e, and whole quarters are
just so many rabbit-warrens. Wait till you see the Machua Bazar. Well,
besides the petty theft and burglary, we have heavy cases of forgery and
fraud, that leave us with our wits pitted against a Bengali's. When a
Bengali criminal is working a fraud of the sort he loves, he is about
the cleverest soul you could wish for. He gives us cases a year long to
unravel. Then there are the murders in the low houses--very curious
things they are. You'll see the house where Sheikh Babu was murdered
presently, and you'll understand. The Burra Bazar and Jora Bagan
sections are the two worst ones for heavy cases; but Colootollah is the
most aggravating. There's Colootollah over yonder--that patch of
darkness beyond the lights. That section is full of tuppenny-ha'penny
petty cases, that keep the men up all night and make 'em swear. You'll
see Colootollah, and then perhaps you'll understand. Bamun Bustee is the
quietest of all, and Lal Bazar and Bow Bazar, as you can see for
yourself, are the rowdiest. You've no notion what the natives come to
the police station for. A man will come on and want a summons against
his master for refusing him half-an-hour's leave. I suppose it _does_
seem rather revolutionary to an up-country man, but they try to do it
here. Now wait a minute, before we go down into the city and see the
Fire Brigade turned out. Business is slack with them just now, but you
time 'em and see." An order is given, and a bell strikes softly thrice.
There is a rush of men, the click of a bolt, a red fire-engine, spitting
and swearing with the sparks flying from the furnace, is dragged out of
its shelter. A huge brake, which holds supplementary horses, men, and
hatchets, follows, and a hose-cart is the third on the list. The men
push the heavy things about as though they were pith toys. The men
clamber up, some one says softly, "All ready there," and with an angry
whistle the fire-engine, followed by the other two, flies out into Lal
Bazar. Time--1 min. 40 secs. "They'll find out it's a false alarm, and
come back again in five minutes." "Why?" "Because there will be no
constables on the road to give 'em the direction of the fire, and
because the driver wasn't told the ward of the outbreak when he went
out!" "Do you mean to say that you can from this absurd pigeon-loft
locate the wards in the night-time?" "What would be the good of a
look-out if the man couldn't tell where the fire was?" "But it's all
pit