Naturallytheroundrobindidnotsparehim。
HehandedthelettertoDanaDatotranslateintodecentEnglish。
TheeffectonDanaDawascurious。Atfirsthewasfuriouslyangry，andthenhelaughedforfiveminutes。
“Ihadthought，“hesaid，“thattheywouldhavecometome。InanotherweekIwouldhaveshownthatIsenttheSending，andtheywouldhavediscrownedtheOldManoftheMountainswhohassentthisSendingofmine。Doyoudonothing。Thetimehascomeformetoact。WriteasIdictate，andIwillputthemtoshame。Butgivemetenmorerupees。“
AtDanaDa’sdictationtheEnglishmanwrotenothinglessthanaformalchallengetotheOldManoftheMountains。Itwoundup:
“Andifthismanifestationbefromyourhand，thenletitgoforward；butifitbefrommyhand，IwillthattheSendingshallceaseintwodays’time。Onthatdaythereshallbetwelvekittensandthenceforwardnoneatall。Thepeopleshalljudgebetweenus。“
ThiswassignedbyDanaDa，whoaddedpentaclesandpentagrams，andacruxansata，andhalfadozenswastikas，andaTripleTautohisname，justtoshowthathewasallhelaidclaimtobe。
Thechallengewasreadouttothegentlemenandladies，andtheyrememberedthenthatDanaDahadlaughedatthemsomeyearsago。
ItwasofficiallyannouncedthattheOldManoftheMountainswouldtreatthematterwithcontempt；DanaDabeinganindependentinvestigatorwithoutasingle“round“atthebackofhim。Butthisdidnotsoothehispeople。Theywantedtoseeafight。Theywereveryhumanforalltheirspirituality。LoneSahib，whowasreallybeingwornoutwithkittens，submittedmeeklytohisfate。Hefeltthathewasbeing“kittenedtoprovethepowerofDanaDa，“asthepoetsays。
Whenthestateddaydawned，theshowerofkittensbegan。Somewerewhiteandsomeweretabby，andallwereaboutthesameloathsomeage。Threewereonhishearth-rug，threeinhisbathroom，andtheothersixturnedupatintervalsamongthevisitorswhocametoseetheprophecybreakdown。NeverwasamoresatisfactorySending。
Onthenextdaytherewerenokittens，andthenextdayandalltheotherdayswerekittenlessandquiet。ThepeoplemurmuredandlookedtotheOldManoftheMountainsforanexplanation。A
letter，writtenonapalmleaf，droppedfromtheceiling，buteveryoneexceptLoneSahibfeltthatletterswerenotwhattheoccasiondemanded。Thereshouldhavebeencats，thereshouldhavebeencats——full-grownones。Theletterprovedconclusivelythattherehadbeenahitchinthepsychiccurrentwhich，collidingwithadualidentity，hadinterferedwiththepercipientactivityallalongthemainline。Thekittenswerestillgoingon，butowingtosomefailureinthedevelopingfluid，theywerenotmaterialized。
Theairwasthickwithlettersforafewdaysafterwards。UnseenhandsplayedGluckandBeethovenonfinger-bowlsandclockshades；
butallmenfeltthatpsychiclifewasamockerywithoutmaterializedkittens。EvenLoneSahibshoutedwiththemajorityonthishead。DanaDa’sletterswereveryinsulting，andifhehadthenofferedtoleadanewdeparture，thereisnoknowingwhatmightnothavehappened。
ButDanaDawasdyingofwhiskyandopiumintheEnglishman’sgo-
down，andhadsmallheartfornewcreeds。
“Theyhavebeenputtoshame，“saidhe。“NeverwassuchaSending。
Ithaskilledme。“
“Nonsense，“saidtheEnglishman，“youaregoingtodie，DanaDa，andthatsortofstuffmustbeleftbehind。I’lladmitthatyouhavemadesomequeerthingscomeabout。Tellmehonestly，now，howwasitdone？“
“Givemetenmorerupees，“saidDanaDa，faintly，“andifIdiebeforeIspendthem，burythemwithme。“ThesilverwascountedoutwhileDanaDawasfightingwithdeath。Hishandcloseduponthemoneyandhesmiledagrimsmile。
“Bendlow，“hewhispered。TheEnglishmanbent。
“Bunnia——missionschool——expelled——box-wallahpeddler——Ceylonpearlmerchant——allmineEnglisheducation——outcasted，andmadeupnameDanaDa——EnglandwithAmericanthought-readingmanand——and——
yougavemetenrupeesseveraltimes——IgavetheSahib’sbearertwo-eightamonthforcats——little，littlecats。Iwrote，andheputthemabout——verycleverman。Veryfewkittensnowinthebazaar。AskLoneSahib’ssweeper’swife。“
Sosaying，DanaDagaspedandpassedawayintoalandwhere，ifallbetrue，therearenomaterializationsandthemakingofnewcreedsisdiscouraged。
Butconsiderthegorgeoussimplicityofitall！
INTHEHOUSEOFSUDDHOO
Astone’sthrowoutoneitherhandFromthatwell-orderedroadwetread，Andalltheworldiswildandstrange；
ChurelandghoulandDjinnandspriteShallbearuscompanyto-night，ForwehavereachedtheOldestLandWhereinthePowersofDarknessrange。
FromtheDusktotheDawn。
ThehouseofSuddhoo，neartheTaksaliGate，istwo-storied，withfourcarvedwindowsofoldbrownwood，andaflatroof。Youmayrecognizeitbyfiveredhand-printsarrangedliketheFiveofDiamondsonthewhitewashbetweentheupperwindows。BhagwanDass，thebunnia，andamanwhosayshegetshislivingbyseal-cutting，liveinthelowerstorywithatroopofwives，servants，friends，andretainers。ThetwoupperroomsusedtobeoccupiedbyJanooandAzizunandalittleblack-and-tanterrierthatwasstolenfromanEnglishman’shouseandgiventoJanoobyasoldier。To-day，onlyJanoolivesintheupperrooms。Suddhoosleepsontheroofgenerally，exceptwhenhesleepsinthestreet。HeusedtogotoPeshawarinthecoldweathertovisithisson，whosellscuriositiesneartheEdwardes’Gate，andthenhesleptunderarealmudroof。Suddhooisagreatfriendofmine，becausehiscousinhadasonwhosecured，thankstomyrecommendation，thepostofhead-
messengertoabigfirmintheStation。SuddhoosaysthatGodwillmakemeaLieutenant-Governoroneofthesedays。Idaresayhisprophecywillcometrue。Heisvery，veryold，withwhitehairandnoteethworthshowing，andhehasoutlivedhiswits——outlivednearlyeverythingexcepthisfondnessforhissonatPeshawar。
JanooandAzizunareKashmiris，LadiesoftheCity，andtheirswasanancientandmoreorlesshonorableprofession；butAzizunhassincemarriedamedicalstudentfromtheNorth-WestandhassettleddowntoamostrespectablelifesomewherenearBareilly。BhagwanDassisanextortionateandanadulterator。Heisveryrich。Themanwhoissupposedtogethislivingbyseal-cuttingpretendstobeverypoor。ThisletsyouknowasmuchasisnecessaryofthefourprincipaltenantsinthehouseofSuddhoo。ThenthereisMe，ofcourse；butIamonlythechorusthatcomesinattheendtoexplainthings。SoIdonotcount。
Suddhoowasnotclever。Themanwhopretendedtocutsealswasthecleverestofthemall——BhagwanDassonlyknewhowtolie——exceptJanoo。Shewasalsobeautiful，butthatwasherownaffair。
Suddhoo’ssonatPeshawarwasattackedbypleurisy，andoldSuddhoowastroubled。Theseal-cuttermanheardofSuddhoo’sanxietyandmadecapitaloutofit。Hewasabreastofthetimes。HegotafriendinPeshawartotelegraphdailyaccountsoftheson’shealth。
Andherethestorybegins。
Suddhoo’scousin’ssontoldme，oneevening，thatSuddhoowantedtoseeme；thathewastoooldandfeebletocomepersonally，andthatIshouldbeconferringaneverlastinghonorontheHouseofSuddhooifIwenttohim。Iwent；butIthink，seeinghowwell-offSuddhoowasthen，thathemighthavesentsomethingbetterthananekka，whichjoltedfearfully，tohauloutafutureLieutenant-GovernortotheCityonamuggyAprilevening。Theekkadidnotrunquickly。
ItwasfulldarkwhenwepulledupoppositethedoorofRanjitSingh’sTombnearthemaingateoftheFort。HerewasSuddhooandhesaidthat，byreasonofmycondescension，itwasabsolutelycertainthatIshouldbecomeaLieutenant-Governorwhilemyhairwasyetblack。Thenwetalkedabouttheweatherandthestateofmyhealth，andthewheatcrops，forfifteenminutes，intheHuzuriBagh，underthestars。
Suddhoocametothepointatlast。HesaidthatJanoohadtoldhimthattherewasanorderoftheSirkaragainstmagic，becauseitwasfearedthatmagicmightonedaykilltheEmpressofIndia。I
didn’tknowanythingaboutthestateofthelaw；butIfanciedthatsomethinginterestingwasgoingtohappen。IsaidthatsofarfrommagicbeingdiscouragedbytheGovernmentitwashighlycommended。
ThegreatestofficialsoftheStatepracticeditthemselves。IftheFinancialStatementisn’tmagic，Idon’tknowwhatis。Then，toencouragehimfurther，Isaidthat，iftherewasanyjadooafoot，Ihadnottheleastobjectiontogivingitmycountenanceandsanction，andtoseeingthatitwascleanjadoo——whitemagic，asdistinguishedfromtheuncleanjadoowhichkillsfolk。IttookalongtimebeforeSuddhooadmittedthatthiswasjustwhathehadaskedmetocomefor。Thenhetoldme，injerksandquavers，thatthemanwhosaidhecutsealswasasorcererofthecleanestkind；
thateverydayhegaveSuddhoonewsofthesicksoninPeshawarmorequicklythanthelightningcouldfly，andthatthisnewswasalwayscorroboratedbytheletters。Further，thathehadtoldSuddhoohowagreatdangerwasthreateninghisson，whichcouldberemovedbycleanjadoo；and，ofcourse，heavypayment。Ibegantoseehowthelandlay，andtoldSuddhoothatIalsounderstoodalittlejadoointheWesternline，andwouldgotohishousetoseethateverythingwasdonedecentlyandinorder。Wesetofftogether；andonthewaySuddhootoldmehehadpaidtheseal-