` Thou art safe in the te-rain , at least . ' ` Live a year at the Great Game and tell me that again ! The wires will be out against me at Delhi , describing every tear and rag upon me . Twenty -- a hundred , if need be -- will have seen me slay that boy . And thou art useless ! ' Kim knew enough of native methods of attack not to doubt that the case would be deadly complete -- even to the corpse . The Mahratta twitched his fingers with pain from time to time . The Kamboh in his corner glared sullenly ; the lama was busy over his beads ; and Kim , fumbling doctor-fashion at the man 's neck , thought out his plan between invocations . ` Hast thou a charm to change my shape ? Else I am dead . Five -- ten minutes alone , if I had not been so pressed , and I might -- ' ` Is he cured yet , miracle-worker ? ' said the Kamboh jealously . ` Thou hast chanted long enough . ' ` Nay . There is no cure for his hurts , as I see , except he sit for three days in the habit of a bairagi . ' This is a common penance , often imposed on a fat trader by his spiritual teacher . ` One priest always goes about to make another priest , ' was the retort . Like most grossly superstitious folk , the Kamboh could not keep his tongue from deriding his Church . ` Will thy son be a priest , then ? It is time he took more of my quinine . '
` We Jats are all buffaloes , ' said the XXXXX , softening anew .
Delhi Kamboh Mahratta doctor-fashion invocations lama minutes miracle-worker te-rain year