nd
bake in the morning sun, and to be coiled up in the shade during the
hottest part of the day. Now and then he came over and sat in one of
our verandahs for a little while, and he would wander into church and
gaze round with admiration. He was always smiling, or laughing, or
talking, or working, or sleeping. Though quite ignorant, he was a
devout Hindu according to his lights. It was pathetic to hear him in
his hut calling loudly on his gods, just about the time we went to
Compline. He always repeated the names of about half a dozen gods,
calling on each about twelve times or more in succession, in a rapid
but clear voice which could be distinctly heard in the bungalow. I do
not think that he ever missed his evening exercise. We tried to teach
him something of Christianity; but beyond sharing in the general
appreciation of the fabric of the church, and feeling that Christians
made good neighbours, I do not suppose that he took anything in.
Pictures he did not understand, or when we showed them to him, laughed
merrily, thinking that we meant it for a joke.

After the wood had lain there for a long time, but before the old man
retired, men were sent to cut it up for firewood. Half a dozen men
worked hard for two or three weeks, and sawed and split quite a
mountain of logs. Their day's work they measured in a primitive sort
of balance, and the tally was checked by the old caretaker. Once or
twice an agent from the wood-merchant came on the scene, and a war of
words always ensued on the subject of methods of weighing, and the
prospective payment of results. This was preparing the way for the
final scene when the men began to clamour for their money. The agent
declared that the wood had not been correctly weighed and that it must
be measured afresh, a process which would have taken some days.
Meanwhile he said he would give them a portion of what was due, and
the balance must stand over. The men on receiving their docked pay
indignantly gathered up their tools and declared that they would
return to their native village, which they did. The agent had no doubt
counted on this final result all the time, and was able to report to
his master how well he had served his interests.

The wood had no permanent guardian after the old man left. Other men
came from time to time, worked for a day or two, cut up a certain
amount of wood, and then threw up the job before they had been paid
anything at all, and thus the wood-merchant got