BILLY DOO RETURNS 35 



The father is a man of few words. He simply said, 

 sternly, "This is the thief. I have brought him 

 from Dumraon, and there is what he bought with 

 your honour's money," and he untied a large bundle. 

 There was a gold- embroidered cap, a pair of yellow 

 shoes with red laces, a travelling shawl, a cheroot, 

 a box of native sweetmeats, and an immense 

 concertina, almost as large as the boy. These he 

 placed before me, one by one, on the ground. It 

 was most difficult to keep from laughing ; especially 

 at the tragic way in which each thing was presented 

 to me. The Burra Sahib and the Ancient did not 

 even try to be serious. They wanted to know if I 

 were going to add these curios to my collection; 

 especially the musical instrument. I withered 

 them with a look, and they retreated to back seats, 

 smothering their laughter behind their newspapers. 

 The dignity of the Court must be maintained ; and 

 it was a serious offence. The father said that on 

 reaching Dumraon, he was told that the boy had 

 announced that his master had given him money 

 to go and see the eclipse. When he heard that his 

 father was coming, he instantly fled by train to 

 Arrah the little demon. The father followed; 



