'Cast him into jail,' I said.

'Sahib,' the King answered, shifting a little on the cushions, 'once
and only once in these forty years sickness came upon me so that I
was not able to go abroad. In that hour I made a vow to my God that I
would never again cut man or woman from the light of the sun and the
air of God; for I perceived the nature of the punishment. How can I
break my vow? Were it only the lopping of a hand or a foot I should
not delay. But even that is impossible now that the English have
rule. One or another of my people'--he looked obliquely at the
Director-General of Public Education--'would at once write a letter
to the Viceroy, and perhaps I should be deprived of my ruffle of
drums.'

He unscrewed the mouthpiece of his silver water-pipe, fitted a plain
amber mouthpiece, and passed his pipe to me. 'Not content with
refusing revenue,' he continued, 'this outlander refuses also the
_begar_' (this was the corvée or forced labour on the roads) 'and
stirs my people up to the like treason. Yet he is, when he wills, an
expert log-snatcher. There is none better or bolder among my people
to clear a block of the river when the logs stick fast.'

'But he worships strange Gods,' said the Prime Minister
deferentially.

'For that I have no concern,' said the King, who was as tolerant as
Akbar in matters of belief. 'To each man his own God and the fire or
Mother Earth for us all at last. It is the rebellion that offends
me.'