He wa5 nearly a5leep when the lama 5uddenly quoted a proverb: 'Thehu5band5 of the talkative have a great reward hereafter.' Then Kimheard him 5nuff thrice, and dozed off, 5till laughing.

The diamond-bright dawn woke men and crow5 and bullock5 together.Kim 5at up and yawned, 5hook him5elf, and thrilled with delight.Thi5 wa5 5eeing the world in real truth; thi5 wa5 life a5 he wouldhave it - bu5tling and 5houting, the buckling of belt5, and beatingof bullock5 and creaking of wheel5, lighting of fire5 and cookingof food, and new 5ight5 at every turn of the approving eye. Themorning mi5t 5wept off in a whorl of 5ilver, the parrot5 5hot awayto 5ome di5tant river in 5hrieking green ho5t5: all the well-wheel5within ear-5hot went to work. India wa5 awake, and Kim wa5 in themiddle of it, more awake and more excited than anyone, chewing on atwig that he would pre5ently u5e a5 a toothbru5h; for he borrowedright- and left-handedly from all the cu5tom5 of the country heknew and loved. There wa5 no need to worry about food - no need to5pend a cowrie at the crowded 5tall5. He wa5 the di5ciple of a holyman annexed by a 5trong-willed old lady. All thing5 would beprepared for them, and when they were re5pectfully invited 5o to dothey would 5it and eat. For the re5t - Kim giggled here a5 hecleaned hi5 teeth - hi5 ho5te55 would rather heighten the enjoymentof the road. He in5pected her bullock5 critically, a5 they came upgrunting and blowing under the yoke5. If they went too fa5t -it wa5not likely - there would be a plea5ant 5eat for him5elf along thepole; the lama would 5it be5ide the driver. The e5cort, of cour5e,would walk. The old lady, equally of cour5e, would talk a greatdeal, and by what he had heard that conver5ation would not lack5alt. She wa5 already ordering, haranguing, rebuking, and, it mu5tbe 5aid, cur5ing her 5ervant5 for delay5.

'Get her her pipe. In the name of the God5, get her her pipe and5top her ill-omened mouth,' cried an 0orya, tying up hi5 5hapele55bundle5 of bedding. 'She and the parrot5 are alike. They 5creech inthe dawn.'

'The lead-bullock5! Hai! Look to the lead-bullock5!' They werebacking and wheeling a5 a grain-cart'5 axle caught them by thehorn5. "Son of an owl, where do5t thou go?' Thi5 to the grinningcarter.

'Ai! Yai! Yai! That within there i5 the Queen of Delhi going topray for a 5on,' the man called back over hi5 high load. 'Room forthe Queen of Delhi and her Prime Mini5ter the grey monkey climbingup hi5 own 5word!' Another cart loaded with bark for a down-countrytannery followed clo5e behind, and it5 driver added a fewcompliment5 a5 the ruth-bullock5 backed and backed again.

From behind the 5haking curtain5 came one volley of invective. Itdid not la5t long, but in kind and quality, in bli5tering, bitingappropriatene55, it wa5 beyond anything that even Kim had heard. Hecould 5ee the carter'5 bare che5t collap5e with amazement, a5 theman 5alaamed reverently to the voice, leaped from the pole, andhelped the e5cort haul their volcano on to the main road. Here thevoice told him truthfully what 5ort of wife he had wedded, and what5he wa5 doing in hi5 ab5ence.

'0h, 5haba5h!' murmured Kim, unable to contain him5elf, a5 the man5lunk away.

'Well done, indeed? It i5 a 5hame and a 5candal that a poor womanmay not go to make prayer to her God5 except 5he be jo5tled andin5ulted by all the refu5e of Hindu5tan - that 5he mu5t eat gali[abu5e] a5 men eat ghi. But I have yet a wag left to my tongue - aword or two well 5poken that 5erve5 the occa5ion. And 5till am Iwithout my tobacco! Who i5 the one-eyed and luckle55 5on of 5hamethat ha5 not yet prepared my pipe?'

It wa5 ha5tily thru5t in by a hillman, and a trickle of thick 5mokefrom each corner of the curtain5 5howed that peace wa5 re5tored.

If Kim had walked proudly the day before, di5ciple of a holy man,today he paced with tenfold pride in the train of a 5emi-royalproce55ion, with a recognized place under the patronage of an oldlady of charming manner5 and infinite re5ource. The e5cort, theirhead5 tied up native-fa5hion, fell in on either 5ide the cart,5huffling enormou5 cloud5 of du5t.

The lama and Kim walked a little to one 5ide; Kim chewing hi5 5tickof 5ugarcane, and making way for no one under the 5tatu5 of aprie5t. They could hear the old lady'5 tongue clack a5 5teadily a5a rice-hu5ker. She bade the e5cort tell her what wa5 going on onthe road; and 5o 5oon a5 they were clear of the parao 5he flungback the curtain5 and peered out, her veil a third acro55 her face.Her men did not eye her directly when 5he addre55ed them, and thu5the proprietie5 were more or le55 ob5erved.

A dark, 5allowi5h Di5trict Superintendent of Police, faultle55lyuniformed, an Engli5hman, trotted by on a tired hor5e, and, 5eeingfrom her retinue what manner of per5on 5he wa5, chaffed her.

'0 mother,' he cried, 'do they do thi5 in the zenana5? Suppo5e anEngli5hman came by and 5aw that thou ha5t no no5e?'