Cumner's Son & Other South Sea Folk: A Sable Spartan

A Sable Spartan

Lady Tynemouth was interested; his Excellency was amused. The interest
was real, the amusement was not ironical. Blithelygo, seeing that he had
at least excited the attention of the luncheon party, said
half-apologetically: "Of course my experience is small, but in many parts
of the world I have been surprised to see how uniform revolutionises the
savage. Put him into Convention, that is clothes, give him
Responsibility, that is a chance to exercise vanity and power, and you
make him a Britisher--a good citizen to all intents and purposes."

Blithelygo was a clever fellow in his way. He had a decided instinct for
military matters, and for good cigars and pretty women. Yet he would
rather give up both than an idea which had got firmly fixed in his mind.
He was very deferential in his remarks, but at the same time he was quite
willing to go into a minority which might not include pretty Miss Angel
who sat beside him, if he was not met by conclusive good arguments.

In the slight pause which followed his rather long speech, his Excellency
passed the champagne cup, and Lady Tynemouth said: "But I suppose it
depends somewhat on the race, doesn't it, Mr. Travers? I am afraid mere
uniforming would scarcely work successfully--among the Bengalese, for
instance."

"A wretched crew," said Major Warham; "awful liars, awful scoundrels,
need kicking every morning."

"Of course," said Blithelygo, "there must be some consideration of race.
But look at the Indian Mutiny. Though there was revolt, look at those who
'fought with us faithful and few'; look at the fidelity of the majority
of the native servants. Look at the native mounted police in Australia;
at the Sikhs in the Settlements and the Native States; at the Indian
scouts of the United States and Canada; and look at these very Indian
troops at your door, your Excellency! I think my principle holds good;
give uniform, give responsibility--under European surveillance of
course--get British civilisation."

His Excellency's eyes had been wandering out of the window, over the
white wall and into the town where Arabia, India, Africa, the Islands of
the South and Palestine were blended in a quivering, radiant panorama.
Then they rose until they fell upon Jebel Shamsan, in its intoxicating
red and opal far away, and upon the frowning and mighty rampart that
makes Aden one of the most impregnable stations of the Empire. The
amusement in his eyes had died away; and as he dipped his fingers in the
water at his side and motioned for a quickening of the punkahs, he said:
"There is force in what you say. It would be an unpleasant look-out for
us here and in many parts of the world if we could not place reliance on
the effect of uniform; but"--and the amused look came again to his
eyes--"we somehow get dulled to the virtues of Indian troops and Somauli
policemen. We can't get perspective, you see."

Blithelygo good-naturedly joined in the laugh that went round the table;
for nearly all there had personal experience of "uniformed savages." As
the ladies rose Miss Angel said naively to Blithelygo: "You ought to
spend a month in Aden, Mr. Blithelygo. Don't go by the next boat, then
you can study uniforms here."

We settled down to our cigars. Major Warham was an officer from Bombay.
He had lived in India for twenty years: long enough to be cynical of
justice at the Horse Guards or at the India Office: to become in fact
bitter against London, S.W., altogether. It was he that proposed a walk
through the town.

The city lay sleepy and listless beneath a proud and distant sky of
changeless blue. Idly sat the Arabs on the benches outside the low-roofed
coffee-houses; lazily worked the makers of ornaments in the bazaars;
yawningly pounded the tinkers; greedily ate the children; the city was
cloyed with ease. Warham, Blithelygo and myself sat in the evening sun
surrounded by gold-and-scarlet bedizened gentry of the desert, and drank
strong coffee and smoked until we too were satisfied, if not surfeited;
animals like the rest. Silence fell on us. This was a new life to two of
us; to Warham it was familiar, therefore comfortable and soporific. I
leaned back and languidly scanned the scene; eyes halfshut, senses
half-awake. An Arab sheikh passed swiftly with his curtained harem; and
then went filing by in orderly and bright array a number of Mahommedans,
the first of them bearing on a cushion of red velvet, and covered with a
cloth of scarlet and gold, a dead child to burial. Down from the colossal
tanks built in the mountain gorges that were old when Mahomet was young,
there came donkeys bearing great leathern bottles such as the Israelites
carried in their forty years' sojourning. A long line of swaying camels
passed dustily to the desert that burns even into this city of Aden,
built on a volcano; groups of Somaulis, lithe and brawny, moved
chattering here and there; and a handful of wandering horsemen, with
spears and snowy garments, were being swallowed up in the mountain
defiles.

The day had been long, the coffee and cigarettes had been heavy, and we
dozed away in the sensuous atmosphere. Then there came, as if in a dream,
a harsh and far-off murmur of voices. It grew from a murmur to a sharp
cry, and from a sharp cry to a roar of rage. In a moment we were on our
feet, and dashing away toward the sound.

The sight that greeted us was a strange one, and horribly picturesque. In
front of a low-roofed house of stone was a crowd of Mahommedans fierce
with anger and loud in imprecation. Knives were flashing; murder was
afoot. There stood, with his back to the door of the house, a Somauli
policeman, defending himself against this raging little mob. Not
defending himself alone. Within the house he had thrust a wretched Jew,
who had defiled a Mahommedan mosque; and he was here protecting him
against these nervous champions of the faith.

Once, twice, thrice, they reached him; but he fought on with his
unwounded arm. We were unarmed and helpless; no Somaulis were near. Death
glittered in these white blades. But must this Spartan die?

Now there was another cry, a British cheer, a gleam of blue and red, a
glint of steel rounding the corner at our left, and the Mahommedans broke
away, with a parting lunge at the Somauli. British soldiers took the
place of the bloodthirsty mob.

Danger over, the Somauli sank down on the threshold, fainting from loss
of blood. As we looked at him gashed all over, but not mortally wounded,
Blithelygo said with glowing triumph: "British, British, you see!"

At that moment the door of the house opened, and out crawled to the feet
of the officer in command the miserable Israelite with his red hemmed
skirt and greasy face. For this cowardly creature the Somauli policeman
had perilled his life. Sublime! How could we help thinking of the talk at
his Excellency's table?

Suddenly the Somauli started up and looked round anxiously. His eyes fell
on the Jew. His countenance grew peaceful. He sank back again into the
arms of the surgeon and said, pointing to the son of Abraham: "He owe me
for a donkey."

Major Warham looking at Blithelygo said with a chilled kind of lustre to
his voice: "British, so British, don't you know!"

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