Three days of torment passed in the big , echoing white rooms . He walked out of afternoons under escort of the drummer-boy , and all he heard from his companions were the few useless words which seemed to make two-thirds of the white man 's abuse . Kim knew and despised them all long ago . The boy resented his silence and lack of interest by beating him , as was only natural . He did not care for any of the bazars which were in bounds . He styled all natives ` niggers ' ; yet servants and sweepers called him abominable names to his face , and , misled by their deferential attitude , he never understood . This somewhat consoled Kim for the beatings . On the morning of the fourth day a judgement overtook that drummer . They had gone out together towards Umballa racecourse . He returned alone , weeping , with news that young O'Hara , to whom he had been doing nothing in particular , had hailed a scarlet-bearded nigger on horseback ; that the nigger had then and there laid into him with a peculiarly adhesive quirt , picked up young O'Hara , and borne him off at full gallop . These tidings came to Father Victor , and he drew down his long upper lip . He was already sufficiently startled by a letter from the Temple of the Tirthankars at Benares , enclosing a native banker 's note of hand for three hundred rupees , and an amazing prayer to ` Almighty God ' . The lama would have been more annoyed than the priest had he known how the bazar letter-writer had translated his phrase ` to acquire merit . ' ` Powers of Darkness below ! ' Father Victor fumbled with the note . ` An ' now he 's off with another of his peep-o ' - day friends . I do n't know whether it will be a greater relief to me to get him back or to have him lost . He 's beyond my comprehension . How the Divil -- yes , he 's the man I mean -- can a street-beggar raise money to educate white boys ? ' Three miles off , on Umballa racecourse , Mahbub Ali , reining a grey Kabuli stallion with Kim in front of him , was saying : ` But , Little Friend of all the World , there is my honour and reputation to be considered .
All the officer-Sahibs in all the regiments , and all Umballa , know Mahbub XXXXX .
Ali O'Hara Victor World bazars day days drummer-boy letter-writer peep-o