,,the ,,bridge-,,builders   by ,rudyard 
,kipling     ,the least that            
,findlayson1 of the ,public ,works      
,department1 expected was a ,c4,i4,e42  
he dreamed of a ,c4,s4,i4 ,indeed1 his  
friends told him that he deserved more4 
,for three years he had endured heat and
 cold1 disappointment1 discomfort1      
danger1 and disease1 with responsibility
 almost to top-heavy for one pair of    
shoulders2 and day by day1 through that 
time1 the great ,kashi ,bridge over the 
,ganges had grown under his charge4     
,now1 in less than three months1 if all 
went well1 his ,excellency the ,viceroy 
would open the bridge in state1 an      
archbishop would bless it1 and the first
 trainload of soldiers would come over  
it1 and there would be speeches4        
,findlayson1 ,c4 ,e41 sat in his trolley
 on a construction line that ran along  
one of the main revetments--the huge    
stone-faced banks that flared away north
 and south for three miles on either    
side of the river and permitted himself 

to think of the end4 ,with its          
approaches1 his work was one mile and   
three-quarters in length2 a             
lattice-girder bridge1 trussed with the 
,findlayson truss standing on           
seven-and-twenty brick piers4 ,each one 
of those piers was twenty-four feet in  
diameter1 capped with red ,agra stone   
and sunk eighty feet below the shifting 
sand of the ,ganges' bed4 ,above them   
was a railway-line fifteen feet broad2  
above that1 again1 a cart-road of       
eighteen feet1 flanked with footpaths4  
,at either end rose towers1 of red      
brick1 loopholed for musketry and       
pierced for big guns1 and the ramp of   
the road was being pushed forward to    
their haunches4 ,the raw earth-ends were
 crawling and alive with hundreds upon  
hundreds of tiny asses climbing out of  
the yawning borrow-pit below with       
sackfuls of stuff2 and the hot afternoon
 air was filled with the noise of       
hooves1 the rattle of the drivers'      
sticks1 and the swish and roll-down of  

the dirt4 ,the river was very low1 and  
on the dazzling white sand between the  
three centre piers stood squat cribs of 
railway-sleepers1 filled within and     
daubed without with mud1 to support the 
last of the girders as those were       
riveted up4 ,in the little deep water   
left by the drought1 an overhead crane  
travelled to and fro along its          
spile-pier1 jerking sections of iron    
into place1 snorting and backing and    
grunting as an elephant grunts in the   
timberyard4 ,riveters by the hundred    
swarmed about the lattice side-work and 
the iron roof of the railway line hung  
from invisible staging under the bellies
 of the girders1 clustered round the    
throats of the piers1 and rode on the   
overhang of the footpath-stanchions2    
their fire-pots and the spurts of flame 
that answered each hammer-stroke showing
 no more than pale yellow in the sun's  
glare4 ,east and west and north and     
south the construction-trains rattled   
and shrieked up and down the            

embankments1 the piled trucks of brown  
and white stone banging behind them till
 the side-boards were unpinned1 and with
 a roar and a grumble a few thousand    
tons' more material were flung out to   
hold the river in place4  ,findlayson1  
,c4 ,e41 turned on his trolley and      
looked over the face of the country that
 he had changed for seven miles around4 
,looked back on the humming village of  
five thousand work-men2 up stream and   
down1 along the vista of spurs and sand2
 across the river to the far piers1     
lessening in the haze2 overhead to the  
guard-towers--and only he knew how      
strong those were--and with a sigh of   
contentment saw that his work was good4 
,there stood his bridge before him in   
the sunlight1 lacking only a few weeks' 
work on the girders of the three middle 
piers--his bridge1 raw and ugly as      
original sin1 but pukka--permanent--to  
endure when all memory of the builder1  
yea1 even of the splendid ,findlayson   
truss1 has perished4 ,practically1 the  

thing was done4  ,hitchcock1 his        
assistant1 cantered along the line on a 
little switch-tailed ,kabuli pony who   
through long practice could have trotted
 securely over trestle1 and nodded to   
his chief4  8,all but10 said he1 with a 
smile4  8,i've been thinking about it10 
the senior answered4 8,not half a bad   
job for two men1 is it80  8,one--and a  
half4 #8,gad1 what a ,cooper's ,hill cub
 ,i was when ,i came on the works60     
,hitchcock felt very old in the crowded 
experiences of the past three years1    
that had taught him power and           
responsibility4  8,you were rather a    
colt10 said ,findlayson4 8,i wonder how 
you'll like going back to office-work   
when this job's over40  8,i shall hate  
it60 said the young man1 and as he went 
on his eye followed ,findlayson's1 and  
he muttered1 8,isn't it damned good80   
8,i think we'll go up the service       
together10 ,findlayson said to himself4 
8,you're too good a youngster to waste  
on another man4 ,cub thou wast2         

assistant thou art4 ,personal assistant1
 and at ,simla1 thou shalt be1 if any   
credit comes to me out of the business60
  ,indeed1 the burden of the work had   
fallen altogether on ,findlayson and his
 assistant1 the young man whom he had   
chosen because of his rawness to break  
to his own needs4 ,there were labour    
contractors by the half-hundred--fitters
 and riveters1 ,european1 borrowed from 
the railway workshops1 with1 perhaps1   
twenty white and half-caste subordinates
 to direct1 under direction1 the bevies 
of workmen--but none knew better than   
these two1 who trusted each other1 how  
the underlings were not to be trusted4  
,they had been tried many times in      
sudden crises--by slipping of booms1 by 
breaking of tackle1 failure of cranes1  
and the wrath of the river--but no      
stress had brought to light any man     
among men whom ,findlayson and          
,hitchcock would have honoured by       
working as remorselessly as they worked 
them-selves4 ,findlayson thought it over

 from the beginning3 the months of      
office-work destroyed at a blow when the
 ,government of ,india1 at the last     
moment1 added two feet to the width of  
the bridge1 under the impression that   
bridges were cut out of paper1 and so   
brought to ruin at least half an acre of
 calculations--and ,hitchcock1 new to   
disappointment1 buried his head in his  
arms and wept2 the heart-breaking delays
 over the filling of the contracts in   
,england2 the futile correspondences    
hinting at great wealth of commissions  
if one1 only one1 rather doubtful       
consignment were passed2 the war that   
followed the refusal2 the careful1      
polite obstruction at the other end that
 followed the war1 till young           
,hitchcock1 putting one month's leave to
 another month1 and borrowing ten days  
from ,findlayson1 spent his poor little 
savings of a year in a wild dash to     
,london1 and there1 as his own tongue   
asserted and the later consignments     
proved1 put the fear of ,god into a man 

so great that he feared only ,parliament
 and said so till ,hitchcock wrought    
with him across his own dinner table1   
and--he feared the ,kashi ,bridge and   
all who spoke in its name4 ,then there  
was the cholera that came in the night  
to the village by the bridge works2 and 
after the cholera smote the small-pox4  
,the fever they had always with them4   
,hitchcock had been appointed a         
magistrate of the third class with      
whipping powers1 for the better         
government of the community1 and        
,findlayson watched him wield his powers
 temperately1 learning what to overlook 
and what to look after4 ,it was a long1 
long reverie1 and it covered storm1     
sudden freshets1 death in every manner  
and shape1 violent and awful rage       
against red tape half frenzying a mind  
that knows it should be busy on other   
things2 drought1 sanitation1 finance2   
birth1 wedding1 burial1 and riot in the 
village of twenty warring castes2       
argument1 expostulation1 persuasion1 and

 the blank despair that a man goes to   
bed upon1 thankful that his rifle is all
 in pieces in the gun-case4 ,behind     
everything rose the black frame of the  
,kashi ,bridge--plate by plate1 girder  
by girder1 span by span--and each pier  
of it recalled ,hitchcock1 the all-round
 man1 who had stood by his chief without
 failing from the very first to this    
last4  ,so the bridge was two men's     
work--unless one counted ,peroo1 as     
,peroo certainly counted himself4 ,he   
was a ,lascar1 a ,kharva from ,bulsar1  
familiar with every port between        
,rockhampton and ,london1 who had risen 
to the rank of serang on the ,british   
,india boats1 but wearying of routine   
musters and clean clothes1 had thrown up
 the service and gone inland1 where men 
of his calibre were sure of employment4 
,for his knowledge of tackle and the    
handling of heavy weights1 ,peroo was   
worth almost any price he might have    
chosen to put upon his services2 but    
custom decreed the wage of the          

overhead-men1 and ,peroo was not within 
many silver pieces of his proper value4 
,neither running water nor extreme      
heights made him afraid2 and1 as an     
ex-serang1 he knew how to hold          
authority4 ,no piece of iron was so big 
or so badly placed that ,peroo could not
 devise a tackle to lift it--a          
loose-ended1 sagging arrangement1 rigged
 with a scandalous amount of talking1   
but perfectly equal to the work in hand4
 ,it was ,peroo who had saved the girder
 of ,number ,seven pier from destruction
 when the new wire-rope jammed in the   
eye of the crane1 and the huge plate    
tilted in its slings1 threatening to    
slide out sideways4 ,then the native    
workmen lost their heads with great     
shoutings1 and ,hitchcock's right arm   
was broken by a falling ,t-plate1 and he
 buttoned it up in his coat and swooned1
 and came to and directed for four hours
 till ,peroo1 from the top of the crane1
 reported 8,all's well10 and the plate  
swung home4 ,there was no one like      

,peroo1 serang1 to lash1 and guy1 and   
hold1 to control the donkey-engines1 to 
hoist a fallen locomotive craftily out  
of the borrow-pit into which it had     
tumbled2 to strip1 and dive1 if need be1
 to see how the concrete blocks round   
the piers stood the scouring of ,mother 
,gunga1 or to adventure upstream on a   
monsoon night and report on the state of
 the embankment-facings4 ,he would      
interrupt the field-councils of         
,findlayson and ,hitchcock without fear1
 till his wonderful ,english1 or his    
still more wonderful linguafranca1 half 
,portuguese and half ,malay1 ran out and
 he was forced to take string and show  
the knots that he would recommend4 ,he  
controlled his own gang of tackle       
men--mysterious relatives from ,kutch   
,mandvi gathered month by month and     
tried to the uttermost4 ,no             
consideration of family or kin allowed  
,peroo to keep weak hands or a giddy    
head on the pay-roll4 8,my honour is the
 honour of this bridge10 he would say to

 the about-to-be-dismissed4 8,what do ,i
 care for your honour8 ,go and work on a
 steamer4 ,that is all you are fit for40
  ,the little cluster of huts where he  
and his gang lived centred round the    
tattered dwelling of a sea-priest--one  
who had never set foot on black water1  
but had been chosen as ghostly          
counsellor by two generations of        
sea-rovers all unaffected by port       
missions or those creeds which are      
thrust upon sailors by agencies along   
,thames bank4 ,the priest of the        
,lascars had nothing to do with their   
caste1 or indeed with anything at all4  
,he ate the offerings of his church1 and
 slept and smoked1 and slept again1     
8for10 said ,peroo1 who had haled him a 
thousand miles inland1 8he is a very    
holy man4 ,he never cares what you eat  
so long as you do not eat beef1 and that
 is good1 because on land we worship    
,shiva1 we ,kharvas2 but at sea on the  
,kumpani's boats we attend strictly to  
the orders of the ,burra ,malum the     

first mate1 and on this bridge we       
observe what ,finlinson ,sahib says40   
,finlinson ,sahib had that day given    
orders to clear the scaffolding from the
 guard-tower on the right bank1 and     
,peroo with his mates was casting loose 
and lowering down the bamboo poles and  
planks as swiftly as ever they had      
whipped the cargo out of a coaster4     
,from his trolley he could hear the     
whistle of the serang's silver pipe and 
the creek and clatter of the pulleys4   
,peroo was standing on the top-most     
coping of the tower1 clad in the blue   
dungaree of his abandoned service1 and  
as ,findlayson motioned to him to be    
careful1 for his was no life to throw   
away1 he gripped the last pole1 and1    
shading his eyes ship-fashion1 answered 
with the long-drawn wail of the fo'c'sle
 lookout3 8,ham dekhta hai0 78,i am     
looking out074  ,findlayson laughed and 
then sighed4 ,it was years since he had 
seen a steamer1 and he was sick for     
home4 ,as his trolley passed under the  

tower1 ,peroo descended by a rope1      
ape-fashion1 and cried3 8,it looks well 
now1 ,sahib4 ,our bridge is all but     
done4 ,what think you ,mother ,gunga    
will say when the rail runs over80      
8,she has said little so far4 ,it was   
never ,mother ,gunga that delayed us40  
8,there is always time for her2 and none
 the less there has been delay4 ,has the
 ,sahib forgotten last autumn's flood1  
when the stone-boats were sunk without  
warning--or only a half-day's warning80 
8,yes1 but nothing save a big flood     
could hurt us now4 ,the spurs are       
holding well on the ,west ,bank40       
8,mother ,gunga eats great allowances4  
,there is always room for more stone on 
the revetments4 ,i tell this to the     
,chota ,sahib10--he meant               
,hitchcock--8and he laughs40  8,no      
matter1 ,peroo4 ,another year thou wilt 
be able to build a bridge in thine own  
fashion40  ,the ,lascar grinned4 8,then 
it will not be in this way--with        
stonework sunk under water1 as the      

,qyetta was sunk4 ,i like               
sus-sus-pen-sheen bridges that fly from 
bank to bank with one big step1 like a  
gang-plank4 ,then no water can hurt4    
,when does the ,lord ,sahib come to open
 the bridge80  8,in three months1 when  
the weather is cooler40  8,ho6 ho6 ,he  
is like the ,burra ,malum4 ,he sleeps   
below while the work is being done4     
,then he comes upon the quarter-deck and
 touches with his finger1 and says3     
#8,this is not clean6 ,dam              
jibboonwallah6'0  8,but the ,lord ,sahib
 does not call me a dam jibboonwallah1  
,peroo40  8,no1 ,sahib2 but he does not 
come on deck till the work is all       
finished4 ,even the ,burra ,malum of the
 ,nerbudda said once at ,tuticorin--0   
8,bah6 ,go6 ,i am busy40  8,i1 also60   
said ,peroo1 with an unshaken           
countenance4 8,may ,i take the light    
dinghy now and row along the spurs80    
8,to hold them with thy hands8 ,they    
are1 ,i think1 sufficiently heavy40     
8,nay1 ,sahib4 ,it is thus4 ,at sea1 on 

the ,black ,water1 we have room to be   
blown up and down without care4 ,here we
 have no room at all4 ,look you1 we have
 put the river into a dock1 and run her 
between stone sills40  ,findlayson      
smiled at the 8we40  8,we have bitted   
and bridled her4 ,she is not like the   
sea1 that can beat against a soft beach4
 ,she is ,mother ,gunga--in irons40 ,his
 voice fell a little4  8,peroo1 thou    
hast been up and down the world more    
even than ,i4 ,speak true talk1 now4    
,how much dost thou in thy heart believe
 of ,mother ,gunga80  8,all that our    
priest says4 ,london is ,london1 ,sahib4
 ,sydney is ,sydney1 and ,port ,darwin  
is ,port ,darwin4 ,also ,mother ,gunga  
is ,mother ,gunga1 and when ,i come back
 to her banks ,i know this and worship4 
,in ,london ,i did poojah to the big    
temple by the river for the sake of the 
,god within4 4 4 4 ,yes1 ,i will not    
take the cushions in the dinghy40       
,findlayson mounted his horse and       
trotted to the shed of a bungalow that  

he shared with his assistant4 ,the place
 had become home to him in the last     
three years4 ,he had grilled in the     
heat1 sweated in the rains1 and shivered
 with fever under the rude thatch roof2 
the lime-wash beside the door was       
covered with rough drawings and         
formulae1 and the sentry-path trodden in
 the matting of the verandah showed     
where he had walked alone4 ,there is no 
eight-hour limit to an engineer's work1 
and the evening meal with ,hitchcock was
 eaten booted and spurred3 over their   
cigars they listened to the hum of the  
village as the gangs came up from the   
river-bed and the lights began to       
twinkle4  8,peroo has gone up the spurs 
in your dinghy4 ,he's taken a couple of 
nephews with him1 and he's lolling in   
the stern like a commodore10 said       
,hitchcock4  8,that's all right4 ,he's  
got something on his mind4 ,you'd think 
that ten years in the ,british ,india   
boats would have knocked most of his    
religion out of him40  8,so it has10    

said ,hitchcock1 chuckling4 8,i         
overheard him the other day in the      
middle of a most atheistical talk with  
that fat old guru of theirs4 ,peroo     
denied the efficacy of prayer2 and      
wanted the guru to go to sea and watch a
 gale out with him1 and see if he could 
stop a monsoon40  8,all the same1 if you
 carried off his guru he'd leave us like
 a shot4 ,he was yarning away to me     
about praying to the dome of ,st4       
,paul's when he was in ,london40  8,he  
told me that the first time he went into
 the engine-room of a steamer1 when he  
was a boy1 he prayed to the low-pressure
 cylinder40  8,not half a bad thing to  
pray to1 either4 ,he's propitiating his 
own ,gods now1 and he wants to know what
 ,mother ,gunga will think of a bridge  
being run across her4 ,who's there80 ,a 
shadow darkened the doorway1 and a      
telegram was put into ,hitchcock's hand4
  8,she ought to be pretty well used to 
it by this time4 ,only a tar4 ,it ought 
to be ,ralli's answer about the new     

rivets4 4 4 4 ,great ,heavens60         
,hitchcock jumped to his feet4  8,what  
is it80 said the senior1 and took the   
form4 8,that's what ,mother ,gunga      
thinks1 is it10 he said1 reading4 8,keep
 cool1 young #8un4 ,we've got all our   
work cut out for us4 ,let's see4 ,muir  
wired half an hour ago3 #8,floods on the
 ,ramgunga4 ,look out4' ,well1 that     
gives us--one1 two--nine and a half for 
the flood to reach ,melipur ,ghaut and  
seven's sixteen and a half to           
,lataoli--say fifteen hours before it   
comes down to us40  8,curse that        
hill-fed sewer of a ,ramgunga6          
,findlayson1 this is two months before  
anything could have been expected1 and  
the left bank is littered up with stuff 
still4 ,two full months before the      
time60  8,that's why it comes4 ,i've    
only known ,indian rivers for           
five-and-twenty years1 and ,i don't     
pretend to understand4 ,here comes      
another tar40  ,findlayson opened the   
telegram4 8,cockran1 this time1 from the

 ,ganges ,canal3 #8,heavy rains here4   
,bad4' ,he might have saved the last    
word4 ,well1 we don't want to know any  
more4 ,we've got to work the gangs all  
night and clean up the riverbed4 ,you'll
 take the east bank and work out to meet
 me in the middle4 ,get everything that 
floats below the bridge3 we shall have  
quite enough river-craft coming down    
adrift anyhow1 without letting the      
stone-boats ram the piers4 ,what have   
you got on the east bank that needs     
looking after8  8,pontoon--one big      
pontoon with the overhead crane on it4  
,t'other overhead crane on the mended   
pontoon1 with the cart-road rivets from 
,twenty to ,twenty-three piers--two     
construction lines1 and a turning-spur4 
,the pilework must take its chance10    
said ,hitchcock4  8,all right4 ,roll up 
everything you can lay hands on4 ,we'll 
give the gang fifteen minutes more to   
eat their grub40  ,close to the verandah
 stood a big night-gong1 never used     
except for flood1 or fire in the        

village4 ,hitchcock had called for a    
fresh horse1 and was off to his side of 
the bridge when ,findlayson took the    
cloth-bound stick and smote with the    
rubbing stroke that brings out the full 
thunder of the metal4  ,long before the 
last rumble ceased every night-gong in  
the village had taken up the warning4   
,to these were added the hoarse         
screaming of conches in the little      
temples2 the throbbing of drums and     
tom-toms2 and1 from the ,european       
quarters1 where the riveters lived1     
,mc,cartney's bugle1 a weapon of offence
 on ,sundays and festivals1 brayed      
desperately1 calling to 8,stables40     
,engine after engine toiling home along 
the spurs at the end of her day's work  
whistled in answer till the whistles    
were answered from the far bank4 ,then  
the big gong thundered thrice for a sign
 that it was flood and not fire2 conch1 
drum1 and whistle echoed the call1 and  
the village quivered to the sound of    
bare feet running upon soft earth4 ,the 

order in all cases was to stand by the  
day's work and wait instructions4 ,the  
gangs poured by in the dusk2 men        
stopping to knot a loin-cloth or fasten 
a sandal2 gang-foremen shouting to their
 subordinates as they ran or paused by  
the tool-issue sheds for bars and       
mattocks2 locomotives creeping down     
their tracks wheel-deep in the crowd2   
till the brown torrent disappeared into 
the dusk of the river-bed1 raced over   
the pilework1 swarmed along the         
lattices1 clustered by the cranes1 and  
stood still--each man in his place4     
,then the troubled beating of the gong  
carried the order to take up everything 
and bear it beyond high-water mark1 and 
the flare-lamps broke out by the hundred
 between the webs of dull iron as the   
riveters began a night's work1 racing   
against the flood that was to come4 ,the
 girders of the three centre            
piers--those that stood on the          
cribs--were all but in position4 ,they  
needed just as many rivets as could be  

driven into them1 for the flood would   
assuredly wash out their supports1 and  
the ironwork would settle down on the   
caps of stone if they were not blocked  
at the ends4 ,a hundred crowbars        
strained at the sleepers of the         
temporary line that fed the unfinished  
piers4 ,it was heaved up in lengths1    
loaded into trucks1 and backed up the   
bank beyond flood-level by the groaning 
locomotives4 ,the tool-sheds on the     
sands melted away before the attack of  
shouting armies1 and with them went the 
stacked ranks of ,government stores1    
iron-bound boxes of rivets1 pliers1     
cutters1 duplicate parts of the         
riveting-machines1 spare pumps and      
chains4 ,the big crane would be the last
 to be shifted1 for she was hoisting all
 the heavy stuff up to the main         
structure of the bridge4 ,the concrete  
blocks on the fleet of stone-boats were 
dropped overside1 where there was any   
depth of water1 to guard the piers1 and 
the empty boats themselves were poled   

under the bridge down-stream4 ,it was   
here that ,peroo's pipe shrilled        
loudest1 for the first stroke of the big
 gong had brought the dinghy back at    
racing speed1 and ,peroo and his people 
were stripped to the waist1 working for 
the honour and credit which are better  
than life4  8,i knew she would speak10  
he cried4 8,i knew1 but the telegraph   
gives us good warning4 ,o sons of       
unthinkable begetting--children of      
unspeakable shame--are we here for the  
look of the thing80 ,it was two feet of 
wire-rope frayed at the ends1 and it did
 wonders as ,peroo leaped from gunnel to
 gunnel1 shouting the language of the   
sea4  ,findlayson was more troubled for 
the stoneboats than anything else4      
,mc,cartney1 with his gangs1 was        
blocking up the ends of the three       
doubtful spans1 but boats adrift1 if the
 flood chanced to be a high one1 might  
endanger the girders2 and there was a   
very fleet in the shrunken channel4     
8,get them behind the swell of the      

guardtower10 he shouted down to ,peroo4 
8,it will be dead-water there4 ,get them
 below the bridge40  8,accha6 ,very     
good4 ,i know2 we are mooring them with 
wire-rope10 was the answer4 8,heh6      
,listen to the ,chota ,sahib4 ,he is    
working hard40  ,from across the river  
came an almost continuous whistling of  
locomotives1 backed by the rumble of    
stone4 ,hitchcock at the last minute was
 spending a few hundred more trucks of  
,tarakee stone in reinforcing his spurs 
and embankments4  8,the bridge          
challenges ,mother ,gunga10 said ,peroo1
 with a laugh4 8,but when she talks ,i  
know whose voice will be the loudest40  
,for hours the naked men worked1        
screaming and shouting under the lights4
 ,it was a hot1 moonless night2 the end 
of it was darkened by clouds and a      
sudden squall that made ,findlayson very
 grave4  8,she moves60 said ,peroo1 just
 before the dawn4 8,mother ,gunga is    
awake6 ,hear60 ,he dipped his hand over 
the side of a boat and the current      

mumbled on it4 ,a little wave hit the   
side of a pier with a crisp slap4  8,six
 hours before her time10 said           
,findlayson1 mopping his forehead       
savagely4  8,now we can't depend on     
anything4 ,we'd better clear all hands  
out of the riverbed40  ,again the big   
gong beat1 and a second time there was  
the rushing of naked feet on earth and  
ringing iron2 the clatter of tools      
ceased4 ,in the silence1 men heard the  
dry yawn of water crawling over thirsty 
sand4  ,foreman after foreman shouted to
 ,findlayson1 who had posted himself by 
the guard-tower1 that his section of the
 river-bed had been cleaned out1 and    
when the last voice dropped ,findlayson 
hurried over the bridge till the iron   
plating of the permanent way gave place 
to the temporary plank-walk over the    
three centre piers1 and there he met    
,hitchcock4  8#8,all clear your side80  
said ,findlayson4 ,the whisper rang in  
the box of lattice work4  8,yes1 and the
 east channel's filling now4 ,we're     

utterly out of our reckoning4 ,when is  
this thing down on us80  8,there's no   
saying4 ,she's filling as fast as she   
can4 ,look60 ,findlayson pointed to the 
planks below his feet1 where the sand1  
burned and defiled by months of work1   
was beginning to whisper and fizz4      
8,what orders80 said ,hitchcock4  8,call
 the roll--count stores sit on your     
hunkers--and pray for the bridge4       
,that's all ,i can think of ,good night4
 ,don't risk your life trying to fish   
out anything that may go downstream40   
8,oh1 ,i'll be as prudent as you are6   
#8,night4 ,heavens1 how she's filling6  
,here's the rain in earnest40           
,findlayson picked his way back to his  
bank1 sweeping the last of ,mc,cartney's
 riveters before him4 ,the gangs had    
spread themselves along the embankments1
 regardless of the cold rain of the     
dawn1 and there they waited for the     
flood4 ,only ,peroo kept his men        
together behind the swell of the        
guard-tower1 where the stone-boats lay  

tied fore and aft with hawsers1         
wire-rope1 and chains4  ,a shrill wail  
ran along the line1 growing to a yell1  
half fear and half wonder3 the face of  
the river whitened from bank to hank    
between the stone facings1 and the      
far-away spurs went out in spouts of    
foam4 ,mother ,gunga had come bank-high 
in haste1 and a wall of                 
chocolate-coloured water was her        
messenger4 ,there was a shriek above the
 roar of the water1 the complaint of the
 spans coming down on their blocks as   
the cribs were whirled out from under   
their bellies4 ,the stone-boats groaned 
and ground each other in the eddy that  
swung round the abutment1 and their     
clumsy masts rose higher and higher     
against the dim sky-line4  8,before she 
was shut between these walls we knew    
what she would do4 ,now she is thus     
cramped ,god only knows what she will   
do60 said ,peroo1 watching the furious  
turmoil round the guard-tower4 8,ohe'6  
,fight1 then6 ,fight hard1 for it is    

thus that a woman wears herself out40   
,but ,mother ,gunga would not fight as  
,peroo desired4 ,after the first        
down-stream plunge there came no more   
walls of water1 but the river lifted    
herself bodily1 as a snake when she     
drinks in midsummer1 plucking and       
fingering along the revetments1 and     
banking up behind the piers till even   
,findlayson began to recalculate the    
strength of his work4  ,when day came   
the village gasped4 8,only last night10 
men said1 turning to each other1 8it was
 as a town in the river-bed6 ,look now60
  ,and they looked and wondered afresh  
at the deep water1 the racing water that
 licked the throat of the piers4 ,the   
farther bank was veiled by rain1 into   
which the bridge ran out and vanished2  
the spurs up-stream were marked by no   
more than eddies and spoutings1 and     
down-stream the pent river1 once freed  
of her guide-lines1 had spread like a   
sea to the horizon4 ,then hurried by1   
rolling in the water1 dead men and oxen 

together1 with here and there a patch of
 thatched roof that melted when it      
touched a pier4  8,big flood10 said     
,peroo1 and ,findlayson nodded4 ,it was 
as big a flood as he had any wish to    
watch4 ,his bridge would stand what was 
upon her now1 but not very much more1   
and if by any of a thousand chances     
there happened to be a weakness in the  
embankments1 ,mother ,gunga would carry 
his honour to the sea with the other    
raffle4 ,worst of all1 there was nothing
 to do except to sit still2 and         
,findlayson sat still under his         
macintosh till his helmet became pulp on
 his head1 and his boots were over-ankle
 in mire4 ,he took no count of time1 for
 the river was marking the hours1 inch  
by inch and foot by foot1 along the     
embankment1 and he listened1 numb and   
hungry1 to the straining of the         
stone-boats1 the hollow thunder under   
the piers1 and the hundred noises that  
make the full note of a flood4 ,once a  
dripping servant brought him food1 but  

he could not eat2 and once he thought   
that he heard a faint toot from a       
locomotive across the river1 and then he
 smiled4 ,the bridge's failure would    
hurt his assistant not a little1 but    
,hitchcock was a young man with his big 
work yet to do4 ,for himself the crash  
meant everything--everything that made a
 hard life worth the living4 ,they would
 say1 the men of his own profession 4 4 
4 he remembered the half-pitying things 
that he himself had said when           
,lockhart's new waterworks burst and    
broke down in brick-heaps and sludge1   
and ,lockhart's spirit broke in him and 
he died4 ,he remembered what he himself 
had said when the ,sumao ,bridge went   
out in the big cyclone by the sea2 and  
most he remembered poor ,hartopp's face 
three weeks later1 when the shame had   
marked it4 ,his bridge was twice the    
size of ,hartopp's1 and it carried the  
,findlayson truss as well as the new    
pier-shoe--the ,findlayson bolted shoe4 
,there were no excuses in his service4  

,government might listen1 perhaps1 but  
his own kind would judge him by his     
bridge1 as that stood or fell4 ,he went 
over it in his head1 plate by plate1    
span by span1 brick by brick1 pier by   
pier1 remembering1 comparing1           
estimating1 and recalculating1 lest     
there should be any mistake2 and through
 the long hours and through the flights 
of formulae that danced and wheeled     
before him a cold fear would come to    
pinch his heart4 ,his side of the sum   
was beyond question2 but what man knew  
,mother ,gunga's arithmetic8 ,even as he
 was making all sure by the             
multiplication table1 the river might be
 scooping a pot-hole to the very bottom 
of any one of those eighty-foot piers   
that carried his reputation4 ,again a   
servant came to him with food1 but his  
mouth was dry1 and he could only drink  
and return to the decimals in his brain4
 ,and the river was still rising4       
,peroo1 in a mat shelter coat1 crouched 
at his feet1 watching now his face and  

now the face of the river1 but saying   
nothing4  ,at last the ,lascar rose and 
floundered through the mud towards the  
village1 but he was careful to leave an 
ally to watch the boats4  ,presently he 
returned1 most irreverently driving     
before him the priest of his creed--a   
fat old man1 with a grey beard that     
whipped the wind with the wet cloth that
 blew over his shoulder4 ,never was seen
 so lamentable a guru4  8,what good are 
offerings and little kerosene lamps and 
dry grain10  shouted ,peroo1 8if        
squatting in the mud is all that thou   
canst do8 ,thou hast dealt long with the
 ,gods when they were contented and     
well-wishing4 ,now they are angry4      
,speak to them60  8,what is a man       
against the wrath of ,gods80 whined the 
priest1 cowering as the wind took him4  
8,let me go to the temple1 and ,i will  
pray there40  8,son of a pig1 pray here6
 ,is there no return for salt fish and  
curry powder and dried onions8 ,call    
aloud6 ,tell ,mother ,gunga we have had 

enough4 ,bid her be still for the night4
 ,i cannot pray1 but ,i have been       
serving in the ,kumpani's boats1 and    
when men did not obey my orders ,i--0   
,a flourish of the wire-rope colt       
rounded the sentence1 and the priest1   
breaking free from his disciple1 fled to
 the village4  8,fat pig60 said ,peroo4 
8,after all that we have done for him6  
,when the flood is down ,i will see to  
it that we get a new guru4 ,finlinson   
,sahib1 it darkens for night now1 and   
since yesterday nothing has been eaten4 
,be wise1 ,sahib4 ,no man can endure    
watching and great thinking on an empty 
belly4 ,lie down1 ,sahib4 ,the river    
will do what the river will do40  8,the 
bridge is mine2 ,i cannot leave it40    
8,wilt thou hold it up with thy hands1  
then80 said ,peroo1 laughing4  8,i was  
troubled for my boats and sheers before 
the flood came4 ,now we are in the hands
 of the ,gods4 ,the ,sahib will not eat 
and lie down8 ,take these1 then4 ,they  
are meat and good toddy together1 and   

they kill all weariness1 besides the    
fever that follows the rain4 ,i have    
eaten nothing else to-day at all40  ,he 
took a small tin tobacco-box from his   
sodden waist-belt and thrust it into    
,findlayson's hand1 saying3 8,nay1 do   
not be afraid4 ,it is no more than      
opium--clean ,malwa opium40  ,findlayson
 shook two or three of the dark-brown   
pellets into his hand1 and hardly       
knowing what he did1 swallowed them4    
,the stuff was at least a good guard    
against fever--the fever that was       
creeping upon him out of the wet        
mud--and he had seen what ,peroo could  
do in the stewing mists of autumn on the
 strength of a dose from the tin box4   
,peroo nodded with bright eyes4 8,in a  
little--in a little the ,sahib will find
 that he thinks well again4 ,i too      
will--0 ,he dived into his treasure-box1
 resettled the rain-coat over his head1 
and squatted down to watch the boats4   
,it was too dark now to see beyond the  
first pier1 and the night seemed to have

 given the river new strength4          
,findlayson stood with his chin on his  
chest1 thinking4 ,there was one point   
about one of the piers--the             
seventh--that he had not fully settled  
in his mind4 ,the figures would not     
shape themselves to the eye except one  
by one and at enormous intervals of     
time4 ,there was a sound rich and mellow
 in his ears like the deepest note of a 
double-bass--an entrancing sound upon   
which he pondered for several hours1 as 
it seemed4 ,then ,peroo was at his      
elbow1 shouting that a wire hawser had  
snapped and the stone-boats were loose4 
,findlayson saw the fleet open and swing
 out fanwise to a long-drawn shriek of  
wire straining across gunnels4  8,a tree
 hit them4 ,they will all go10 cried    
,peroo4 8,the main hawser has parted4   
,what does the ,sahib do80  ,an         
immensely complex plan had suddenly     
flashed into ,findlayson's mind4 ,he saw
 the ropes running from boat to boat in 
straight lines and angles--each rope a  

line of white fire4 ,but there was one  
rope which was the master rope4 ,he     
could see that rope4 ,if he could pull  
it once1 it was absolutely and          
mathematically certain that the         
disordered fleet would reassemble itself
 in the backwater behind the            
guard-tower4 ,but why1 he wondered1 was 
,peroo clinging so desperately to his   
waist as he hastened down the bank8 ,it 
was necessary to put the ,lascar aside1 
gently and slowly1 because it was       
necessary to save the boats1 and1       
further1 to demonstrate the extreme ease
 of the problem that looked so          
difficult4 ,and then--but it was of no  
conceivable importance--a wire-rope     
raced through his hand1 burning it1 the 
high bank disappeared1 and with it all  
the slowly dispersing factors of the    
problem4 ,he was sitting in the rainy   
darkness--sitting in a boat that spun   
like a top1 and ,peroo was standing over
 him4  8,i had forgotten10 said the     
,lascar1 slowly1 8that to those fasting 

and unused1 the opium is worse than any 
wine4 ,those who die in ,gunga go to the
 ,gods4 ,still1 ,i have no desire to    
present myself before such great ones4  
,can the ,sahib swim80  8,what need8 ,he
 can fly--fly as swiftly as the wind10  
was the thick answer4  8,he is mad60    
muttered ,peroo1 under his breath4 8,and
 he threw me aside like a bundle of     
dung-cakes4 ,well1 he will not know his 
death4 ,the boat cannot live an hour    
here even if she strike nothing4 ,it is 
not good to look at death with a clear  
eye40  ,he refreshed himself again from 
the tin box1 squatted down in the bows  
of the reeling1 pegged1 and stitched    
craft1 staring through the mist at the  
nothing that was there4 ,a warm         
drowsiness crept over ,findlayson1 the  
,chief ,engineer1 whose duty was with   
his bridge4 ,the heavy raindrops struck 
him with a thousand tingling little     
thrills1 and the weight of all time     
since time was made hung heavy on his   
eyelids4 ,he thought and perceived that 

he was perfectly secure1 for the water  
was so solid that a man could surely    
step out upon it1 and1 standing still   
with his legs apart to keep his         
balance--this was the most important    
point--would be borne with great and    
easy speed to the shore4 ,but yet a     
better plan came to him4 ,it needed only
 an exertion of will for the soul to    
hurl the body ashore as wind drives     
paper1 to waft it kite-fashion to the   
bank4 ,thereafter--the boat spun        
dizzily--suppose the high wind got under
 the freed body8 ,would it tower up like
 a kite and pitch headlong on the       
far-away sands1 or would it duck about1 
beyond control1 through all eternity8   
,findlayson gripped the gunnel to anchor
 himself1 for it seemed that he was on  
the edge of taking the flight before he 
had settled all his plans4 ,opium has   
more effect on the white man than the   
black4 ,peroo was only comfortably      
indifferent to accidents4 8,she cannot  
live10 he grunted4 8,her seams open     

already4 ,if she were even a dinghy with
 oars we could have ridden it out2 but a
 box with holes is no good4 ,finlinson  
,sahib1 she fills40  8,accha6 ,i am     
going away4 ,come thou also40 ,in his   
mind1 ,findlayson had already escaped   
from the boat1 and was circling high in 
air to find a rest for the sole of his  
foot4 ,his body--he was really sorry for
 its gross helplessness--lay in the     
stern1 the water rushing about its      
knees4  8,how very ridiculous60 he said 
to himself from his eyrie--8that--is    
,findlayson--chief of the ,kashi        
,bridge4 ,the poor beast is going to be 
drowned1 too4 ,drowned when it's close  
to shore4 ,i'm--,i'm on shore already4  
,why doesn't it come along80  ,to his   
intense disgust1 he found his soul back 
in his body again1 and that body        
spluttering and choking in deep water4  
,the pain of the reunion was atrocious1 
but it was necessary1 also1 to fight for
 the body4 ,he was conscious of grasping
 wildly at wet sand1 and striding       

prodigiously1 as one strides in a dream1
 to keep foothold in the swirling water1
 till at last he hauled himself clear of
 the hold of the river1 and dropped1    
panting1 on wet earth4  8,not this      
night10 said ,peroo1 in his ear4 8,the  
,gods have protected us40 ,the ,lascar  
moved his feet cautiously1 and they     
rustled among dried stumps4 8,this is   
some island of last year's indigo-crop10
 he went on4 8,we shall find no men     
here2 but have great care1 ,sahib2 all  
the snakes of a hundred miles have been 
flooded out4 ,here comes the lightning1 
on the heels of the wind4 ,now we shall 
be able to look2 but walk carefully40   
,findlayson was far and far beyond any  
fear of snakes1 or indeed any merely    
human emotion4 ,he saw1 after he had    
rubbed the water from his eyes1 with an 
immense clearness1 and trod1 so it      
seemed to himself with                  
world-encompassing strides4 ,somewhere  
in the night of time he had built a     
bridge--a bridge that spanned           

illimitable levels of shining seas2 but 
the ,deluge had swept it away1 leaving  
this one island under heaven for        
,findlayson and his companion1 sole     
survivors of the breed of ,man4  ,an    
incessant lightning1 forked and blue1   
showed all that there was to be seen on 
the little patch in the flood--a clump  
of thorn1 a clump of swaying creaking   
bamboos1 and a grey gnarled peepul      
overshadowing a ,hindoo shrine1 from    
whose dome floated a tattered red flag4 
,the holy man whose summer resting-place
 it was had long since abandoned it1 and
 the weather had broken the red-daubed  
image of his god4 ,the two men stumbled1
 heavy-limbed and heavy-eyed1 over the  
ashes of a brick-set cooking-place1 and 
dropped down under the shelter of the   
branches1 while the rain and river      
roared together4  ,the stumps of the    
indigo crackled1 and there was a smell  
of cattle1 as a huge and dripping       
,brahminee bull shouldered his way under
 the tree4 ,the flashes revealed the    

trident mark of ,shiva on his flank1 the
 insolence of head and hump1 the        
luminous stag-like eyes1 the brow       
crowned with a wreath of sodden marigold
 blooms1 and the silky dewlap that      
almost swept the ground4 ,there was a   
noise behind him of other beasts coming 
up from the flood-line through the      
thicket1 a sound of heavy feet and deep 
breathing4  8,here be more beside       
ourselves10 said ,findlayson1 his head  
against the treepole1 looking through   
half-shut eyes1 wholly at ease4         
8,truly10 said ,peroo1 thickly1 8and no 
small ones40  8,what are they1 then8 ,i 
do not see clearly40  8,the ,gods4 ,who 
else8 ,look60  8,ah1 true6 ,the ,gods   
surely--the ,gods40 ,findlayson smiled  
as his head fell forward on his chest4  
,peroo was eminently right4 ,after the  
,flood1 who should be alive in the land 
except the ,gods that made it--the ,gods
 to whom his village prayed nightly--the
 ,gods who were in all men's mouths and 
about all men's ways4 ,he could not     

raise his head or stir a finger for the 
trance that held him1 and ,peroo was    
smiling vacantly at the lightning4  ,the
 ,bull paused by the shrine1 his head   
lowered to the damp earth4 ,a green     
,parrot in the branches preened his wet 
wings and screamed against the thunder  
as the circle under the tree filled with
 the shifting shadows of beasts4 ,there 
was a black ,buck at the ,bull's        
heels-such a ,buck as ,findlayson in his
 far-away life upon earth might have    
seen in dreams--a ,buck with a royal    
head1 ebon back1 silver belly1 and      
gleaming straight horns4 ,beside him1   
her head bowed to the ground1 the green 
eyes burning under the heavy brows1 with
 restless tail switching the dead grass1
 paced a ,tigress1 full-bellied and     
deep-jowled4  ,the ,bull crouched beside
 the shrine1 and there leaped from the  
darkness a monstrous grey ,ape1 who     
seated himself man-wise in the place of 
the fallen image1 and the rain spilled  
like jewels from the hair of his neck   

and shoulders4 ,other shadows came and  
went behind the circle1 among them a    
drunken ,man flourishing staff and      
drinking-bottle4 ,then a hoarse bellow  
broke out from near the ground4 8,the   
flood lessens even now10 it cried4      
8,hour by hour the water falls1 and     
their bridge still stands60  8,my       
bridge10 said ,findlayson to himself    
8,that must be very old work now4 ,what 
have the ,gods to do with my bridge80   
,his eyes rolled in the darkness        
following the roar4 ,a ,mugger--the     
blunt-nosed1 ford-haunting ,mugger of   
the ,ganges--draggled herself before the
 beasts1 lashing furiously to right and 
left with her tail4  8,they have made it
 too strong for me4 ,in all this night  
,i have only torn away a handful of     
planks4 ,the walls stand4 ,the towers   
stand4 ,they have chained my flood1 and 
the river is not free any more4         
,heavenly ,ones1 take this yoke away6   
,give me clear water between bank and   
bank6 ,it is ,i1 ,mother ,gunga1 that   

speak4 ,the ,justice of the ,gods6 ,deal
 me the ,justice of the ,gods60  8,what 
said ,i80 whispered ,peroo4 8,this is in
 truth a ,punchayet of the ,gods4 ,now  
we know that all the world is dead1 save
 you and ,i1 ,sahib40  ,the ,parrot     
screamed and fluttered again1 and the   
,tigress1 her ears flat to her head1    
snarled wickedly4  ,somewhere in the    
shadow1 a great trunk and gleaming tusks
 swayed to and fro1 and a low gurgle    
broke the silence that followed on the  
snarl4  8,we be here10 said a deep      
voice1 8the ,great ,ones4 ,one only and 
very many4 ,shiv1 my father1 is here1   
with ,indra4 ,kali has spoken already4  
,hanuman listens also40  8,kashi is     
without her ,kotwal to-night10 shouted  
the ,man with the drinking-bottle1      
flinging his staff to the ground1 while 
the island rang to the baying of hounds4
 8,give her the ,justice of the ,gods40 
8,ye were still when they polluted my   
waters10 the great ,crocodile bellowed4 
8,ye made no sign when my river was     

trapped between the walls4 ,i had no    
help save my own strength1 and that     
failed--the strength of ,mother ,gunga  
failed--before their guard-towers4 ,what
 could ,i do8 ,i have done everything4  
,finish now1 ,heavenly ,ones60  8,i     
brought the death2 ,i rode the spotted  
sick-ness from hut to hut of their      
workmen1 and yet they would not cease40 
,a nose-slitten1 hide-worn ,ass1 lame1  
scissor-legged1 and galled1 limped      
forward4 8,i cast the death at them out 
of my nostrils1 but they would not      
cease40  ,peroo would have moved1 but   
the opium lay heavy upon him4  8,bah60  
he said1 spitting4 8,here is ,sitala    
herself2 ,mata--the small-pox4 ,has the 
,sahib a handkerchief to put over his   
face80  8,little help6 ,they fed me the 
corpses for a month1 and ,i flung them  
out on my sand-bars1 but their work went
 forward4 ,demons they are1 and sons of 
demons6 ,and ye left ,mother ,gunga     
alone for their fire-carriage to make a 
mock of ,the ,justice of the ,gods on   

the bridge-builders60  ,the ,bull turned
 the cud in his mouth and answered      
slowly3 8,if the ,justice of the ,gods  
caught all who made a mock of holy      
things there would be many dark altars  
in the land1 mother40  8,but this goes  
beyond a mock10 said the ,tigress1      
darting forward a griping paw4 8,thou   
knowest1 ,shiv1 and ye1 too1 ,heavenly  
,ones2 ye know that they have defiled   
,gunga4 ,surely they must come to the   
,destroyer4 ,let ,indra judge40  ,the   
,buck made no movement as he answered3  
8,how long has this evil been8  8,three 
years1 as men count years10 said the    
,mugger1 close pressed to the earth4    
8,does ,mother ,gunga die1 then1 in a   
year1 that she is so anxious to see     
vengeance now8 ,the deep sea was where  
she runs but yesterday1 and to-morrow   
the sea shall cover her again as the    
,gods count that which men call time4   
,can any say that this their bridge     
endures till to-morrow80  said the      
,buck4  ,there was a long hush1 and in  

the clearing of the storm the full moon 
stood up above the dripping trees4      
8,judge ye1 then10 said the ,river1     
sullenly4 8,i have spoken my shame4 ,the
 flood falls still4 ,i can do no more40 
8,for my own part10--it was the voice of
 the great ,ape seated within the       
shrine--8it pleases me well to watch    
these men1 remembering that ,i also     
builded no small bridge in the world's  
youth40  8,they say1 too10 snarled the  
,tiger1 8that these men came of the     
wreck of thy armies1 ,hanuman1 and      
therefore thou hast aided--0  8,they    
toil as my armies toiled in ,lanka1 and 
they believe that their toil endures4   
,indra is too high1 but ,shiv1 thou     
knowest how the land is threaded with   
their fire-carriages40  8,yea1 ,i know10
 said the ,bull4 8,their ,gods          
instructed them in the matter40  ,a     
laugh ran round the circle4  8,their    
,gods6 ,what should their ,gods know8   
,they were born yesterday1 and those    
that made them are scarcely yet cold10  

said the ,mugger4 8,to-morrow their     
,gods will die40  8,ho60 said ,peroo4   
8,mother ,gunga talks good talk4 ,i told
 that to the padre-sahib who preached on
 the ,mombassa1 and he asked the ,burra 
,malum to put me in irons for a great   
rudeness40  8,surely they make these    
things to please their ,gods10 said the 
,bull again4  8,not altogether10 the    
,elephant rolled forth4 8,it is for the 
profit of my mahajuns--my fat           
money-lenders that worship me at each   
new year1 when they draw my image at the
 head of the account-books4 ,i1 looking 
over their shoulders by lamplight1 see  
that the names in the books are those of
 men in far places--for all the towns   
are drawn together by the fire-carriage1
 and the money comes and goes swiftly1  
and the account-books grow as fat       
as--myself4 ,and ,i1 who am ,ganesh of  
,good ,luck1 ,i bless my peoples40      
8,they have changed the face of the     
land-which is my land4 ,they have killed
 and made new towns on my banks10 said  

the ,mugger4  8,it is but the shifting  
of a little dirt4 ,let the dirt dig in  
the dirt if it pleases the dirt10       
answered the ,elephant4  8,but          
afterwards80 said the ,tiger4           
8,afterwards they will see that ,mother 
,gunga can avenge no insult1 and they   
fall away from her first1 and later from
 us all1 one by one4 ,in the end1       
,ganesh1 we are left with naked altars40
  ,the drunken ,man staggered to his    
feet1 and hiccupped vehemently4  8,kali 
lies4 ,my sister lies4 ,also this my    
stick is the ,kotwal of ,kashi1 and he  
keeps tally of my pilgrims4 ,when the   
time comes to worship ,bhairon-and it is
 always time--the fire-carriages move   
one by one1 and each bears a thousand   
pilgrims4 ,they do not come afoot any   
more1 but rolling upon wheels1 and my   
honour is increased40  8,gunga1 ,i have 
seen thy bed at ,pryag black with the   
pilgrims10 said the ,ape1 leaning       
forward1 8and but for the fire-carriage 
they would have come slowly and in fewer

 numbers4 ,remember40  8,they come to me
 always10 ,bhairon went on thickly4 8,by
 day and night they pray to me1 all the 
,common ,people in the fields and the   
roads4 ,who is like ,bhairon to-day8    
,what talk is this of changing faiths8  
,is my staff ,kotwal of ,kashi for      
nothing8 ,he keeps the tally1 and he    
says that never were so many altars as  
today1 and the fire-carriage serves them
 well4 ,bhairon am ,i--,bhairon of the  
,common ,people1 and the chiefest of the
 ,heavenly ,ones to-day4 ,also my staff 
says--0  8,peace1 thou10 lowed the      
,bull4 8,the worship of the schools is  
mine1 and they talk very wisely1 asking 
whether ,i be one or many1 as is the    
delight of my people1 and ye know what  
,i am4 ,kali1 my wife1 thou knowest     
also40  8,yea1 ,i know10 said the       
,tigress1 with lowered head4  8,greater 
am ,i than ,gunga also4 ,for ye know who
 moved the minds of men that they should
 count ,gunga holy among the rivers4    
,who die in that water--ye know how men 

say--come to us without punishment1 and 
,gunga knows that the fire-carriage has 
borne to her scores upon scores of such 
anxious ones2 and ,kali knows that she  
has held her chiefest festivals among   
the pilgrimages that are fed by the     
fire-carriage4 ,who smote at ,pooree1   
under the ,image there1 her thousands in
 a day and a night1 and bound the       
sickness to the wheels of the           
fire-carriages1 so that it ran from one 
end of the land to the other8 ,who but  
,kali8 ,before the fire-carriage came it
 was a heavy toil4 ,the fire-carriages  
have served thee well1 ,mother of       
,death4 ,but ,i speak for mine own      
altars1 who am not ,bhairon of the      
,common ,folk1 but ,shiv4 ,men go to and
 fro1 making words and telling talk of  
strange ,gods1 and ,i listen4 ,faith    
follows faith among my people in the    
schools1 and ,i have no anger2 for when 
all words are said1 and the new talk is 
ended1 to ,shiv men return at the last40
  8,true4 ,it is true10 murmured        

,hanuman4 8,to ,shiv and to the others1 
mother1 they return4 ,i creep from      
temple to temple in the ,north1 where   
they worship one ,god and ,his ,prophet2
 and presently my image is alone within 
their shrines40  8,small thanks10 said  
the ,buck1 turning his head slowly4 8,i 
am that ,one and ,his ,prophet also40   
8,even so1 father10 said ,hanuman4 8,and
 to the ,south ,i go who am the oldest  
of the ,gods as men know the ,gods1 and 
presently ,i touch the shrines of the   
,new ,faith and the ,woman whom we know 
is hewn twelve-armed1 and still they    
call her ,mary40  8,small thanks1       
brother10 said the ,tigress4 8,i am that
 ,woman40  8,even so1 sister2 and ,i go 
,west among the fire-carriages1 and     
stand before the bridge-builders in many
 shapes1 and because of me they change  
their faiths and are very wise4 ,ho6 ho6
 ,i am the builder of bridges1          
indeed--bridges between this and that1  
and each bridge leads surely to ,us in  
the end4 ,be content1 ,gunga4 ,neither  

these men nor those that follow them    
mock thee at all40  8,am ,i alone1 then1
 ,heavenly ,ones8 ,shall ,i smooth out  
my flood lest unhappily ,i bear away    
their walls8 ,will ,indra dry my springs
 in the hills and make me crawl humbly  
between their wharfs8 ,shall ,i bury me 
in the sand ere ,i offend80  8,and all  
for the sake of a little iron bar with  
the fire-carriage atop4 ,truly1 ,mother 
,gunga is always young60 said ,ganesh   
the ,elephant4 8,a child had not spoken 
more foolishly4 ,let the dirt dig in the
 dirt ere it return to the dirt4 ,i know
 only that my people grow rich and      
praise me4 ,shiv has said that the men  
of the schools do not forget2 ,bhairon  
is content for his crowd of the ,common 
,people2 and ,hanuman laughs40  8,surely
 ,i laugh10 said the ,ape4 8,my altars  
are few beside those of ,ganesh or      
,bhairon1 but the fire-carriages bring  
me new worshippers from beyond the      
,black ,water--the men who believe that 
their ,god is toil4 ,i run before them  

beckoning1 and they follow ,hanuman40   
8,give them the toil that they desire1  
then10 said the ,river4 8,make a bar    
across my flood and throw the water back
 upon the bridge4 ,once thou wast strong
 in ,lanka1 ,hanuman4 ,stoop and lift my
 bed40  8,who gives life can take life40
 ,the ,ape scratched in the mud with a  
long forefinger4 8,and yet1 who would   
profit by the killing8 ,very many would 
die40  ,there came up from the water a  
snatch of a love-song such as the boys  
sing when they watch their cattle in the
 noon heats of late spring4 ,the ,parrot
 screamed joyously1 sidling along his   
branch with lowered head as the song    
grew louder1 and in a patch of clear    
moonlight stood revealed the young herd1
 the darling of the ,gopis1 the idol of 
dreaming maids and of mothers ere their 
children are born ,krishna the          
,well-beloved4 ,he stooped to knot up   
his long wet hair1 and the ,parrot      
fluttered to his shoulder4  8,fleeting  
and singing1 and singing and fleeting10 

hiccupped ,bhairon4 8,those make thee   
late for the council1 brother40  8,and  
then80 said ,krishna1 with a laugh1     
throwing back his head4 8,ye can do     
little without me or ,karma here40 ,he  
fondled the ,parrot's plumage and       
laughed again4 8,what is this sitting   
and talking together8 ,i heard ,mother  
,gunga roaring in the dark1 and so came 
quickly from a hut where ,i lay warm4   
,and what have ye done to ,karma1 that  
he is so wet and silent8 ,and what does 
,mother ,gunga here8 ,are the heavens   
full that ye must come paddling in the  
mud beast-wise8 ,karma1 what do they    
do80  8,gunga has prayed for a vengeance
 on the bridge-builders1 and ,kali is   
with her4 ,now she bids ,hanuman whelm  
the bridge1 that her honour may be made 
great10 cried the ,parrot4 8,i waited   
here1 knowing that thou wouldst come1 ,o
 my master6  8,and the ,heavenly ,ones  
said nothing8 ,did ,gunga and the       
,mother of ,sorrows out-talk them8 ,did 
none speak for my people80  8,nay10 said

 ,ganesh1 moving uneasily from foot to  
foot2 8,i said it was but dirt at play1 
and why should we stamp it flat80  8,i  
was content to let them toil--well      
content10 said ,hanuman4  8,what had ,i 
to do with ,gunga's anger80 said the    
,bull4  8,i am ,bhairon of the ,common  
,folk1 and this my staff is ,kotwal of  
all ,kashi4 ,i spoke for the ,common    
,people40  8,thou80 ,the young ,god's   
eyes sparkled4  8,am ,i not the first of
 the ,gods in their mouths to-day80     
returned ,bhairon1 unabashed4 8,for the 
sake of the ,common ,people ,i          
said--very many wise things which ,i    
have now forgotten1 but this my staff-0 
,krishna turned impatiently1 saw the    
,mugger at his feet1 and kneeling1      
slipped an arm round the cold neck4     
8,mother10 he said gently1 8get thee to 
thy flood again4 ,the matter is not for 
thee4 ,what harm shall thy honour take  
of this live dirt8 ,thou hast given them
 their fields new year after year1 and  
by thy flood they are made strong4 ,they

 come all to thee at the last4 ,what    
need to slay them now8 ,have pity1      
mother1 for a little--and it is only for
 a little40  8,if it be only for a      
little10 the slow beast began4    8,are 
they ,gods1 then80 ,krishna returned    
with a laugh1 his eyes looking into the 
dull eyes of the ,river4 8,be certain   
that it is only for a little4 ,the      
,heavenly ,ones have heard thee1 and    
presently justice will be done4 ,go now1
 mother1 to the flood again4 ,men and   
cattle are thick on the waters--the     
banks fall--the villages melt because of
 thee40  8,but the bridge--the bridge   
stands40 ,the ,mugger turned grunting   
into the undergrowth as ,krishna rose4  
8,it is ended10 said the ,tigress1      
viciously4 8,there is no more justice   
from the ,heavenly ,ones4 ,ye have made 
shame and sport of ,gunga1 who asked no 
more than a few score lives40  8,of my  
people--who lie under the leaf-roofs of 
the village yonder--of the young girls1 
and the young men who sing to them in   

the dark--of the child that will be born
 next morn--of that which was begotten  
to-night10  said ,krishna4 8,and when   
all is done1 what profit8 ,to-morrow    
sees them at work4 ,ay1 if ye swept the 
bridge out from end to end they would   
begin anew4 ,hear me6 ,bhairon is drunk 
always4 ,hanuman mocks his people with  
new riddles40  8,nay1 but they are very 
old ones10 the ,ape said1 laughing4     
8,shiv hears the talk of the schools and
 the dreams of the holy men2 ,ganesh    
thinks only of his fat traders2 but     
,i--,i live with these my people1 asking
 for no gifts1 and so receiving them    
hourly40  8,and very tender art thou of 
thy people10 said the ,tigress4  8,they 
are my own4 ,the old women dream of me  
turning in their sleep2 the maids look  
and listen for me when they go to fill  
their lotahs by the river4 ,i walk by   
the young men waiting without the gates 
at dusk1 and ,i call over my shoulder to
 the white-beards4 ,ye know1 ,heavenly  
,ones1 that ,i alone of us all walk upon

 the earth continually1 and have no     
pleasure in our heavens so long as a    
green blade springs here1 or there are  
two voices at twilight in the standing  
crops4 ,wise are ye1 but ye live far    
off2 forgetting whence ye came4 ,so do  
,i not forget4 ,and the fire-carriage   
feeds your shrines1 ye say8 ,and the    
fire-carriages bring a thousand pilgrims
 where but ten came in the old years8   
,true4 ,that is true1 to-day40  8,but   
to-morrow they are dead1 brother10 said 
,ganesh4  8,peace60 said the ,bull1 as  
,hanuman leaned forward again4 8,and    
to-morrow1 beloved--what of to-morrow80 
8,this only4 ,a new word creeping from  
mouth to mouth among the ,common        
,folk--a word that neither man nor ,god 
can lay hold of--an evil word--a little 
lazy word among the ,common ,folk1      
saying 7and none know who set that word 
afoot7 that they weary of ye1 ,heavenly 
,ones40  ,the ,gods laughed together    
softly4 8,and then1 beloved10 they said4
  8,and to cover that weariness they1 my

 people1 will bring to thee1 ,shiv1 and 
to thee1 ,ganesh1 at first greater      
offerings and a louder noise of worship4
 ,but the word has gone abroad1 and1    
after1 they will pay fewer dues to your 
fat ,brahmins4 ,next they will forget   
your altars1 but so slowly that no man  
can say how his forgetfulness began40   
8,i knew--,i knew6 ,i spoke this also1  
but they would not hear10 said the      
,tigress4 8,we should have slain-we     
should have slain60  8,it is too late   
now4 ,ye should have slain at the       
beginning when the men from across the  
water had taught our folk nothing4 ,now 
my people see their work1 and go away   
thinking4 ,they do not think of the     
,heavenly ,ones altogether4 ,they think 
of the fire-carriage and the other      
things that the bridge-builders have    
done1 and when your priests thrust      
forward hands asking alms1 they give a  
little unwillingly4 ,that is the        
beginning1 among one or two1 or five or 
ten--for ,i1 moving among my people1    

know what is in their hearts40  8,and   
the end1 ,jester of the ,gods8 ,what    
shall the end be80 said ,ganesh4  8,the 
end shall be as it was in the beginning1
 ,o slothful son of ,shiv6 ,the flame   
shall die upon the altars and the prayer
 upon the tongue till ye become little  
,gods again--,gods of the jungle--names 
that the hunters of rats and noosers of 
dogs whisper in the thicket and among   
the caves--rag-,gods1 pot ,godlings of  
the tree1 and the village-mark1 as ye   
were at the beginning4 ,that is the end1
 ,ganesh1 for thee1 and for             
,bhairon--,bhairon of the ,common       
,people40  8,it is very far away10      
grunted ,bhairon4 8,also1 it is a lie40 
8,many women have kissed ,krishna4 ,they
 told him this to cheer their own hearts
 when the grey hairs came1 and he has   
told us the tale10 said the ,bull1 below
 his breath4  8,their ,gods came1 and we
 changed them4 ,i took the ,woman and   
made her twelve-armed4 ,so shall we     
twist all their ,gods10 said ,hanuman4  

8,their ,gods6 ,this is no question of  
their ,gods--one or three--man or woman4
 ,the matter is with the people4 ,i     
move1 and not the ,gods of the          
bridge-builders10 said ,krishna4  8,so  
be it4 ,i have made a man worship the   
fire-carriage as it stood still         
breathing smoke1 and he knew not that he
 worshipped me10 said ,hanuman the ,ape4
 8,they will only change a little the   
names of their ,gods4 ,i shall lead the 
builders of the bridges as of old2 ,shiv
 shall be worshipped in the schools by  
such as doubt and despise their fellows2
 ,ganesh shall have his mahajuns1 and   
,bhairon the donkey-drivers1 the        
pilgrims1 and the sellers of toys4      
,beloved1 they will do no more than     
change the names1 and that we have seen 
a thousand times40  8,surely they will  
do no more than change the names10      
echoed ,ganesh2 but there was an uneasy 
movement among the ,gods4  8,they will  
change more than the names4 ,me alone   
they cannot kill1 so long as a maiden   

and a man meet together or the spring   
follows the winter rains4 ,heavenly     
,ones1 not for nothing have ,i walked   
upon the earth4 ,my people know not now 
what they know2 but ,i1 who live with   
them1 ,i read their hearts4 ,great      
,kings1 the beginning of the end is born
 already4 ,the fire-carriages shout the 
names of new ,gods that are not the old 
under new names4 ,drink now and eat     
greatly6 ,bathe your faces in the smoke 
of the altars before they grow cold6    
,take dues and listen to the cymbals and
 the drums1 ,heavenly ,ones1 while yet  
there are flowers and songs4 ,as men    
count time the end is far off2 but as we
 who know reckon it is to-day4 ,i have  
spoken40  ,the young ,god ceased1 and   
his brethren looked at each other long  
in silence4  8,this ,i have not heard   
before10 ,peroo whispered in his        
companion's ear4 8,and yet sometimes1   
when ,i oiled the brasses in the        
engine-room of the ,goorkha1 ,i have    
wondered if our priests were so wise--so

 wise4 ,the day is coming1 ,sahib4 ,they
 will be gone by the morning40  ,a      
yellow light broadened in the sky1 and  
the tone of the river changed as the    
darkness withdrew4  ,suddenly the       
,elephant trumpeted aloud as though man 
had goaded him4  8,let ,indra judge4    
,father of all1 speak thou6 ,what of the
 things we have heard8 ,has ,krishna    
lied indeed8 ,or---0  8,ye know10 said  
the ,buck1 rising to his feet4 8,ye know
 the ,riddle of the ,gods4 ,when ,brahm 
ceases to dream1 the ,heavens and the   
,hells and ,earth disappear4 ,be        
content4 ,brahm dreams still4 ,the      
dreams come and go1 and the nature of   
the dreams changes1 but still ,brahm    
dreams4 ,krishna has walked too long    
upon earth1 and yet ,i love him the more
 for the tale he has told4 ,the ,gods   
change1 beloved--all save ,one60  8,ay1 
all save one that makes love in the     
hearts of men10 said ,krishna1 knotting 
his girdle4 8,it is but a little time to
 wait1 and ye shall know if ,i lie4     

,truly it is but a little time1 as thou 
sayest1 and we shall know4 ,get thee to 
thy huts again1 beloved1 and make sport 
for the young things1 for still ,brahm  
dreams4 ,go1 my children6 ,brahm dreams 
and till he wakes the ,gods die not40   
8,whither went they80 said the ,lascar1 
awe-struck1 shivering a little with the 
cold4  8,god knows60 said ,findlayson4  
,the river and the island lay in full   
daylight now1 and there was never mark  
of hoof or pug on the wet earth under   
the peepul4 ,only a parrot screamed in  
the branches1 bringing down showers of  
water-drops as he fluttered his wings4  
8,up6 ,we are cramped with cold6 ,has   
the opium died out4 ,canst thou move1   
,sahib80  ,findlayson staggered to his  
feet and shook himself4 ,his bead swam  
and ached1 but the work of the opium was
 over1 and1 as he sluiced his forehead  
in a pool1 the ,chief ,engineer of the  
,kashi ,bridge was wondering how he had 
managed to fall upon the island1 what   
chances the day offered of return1 and1 

above all1 how his work stood4  8,peroo1
 ,i have forgotten much ,i was under the
 guard-tower watching the river2 and    
then--,did the flood sweep us away80    
8,no4 ,the boats broke loose1 ,sahib1   
and10 7if the ,sahib had forgotten about
 the opium1 decidedly ,peroo would not  
remind him7 8in striving to retie them1 
so it seemed to me but it was dark--a   
rope caught the ,sahib and threw him    
upon a boat4 ,considering that we two1  
with ,hitchcock ,sahib1 built1 as it    
were1 that bridge1 ,i came also upon the
 boat1 which came riding on horseback1  
as it were1 on the nose of this island1 
and so1 splitting1 cast us ashore4 ,i   
made a great cry when the boat left the 
wharf and without doubt ,hitchcock      
,sahib will come for us4 ,as for the    
bridge1 so many have died in the        
building that it cannot fall40 ,a fierce
 sun1 that drew out all the smell of the
 sodden land1 had followed the storm1   
and in that clear light there was no    
room for a man to think of the dreams of

 the dark4 ,findlayson stared upstream1 
across the blaze of moving water1 till  
his eyes ached4 ,there was no sign of   
any bank to the ,ganges1 much less of a 
bridge-line4  8,we came down far10 he   
said4 8,it was wonderful that we were   
not drowned a hundred times40  8,that   
was the least of the wonder1 for no man 
dies before his time4 ,i have seen      
,sydney1 ,i have seen ,london1 and      
twenty great ports1 but10--,peroo looked
 at the damp1 discoloured shrine under  
the peepul--8never man has seen that we 
saw here40  8,what80  8,has the ,sahib  
forgotten2 or do we black men only see  
the ,gods80  8,there was a fever upon   
me40 ,findlayson was still looking      
uneasily across the water4 8,it seemed  
that the island was full of beasts and  
men talking1 but ,i do not remember4 ,a 
boat could live in this water now1 ,i   
think40  8,oho6 ,then it is true4       
#8,when ,brahm ceases to dream1 the     
,gods die4' ,now ,i know1 indeed1 what  
he meant4 ,once1 too1 the guru said as  

much to me2 but then ,i did not         
understand4 ,now ,i am wise40  8,what80 
said ,findlayson1 over his shoulder4    
,peroo went on as if he were talking to 
himself 8,six--seven--ten monsoons      
since1 ,i was watch on the fo'c'sle of  
the ,rewah--the ,kumpani's big boat--and
 there was a big tufan2 green and black 
water beating1 and ,i held fast to the  
life-lines1 choking under the waters4   
,then ,i thought of the ,gods--of ,those
 whom we saw to-night10--he stared      
curiously at ,findlayson's back1 but the
 white man was looking across the flood4
 8,yes1 ,i say of ,those whom we saw    
this night past1 and ,i called upon     
,them to protect me4 ,and while ,i      
prayed1 still keeping my lookout1 a big 
wave came and threw me forward upon the 
ring of the great black bow-anchor1 and 
the ,rewah rose high and high1 leaning  
towards the left-hand side1 and the     
water drew away from beneath her nose1  
and ,i lay upon my belly1 holding the   
ring1 and looking down into those great 

deeps4 ,then ,i thought1 even in the    
face of death3 ,if ,i lose hold ,i die1 
and for me neither the ,rewah nor my    
place by the galley where the rice is   
cooked1 nor ,bombay1 nor ,calcutta1 nor 
even ,london1 will be any more for me4  
#8,how shall ,i be sure1' ,i said1      
#8that the ,gods to whom ,i pray will   
abide at all8' ,this ,i thought1 and the
 ,rewah dropped her nose as a hammer    
falls1 and all the sea came in and slid 
me backwards along the fo'c'sle and over
 the break of the fo'c'sle1 and ,i very 
badly bruised my shin against the       
donkey-engine3 but ,i did not die1 and  
,i have seen the ,gods4 ,they are good  
for live men1 but for the dead4 4 4 4   
,they have spoken ,themselves4          
,therefore1 when ,i come to the village 
,i will beat the guru for talking       
riddles which are no riddles4 ,when     
,brahm ceases to dream the ,gods go40   
8,look up-stream4 ,the light blinds4 ,is
 there smoke yonder80  ,peroo shaded his
 eyes with his hands4 8,he is a wise man

 and quick4 ,hitchcock ,sahib would not 
trust a rowboat4 ,he has borrowed the   
,rao ,sahib's steam-launch1 and comes to
 look for us4 ,i have always said that  
there should have been a steam-launch on
 the bridge works for us40  ,the        
territory of the ,rao of ,baraon lay    
within ten miles of the bridge2 and     
,findlayson and ,hitchcock had spent a  
fair portion of their scanty leisure in 
playing billiards and shooting blackbuck
 with the young man4 ,he had been       
bearded by an ,english tutor of sporting
 tastes for some five or six years1 and 
was now royally wasting the revenues    
accumulated during his minority by the  
,indian ,government4 ,his steam-launch1 
with its silver-plated rails1 striped   
silk awning1 and mahogany decks1 was a  
new toy which ,findlayson had found     
horribly in the way when the ,rao came  
to look at the bridge works4  8,it's    
great luck10 murmured ,findlayson1 but  
he was none the less afraid1 wondering  
what news might be of the bridge4  ,the 

gaudy blue-and-white funnel came        
downstream swiftly4 ,they could see     
,hitchcock in the bows1 with a pair of  
opera-glasses1 and his face was         
unusually white4 ,then ,peroo hailed1   
and the launch made for the tail of the 
island4 ,the ,rao ,sahib1 in tweed      
shooting-suit and a seven-hued turban1  
waved his royal hand1 and ,hitchcock    
shouted4 ,but he need have asked no     
questions1 for ,findlayson's first      
demand was for his bridge4  8,all       
serene6 #8,gad1 ,i never expected to see
 you again1 ,findlayson4 ,you're seven  
koss downstream4 ,yes2 there's not a    
stone shifted anywhere2 but how are you8
 ,i borrowed the ,rao ,sahib's launch1  
and he was good enough to come along4   
,jump in4 ,ah1 ,finlinson1 you are very 
well1 eh8 ,that was most unprecedented  
calamity last night1 eh8 ,my royal      
palace1 too1 it leaks like the devil1   
and the crops will also be short all    
about my country4 ,now you shall back   
her out1 ,hitchcock4 ,i--,i do not      

understand steam-engines4 ,you are wet8 
,you are cold1 ,finlinson8 ,i have some 
things to eat here1 and you will take a 
good drink40  8,i'm immensely grateful1 
,rao ,sahib4 ,i believe you've saved my 
life4 ,how did ,hitchcock--0  8,oho6    
,his hair was upon end4 ,he rode to me  
in the middle of the night and woke me  
up in the arms of ,morpheus4 ,i was most
 truly concerned1 ,finlinson1 so ,i came
 too4 ,my head-priest he is very angry  
just now4 ,we will go quick1 ,mister    
,hitchcock4 ,i am due to attend at      
twelve forty-five in the state temple1  
where we sanctify some new idol4 ,if not
 so ,i would have asked you to spend the
 day with me4 ,they are dam-bore1 these 
religious ceremonies1 ,finlinson1 eh80  
,peroo1 well known to the crew1 had     
possessed himself of the inlaid wheel1  
and was taking the launch craftily      
up-stream4 ,but while he steered he was1
 in his mind1 handling two feet of      
partially untwisted wire-rope2 and the  
back upon which he beat was the back of 

his guru4