Thus : ` Lutuf Ullah is gone to Kurdistan . ' Below , in coarse verse : ' O Allah , who sufferest lice to live on the coat of a Kabuli , why hast thou allowed this louse Lutuf to live so long ? ' Kim , fending the lama between excited men and excited beasts , sidled along the cloisters to the far end , nearest therailway station , where Mahbub Ali , the horse-trader , lived when he came in from that mysterious land beyond the Passes of the North . Kim had had many dealings with Mahbub in his little life , especially between his tenth and his thirteenth year -- and the big burly Afghan , his beard dyed scarlet with lime -LRB- for he was elderly and did not wish his grey hairs to show -RRB- , knew the boy 's value as a gossip . Sometimes he would tell Kim to watch a man who had nothing whatever to do with horses : to follow him for one whole day and report every soul with whom he talked . Kim would deliver himself of his tale at evening , and Mahbub would listen without a word or gesture . It was intrigue of some kind , Kim knew ; but its worth lay in saying nothing whatever to anyone except Mahbub , who gave him beautiful meals all hot from the cookshop at the head of the serai , and once as much as eight annas in money . ` He is here , ' said Kim , hitting a bad-tempered camel on the nose . ` Ohe . Mahbub Ali ! ' He halted at a dark arch and slipped behind the bewildered lama . The horse-trader , his deep , embroidered Bokhariot belt unloosed , was lying on a pair of silk carpet saddle-bags , pulling lazily at an immense silver hookah . He turned his head very slightly at the cry ; and seeing only the tall silent figure , chuckled in his deep chest . ` Allah ! A lama ! A Red Lama ! It is far from Lahore to the Passes . What dost thou do here ? ' The lama held out the begging-bowl mechanically . ` God 's curse on all unbelievers ! '
said XXXXX . '
Kabuli Kim Kurdistan Lahore Mahbub Ullah horse-trader saddle-bags serai unbelievers