FUETHER EXPERIENCES OP MR. STALE. 
in a corner of the verandah, watching every motion 
of master’s white hat and umbrella in the far off 
distance, and, just as he supposes now, he is coming, 
the white hat and umbrella disappear round a hill 
in a different direction altogether. The cooly feels 
sad, he cannot get that chatty of boiled rice out 
of his mind, which was so hurriedly left in a corner 
of the kitchen. Will it be there when he returns ? 
What— dreadful thought — if the dog or cat should 
have found it out, and, presuming upon its being 
only a kitchen cooly’s rice, have eaten it all up, 
and if, just as he is commencing to make ready 
to move, he should again be sent off with another letter 
to a much greater distance off, or, at once sent out 
by the boy to cut firewood ! So, in order to 
banish all these unpleasant prospective ideas, he steps 
down to the lines to have a chat, and see if any 
boiled rice is available from any of his own caste 
there. No doubt he has found something congenial 
to occupy his time, for he is suddenly brought to 
a recollection of what he is here for, by the shouts 
of another kitchen cooly making inquiry about him, 
quick, suruka, master is asking for him everywhere, 
and has had his answ'er ready for the last hour. The 
cooly mentally comes to the conclusion that that 
word suruka is his besetting evil genius, is the devil 
sent by swamy to torment him ; go where he will, 
it always attacks him, and always just at the most 
inconvenient times ; just when he is beginning to feel 
comfortable and settled down without any inclina- 
tion to bestir himself, up comes suruka in some 
shape or another with a very prompt demand upon 
him that he must. But for all this, a knowing cooly 
if he was sometimes pushed, would make up for it 
at other times. When the dishes were washed up 
after breakfast, he would shoulder his axe and be 
off to cut firewood, ostensibly only, for he would 
remain the greater part of the day in the lines. 
We have even known kitchen coolies who never cut 
firewood at all, if they could by any possibility help 
it, but stole it themselves. They, after spending a 
few hours at the lines, would secretly carry away 
a load of firewood belonging to others who were out 
at work, and bring it to the kitchen as the result of 
their own labours ; and it used to be, perhaps even 
yet is, a common source of disturbance, stealing fire- 
wood from each other in order to avoid the trouble 
of cutting and carrying it. 
If master kept a horse, the kitchen cooly 
would frequently have a portion of the horse- 
keeper’s duties thrust upon him in this way. Sup- 
posing master was off on some excursion ? Late 
