96 JUNE 



that holland frill overhead, in the vain endeavour 

 to cool us ; and him I caused to carry a basketful 

 of lumps of the broken roof and dump them down 

 in a line by the wall. The larger lumps he carried 

 one at a time on his head, so our progress with the 

 rockery was somewhat slow. Anyhow the prepara- 

 tions for it were more interesting than sitting indoors 

 covered with dust and native tobacco smoke ; for 

 all the world like living in a " bustee ! " The poor 

 women always take their babies with them when en- 

 gaged in building houses, and naturally the infants 

 cry, which is very plaintive when you can't stop it. 

 One was terribly frightened once when I spoke to 

 it. Its little elder sister smiled pleasantly, but the 

 babe clung to her in mortal terror. " What is it ? 

 What is it ? " it demanded, and roared, much as 

 an English child might, on seeing a black man for 

 the first time. " What is that dreadful thing ? " 



Unda had an unfailing resource in her fiddle, in 

 playing which she did not notice the other noises ! 

 We might, of course, have gone away and sat on a 

 mountain top, though it would have been a two 

 days' journey to have found a safe one, and left the 

 Burra Sahib and the Ancient to worry along as 



