisoned within. It was a cool moonlight night, and the whole retinue of Juttiala were out on the verandah of the P.W.O.'s messroom overlooking the parade-ground. Jones took his escort back, flashing past the natives at a hand gallop, when, as if through sheer mischief, his charger began to buck as if possessed of the devil. Amid a running fire of " Ych Allah !" hutch a from the marvelling suite of Jopal, Futteh Jung and Bythal, " The Sandfly" his seat like a marble statue. He brought up the escort with a " Halt!" that threw the horses on to their haunches, and, after taking it out of Monarch, rode on again as unconcernedly as possible. " Poor old Monarch !" he said, after leaving the North Gate, and he patted the foam-covered chestnut lovingly on his mane. " I don't often ill-treat you; but I wanted those Kaffirs to see how the 28th can ride—and, you dandy! neither of us disgraced the regiment." But in spite of this little piece of bahailuri he entered his tent feeling very glum and deep in the blues. And even his nightly pnqja (adoration) to the photo of that gentle-looking, brown-eyed, little woman far away in Calcutta did not restore his mind to its normal condition. Next morning, with all the blare and pageantry of war, he cantered his escort down and changed the guard at the i h»ki—this time the cynosure of every man in the ranks of the 48th P.W.O. "Thinks he's W T ellintun !" remarked Sergeant Maguire to his company left. " By the livin' hookey, but that's the bhoy to ride !" said O'Flaherty, rear rank to the sergeant. The Lancer, with his orderly in attendance, flaunted the uniform of the crack cavalry regiment in India before all Baikal that morning; and he cantered down to the racecourse to see what kind of cattle the " dirty mudcrushers " possessed. The stand was a glittering mass of bejewelled natives, chattering and jabbering away like parrots, eating pawn, and speculating from cowries to gold-mohurs on the trial gallops of their ponies. When the Lancer and orderly appeared ominous scowls greeted them. The troopers of Jopal's bodyguard hardly concealed their scorn of the stately Punjabi orderly. And those men—many of them—had scattered like sheep before the dog when the 2)Sth B.L. came down on them in the Rohilla war. How well they remembered the time could be gathered by the way they spat out their nausea as the stalwart orderly rode past them with flaming eyes behind his superior officer. Their very loneliness induced " The Sandfly" to address his orderly as he he signalled him to his side. " We do not appear popular here, Lai Singh," said Jones. " l\/tu<l«ti (ui<l! (elect of God) what can you expect. My father cut them to pieces in the Rohilla wars ; and only a score of years ago we ourselves defiled their caste and carried away their women in the Mahratta campaign," replied the orderly. " They would soon murder us if they had their own way," said Jones, 'judging by their looks. It's positively insulting.' " Notice it not, Sahib. With my ti<lii-ar (sword) I could tight six of them single handed.' ' I quite believe it Lai Singh," answered Jones. Then he stopped short. They luul got well past the stand, ami away from the rabbi, >, and were now passing an open barouche. All the surroundings were in the lowest possible taste. The horses, ilea-bitten greys, were splashed over with red and blue dye, in honor of the M-'/iiirrinii, a religious festival, the native coachman and syces had their white clothes splashed in a similar maimer, and one of the syces had a girdle of yellow champae (lowers round his neck. There was but one occupant in the carriage. Reclining in a listless attitude of the most perfect abandon was a native woman. And never was there /#.<*/> < with the beauty of this Guezerati courtesan. She was a very X<<ni aut/uii in hi r exqaisite ideality. Her complexion was a perfect cream. Dusky, but very slightly so. I.mv-hrowed, with masses of r.is en luiircuiled over her head ; and two dark, slumberous sloes of eyes, that burned with a buried lust "enthralling in its intensity, ller exquisite hands had their nails died with l>. her lips were red with the juice of /-linn, and her h'h"l-dnu\m\ , B ilashed liquid fire on the dazzling Line and silver uniform of the /•• '•<(( Lai >tthii. (Engli-h lord}. |Tt> (.'oNTlNffct'.;