1

V

Born To Be Robbers

TEVAN1 was excited. He had every reason to be, for he was out on his first real "expedition." He was a wellbuilt, muscular boy of sixteen, a Piramalai Kallar 2 by caste. "Piramalai" means, "behind the mountain,” and "Kallar" means, "robber." The Piramalai Kallars took refuge centuries ago behind the Naga-Malai or Snake Mountain in the Madura District in South India. Thence they have spread over a wide section of dry country where they till the rocky soil, which yields them only a scant living in good seasons. It is utterly inadequate when the rains fail, and then? Why, there are plenty of well-to-do merchants to be robbed. The Piramalai Kallars scarcely need this incentive of necessity to crime, for robbery is the very spice of life to them.

Think of being born into a family and into a community where every male is expected to be a robber and where a good father will not consider giving an attractive daughter to any young man who has not proved his worth by his skill and boldness in several dacoities, or stealing expeditions!

Had Tevan received any education? Oh, yes. From early boyhood he had been taught by his father how to move about safely and noiselessly at night, how to place the deadly knife securely in his knotted hair where it would be ready for an emergency, how to tell lies successfully in case of need, and how to cover his tracks when he was pursued. This teaching had been rein

1 Tevun.

2 Pirumullai Kullar.

forced by many a tale of bold attack and thrilling escape told at the village rest-house, where the men gathered in the evening. Moreover, he had learned the simple traditions and practises of the primitive Indian farmer and had become skilled in bull baiting-the favorite sport of the Kallars.

Had he learned to read and write? Of course not. How would that help him to steal or to plow? And did he know that stealing with possible murder was wrong? How should he? He had gone regularly with his family and fellow-villagers to worship the little black image of Kuruppan which stood on a platform under a tree. They asked Kuruppan's blessing when they started out on a dacoity, and they offered him their thanks when they returned successful. It was their god who gave them skill and cunning. He was the god of robbery. "The official takes bribes, the merchant sands the sugar, but we choose a more open, courageous way of gathering the loot," is what his father might say if he were reproached for a robbery. But Tevan would have no such answer to make. He would simply be amazed if anyone should hint to him that stealing was wrong. "I am a Kallar," he would reply, and that would seem to him enough. To betray a comrade would be wrong, but to steal and lie and even, if necessary, to murder were his duty as a Kallar and would win him favor with God and man.

And so, in the year of grace 1918, he was standing on tiptoe, waiting for the word to go forward into his first adventure. It was a big adventure, and that he had been chosen was an indication of how promising a pupil he was. This was not an affair of cattle stealing

or even of breaking into a native merchant's house. They were planning no less than to rob a certain unpopular English officer, Robertson Thurai (Honorable Mr. Robertson), who was on a tour of the district and was making his temporary headquarters in a traveler's bungalow thirty miles from Tevan's village.

For one thing, Robertson Thurai had refused to pay five rupees a month to a Kallar "watchman" for his house. These watchmen do not watch. They merely come around once a month for their pay; but it is understood that no Kallar will rob a house whose owner pays tribute. Robertson Thurai had not only refused to pay, but had sworn roundly at the Kallar who came to offer this service and had driven him away from his bungalow. The Kallars had other things against Robertson Thurai. He had made a court decision that bore heavily on some of them. So this robbery had a double motive. They were seeking both booty and revenge.

There were eight Kallars in the party, and they had tramped the thirty miles that day. Now it was two o'clock in the morning, and they all stood barefooted, their dark brown bodies naked save for a loin cloth and greased so that they might easily wriggle out of anyone's grasp. The word to start was given. Tevan's father, Vellian, laid his hand on his son's shoulder as a last token of warning and encouragement. Then, silently, they slipped into the compound of the traveler's bungalow where Robertson Thurai was staying, and past the sleeping servants on the veranda.

Inside, they paused long enough to allow their eyes to become used to the darkness. They could tell where the Thurai's bed lay by the noise of heavy breathing.

Tevan and one other had been assigned to that corner. The other carried a heavy stick and stood over the sleeper, ready to club him into unconsciousness if he woke up during the operation. Tevan slipped between the bed and the wall, where he felt cautiously in the corner. His hand struck the cold, smooth surface of a gun-barrel placed near at hand by the English officer for his protection. He raised the deadly weapon quickly and crept noiselessly out, stopping only to grasp a servant's bundle which his foot stumbled against near the door. He was the first back at the rendezvous; soon two more came, stooping under the weight of a heavy trunk which they had carried out of the sleeping-room so silently that no one was disturbed.

When all had returned, a formidable amount of loot lay piled before them, including a large steel dispatch box which probably contained money. They had the Thurai's watch and pocketbook as well.

"Kuruppan has blessed us," said the leader. "Let us hurry away before the alarm is given." So without waiting to return for a second haul, they started. Earlier in the night they had "borrowed" a cart and a pair of bullocks, and long before daybreak they were on their way to their village, most of the party sleeping in various positions of discomfort in the crude two-wheeled cart, while the leader drove the bullocks, keeping a sharp lookout for danger.

Now it was unfortunate for the success of Tevan's first expedition that this particular Englishman happened to be having a poor night. It was not long after the robbers had started, before Robertson Thurai woke up and flashed his night light to see what time it was.

He was wide awake at once when he realized that his watch was gone from the table. He climbed out from under the large mosquito net which covered his bed and quickly took in his losses the rifle, the trunk, and, most of all, the dispatch case which, it happened, contained important documents. With a few strides he was out and shaking the sleeping watchman with no gentle hand. "Get up!" he said.

"Oh-oh, Excellency, I have not been asleep, but was just resting," lied the scared man, holding up an arm to protect himself from the expected blow. In a moment the compound was alive with activity, and in another moment Mr. Robertson was dressed and striding to the shed where his car lay. A few minutes later, and he was out on the road.

The second unlucky circumstance of that night for the Kallars was the fact that the police superintendent of the Madura District was camping only fifteen. miles away from Mr. Robertson in a village on the same macadamized road, and it was scarcely more than half an hour before he too was jumping from his bed, aroused by Mr. Robertson's call. Soon two automobiles, each with an English sahib at the wheel, and with four Indian policemen crowded in, were tearing back over the road. It took the police sahib only a short time to recognize the work of the Piramalai Kallars, and his plan of campaign was formed at once. One automobile load was to go ahead as far as the roads would carry them toward the Snake Mountain country; then they were to spread out and watch the most likely roads and paths. The police superintendent borrowed horses from the robbed official for himself and his posse and, following the rough cart