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MATLAB An Introduction with Applications 3rd Edition
Amos Gilat Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Amos Gilat
ISBN(s): 9780470108772, 0470108770
Edition: 3rd Edition
File Details: PDF, 6.05 MB
Year: 2008
Language: english
 ®
MATLAB
An Introduction
with Applications
 ®
MATLAB
An Introduction
with Applications
Third Edition

Amos Gilat
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The Ohio State University

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Don Fowley
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dan Sayre
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Michael McDonald
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Rachael Leblond
SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR Ken Santor
COVER DESIGNER Michael St. Martine

This book was set in Adobe Framemaker® by the author and printed and bound by Malloy Inc.
The cover was printed by Malloy Inc.

This book is printed on acid free paper. ∞

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or
otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978)750-8400, fax (978)646-8600. Requests to the
Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008.
To order books or for customer service please, call 1-800-CALL WILEY (225-5945).

ISBN 978-0-470-10877-2

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Preface
MATLAB® is a very popular language for technical computing used by
students, engineers, and scientists in universities, research institutes, and indus-
tries all over the world. The software is popular because it is powerful and easy to
use. For university freshmen in it can be thought of as the next tool to use after the
graphic calculator in high school.
This book was written following several years of teaching the software to
freshmen in an introductory engineering course. The objective was to write a book
that teaches the software in a friendly, non-intimidating fashion. Therefore, the
book is written in simple and direct language. In many places bullets, rather than
lengthy text, are used to list facts and details that are related to a specific topic.
The book includes numerous sample problems in mathematics, science, and engi-
neering that are similar to problems encountered by new users of MATLAB.
This third edition of the book is updated for MATLAB 7.5 (Release 2007b).
Other modifications/changes to this edition are: script files are introduced in
Chapter 1 (this allows students to use script files for solving problems in Chapters
2 and 3), new coverage of the Workspace Window, the save and load commands,
plotting figures with error bars, and instructions for using several Figure Windows
at the same time. Chapter 6 was revised to include coverage on anonymous func-
tions, function functions, function handles, subfunctions and nested functions. In
addition, the end of chapter problems have been revised. There are many new
problems (more than half), and the problems cover a wider range of topics.
I would like to thank several of my colleagues at The Ohio State University.
Professors Richard Freuler, Mark Walter, and Walter Lampert, and Dr. Mike Parke
read sections of the book and suggested modifications. I also appreciate the
involvement and support of Professors Robert Gustafson and John Demel and Dr.
John Merrill from the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State Univer-
sity. Special thanks go to Professor Mike Lichtensteiger (OSU), and my daughter
Tal Gilat (Marquette University), who carefully reviewed the first edition of the
book and provided valuable comments and criticisms. Professor Brian Harper
(OSU) has made a significant contribution to the new end of chapter problems in
the present edition.
I would like to express my appreciation to all those who have reviewed the
first edition of the text at its various stages of development, including Betty Barr,
University of Houston; Andrei G. Chakhovskoi, University of California, Davis;
Roger King, University of Toledo; Richard Kwor, University of Colorado at Colo-
rado Springs; Larry Lagerstrom, University of California, Davis; Yueh-Jaw Lin,
University of Akron; H. David Sheets, Canisius College; Geb Thomas, University
v
vi Preface

of Iowa; Brian Vick, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jay
Weitzen, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; and Jane Patterson Fife, The Ohio
State University. In addition, I would like to acknowledge Gladys Soto, Ken San-
tor, and Rachael Leblond, all from John Wiley & Sons, who supported the produc-
tion of the third edition.
I hope that the book will be useful and will help the users of MATLAB to
enjoy the software.
Amos Gilat
Columbus, Ohio
November, 2007
[email protected]

To my parents Schoschana and Haim Gelbwacks

Contents
Preface v
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Starting with MATLAB 5
1.1 STARTING MATLAB, MATLAB WINDOWS 5
1.2 WORKING IN THE COMMAND WINDOW 9
1.3 ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS WITH SCALARS 10
1.3.1 Order of Precedence 11
1.3.2 Using MATLAB as a Calculator 11
1.4 DISPLAY FORMATS 12
1.5 ELEMENTARY MATH BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS 13
1.6 DEFINING SCALAR VARIABLES 16
1.6.1 The Assignment Operator 16
1.6.2 Rules About Variable Names 18
1.6.3 Predefined Variables and keywords 18
1.7 USEFUL COMMANDS FOR MANAGING VARIABLES 19
1.8 SCRIPT FILES 20
1.8.1 Notes About Script Files 20
1.8.2 Creating and Saving a Script File 21
1.8.3 Running (Executing) a Script File 22
1.8.4 Current Directory 22
1.9 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 24
1.10 PROBLEMS 27
Chapter 2 Creating Arrays 33
2.1 CREATING A ONE-DIMENSIONAL ARRAY (VECTOR) 33
2.2 CREATING A TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARRAY (MATRIX) 36
2.2.1 The zeros, ones and eye Commands 38
2.3 NOTES ABOUT VARIABLES IN MATLAB 39
2.4 THE TRANSPOSE OPERATOR 39
2.5 ARRAY ADDRESSING 40
2.5.1 Vector 40
2.5.2 Matrix 41
2.6 USING A COLON : IN ADDRESSING ARRAYS 41
2.7 ADDING ELEMENTS TO EXISTING VARIABLES 44
2.8 DELETING ELEMENTS 46
2.9 BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS FOR HANDLING ARRAYS 47
2.10 STRINGS AND STRINGS AS VARIABLES 50
2.11 PROBLEMS 53
Chapter 3 Mathematical Operations with Arrays 57
3.1 ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION 58
3.2 ARRAY MULTIPLICATION 59
3.3 ARRAY DIVISION 62
vii
viii Contents

3.4 ELEMENT-BY-ELEMENT OPERATIONS 66

3.5 USING ARRAYS IN MATLAB BUILT-IN MATH FUNCTIONS 69
3.6 BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS FOR ANALYZING ARRAYS 69
3.7 GENERATION OF RANDOM NUMBERS 71
3.8 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 73
3.9 PROBLEMS 79
Chapter 4 Using Script Files and Managing Data 85
4.1 THE MATLAB WORKSPACE AND THE WORKSPACE WINDOW 86
4.2 INPUT TO A SCRIPT FILE 87
4.3 OUTPUT COMMANDS 90
4.3.1 The disp Command 91
4.3.2 The fprintf Command 93
4.4 THE save AND load COMMANDS 101
4.4.1 The save Command 101
4.4.2 The load Command 102
4.5 IMPORTING AND EXPORTING DATA 104
4.5.1 Commands for Importing and Exporting Data 104
4.5.2 Using the Import Wizard 106
4.6 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 108
4.7 PROBLEMS 113
Chapter 5 Two-Dimensional Plots 119
5.1 THE plot COMMAND 120
5.1.1 Plot of Given Data 124
5.1.2 Plot of a Function 125
5.2 THE fplot COMMAND 126
5.3 PLOTTING MULTIPLE GRAPHS IN THE SAME PLOT 127
5.3.1 Using the plot Command 127
5.3.2 Using the hold on, hold off Commands 128
5.3.3 Using the line Command 129
5.4 FORMATTING A PLOT 130
5.4.1 Formatting a Plot Using Commands 130
5.4.2 Formatting a Plot Using the Plot Editor 134
5.5 PLOTS WITH LOGARITHMIC AXES 135
5.6 PLOTS WITH ERROR BARS 136
5.7 PLOTS WITH SPECIAL GRAPHICS 138
5.8 HISTOGRAMS 139
5.9 POLAR PLOTS 142
5.10 PLOTTING MULTIPLE PLOTS ON THE SAME PAGE 143
5.11 MULTIPLE FIGURE WINDOWS 143
5.12 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 145
5.13 PROBLEMS 149
Contents ix

Chapter 6 User-Defined Functions and Function Files 155

6.1 CREATING A FUNCTION FILE 156
6.2 STRUCTURE OF A FUNCTION FILE 156
6.2.1 Function Definition Line 157
6.2.2 Input and Output Arguments 158
6.2.3 The H1 Line and Help Text Lines 159
6.2.4 Function Body 160
6.3 LOCAL AND GLOBAL VARIABLES 160
6.4 SAVING A FUNCTION FILE 161
6.5 USING A USER-DEFINED FUNCTION 162
6.6 EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE USER-DEFINED FUNCTIONS 163
6.7 COMPARISON BETWEEN SCRIPT FILES AND FUNCTION FILES 165
6.8 ANONYMOUS AND INLINE FUNCTIONS 165
6.8.1 Anonymous Functions 166
6.8.2 Inline Functions 169
6.9 FUNCTION FUNCTIONS 170
6.9.1 Using Function Handles for Passing a Function into a Function
Function 171
6.9.2 Using a Function Name for Passing a Function into a Function
Function 174
6.10 SUBFUNCTIONS 176
6.11 NESTED FUNCTIONS 178
6.12 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 181
6.13 PROBLEMS 184
Chapter 7 Programming in MATLAB 191
7.1 RELATIONAL AND LOGICAL OPERATORS 192
7.2 CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS 200
7.2.1 The if-end Structure 200
7.2.2 The if-else-end Structure 202
7.2.3 The if-elseif-else-end Structure 204
7.3 THE switch-case STATEMENT 205
7.4 LOOPS 208
7.4.1 for-end Loops 208
7.4.2 while-end Loops 213
7.5 NESTED LOOPS AND NESTED CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS 216
7.6 THE break AND continue COMMANDS 218
7.7 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 219
7.8 PROBLEMS 227
Chapter 8 Polynomials, Curve Fitting, and Interpolation 235
8.1 POLYNOMIALS 235
8.1.1 Value of a Polynomial 236
8.1.2 Roots of a Polynomial 237
8.1.3 Addition, Multiplication, and Division of Polynomials 238
8.1.4 Derivatives of Polynomials 240
8.2 CURVE FITTING 241
x Contents

8.2.1 Curve Fitting with Polynomials, the polyfit Function 241

8.2.2 Curve Fitting with Functions Other than Polynomials 245
8.3 INTERPOLATION 248
8.4 THE BASIC FITTING INTERFACE 252
8.5 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 255
8.6 PROBLEMS 260
Chapter 9 Three-Dimensional Plots 267
9.1 LINE PLOTS 267
9.2 MESH AND SURFACE PLOTS 268
9.3 PLOTS WITH SPECIAL GRAPHICS 275
9.4 THE view COMMAND 277
9.5 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 279
9.6 PROBLEMS 284
Chapter 10 Applications in Numerical Analysis 289
10.1 SOLVING AN EQUATION WITH ONE VARIABLE 289
10.2 FINDING A MINIMUM OR A MAXIMUM OF A FUNCTION 292
10.3 NUMERICAL INTEGRATION 294
10.4 ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS 297
10.5 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 301
10.6 PROBLEMS 307
Chapter 11 Symbolic Math 313
11.1 SYMBOLIC OBJECTS, AND SYMBOLIC EXPRESSIONS 314
11.1.1 Creating Symbolic Objects 314
11.1.2 Creating Symbolic Expressions 316
11.1.3 The findsym Command and the Default Symbolic
Variable 319
11.2 CHANGING THE FORM OF AN EXISTING SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION 320
11.2.1 The collect, expand, and factor Commands 320
11.2.2 The simplify and simple Commands 322
11.2.3 The pretty Command 323
11.3 SOLVING ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS 324
11.4 DIFFERENTIATION 329
11.5 INTEGRATION 331
11.6 SOLVING AN ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION 332
11.7 PLOTTING SYMBOLIC EXPRESSIONS 335
11.8 NUMERICAL CALCULATIONS WITH SYMBOLIC EXPRESSIONS 338
11.9 EXAMPLES OF MATLAB APPLICATIONS 342
11.10 PROBLEMS 350
Appendix: Summary of Characters, Commands, and
Functions 357
Answers to Selected Problems 363
Index 369
 Introduction
MATLAB is a powerful language for technical computing. The name MATLAB
stands for MATrix LABoratory, because its basic data element is a matrix (array).
MATLAB can be used for math computations, modeling and simulations, data
analysis and processing, visualization and graphics, and algorithm development.
MATLAB is widely used in universities and colleges in introductory and
advanced courses in mathematics, science, and especially in engineering. In
industry the software is used in research, development and design. The standard
MATLAB program has tools (functions) that can be used to solve common prob-
lems. In addition, MATLAB has optional toolboxes that are collections of special-
ized programs designed to solve specific types of problems. Examples include
toolboxes for signal processing, symbolic calculations, and control systems.
Until recently, most of the users of MATLAB have been people who had
previous knowledge of programming languages such as FORTRAN or C, and
switched to MATLAB as the software became popular. Consequently, the major-
ity of the literature that has been written about MATLAB assumes that the reader
has knowledge of computer programming. Books about MATLAB often address
advanced topics or applications that are specialized to a particular field. In the last
few years, however, MATLAB is being introduced to college students as the first
(and sometimes the only) computer program they learn. For these students there is
a need for a book that teaches MATLAB assuming no prior experience in com-
puter programming.
The Purpose of This Book
MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications is intended for students who are
using MATLAB for the first time and have little or no experience in computer pro-
gramming. It can be used as a textbook in freshmen engineering courses, or work-
shops where MATLAB is being taught. The book can also serve as a reference in
more advanced science and engineering courses when MATLAB is used as a tool
for solving problems. It also can be used for self study of MATLAB by students
and practicing engineers. In addition, the book can be a supplement or a secondary
book in courses where MATLAB is used, but the instructor does not have the time
to cover it extensively.
Topics Covered
MATLAB is a huge program, and therefore it is impossible to cover all of it in one
book. This book focuses primarily on the foundations of MATLAB. It is believed

1
2 Introduction

that once these foundations are well understood, the student will be able to learn
advanced topics easily by using the information in the Help menu.
The order in which the topics are presented in this book was chosen care-
fully, based on several years of experience in teaching MATLAB in an introduc-
tory engineering course. The topics are presented in an order that allows the
student to follow the book chapter after chapter. Every topic is presented com-
pletely in one place and then is used in the following chapters.
The first chapter describes the basic structure and features of MATLAB and
how to use the program for simple arithmetic operations with scalars as with a cal-
culator. Script files are introduced at the end of the chapter. They allow the stu-
dent to write, save, and execute simple MATLAB programs. The next two
chapters are devoted to the topic of arrays. MATLAB’s basic data element is an
array that does not require dimensioning. This concept, which makes MATLAB a
very powerful program, can be a little difficult to grasp for students who have only
limited knowledge and experience with linear algebra and vector analysis. The
book is written so that the concept of arrays is introduced gradually and then
explained in extensive detail. Chapter 2 describes how to create arrays, and Chap-
ter 3 covers mathematical operations with arrays.
Following the basics, more advanced topics that are related to script files
and input and output of data are presented in Chapter 4. This is followed by two-
dimensional plotting that is covered in Chapter 5. User-defined functions and
function files are covered next in Chapter 6. The coverage of function files is
intentionally separated from the subject of script files. This has been proven to be
easier to understand by students who are not familiar with similar concepts from
other computer programs. Programming with MATLAB is covered in Chapter 7,
which includes flow control with conditional statements and loops.
The next three chapters cover more advanced topics. Chapter 8 describes
how MATLAB can be used for carrying out calculations with polynomials, and
how to use MATLAB for curve fitting and interpolation. Plotting three-dimen-
sional plots, which is an extension of the chapter on two-dimensional plots, is cov-
ered in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 covers applications of MATLAB for numerical
analysis. It includes solving nonlinear equations, finding a minimum or a maxi-
mum of a function, numerical integration, and solution of first order ordinary dif-
ferential equations. Chapter 11 covers in great detail how to use MATLAB in
symbolic operations.
The Framework of a Typical Chapter
In every chapter the topics are introduced gradually in an order that makes the
concepts easy to understand. The use of MATLAB is demonstrated extensively
within the text and by examples. Some of the longer examples in Chapters 1–3 are
titled as tutorials. Every use of MATLAB is printed in the book with a different
font and with gray background. Additional explanations appear in boxed text with
white background. The idea is that the reader will execute these demonstrations
and tutorials in order to gain experience in using MATLAB. In addition, every
Introduction 3

chapter includes formal sample problems that are examples of applications of

MATLAB for solving problems in math, science, and engineering. Each example
includes a problem statement and a detailed solution. Some sample problems are
presented in the middle of the chapter. All of the chapters (except Chapter 2) have
a section at the end with several sample problems of applications. It should be
pointed out that problems with MATLAB can be solved in many different ways.
The solutions of the sample problems are written such that they are easy to follow.
This means that in many cases the problem can be solved by writing a shorter, or
sometimes “trickier,” program. The students are encouraged to try to write their
own solutions and compare the end results. At the end of each chapter there is a
set of homework problems. They include general problems from math and science
and problems from different disciplines of engineering.
Symbolic Calculations
MATLAB is essentially a software for numerical calculations. Symbolic math
operations, however, can be executed if the Symbolic Math toolbox is installed.
The Symbolic Math toolbox is included in the student version of the software and
can be added to the standard program.
Software and Hardware
The MATLAB program, like most other software, is continually being developed
and new versions are released frequently. This book covers MATLAB, Version
7.5, Release 2007b. It should be emphasized, however, that the book covers the
basics of MATLAB, which do not change much from version to version. The book
covers the use of MATLAB on computers that use the Windows operating sys-
tem. Everything is essentially the same when MATLAB is used on other
machines. The user is referred to the documentation of MATLAB for details on
using MATLAB on other operating systems. It is assumed that the software is
installed on the computer, and the user has basic knowledge of operating the com-
puter.
The Order of Topics in the Book
It is probably impossible to write a textbook where all the subjects are presented
in an order that is suitable for everyone. The order of topics in this book is such
that the fundamentals of MATLAB are covered first (arrays and array operations),
and, as mentioned before, every topic is covered completely in one location,
which makes the book easy to use as a reference.
 Chapter 1
Starting with
MATLAB
This chapter begins by describing the characteristics and purposes of the different
windows in MATLAB. Next, the Command Window is introduced in detail.
Chapter 1 shows how to use MATLAB for arithmetic operations with scalars, sim-
ilar to the way that a calculator is used. This includes the use of elementary math
functions with scalars. The chapter then shows how to define scalar variables (the
assignment operator) and how to use these variables in arithmetic calculations.
The last section in the chapter introduces script files. It shows how to write, save,
and execute simple MATLAB programs.

1.1 STARTING MATLAB, MATLAB WINDOWS

It is assumed that the software is installed on the computer, and that the user can
start the program. Once the program starts, the MATLAB desktop window that
opens, shown in Figure 1-1, contains three smaller windows which are the Com-
mand Window, the Current Directory Window, and the Command History Win-
dow. This is the default view of MATLAB. These are three of the various
windows in MATLAB. A list of the several windows and their purpose is given in
Table 1-1. The Start button on the lower left side can be used to access MATLAB
tools and features.
Four of the windows, the Command Window, the Figure Window, the Editor
Window, and the Help Window, which are used extensively throughout the book,
are briefly described on the following pages. More detailed descriptions are
included in the chapters where they are used. The Command History Window,
Current Directory Window, and the Workspace Window are described in Sections
1.2, 1.8.4, and 4.1, respectively.
Command Window: The Command Window is MATLAB’s main window, and
opens when MATLAB is started. It is convenient to have the Command Window
as the only visible window, and this can be done by either closing all the other
windows (click on the x at the top right-hand side of the window you want to
5
6 Chapter 1: Starting with MATLAB

close), or first selecting on the Desktop Layout in the Desktop menu, and then
Command Window Only from the submenu that opens. How to work in the
Command Window is described in detail in Section 1.2.

Figure 1-1: The default view of MATLAB desktop.

Table 1-1: MATLAB Windows

Window Purpose
Command Window Main window, enters variables, runs
programs.
Figure Window Contains output from graphic com-
mands.
Editor Window Creates and debugs script and func-
tion files.
Help Window Provides help information.
Launch Pad Window Provides access to tools, demos, and
documentation.
Command History Window Logs commands entered in the Com-
mand Window.
Workspace Window Provides information about the vari-
ables that are used.
Current Directory Window Shows the files in the current direc-
tory.
1.1 Starting MATLAB, MATLAB Windows 7

Figure Window: The Figure Window opens automatically when graphics com-
mands are executed, and contains graphs created by these commands. An example
of a Figure Window is shown in Figure 1-2. A more detailed description of this
window is given in Chapter 5.

Figure 1-2: Example of a Figure Window.

Editor Window: The Editor Window is used for writing and editing programs.
This window is opened from the File menu in the Command Window. An exam-
ple of an Editor Window is shown in Figure 1-3. More details on the Editor Win-
dow are given in Section 1.8.2 where it is used for creating script files, and in
Chapter 6 where it is used to create function files.

Figure 1-3: Example of an Editor Window.

Help Window: The Help Window contains help information. This window can
be opened from the Help menu in the toolbar of any MATLAB window. The Help
Window is interactive and can be used to obtain information on any feature of
MATLAB. Figure 1-4 shows an open Help Window.
8 Chapter 1: Starting with MATLAB

Figure 1-4: The Help Window.

When MATLAB is started for the first time the screen looks like that shown in
Figure 1-1 on page 6. For most beginners it is probably more convenient to close
all the windows except the Command Window. (Each of the windows can be
closed by clicking on the button.) The closed windows can be reopened by
selecting them from the Desktop menu. The windows shown in Figure 1-1 can be
displayed by first selecting Desktop Layout in the Desktop menu and then
Default from the submenu. The various windows in Figure 1-1 are docked to the
desktop. The windows can be undocked (become a separate independent window)
by clicking on the button on the upper right-hand corner. An independent win-
dow can be docked back by clicking on the button.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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that the mother has been following me through the woods ever
since.”
“It is the first of the fold,” said Justus, and Lotta caught up the
screaming morsel to her bosom and hushed it craftily; while, as a
wolf hangs in the field, Matui, who had borne it and in accordance
with the law of her tribe had exposed it to die, panted weary and
footsore in the bamboo-brake, watching the house with hungry
mother-eyes. What would the omnipotent Assistant Collector do?
Would the little man in the black coat eat her daughter alive, as
Athon Dazé said was the custom of all men in black coats?

THE JUDGMENT OF DUNGARA

 Matui waited among the bamboos through the long night; and, in
the morning, there came forth a fair white woman, the like of whom
Matui had never seen, and in her arms was Matui’s daughter clad in
spotless raiment. Lotta knew little of the tongue of the Buria Kol, but
when mother calls to mother, speech is easy to follow. By the hands
stretched timidly to the hem of her gown, by the passionate
gutturals and the longing eyes, Lotta understood with whom she had
to deal. So Matui took her child again—would be a servant, even a
slave, to this wonderful white woman, for her own tribe would
recognise her no more. And Lotta wept with her exhaustively, after
the German fashion, which includes much blowing of the nose.
“First the child, then the mother, and last the man, and to the
Glory of God all,” said Justus the Hopeful. And the man came, with a
bow and arrows, very angry indeed, for there was no one to cook for
him.
But the tale of the Mission is a long one, and I have no space to
show how Justus, forgetful of his injudicious predecessor, grievously
smote Moto, the husband of Matui, for his brutality; how Moto was
startled, but being released from the fear of instant death, took
heart and became the faithful ally and first convert of Justus; how
the little gathering grew, to the huge disgust of Athon Dazé; how the
Priest of the God of Things as They Are argued subtilely with the
Priest of the God of Things as They Should Be, and was worsted;
how the dues of the Temple of Dungara fell away in fowls and fish
and honeycomb, how Lotta lightened the Curse of Eve among the
women, and how Justus did his best to introduce the Curse of
Adam; how the Buria Kol rebelled at this, saying that their God was
an idle God, and how Justus partially overcame their scruples
against work, and taught them that the black earth was rich in other
produce than pig-nuts only.
All these things belong to the history of many months, and
throughout those months the white-haired Athon Dazé meditated
revenge for the tribal neglect of Dungara. With savage cunning he
feigned friendship towards Justus, even hinting at his own
conversion; but to the congregation of Dungara he said darkly:
“They of the Padri’s flock have put on clothes and worship a busy
God. Therefore Dungara will afflict them grievously till they throw
themselves, howling, into the waters of the Berbulda.” At night the
Red Elephant Tusk boomed and groaned among the hills, and the
faithful waked and said: “The God of Things as They Are matures
revenge against the back-sliders. Be merciful, Dungara, to us Thy
children, and give us all their crops!”
Late in the cold weather, the Collector and his wife came into the
Buria Kol country. “Go and look at Krenk’s Mission,” said Gallio. “He is
doing good work in his own way, and I think he’d be pleased if you
opened the bamboo chapel that he has managed to run up. At any
rate, you’ll see a civilised Buria Kol.”
Great was the stir in the Mission. “Now he and the gracious lady
will that we have done good work with their own eyes see, and—yes
—we will him our converts in all their new clothes by their own
hands constructed exhibit. It will a great day be—for the Lord
always,” said Justus; and Lotta said, “Amen.” Justus had, in his quiet
way, felt jealous of the Basel Weaving Mission, his own converts
being unhandy; but Athon Dazé had latterly induced some of them
to hackle the glossy silky fibres of a plant that grew plenteously on
the Panth Hills. It yielded a cloth white and smooth almost as the
tappa of the South Seas, and that day the converts were to wear for
the first time clothes made therefrom. Justus was proud of his work.
“They shall in white clothes clothed to meet the Collector and his
well-born lady come down, singing ‘Now thank we all our God.’ Then
he will the Chapel open, and—yes—even Gallio to believe will begin.
Stand so, my children, two by two, and—Lotta, why do they thus
themselves bescratch? It is not seemly to wriggle, Nala, my child.
The Collector will be here and be pained.”
The Collector, his wife, and Gallio climbed the hill to the Mission-
station. The converts were drawn up in two lines, a shining band
nearly forty strong. “Hah!” said the Collector, whose acquisitive bent
of mind led him to believe that he had fostered the institution from
the first. “Advancing, I see, by leaps and bounds.”
Never was truer word spoken! The Mission was advancing exactly
as he had said—at first by little hops and shuffles of shamefaced
uneasiness, but soon by the leaps of fly-stung horses and the
bounds of maddened kangaroos. From the hill of Panth the Red
Elephant Tusk delivered a dry and anguished blare. The ranks of the
converts wavered, broke and scattered with yells and shrieks of pain,
while Justus and Lotta stood horror-stricken.
“It is the Judgment of Dungara!” shouted a voice. “I burn! I burn!
To the river or we die!”
The mob wheeled and headed for the rocks that overhung the
Berbulda, writhing, stamping, twisting, and shedding its garments as
it ran, pursued by the thunder of the trumpet of Dungara. Justus
and Lotta fled to the Collector almost in tears.
“I cannot understand! Yesterday,” panted Justus, “they had the
Ten Commandments. What is this? Praise the Lord all good spirits by
land and by sea. Nala! Oh, shame!”
With a bound and a scream there alighted on the rocks above
their heads, Nala, once the pride of the Mission, a maiden of
fourteen summers, good, docile, and virtuous—now naked as the
dawn and spitting like a wild-cat.
“Was it for this!” she raved, hurling her petticoat at Justus, “was it
for this I left my people and Dungara—for the fires of your Bad
Place? Blind ape, little earthworm, dried fish that you are, you said
that I should never burn! O Dungara, I burn now! I burn now! Have
mercy, God of Things as They Are!”
She turned and flung herself into the Berbulda, and the trumpet of
Dungara bellowed jubilantly. The last of the converts of the Tubingen
Mission had put a quarter of a mile of rapid river between herself
and her teachers.
“Yesterday,” gulped Justus, “she taught in the school A, B, C, D.—
Oh! It is the work of Satan!”
But Gallio was curiously regarding the maiden’s petticoat where it
had fallen at his feet. He felt its texture, drew back his shirt-sleeve
beyond the deep tan of his wrist and pressed a fold of the cloth
against the flesh. A blotch of angry red rose on the white skin.
“Ah!” said Gallio calmly, “I thought so.”
“What is it?” said Justus.
“I should call it the Shirt of Nessus, but—Where did you get the
fibre of this cloth from?”
 “Athon Dazé,” said Justus. “He showed the boys how it should
manufactured be.”
“The old fox! Do you know that he has given you the Nilgiri Nettle
—scorpion—Girardenia heterophylla—to work up? No wonder they
squirmed! Why, it stings even when they make bridge-ropes of it,
unless it’s soaked for six weeks. The cunning brute! It would take
about half an hour to burn through their thick hides, and then——!”
Gallio burst into laughter, but Lotta was weeping in the arms of
the Collector’s wife, and Justus had covered his face with his hands.
“Girardenia heterophylla!” repeated Gallio. “Krenk, why didn’t you
tell me? I could have saved you this. Woven fire! Anybody but a
naked Kol would have known it, and, if I’m a judge of their ways,
you’ll never get them back.”
He looked across the river to where the converts were still
wallowing and wailing in the shallows, and the laughter died out of
his eyes, for he saw that the Tubingen Mission to the Buria Kol was
dead.
Never again, though they hung mournfully round the deserted
school for three months, could Lotta or Justus coax back even the
most promising of their flock. No! The end of conversion was the fire
of the Bad Place—fire that ran through the limbs and gnawed into
the bones. Who dare a second time tempt the anger of Dungara?
Let the little man and his wife go elsewhere. The Buria Kol would
have none of them. An unofficial message to Athon Dazé that if a
hair of their heads were touched, Athon Dazé and the priests of
Dungara would be hanged by Gallio at the temple shrine, protected
Justus and Lotta from the stumpy poisoned arrows of the Buria Kol,
but neither fish nor fowl, honeycomb, salt nor young pig were
brought to their doors any more. And, alas! man cannot live by
grace alone if meat be wanting.
“Let us go, mine wife,” said Justus; “there is no good here, and
the Lord has willed that some other man shall the work take—in
good time—in His own good time. We will go away, and I will—yes—
some botany bestudy.”
If any one is anxious to convert the Buria Kol afresh, there lies at
least the core of a mission-house under the hill of Panth. But the
chapel and school have long since fallen back into jungle.
 THE FINANCES OF THE GODS

Copyright, 1891, by Macmillan & Co.

The evening meal was ended in Dhunni Bhagat’s Chubara, and the
old priests were smoking or counting their beads. A little naked child
pattered in, with its mouth wide open, a handful of marigold flowers
in one hand, and a lump of conserved tobacco in the other. It tried
to kneel and make obeisance to Gobind, but it was so fat that it fell
forward on its shaven head, and rolled on its side, kicking and
gasping, while the marigolds tumbled one way and the tobacco the
other. Gobind laughed, set it up again, and blessed the marigold
flowers as he received the tobacco.
“From my father,” said the child. “He has the fever, and cannot
come. Wilt thou pray for him, father?”
“Surely, littlest; but the smoke is on the ground, and the night-chill
is in the air, and it is not good to go abroad naked in the autumn.”
“I have no clothes,” said the child, “and all to-day I have been
carrying cow-dung cakes to the bazar. It was very hot, and I am very
tired.” It shivered a little, for the twilight was cool.
Gobind lifted an arm under his vast tattered quilt of many colours,
and made an inviting little nest by his side. The child crept in, and
Gobind filled his brass-studded leather water-pipe with the new
tobacco. When I came to the Chubara the shaven head with the tuft
atop and the beady black eyes looked out of the folds of the quilt as
a squirrel looks out from his nest, and Gobind was smiling while the
child played with his beard.
 I would have said something friendly, but remembered in time
that if the child fell ill afterwards I should be credited with the Evil
Eye, and that is a horrible possession.
“Sit thou still, Thumbling,” I said as it made to get up and run
away. “Where is thy slate, and why has the teacher let such an evil
character loose on the streets when there are no police to protect us
weaklings? In which ward dost thou try to break thy neck with flying
kites from the house-tops?”
“Nay, Sahib, nay,” said the child, burrowing its face into Gobind’s
beard, and twisting uneasily. “There was a holiday to-day among the
schools, and I do not always fly kites. I play ker-li-kit like the rest.”
Cricket is the national game among the school-boys of the Punjab,
from the naked hedge-school children, who use an old kerosene-tin
for wicket, to the B. A.’s of the University, who compete for the
Championship belt.
“Thou play kerlikit! Thou art half the height of the bat!” I said.
The child nodded resolutely. “Yea, I do play. Perlay-ball. Ow-at!
Ran, ran, ran! I know it all.”
“But thou must not forget with all this to pray to the Gods
according to custom,” said Gobind, who did not altogether approve
of cricket and western innovations.
“I do not forget,” said the child in a hushed voice.
“Also to give reverence to thy teacher, and”—Gobind’s voice
softened—“to abstain from pulling holy men by the beard, little
badling. Eh, eh, eh?”
The child’s face was altogether hidden in the great white beard,
and it began to whimper till Gobind soothed it as children are
soothed all the world over, with the promise of a story.
“I did not think to frighten thee, senseless little one. Look up! Am
I angry? Aré, aré, aré! Shall I weep too, and of our tears make a
great pond and drown us both, and then thy father will never get
well, lacking thee to pull his beard? Peace, peace, and I will tell thee
of the Gods. Thou hast heard many tales?”
“Very many, father.”
“Now, this is a new one which thou hast not heard. Long and long
ago when the Gods walked with men as they do to-day, but that we
have not faith to see, Shiv, the greatest of Gods, and Parbati, his
wife, were walking in the garden of a temple.”
“Which temple? That in the Nandgaon ward?” said the child.
“Nay, very far away. Maybe at Trimbak or Hurdwar, whither thou
must make pilgrimage when thou art a man. Now, there was sitting
in the garden under the jujube trees a mendicant that had
worshipped Shiv for forty years, and he lived on the offerings of the
pious, and meditated holiness night and day.”
“Oh, father, was it thou?” said the child, looking up with large
eyes.
“Nay, I have said it was long ago, and, moreover, this mendicant
was married.”
“Did they put him on a horse with flowers on his head, and forbid
him to go to sleep all night long? Thus they did to me when they
made my wedding,” said the child, who had been married a few
months before.
“And what didst thou do?” said I.
“I wept, and they called me evil names, and then I smote her, and
we wept together.”
“Thus did not the mendicant,” said Gobind; “for he was a holy
man, and very poor. Parbati perceived him sitting naked by the
temple steps where all went up and down, and she said to Shiv,
‘What shall men think of the Gods when the Gods thus scorn their
worshippers? For forty years yonder man has prayed to us, and yet
there be only a few grains of rice and some broken cowries before
him, after all. Men’s hearts will be hardened by this thing.’ And Shiv
said, ‘It shall be looked to,’ and so he called to the temple which was
the temple of his son, Ganesh of the elephant head, saying, ‘Son,
there is a mendicant without who is very poor. What wilt thou do for
him?’ Then that great elephant-headed One awoke in the dark and
answered, ‘In three days, if it be thy will, he shall have one lakh of
rupees.’ Then Shiv and Parbati went away.
“But there was a money-lender in the garden hidden among the
marigolds”—the child looked at the ball of crumpled blossoms in its
hands—“ay, among the yellow marigolds, and he heard the Gods
talking. He was a covetous man, and of a black heart, and he
desired that lakh of rupees for himself. So he went to the mendicant
and said, ‘O brother, how much do the pious give thee daily?’ The
mendicant said, ‘I cannot tell. Sometimes a little rice, sometimes a
little pulse, and a few cowries, and, it has been, pickled mangoes
and dried fish.’”
“That is good,” said the child, smacking its lips.
“Then said the money-lender, ‘Because I have long watched thee,
and learned to love thee and thy patience, I will give thee now five
rupees for all thy earnings of the three days to come. There is only a
bond to sign on the matter.’ But the mendicant said, ‘Thou art mad.
In two months I do not receive the worth of five rupees,’ and he told
the thing to his wife that evening. She, being a woman, said, ‘When
did money-lender ever make a bad bargain? The wolf runs through
the corn for the sake of the fat deer. Our fate is in the hands of the
Gods. Pledge it not even for three days.’
“So the mendicant returned to the money-lender, and would not
sell. Then that wicked man sat all day before him, offering more and
more for those three days’ earnings. First, ten, fifty, and a hundred
rupees; and then, for he did not know when the Gods would pour
down their gifts, rupees by the thousand, till he had offered half a
lakh of rupees. Upon this sum the mendicant’s wife shifted her
counsel, and the mendicant signed the bond, and the money was
paid in silver; great white bullocks bringing it by the cart-load. But
saving only all that money, the mendicant received nothing from the
Gods at all, and the heart of the money-lender was uneasy on
account of expectation. Therefore at noon of the third day the
money-lender went into the temple to spy upon the councils of the
Gods, and to learn in what manner that gift might arrive. Even as he
was making his prayers, a crack between the stones of the floor
gaped, and, closing, caught him by the heel. Then he heard the
Gods walking in the temple in the darkness of the columns, and Shiv
called to his son Ganesh, saying, ‘Son, what hast thou done in
regard to the lakh of rupees for the mendicant?’ And Ganesh woke,
for the money-lender heard the dry rustle of his trunk uncoiling, and
he answered, ‘Father, one half of the money has been paid, and the
debtor for the other half I hold here fast by the heel.’”
 The child bubbled with laughter. “And the money-lender paid the
mendicant?” it said.
“Surely, for he whom the Gods hold by the heel must pay to the
uttermost. The money was paid at evening, all silver, in great carts,
and thus Ganesh did his work.”
“Nathu! Oh[=e], Nathu!”
A woman was calling in the dusk by the door of the courtyard.
The child began to wriggle. “That is my mother,” it said.
“Go then, littlest,” answered Gobind; “but stay a moment.”
He ripped a generous yard from his patchwork-quilt, put it over
the child’s shoulders, and the child ran away.
 AT HOWLI THANA

His own shoe, his own head.—Native Proverb.

As a messenger, if the heart of the Presence be moved to so great

favour. And on six rupees. Yes, Sahib, for I have three little little
children whose stomachs are always empty, and corn is now but
forty pounds to the rupee. I will make so clever a messenger that
you shall all day long be pleased with me, and, at the end of the
year, bestow a turban. I know all the roads of the Station and many
other things. Aha, Sahib! I am clever. Give me service. I was
aforetime in the Police. A bad character? Now without doubt an
enemy has told this tale. Never was I a scamp. I am a man of clean
heart, and all my words are true. They knew this when I was in the
Police. They said: “Afzal Khan is a true speaker in whose words men
may trust.” I am a Delhi Pathan, Sahib—all Delhi Pathans are good
men. You have seen Delhi? Yes, it is true that there be many scamps
among the Delhi Pathans. How wise is the Sahib! Nothing is hid from
his eyes, and he will make me his messenger, and I will take all his
notes secretly and without ostentation. Nay, Sahib, God is my
witness that I meant no evil. I have long desired to serve under a
true Sahib—a virtuous Sahib. Many young Sahibs are as devils
unchained. With these Sahibs I would take no service—not though
all the stomachs of my little children were crying for bread.
Why am I not still in the Police? I will speak true talk. An evil came
to the Thana—to Ram Baksh, the Havildar, and Maula Baksh, and
Juggut Ram and Bhim Singh and Suruj Bul. Ram Baksh is in the jail
for a space, and so also is Maula Baksh.
 It was at the Thana of Howli, on the road that leads to Gokral-
Seetarun, wherein are many dacoits. We were all brave men—
Rustums. Wherefore we were sent to that Thana, which was eight
miles from the next Thana. All day and all night we watched for
dacoits. Why does the Sahib laugh? Nay, I will make a confession.
The dacoits were too clever, and, seeing this, we made no further
trouble. It was in the hot weather. What can a man do in the hot
days? Is the Sahib who is so strong—is he, even, vigorous in that
hour? We made an arrangement with the dacoits for the sake of
peace. That was the work of the Havildar, who was fat. Ho! Ho!
Sahib, he is now getting thin in the jail among the carpets. The
Havildar said: “Give us no trouble, and we will give you no trouble.
At the end of the reaping send us a man to lead before the judge, a
man of infirm mind against whom the trumped-up case will break
down. Thus we shall save our honour.” To this talk the dacoits
agreed, and we had no trouble at the Thana, and could eat melons
in peace, sitting upon our charpoys all day long. Sweet as sugar-
cane are the melons of Howli.
Now there was an assistant commissioner—a Stunt Sahib, in that
district, called Yunkum Sahib. Aha! He was hard—hard even as is the
Sahib who, without doubt, will give me the shadow of his protection.
Many eyes had Yunkum Sahib, and moved quickly through his
district. Men called him The Tiger of Gokral-Seetarun, because he
would arrive unannounced and make his kill, and, before sunset,
would be giving trouble to the Tehsildars thirty miles away. No one
knew the comings or the goings of Yunkum Sahib. He had no camp,
and when his horse was weary he rode upon a devil-carriage. I do
not know its name, but the Sahib sat in the midst of three silver
wheels that made no creaking, and drave them with his legs,
prancing like a bean-fed horse—thus. A shadow of a hawk upon the
fields was not more without noise than the devil-carriage of Yunkum
Sahib. It was here: it was there: it was gone: and the rapport was
made, and there was trouble. Ask the Tehsildar of Rohestri how the
hen-stealing came to be known, Sahib.
It fell upon a night that we of the Thana slept according to custom
upon our charpoys, having eaten the evening meal and drunk
tobacco. When we awoke in the morning, behold, of our six rifles
not one remained! Also, the big Police-book that was in the
Havildar’s charge was gone. Seeing these things, we were very
much afraid, thinking on our parts that the dacoits, regardless of
honour, had come by night and put us to shame. Then said Ram
Baksh, the Havildar: “Be silent! The business is an evil business, but
it may yet go well. Let us make the case complete. Bring a kid and
my tulwar. See you not now, O fools? A kick for a horse, but a word
is enough for a man.”
We of the Thana, perceiving quickly what was in the mind of the
Havildar, and greatly fearing that the service would be lost, made
haste to take the kid into the inner room, and attended to the words
of the Havildar. “Twenty dacoits came,” said the Havildar, and we,
taking his words, repeated after him according to custom. “There
was a great fight,” said the Havildar, “and of us no man escaped
unhurt. The bars of the window were broken. Suruj Bul, see thou to
that; and, O men, put speed into your work, for a runner must go
with the news to The Tiger of Gokral-Seetarun.” Thereon, Suruj Bul,
leaning with his shoulder, brake in the bars of the window, and I,
beating her with a whip, made the Havildar’s mare skip among the
melon-beds till they were much trodden with hoof-prints.
These things being made, I returned to the Thana, and the goat
was slain, and certain portions of the walls were blackened with fire,
and each man dipped his clothes a little into the blood of the goat.
Know, O Sahib, that a wound made by man upon his own body can,
by those skilled, be easily discerned from a wound wrought by
another man. Therefore, the Havildar, taking his tulwar, smote one of
us lightly on the forearm in the fat, and another on the leg, and a
third on the back of the hand. Thus dealt he with all of us till the
blood came; and Suruj Bul, more eager than the others, took out
much hair. O Sahib, never was so perfect an arrangement. Yea, even
I would have sworn that the Thana had been treated as we said.
There was smoke and breaking and blood and trampled earth.
“Ride now, Maula Baksh,” said the Havildar, “to the house of the
Stunt Sahib, and carry the news of the dacoity. Do you also, O Afzal
Khan, run there, and take heed that you are mired with sweat and
dust on your in-coming. The blood will be dry on the clothes. I will
stay and send a straight report to the Dipty Sahib, and we will catch
certain that ye know of, villagers, so that all may be ready against
the Dipty Sahib’s arrival.”
Thus Maula Baksh rode and I ran hanging on the stirrup, and
together we came in an evil plight before The Tiger of Gokral-
Seetarun in the Rohestri tehsil. Our tale was long and correct, Sahib,
for we gave even the names of the dacoits and the issue of the
fight, and besought him to come. But The Tiger made no sign, and
only smiled after the manner of Sahibs when they have a
wickedness in their hearts. “Swear ye to the rapport?” said he, and
we said: “Thy servants swear. The blood of the fight is but newly dry
upon us. Judge thou if it be the blood of the servants of the
Presence, or not.” And he said: “I see. Ye have done well.” But he
did not call for his horse or his devil-carriage, and scour the land as
was his custom. He said: “Rest now and eat bread, for ye be
wearied men. I will wait the coming of the Dipty Sahib.”
Now it is the order that the Havildar of the Thana should send a
straight report of all dacoities to the Dipty Sahib. At noon came he, a
fat man and an old, and overbearing withal, but we of the Thana
had no fear of his anger; dreading more the silences of The Tiger of
Gokral-Seetarun. With him came Ram Baksh, the Havildar, and the
others, guarding ten men of the village of Howli—all men evil
affected towards the Police of the Sirkar. As prisoners they came, the
irons upon their hands, crying for mercy—Imam Baksh, the farmer,
who had denied his wife to the Havildar, and others, ill-conditioned
rascals against whom we of the Thana bore spite. It was well done,
and the Havildar was proud. But the Dipty Sahib was angry with the
Stunt for lack of zeal, and said “Dam-Dam” after the custom of the
English people, and extolled the Havildar. Yunkum Sahib lay still in
his long chair. “Have the men sworn?” said Yunkum Sahib. “Aye, and
captured ten evildoers,” said the Dipty Sahib. “There be more abroad
in your charge. Take horse—ride, and go in the name of the Sirkar!”
“Truly there be more evildoers abroad,” said Yunkum Sahib, “but
there is no need of a horse. Come all men with me.”
 I saw the mark of a string on the temples of Imam Baksh. Does
the Presence know the torture of the Cold Draw? I saw also the face
of The Tiger of Gokral-Seetarun, the evil smile was upon it, and I
stood back ready for what might befall. Well it was, Sahib, that I did
this thing. Yunkum Sahib unlocked the door of his bathroom, and
smiled anew. Within lay the six rifles and the big Police-book of the
Thana of Howli! He had come by night in the devil-carriage that is
noiseless as a ghoul, and moving among us asleep, had taken away
both the guns and the book! Twice had he come to the Thana,
taking each time three rifles. The liver of the Havildar was turned to
water, and he fell scrabbling in the dirt about the boots of Yunkum
Sahib, crying—“Have mercy!”
And I? Sahib, I am a Delhi Pathan, and a young man with little
children. The Havildar’s mare was in the compound. I ran to her and
rode: the black wrath of the Sirkar was behind me, and I knew not
whither to go. Till she dropped and died I rode the red mare; and by
the blessing of God, who is without doubt on the side of all just
men, I escaped. But the Havildar and the rest are now in jail.
I am a scamp? It is as the Presence pleases. God will make the
Presence a Lord, and give him a rich Memsahib as fair as a Peri to
wife, and many strong sons, if he makes me his orderly. The Mercy
of Heaven be upon the Sahib! Yes, I will only go to the bazar and
bring my children to these so-palace-like quarters, and then—the
Presence is my Father and my Mother, and I, Afzal Khan, am his
slave.
Ohe, Sirdar-ji! I also am of the household of the Sahib.
 IN FLOOD TIME

Tweed said tae Till:

“What gars ye rin sae still?”
Till said tae Tweed:
“Though ye rin wi’ speed
An’ I rin slaw—
Yet where ye droon ae man
I droon twa.”

There is no getting over the river to-night, Sahib. They say that a
bullock-cart has been washed down already, and the ekka that went
over a half hour before you came has not yet reached the far side. Is
the Sahib in haste? I will drive the ford-elephant in to show him.
Ohe, mahout there in the shed! Bring out Ram Pershad, and if he
will face the current, good. An elephant never lies, Sahib, and Ram
Pershad is separated from his friend Kala Nag. He, too, wishes to
cross to the far side. Well done! Well done! my King! Go half way
across, mahoutji, and see what the river says. Well done, Ram
Pershad! Pearl among elephants, go into the river! Hit him on the
head, fool! Was the goad made only to scratch thy own fat back
with, bastard? Strike! Strike! What are the boulders to thee, Ram
Pershad, my Rustum, my mountain of strength? Go in! Go in!
No, Sahib! It is useless. You can hear him trumpet. He is telling
Kala Nag that he cannot come over. See! He has swung round and is
shaking his head. He is no fool. He knows what the Barhwi means
when it is angry. Aha! Indeed, thou art no fool, my child! Salaam,
Ram Pershad, Bahadur! Take him under the trees, mahout, and see
that he gets his spices. Well done, thou chiefest among tuskers!
Salaam to the Sirkar and go to sleep.
What is to be done? The Sahib must wait till the river goes down.
It will shrink to-morrow morning, if God pleases, or the day after at
the latest. Now why does the Sahib get so angry? I am his servant.
Before God, I did not create this stream! What can I do! My hut and
all that is therein is at the service of the Sahib, and it is beginning to
rain. Come away, my Lord. How will the river go down for your
throwing abuse at it? In the old days the English people were not
thus. The fire-carriage has made them soft. In the old days, when
they drave behind horses by day or by night, they said naught if a
river barred the way, or a carriage sat down in the mud. It was the
will of God—not like a fire-carriage which goes and goes and goes,
and would go though all the devils in the land hung on to its tail.
The fire-carriage hath spoiled the English people. After all, what is a
day lost, or, for that matter, what are two days? Is the Sahib going
to his own wedding, that he is so mad with haste? Ho! Ho! Ho! I am
an old man and see few Sahibs. Forgive me if I have forgotten the
respect that is due to them. The Sahib is not angry?
His own wedding! Ho! Ho! Ho! The mind of an old man is like the
numah-tree. Fruit, bud, blossom, and the dead leaves of all the
years of the past flourish together. Old and new and that which is
gone out of remembrance, all three are there! Sit on the bedstead,
Sahib, and drink milk. Or—would the Sahib in truth care to drink my
tobacco? It is good. It is the tobacco of Nuklao. My son, who is in
service there, sent it to me. Drink, then, Sahib, if you know how to
handle the tube. The Sahib takes it like a Musalman. Wah! Wah!
Where did he learn that? His own wedding! Ho! Ho! Ho! The Sahib
says that there is no wedding in the matter at all? Now is it likely
that the Sahib would speak true talk to me who am only a black
man? Small wonder, then, that he is in haste. Thirty years have I
beaten the gong at this ford, but never have I seen a Sahib in such
haste. Thirty years, Sahib! That is a very long time. Thirty years ago
this ford was on the track of the bunjaras, and I have seen two
thousand pack-bullocks cross in one night. Now the rail has come,
and the fire-carriage says buz-buz-buz, and a hundred lakhs of
maunds slide across that big bridge. It is very wonderful; but the
ford is lonely now that there are no bunjaras to camp under the
trees.
Nay, do not trouble to look at the sky without. It will rain till the
dawn. Listen! The boulders are talking to-night in the bed of the
river. Hear them! They would be husking your bones, Sahib, had you
tried to cross. See, I will shut the door and no rain can enter. Wahi!
Ahi! Ugh! Thirty years on the banks of the ford! An old man am I,
and—where is the oil for the lamp?

Your pardon, but, because of my years, I sleep no sounder than a

dog; and you moved to the door. Look then, Sahib. Look and listen.
A full half kos from bank to bank is the stream now—you can see it
under the stars—and there are ten feet of water therein. It will not
shrink because of the anger in your eyes, and it will not be quiet on
account of your curses. Which is louder, Sahib—your voice or the
voice of the river? Call to it—perhaps it will be ashamed. Lie down
and sleep afresh, Sahib. I know the anger of the Barhwi when there
has fallen rain in the foot-hills. I swam the flood, once, on a night
ten-fold worse than this, and by the Favour of God I was released
from death when I had come to the very gates thereof.
May I tell the tale? Very good talk. I will fill the pipe anew.
Thirty years ago it was, when I was a young man and had but
newly come to the ford. I was strong then, and the bunjaras had no
doubt when I said, “This ford is clear.” I have toiled all night up to
my shoulder-blades in running water amid a hundred bullocks mad
with fear, and have brought them across, losing not a hoof. When all
was done I fetched the shivering men, and they gave me for reward
the pick of their cattle—the bell-bullock of the drove. So great was
the honour in which I was held! But to-day, when the rain falls and
the river rises, I creep into my hut and whimper like a dog. My
strength is gone from me. I am an old man, and the fire-carriage
has made the ford desolate. They were wont to call me the Strong
One of the Barhwi.
 Behold my face, Sahib—it is the face of a monkey. And my arm—it
is the arm of an old woman. I swear to you, Sahib, that a woman
has loved this face and has rested in the hollow of this arm. Twenty
years ago, Sahib. Believe me, this was true talk—twenty years ago.
Come to the door and look across. Can you see a thin fire very far
away down the stream? That is the temple-fire in the shrine of
Hanuman, of the village of Pateera. North, under the big star, is the
village itself, but it is hidden by a bend of the river. Is that far to
swim, Sahib? Would you take off your clothes and adventure? Yet I
swam to Pateera—not once, but many times; and there are muggers
in the river too.
Love knows no caste; else why should I, a Musalman and the son
of a Musalman, have sought a Hindu woman—a widow of the Hindus
—the sister of the headman of Pateera? But it was even so. They of
the headman’s household came on a pilgrimage to Muttra when She
was but newly a bride. Silver tires were upon the wheels of the
bullock-cart, and silken curtains hid the woman. Sahib, I made no
haste in their conveyance, for the wind parted the curtains and I saw
Her. When they returned from pilgrimage the boy that was Her
husband had died, and I saw Her again in the bullock-cart. By God,
these Hindus are fools! What was it to me whether She was Hindu
or Jain—scavenger, leper, or whole? I would have married Her and
made Her a home by the ford. The Seventh of the Nine Bars says
that a man may not marry one of the idolaters? Is that truth? Both
Shiahs and Sunnis say that a Musalman may not marry one of the
idolaters? Is the Sahib a priest, then, that he knows so much? I will
tell him something that he does not know. There is neither Shiah nor
Sunni, forbidden nor idolater, in Love; and the Nine Bars are but nine
little fagots that the flame of Love utterly burns away. In truth, I
would have taken Her; but what could I do? The headman would
have sent his men to break my head with staves. I am not—I was
not—afraid of any five men; but against half a village who can
prevail?
Therefore it was my custom, these things having been arranged
between us twain, to go by night to the village of Pateera, and there
we met among the crops; no man knowing aught of the matter.
Behold, now! I was wont to cross here, skirting the jungle to the
river bend where the railway bridge is, and thence across the elbow
of land to Pateera. The light of the shrine was my guide when the
nights were dark. That jungle near the river is very full of snakes—
little karaits that sleep on the sand—and moreover, Her brothers
would have slain me had they found me in the crops. But none knew
—none knew save She and I; and the blown sand of the river-bed
covered the track of my feet. In the hot months it was an easy thing
to pass from the ford to Pateera, and in the first Rains, when the
river rose slowly, it was an easy thing also. I set the strength of my
body against the strength of the stream, and nightly I ate in my hut
here and drank at Pateera yonder. She had said that one Hirnam
Singh, a thief, had sought Her, and he was of a village up the river
but on the same bank. All Sikhs are dogs, and they have refused in
their folly that good gift of God—tobacco. I was ready to destroy
Hirnam Singh that ever he had come nigh Her; and the more
because he had sworn to Her that She had a lover, and that he
would lie in wait and give the name to the headman unless She went
away with him. What curs are these Sikhs!
After that news, I swam always with a little sharp knife in my belt,
and evil would it have been for a man had he stayed me. I knew not
the face of Hirnam Singh, but I would have killed any who came
between me and Her.
Upon a night in the beginning of the Rains, I was minded to go
across to Pateera, albeit the river was angry. Now the nature of the
Barhwi is this, Sahib. In twenty breaths it comes down from the
Hills, a wall three feet high, and I have seen it, between the lighting
of a fire and the cooking of a chupatty, grow from a runnel to a
sister of the Jumna.
When I left this bank there was a shoal a half mile down, and I
made shift to fetch it and draw breath there ere going forward; for I
felt the hands of the river heavy upon my heels. Yet what will a
young man not do for Love’s sake? There was but little light from the
stars, and midway to the shoal a branch of the stinking deodar tree
brushed my mouth as I swam. That was a sign of heavy rain in the
foot-hills and beyond, for the deodar is a strong tree, not easily
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