Father Victor. 'Such an one as those I saw this evening, men wearing
swords and stamping heavily?'

'Maybe.'

'That is not well. These men follow desire and come to emptiness.
Thou must not be of their sort.'

'The Umballa priest said that my Star was War,' Kim interjected. 'I
will ask these fools - but there is truly no need. I will run away
this night, for all I wanted to see the new things.'

Kim put two or three questions in English to Father Victor,
translating the replies to the lama.

Then: 'He says, "You take him from me and you cannot say what you
will make him." He says, "Tell me before I go, for it is not a
small thing to make a child."'

'You will be sent to a school. Later on, we shall see. Kimball, I
suppose you'd like to be a soldier?'

'Gorah-log [white-folk]. No-ah! No-ah!' Kim shook his head
violently. There was nothing in his composition to which drill and
routine appealed. 'I will not be a soldier.'

'You will be what you're told to be,' said Bennett; 'and you should
be grateful that we're going to help you.'

Kim smiled compassionately. If these men lay under the delusion