"My master is a preserver of life and Nels is a great hunter."
"I"ve thought of that. Is there any danger that he will kill when I don"t want him to?"
"Sahib, I, Bhanah, have known Nels since he was a puppy, I have seen him take his training to kill; therefore I believe he will quickly be taught to work together with my master, who is his heart"s desire.
This is the chief thing, that my master is his heart"s desire. But also I know--he will kill when there is need for him to kill."
"Does he ever fail?"
"If he had ever failed, he would not be here. The Police Commissioner Hichens Sahib--to whom may the G.o.ds render his due!--has many times set him in the teeth of death; when occasion could be prepared, always."
"He did not fight the hyena."
"Now the Sahib speaks of an evil thing. For _that_ reason he was made to live in a tent in the Jungle."
"But what--"
"The hyena is _evil-itself_; and a dog has no hope in him to fight with it. We may not "speak _a name_ in the same breath of common-judgment"; but I say that the living fear in a man"s body made secret covenant with the knowledge of this fact--because the man had long desired that Nels should die. The lady-beautiful and his small children--all together--I say they were made to live in danger--that some hyena might destroy Nels!"
Only Bhanah"s voice showed feeling as he finished.
"So that"s what I interfered with; and that"s why he let the dog be given to me."
"It is straightly spoken. But the Sahib will not hold Nels less, for courage or for power? There is not one to equal him."
"Bhanah, we"ll put that hope into Nels, against when he hears a hyena."
"That will be with the good hunting-piece in my master"s hands, at first--to teach him confidence. Then he will fear--_not anything on earth_. Then it will be _all_ like the cheetah hills to him. Sahib, it is more satisfying than food."
"Where are the cheetah hills from here?"
"South and West; not the way the Sahib has gone before."
"You haven"t told me about them before."
"Because Nels was not come to full strength, since his hurt."
"I"d hate to have him meet an accident."
"To-morrow he will go safe. He rose up last night and listened to a hunting cheetah"s cry."
"Are they close as that?"
"Not to a European Sahib"s ear; but to Nels, yes."
"Deal Sahib said you would tell me about the cheetahs."
"What I have of value is by the common wayside; but _fortune causes wealth to flow down mountain streams for those who climb_. There are several things to consider, Sahib."
Skag was amused; he had not yet heard that only the ignorant teach without apology. As seriously as possible, he said:
"I am listening."
Bhanah spoke gravely; his words falling like weights:
"That he is--seldom seen--till it is too late--to prepare. He is treacherous."
"Where does he hide?"
"In the large-leaved trees which stretch their branches like that."
And Bhanah held his arms out horizontally, one above the other, parallel.
"All right."
"That he is quicker than a man"s eye."
Skag waited.
"And that he is more deadly than the tiger."
"How is that?"
"Because he is more quick. Because he is equal in power, even when he is not equal in weight. Because he fights not only for food, not only for life, but for the love of killing. Of all living things, he is the creature of blood-l.u.s.t. He is the name-of-fear, incarnate. It would not be a good thing for my master to hear, nor for his servant to tell--the cheetah"s ways with a body from which life is gone out."
"You"ve made a strong argument for the cheetah as a fighter, Bhanah, but you don"t seem to stand much for his character."
"Who faces the hunting cheetah, Sahib, faces death. If the cheetah falls upon him from above, or comes upon him from behind, he will know death; but he will never know the cheetah. A hunter"s first shot must do its work; he will not often have time to fire again."
"I"ve got that. But I don"t quite see what chance a dog has with him."
"Only four dogs in this my land, have any chance with him, Sahib."
"And the others?"
"They live because they have not met a cheetah."
"How does Nels do it?"
"My master must look upon that, to understand. I have seen, but I cannot show it. It--" and a rare smile lighted the dark shadows of Bhanah"s face, "is _soon_."
"I"ve heard the Indian princes use them for hunting."
"Yes, Sahib, many Indian princes keep hunting cheetahs as English Sahibs keep hunting horses. They go out after small things; and innocent--mostly deer, of all kinds; even the _neel gai_, the great blue cow."
"Will Nels attack such things?"
"Nels will not attack the defenseless; he has not been used for it.
His ways are established in that; there is no fear. If he should be ranging at any time, he will return at the first call; but if he does not, my Master, let him go. Be certain, _Nels knows_."
"That"s good. I"m in this country to get acquainted with animals--"