At mid-day , after talk and a little wayfaring , they slept ; meeting the world refreshed when the air was cooler . Night found them adventuring into new territory -- some chosen village spied three hours before across the fat land , and much discussed upon the road . There they told their tale -- a new one each evening so far as Kim was concerned -- and there were they made welcome , either by priest or headman , after the custom of the kindly East . When the shadows shortened and the lama leaned more heavily upon Kim , there was always the Wheel of Life to draw forth , to hold flat under wiped stones , and with a long straw to expound cycle by cycle . Here sat the Gods on high -- and they were dreams of dreams . Here was our Heaven and the world of the demi-Gods -- horsemen fighting among the hills . Here were the agonies done upon the beasts , souls ascending or descending the ladder and therefore not to be interfered with . Here were the Hells , hot and cold , and the abodes of tormented ghosts . Let the chela study the troubles that come from over-eating -- bloated stomach and burning bowels . Obediently , then , with bowed head and brown finger alert to follow the pointer , did the chela study ; but when they came to the Human World , busy and profitless , that is just above the Hells , his mind was distracted ; for by the roadside trundled the very Wheel itself , eating , drinking , trading , marrying , and quarrelling -- all warmly alive . Often the lama made the living pictures the matter of his text , bidding Kim -- too ready -- note how the flesh takes a thousand shapes , desirable or detestable as men reckon , but in truth of no account either way ; and how the stupid spirit , bond-slave to the Hog , the Dove , and the Serpent -- lusting after betel-nut , a new yoke of oxen , women , or the favour of kings -- is bound to follow the body through all the Heavens and all the Hells , and strictly round again . Sometimes a woman or a poor man , watching the ritual -- it was nothing less -- when the great yellow chart was unfolded , would throw a few flowers or a handful of cowries upon its edge . It sufficed these humble ones that they had met a Holy One who might be moved to remember them in his prayers . ` Cure them if they are sick , ' said the lama , when Kim 's sporting instincts woke . ` Cure them if they have fever , but by no means work charms . Remember what befell the Mahratta . ' ` Then all Doing is evil ? ' Kim replied , lying out under a big tree at the fork of the Doon road , watching the little ants run over his hand . ` To abstain from action is well -- except to acquire merit . ' ` At the Gates of Learning we were taught that to abstain from action was unbefitting a Sahib .
And I am a XXXXX . '
Mahratta Sahib abodes bond-slave chela cowries evening headman lama mid-day