112 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



to make him give a name which he could not give. The 

 peon's story was the same, and it was likely enough, only 

 that according to him he was not guilty of the torture ; it 

 must have been his substitute or predecessor. ' How long 

 ago was that ? ' I asked, for the old man's wounds were 

 evidently recent. My mind was quite made up, and I 

 promised that justice should be done. The peon under- 

 stood as, with cringing salaams, he backed himself off. 



The old man was taken away to be supplied with food 

 and something soothing for his aged, injured body, both 

 of which he so much needed ; then he slept in peace, know- 

 ing that all would be well as soon as he could get speech 

 with the Doray. The fact that all had access to him was 

 the very simple secret why my husband was reverenced 

 and feared by those under his jurisdiction ; the tales of all 

 were listened to with attention that their truth or false- 

 hood might be sifted out, and rights were respected instead 

 of the poorest or the weakest being crushed, as must often 

 happen when there are no means to pay go-betweens, in the 

 form of interpreters, if these are required. 



In this instance the peon was then and there dismissed 

 the Government service for his illegal attempt to extort 

 confession by torture. His face convinced me of his guilt, 

 I know, and it was the grey eyes that did it. I should not 

 have believed a word that peon had said even without the 

 mute witness of those wounded wrists. Every proven case 

 of cruelty ended in a similar way, and the perpetrator was 

 given but short shrift. F. being paramount in his district 

 in these matters, there was no appeal from his sentences. 



Another quickly arranged form of persuasion often re- 

 sorted to was the twisting of oiled rags round a man's, 

 or even a woman's or a child's, fingers, and setting them 

 alight in order to extort a name, perhaps a suggested one, 

 according to what was wanted. The agonised creature 

 mostly shrieked anything, everything, or if of different 



