` Ay , our Search is sure . I have come out of great temptation . ' It was never more than a couple of miles a day now , and Kim 's shoulders bore all the weight of it -- the burden of an old man , the burden of the heavy food-bag with the locked books , the load of the writings on his heart , and the details of the daily routine . He begged in the dawn , set blankets for the lama 's meditation , held the weary head on his lap through the noonday heats , fanning away the flies till his wrists ached , begged again in the evenings , and rubbed the lama 's feet , who rewarded him with promise of Freedom -- today , tomorrow , or , at furthest , the next day . ` Never was such a chela . I doubt at times whether Ananda more faithfully nursed Our Lord . And thou art a Sahib ? When I was a man -- a long time ago -- I forgot that . Now I look upon thee often , and every time I remember that thou art a Sahib . It is strange . ' ` Thou hast said there is neither black nor white . Why plague me with this talk , Holy One ? Let me rub the other foot . It vexes me . I am not a Sahib . I am thy chela , and my head is heavy on my shoulders . ' ` Patience a little ! We reach Freedom together . Then thou and I , upon the far bank of the River , will look back upon our lives as in the Hills we saw our days ' marches laid out behind us . Perhaps I was once a Sahib . '
` Was never a XXXXX like thee , I swear it . ' '
Ananda Hills Kim Sahib chela daily days evenings food-bag lama