morning.

Next day at noon--when it was my custom to have evil-doers brought up
for judgment--I asked for Karim Bux, but was told that he was too ill
to walk. I accordingly ordered him to be carried to my boma, and in a
few moments he arrived in his charpoy, which was shouldered by four
coolies who, I could see, knew quite well that he was only shamming.
There were also a score or so of his friends hanging around, doubtless
waiting in the expectation of seeing the "Sahib" hoodwinked. When the
bed was placed on the ground near me, I lifted the blanket with which
he had covered himself and thoroughly examined him, at the same time
feeling him to make sure that he had no fever. He pretended to be
desperately ill and again asked for dawa; but having finally satisfied
myself that it was as the jemadar had said--pure budmashi
(devilment)--I told him that I was going to give him some very
effective dawa, and carefully covered him up again, pulling the blanket
over his head. I then got a big armful of shavings from a carpenter's
bench which was close by, put them under the bed and set fire to them.
As soon as the sham invalid felt the heat, he peeped over the edge of
the blanket; and when he saw the smoke and flame leaping up round him,
he threw the blanket from him, sprang from the bed exclaiming "Beiman
shaitan!" ("Unbelieving devil!"), and fled like a deer to the entrance
of my boma, pursued by a Sikh sepoy, who got in a couple of good whacks
on his shoulders with a stout stick before he effected his escape. His
amused comrades greeted me with shouts of "Shabash, Sahib!" ("Well
done, sir"), and I never had any further trouble with Karim Bux. He
came back later in the day, with clasped hands imploring forgiveness,
which I readily granted, as he was a clever workman.

A few days after this incident I was returning home one morning from a
tree in which I had been keeping watch for the man-eaters during the
previous night. Coming unexpectedly on the quarry, I was amazed to find
dead silence reigning and my rascals of workmen all stretched out in
the shade under the trees taking it very easy--some sleeping, some
playing cards. I watched their proceedings through the bushes for a
little while, and then it occurred to me to give them a fright by
firing my rifle over their heads. On the report being heard, the scene
changed like magic: each man simply flew to his particular work, and
hammers and chisels resounded merrily and energe