And in that acceptance of a new era his gaze pierced through the
obscurity into a light beyond. The jungle which had bound his life was
gone; all hindrances, all gulfs of hatred and revenge, were overthrown and
bridged. The world of the Great People stood open to him, and to them he
held out the casteless hand of love and fellowship.
CHAPTER IX
CHECKED
Lois and Stafford had arrived at that stage of friendship when
conversation becomes unnecessary. They walked side by side through the
Colonel's carefully tended garden and were scarcely conscious that
they had dropped into a thoughtful silence. Yet, as though in
obedience to some unspoken agreement, their footsteps found their way
to the ruined bungalow and there paused.
As a look can be more powerfully descriptive than a word, so these
shot-riddled walls had their own eloquence. Each shot-hole, each
jagged splinter and torn hinge had its own history and added its
pathetic detail to the whole picture of that disastrous night when the
vengeance of Behar Singh had burst like a hurricane over the
defenseless land.
After a moment's hesitation Stafford stepped forward and, pushing
aside the heavy festoons of creeper which barred the doorway, passed
through into the gloomy interior.
"I should like to see the place from the inside," he explained to
Lois, who, with an uncontrollable shudder, had followed him. "One can
imagine better then how it all happened.
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