His quickness would have delighted an English master ; but at St Xavier 's they know the first rush of minds developed by sun and surroundings , as they know the half-collapse that sets in at twenty-two or twenty-three . None the less he remembered to hold himself lowly . When tales were told of hot nights , Kim did not sweep the board with his reminiscences ; for St Xavier 's looks down on boys who ` go native all-together . ' One must never forget that one is a Sahib , and that some day , when examinations are passed , one will command natives . Kim made a note of this , for he began to understand where examinations led . Then came the holidays from August to October -- the long holidays imposed by the heat and the Rains . Kim was informed that he would go north to some station in the hills behind Umballa , where Father Victor would arrange for him . ' A barrack-school ? ' said Kim , who had asked many questions and thought more . ` Yes , I suppose so , ' said the master . ` It will not do you any harm to keep you out of mischief . You can go up with young De Castro as far as Delhi . ' Kim considered it in every possible light . He had been diligent , even as the Colonel advised . A boy 's holiday was his own property -- of so much the talk of his companions had advised him , -- and a barrack-school would be torment after St Xavier 's . Moreover -- this was magic worth anything else -- he could write . In three months he had discovered how men can speak to each other without a third party , at the cost of half an anna and a little knowledge . No word had come from the lama , but there remained the Road . Kim yearned for the caress of soft mud squishing up between the toes , as his mouth watered for mutton stewed with butter and cabbages , for rice speckled with strong scented cardamoms , for the saffron-tinted rice , garlic and onions , and the forbidden greasy sweetmeats of the bazars . They would feed him raw beef on a platter at the barrack-school , and he must smoke by stealth .
But again , he was a Sahib and was at St XXXXX 's , and that pig Mahbub Ali ... No , he would not test Mahbub 's hospitality -- and yet ... He thought it out alone in the dormitory , and came to the conclusion he had been unjust to Mahbub .
English Kim Road Sahib Umballa Victor Xavier half-collapse nights sweetmeats