A sharp-tongued old woman in a house among the fruit-trees behind Saharunpore honoured him as the woman honoured the prophet , but his chamber was by no means upon the wall . In an apartment of the forecourt overlooked by cooing doves he would sit , while she laid aside her useless veil and chattered of spirits and fiends of Kulu , of grandchildren unborn , and of the free-tongued brat who had talked to her in the resting-place . Once , too , he strayed alone from the Grand Trunk Road below Umballa to the very village whose priest had tried to drug him ; but the kind Heaven that guards lamas sent him at twilight through the crops , absorbed and unsuspicious , to the Rissaldar 's door . Here was like to have been a grave misunderstanding , for the old soldier asked him why the Friend of the Stars had gone that way only six days before . ` That may not be , ' said the lama . ` He has gone back to his own people . ' ` He sat in that corner telling a hundred merry tales five nights ago , ' his host insisted . ` True , he vanished somewhat suddenly in the dawn after foolish talk with my granddaughter . He grows apace , but he is the same Friend of the Stars as brought me true word of the war . Have ye parted ? ' ` Yes -- and no , ' the lama replied . ` We -- we have not altogether parted , but the time is not ripe that we should take the Road together . He acquires wisdom in another place . We must wait . ' ` All one -- but if it were not the boy how did he come to speak so continually of thee ? ' ` And what said he ? ' asked the lama eagerly . ` Sweet words -- an hundred thousand -- that thou art his father and mother and such all . Pity that he does not take the Qpeen 's service . He is fearless . '
This news amazed the XXXXX , who did not then know how religiously Kim kept to the contract made with Mahbub Ali , and perforce ratified by Colonel Creighton ... ` There is no holding the young pony from the game , ' said the horse-dealer when the Colonel pointed out that vagabonding over India in holiday time was absurd .
Kulu Qpeen Rissaldar Saharunpore brat days lama lamas resting-place war