At the end of a few minutes I heard a rustle and a creak; then Gunga Dass in a
sobbing, choking whisper speaking to himself; then a soft thud--and I
uncovered my eyes.
The dry sand had turned the corpse entrusted to its keeping into a yellow-
brown mummy. I told Gunga Dass to stand off while I examined it.
The body--clad in an olive-green hunting-suit much stained and worn, with
leather pads on the shoulders--was that of a man between thirty and forty,
above middle height, with light, sandy hair, long mustache, and a rough
unkempt beard. The left canine of the upper jaw was missing, and a portion of
the lobe of the right ear was gone. On the second finger of the left hand was
a ring--a shield-shaped bloodstone set in gold, with a monogram that might
have been either "B.K." or "B.L." On the third finger of the right hand was a
silver ring in the shape of a coiled cobra, much worn and tarnished. Gunga
Dass deposited a handful of trifles he had picked out of the burrow at my
feet, and, covering the face of the body with my handkerchief, I turned to
examine these. I give the full list in the hope that it may lead to the
identification of the unfortunate man:
1. Bowl of a briarwood pipe, serrated at the edge; much worn and blackened;
bound with string at the crew.
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