XXXII 



THE BABU 



WE stretched ourselves stiffly in the first gray of 

 dawn, wondering where we could get a 

 mouthful of breakfast. On emerging from the station 

 a strange and gladsome sight met our eyes viz., 

 chop boxes and gun cases put off from last night's 

 train, and belonging to some sportsman not yet 

 arrived. Necessity knows no law; so we promptly 

 helped ourselves to food and gun cleaning imple- 

 ments. Much refreshed we lit our pipes, and settled 

 ourselves to wait for our delinquents. 



Shortly after sunrise an Indian track inspector 

 trundled in on a handcar propelled by two natives. 

 He was a suave and corpulent person with a very- 

 large umbrella and beautiful silken garments. 

 The natives upset the handcar off the track, and 

 the newcomer settled himself for an enjoyable 

 morning. He and the babu discussed ethics and 

 metaphysical philosophy for three solid hours. Evi- 

 dently they came from different parts of India, and 

 their only common language was English. Through 



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