There will rise a war -- a war of eight thousand redcoats . From Pindi and Peshawur they will be drawn . This is sure . ' ` The boy has heard bazar-talk , ' said the priest . ` But he was always by my side , ' said the lama . ` How should he know ? I did not know . ' ` He will make a clever juggler when the old man is dead , ' muttered the priest to the headman . ` What new trick is this ? ' ' A sign . Give me a sign , ' thundered the old soldier suddenly . ` If there were war my sons would have told me . ' ` When all is ready , thy sons , doubt not , will be told . But it is a long road from thy sons to the man in whose hands these things lie . ' Kim warmed to the game , for it reminded him of experiences in the letter-carrying line , when , for the sake of a few pice , he pretended to know more than he knew . But now he was playing for larger things -- the sheer excitement and the sense of power . He drew a new breath and went on . ` Old man , give me a sign . Do underlings order the goings of eight thousand redcoats -- with guns ? ' ` No . '
Still the old man answered as though XXXXX were an equal .
Kim Peshawur Pindi bazar-talk headman juggler lama pice underlings war