Meantime Kim , lonelier than ever , squatted on the steps , and swore to himself in the language of St Xavier 's . ` But it is my own fault , ' he concluded . ` With Mahbub , I ate Mahbub 's bread , or Lurgan Sahib 's . At St Xavier 's , three meals a day . Here I must jolly-well look out for myself . Besides , I am not in good training . How I could eat a plate of beef now ! ... Is it finished , Holy One ? ' The lama , both hands raised , intoned a final blessing in ornate Chinese . ' I must lean on thy shoulder , ' said he , as the temple gates closed . ` We grow stiff , I think . ' The weight of a six-foot man is not light to steady through miles of crowded streets , and Kim , loaded down with bundles and packages for the way , was glad to reach the shadow of the railway bridge . ` Here we eat , ' he said resolutely , as the Kamboh , blue-robed and smiling , hove in sight , a basket in one hand and the child in the other . ` Fall to , Holy Ones ! ' he cried from fifty yards . -LRB- They were by the shoal under the first bridge-span , out of sight of hungry priests . -RRB- ` Rice and good curry , cakes all warm and well scented with hing -LSB- asafoetida -RSB- , curds and sugar . King of my fields , ' -- this to the small son -- ` let us show these holy men that we Jats of Jullundur can pay a service ... I had heard the Jains would eat nothing that they had not cooked , but truly ' -- he looked away politely over the broad river -- ` where there is no eye there is no caste . ' ` And we , ' said Kim , turning his back and heaping a leafplatter for the lama , ` are beyond all castes . ' They gorged themselves on the good food in silence .
Nor till he had licked the last of the sticky sweetstuff from his little finger did Kim note that the XXXXX too was girt for travel .
Chinese Kamboh Kim Mahbub Sahib Xavier asafoetida bridge-span castes hing