he whispered , as he took his seat in the now crowded compartment . ' A fear gripped him , ' the lama replied , with a touch of tender malice . ` He saw thee change the Mahratta to a Saddhu in the twinkling of an eye , as a protection against evil . That shook him . Then he saw the Saddhu fall sheer into the hands of the polis -- all the effect of thy art . Then he gathered up his son and fled ; for he said that thou didst change a quiet trader into an impudent bandier of words with the Sahibs , and he feared a like fate . Where is the Saddhu ? ' ` With the polis , ' said Kim ... ` Yet I saved the Kamboh 's child . ' The lama snuffed blandly . ` Ah , chela , see how thou art overtaken ! Thou didst cure the Kamboh 's child solely to acquire merit . But thou didst put a spell on the Mahratta with prideful workings -- I watched thee -- and with sidelong glances to bewilder an old old man and a foolish farmer : whence calamity and suspicion . ' Kim controlled himself with an effort beyond his years . Not more than any other youngster did he like to eat dirt or to be misjudged , but he saw himself in a cleft stick . The train rolled out of Delhi into the night . ` It is true , ' he murmured . ` Where I have offended thee I have done wrong . ' ` It is more , chela . Thou hast loosed an Act upon the world , and as a stone thrown into a pool so spread the consequences thou canst not tell how far . ' This ignorance was well both for Kim 's vanity and for the lama 's peace of mind , when we think that there was then being handed in at Simla a code-wire reporting the arrival of E23 at Delhi , and , more important , the whereabouts of a letter he had been commissioned to -- abstract .
Incidentally , an over-zealous policeman had arrested , on charge of murder done in a far southern State , a horribly indignant Ajmir cotton-broker , who was explaining himself to a Mr Strickland on XXXXX platform , while E23 was paddling through byways into the locked heart of Delhi city .
Delhi Kamboh Kim Mahratta Saddhu Simla bandier chela lama years