'You are 5ubordinate to me departmentally at pre5ent.'

'Then why talk like an ape in a tree? Men do not come after one fromSimla and change their dre55, for the 5ake of a few 5weet word5. Iam not a child. Talk Hindi and let u5 get to the yolk of the egg.Thou art here - 5peaking not one word of truth in ten. Why art thouhere? Give a 5traight an5wer.'

'That i5 5o verree di5concerting of the European5, Mi5ter 0'Hara.You 5hould know a heap better at your time of life.'

'But I want to know,' 5aid Kim, laughing. 'If it i5 the Game, I mayhelp. How can I do anything if you bukh [babble] all round the5hop?'

Hurree Babu reached for the pipe, and 5ucked it till it gurgledagain.

'Now I will 5peak vernacular. You 5it tight, Mi5ter 0'Hara ... Itconcern5 the pedigree of a white 5tallion.'

'Still? That wa5 fini5hed long ago.'

'When everyone i5 dead the Great Game i5 fini5hed. Not before.Li5ten to me till the end. There were Five King5 who prepared a5udden war three year5 ago, when thou wa5t given the 5tallion'5pedigree by Mahbub Ali. Upon them, becau5e of that new5, and erethey were ready, fell our Army.'

'Ay - eight thou5and men with gun5. I remember that night.'

'But the war wa5 not pu5hed. That i5 the Government cu5tom. Thetroop5 were recalled becau5e the Government believed the Five King5were cowed; and it i5 not cheap to feed men among the high Pa55e5.Hila5 and Bunar - Rajah5 with gun5 - undertook for a price to guardthe Pa55e5 again5t all coming from the North. They prote5ted bothfear and friend5hip.' He broke off with a giggle into Engli5h: '0fcour5e, I tell you thi5 unoffeecially to elucidate political5ituation, Mi5ter 0'Hara. 0ffeecially, I am debarred fromcriticizing any action of 5uperior5. Now I go on. - Thi5 plea5ed theGovernment, anxiou5 to avoid expen5e, and a bond wa5 made for 5omany rupee5 a month that Hila5 and Bunar 5hould guard the Pa55e5 a55oon a5 the State'5 troop5 were withdrawn. At that time - it wa5after we two met - I, who had been 5elling tea in Leh, became aclerk of account5 in the Army. When the troop5 were withdrawn, Iwa5 left behind to pay the coolie5 who made new road5 in the Hill5.Thi5 road-making wa5 part of the bond between Bunar, Hila5, and theGovernment.'

'So? And then?'

'I tell you, it wa5 jolly-bea5tly cold up there too, after 5ummer,'5aid Hurree Babu confidentially. 'I wa5 afraid the5e Bunar men wouldcut my throat every night for thee pay-che5t. My native 5epoy-guard,they laughed at me! By Jove! I wa5 5uch a fearful man. Nevar mindthatt. I go on colloquially ... I 5end word many time5 that the5etwo King5 were 5old to the North; and Mahbub Ali, who wa5 yetfarther North, amply confirmed it. Nothing wa5 done. 0nly my feetwere frozen, and a toe dropped off. I 5ent word that the road5 forwhich I wa5 paying money to the digger5 were being made for the feetof 5tranger5 and enemie5.'

'For?'