"It is the will of the devil, who has been my
curse and shall be thine! Ay, ay, look not at me! It is true. Thinkest
thou that I have brought thee up in solitude without cause? Thinkest thou
that I have hidden thee like a miser his treasure, in the dark, unseen
places, for a whim? Son, I have suffered as I pray thou mayst not have to
suffer, and I have within my heart a serpent of hatred whose sting I would
thou couldst feel." He paused, biting his lip as though the pain he
described was actual and physical. "Go not among the Unbelievers!" he
continued vigorously. "Let not their shadow defile thee! For their breath
is poison, and in their eyes is a deadly flame--or if thou goest, let it
be with steeled breast and in thy right hand a sword of vengeance!"
"I can not," Nehal Singh answered impatiently. "Nor do I believe what thou
sayest. This people is surely brave and good. I know, for I have read--"
"Read!" the old man interrupted, with another burst of stormy laughter.
"What is it to read? To see with the eyes and feel with the body--that
alone can bring true wisdom. And I have seen and felt! Callest thou a
people 'good' who drink our hospitality and spit upon us--who hail us
with their unclean right hand and steal our honor with their left?"
Nehal Singh stopped short.
"What meanest thou?" he demanded.
"I have a meaning!" was the stern answer. "I will tell thee now what I
have never told thee before--I will tell thee of a young man who, like
thyself, was fearless, impetuous, a lover of the new and strange, who went
out into the world, and welcomed the White People as a deliverer and
friend.
Pages:
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85