been unjust to Mahbub.

The school was empty; nearly all the masters had gone away; Colonel
Creighton 's railway pass lay in his hand, and Kim puffed himself
that he had not spent Colonel Creighton's or Mahbub's money in
riotous living. He was still lord of two rupees seven annas. His
new bullock-trunk, marked 'K. O'H.', and bedding-roll lay in the
empty sleeping-room.

'Sahibs are always tied to their baggage,'
said Kim, nodding at them. 'You will stay here' He went out into
the warm rain, smiling sinfully, and sought a certain house whose
outside he had noted down some time before...

'Arre'! Dost thou know what manner of women we be in this quarter?
Oh, shame!'

'Was I born yesterday?' Kim squatted native-fashion on the cushions
of that upper room. 'A little dyestuff and three yards of cloth to
help out a jest. Is it much to ask?'

'Who is she? Thou art full young, as Sahibs go, for this devilry.'

'Oh, she? She is the daughter of a certain schoolmaster of a
regiment in the cantonments. He has beaten me twice because I
went over their wall in these clothes. Now I would go as a
gardener's boy. Old men are very jealous.'

'That is true. Hold thy face still while I dab on the juice.'