The Malicious Monocle

 Orangutan had fretted over his wife’s absence when he came home from market. Now, in the custody of Bengal and his men, he was feeling blind panic. None of the soldiers uttered a word as they surrounded him and began the march through the jungle towards Patna.

Orangutan’s heart would life at every sound - real or imagined - from the jungle. Hoping deep down that Zebu or someone else was just out of sight about to enact a rescue.

There was no rescue for Orangutan. Two privates forced him into a dingy cell in Hedgehog’s gaol. The straw, moldy with rot, silently squished beneath Orangutan as he fell limply to the ground.

The lack of any sort of rescue left any hope Orangutan might have had crushed before it could even take root. Before Hedgehog’s interrogator had the chance to demonstrate his extensive skill in breaking a prisoner, Orangutan had broken himself.