To see him, with his hair waving in the wind and his mouth covered
with foam; to see him bathing in the blood of the sacrificed animal,
mixing it with his own, was more than I could bear. I felt as if
hallucinated, I fancied I also was spinning round.... "
Sham Rao stopped abruptly, struck dumb. Kangalim stood before us!
Her appearance was so unexpected that we all felt embarrassed.
Carried away by Sham Rao's description, we had noticed neither how
nor whence she came. Had she appeared from beneath the earth we
could not have been more astonished. Narayan stared at her, opening
wide his big jet-black eyes; the Babu clicked his tongue in utter
confusion. Imagine a skeleton seven feet high, covered with brown
leather, with a dead child's tiny head stuck on its bony shoulders;
the eyes set so deep and at the same time flashing such fiendish
flames all through your body that you begin to feel your brain stop
working, your thoughts become entangled and your blood freeze in
your veins.
I describe my personal impressions, and no words of mine can do
them justice. My description is too weak.
Mr. Y--- and the colonel both grew pale under her stare, and Mr. Y---
made a movement as if about to rise.
Needless to say that such an impression could not last. As soon
as the witch had turned her gleaming eyes to the kneeling crowd,
it vanished as swiftly as it had come. But still all our attention
was fixed on this remarkable creature.
Pages:
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226