Outlaw in India by Philip Roy Read Free Book Online

tell him it was just a game. But it seemed to mean
     a lot more to him than that. My grandfather had taught me how to play, and he
     followed the principle of “showing no quarter,” which meant he never let me
     win. He said I would learn faster that way, and whenever I did win, it would be
     a true win. Now, I always beat my grandfather in chess (mostly because he
     doesn’t like to take risks) and I show him no quarter. Ziegfried is an expert
     player and I play with him whenever I feel like taking a beating. He is
     absolutely merciless and I never last more than ten moves.My
     only strategy is to try to distract him, as in the time I asked him the
     difference between a water buffalo and a bison.
    “What?” he said.
    “The difference between a water buffalo and a bison.”
    “Just a minute.” He twisted his mouth to one side. “Horns.”
    “What?”
    “A water buffalo has longer horns. Checkmate!”
    But Radji was only ten, and I was sixteen. Still, I felt I should tell him that
     I would give him no quarter, and then explain what it meant. And so I did. Then
     he said something to me, and I tried really hard to read his lips. I’m pretty
     sure he said, “I won’t give you any either.”
    He learned very quickly. He played as if it were life and death, and yet when
     he lost, over and over and over again, he didn’t get discouraged. He only wanted
     to play more.
    Before bed I turned on the short-wave radio and attempted to call Ziegfried.
     Radji sat beside me as I spoke into the transmitter. I asked him to listen for a
     deep man’s voice. The man would say my name—Al. I started speaking, explaining
     that I could talk but not hear, and that my friend, Radji, would listen for me.
     Radji listened intensely, but for a long time there was nothing. I think he
     would have stayed up all night trying but I was getting tired. Suddenly his face
     lit up and I saw him speak into the transmitter. “Is it Ziegfried?” I asked.
     Radji asked, then nodded. So, I started talking again and explained that I had
     an infection in my ears but was taking drops for it and it would clear up very
     soon. Everything elsewas fine. I hoped everyone at home was
     great, and would he please contact my sister for me and explain why I hadn’t
     called? Radji listened to Ziegfried’s response, then spoke back to him again and
     smiled. I could tell he was excited to speak into the short-wave, and I was
     grateful for his help. Going without hearing was extremely inconvenient, and I
     would be glad when it returned. By then, I would be ready to leave Kochi. That
     would mean saying goodbye to Radji though, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.
     But that was the way Hollie, Seaweed and I travelled—we met people, made
     friends, and moved on. It was what we were used to. What I couldn’t know, of
     course, was what it might mean to Radji.

Chapter Seven

    THE EARDROPS WORKED pretty well. After just a few days I could
     hear loud sounds, but not quiet ones. Each day my hearing got better. I started
     to hear Radji, without understanding him yet. He sounded like a baby goat, he
     spoke so quietly. But I heard him shout once, when he took my knight in chess.
     He didn’t know at the time that it was a trap to get his queen. I thought I
     detected a little frustration in him when I took his queen, but maybe I was just
     imagining it because that’s how I would have felt. It didn’t feel right to be so
     ruthless with him. He must have thought I was mean. On the other hand, watching
     how quickly he learned to play chess made me think that he could probably learn
     to do anything because he wasso determined and patient. Each
     day he put on his skin cream and rubbed it in carefully. Then he shoved his arms
     under my nose with a questioning look on his face. I looked closely at his skin.
     It seemed a little bit whiter to me, although it was also kind of blotchy. It
     didn’t look as though it was going to last. I nodded