ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 141 



however, who, being of a good wholesome brown, were 

 retained to work, seemed so much aggrieved that they were 

 promised double wages. At this turn of affairs they set 

 to work with a will, and became quite chatty, laughing 

 amongst themselves as at a very good joke. 



The work of these men interested me greatly, and I stood 

 watching their deft fingers so doubling and twisting the 

 damped pliant canes as to fit perfectly into every corner 

 and crevice and recess, even the very smallest, without 

 leaving an inch of bare floor visible anywhere, no matter 

 what shape the rooms might be. They never looked up 

 for an instant, but went on plaiting and weaving and fitting 

 inch by inch, adding yard to yard — in a pattern, too — each 

 man's work meeting his neighbour's and dovetailing into 

 it as if by magic, a little sharp knife their only tool. 



Their joke lasted them all that day, and when paying- time 

 came it seemed almost too much for them. While they 

 were working such behaviour passed for mirth, but they 

 knew it was not respectful to laugh in my presence after- 

 wards, and tried to hide behind each other discreetly. 

 As a rule, it is not well to be inquisitive about what natives 

 may be jabbering and making merry over, but there was 

 something about these people that I could not resist having 

 them asked what was amusing them so much. It was this, 

 that those men with the pale patches on their skin should 

 have been sent away on full wages, whilst they who remained 

 received double money. They were all just the same ; in 

 some the patches showed outwardly, in others they did 

 not. In proof of this they would, if I liked, bring me their 

 children to see. All were lepers together, and it was so 

 very funny for the Dursani to want to pay people for that 

 sort of thing ! They missed my point entirely, and I as 

 certainly missed theirs, for I saw nothing amusing about it, 

 nor did I wish for an exhibition of their children. After 

 the account they gave of themselves I objected to having 



