"In coming here he was taking a great liberty, I admit; but it was as well that he should satisfy himself that Ananda was not on the premises."
"I should never have allowed him to go through my rooms if the master hadn't given him permission. As it was I had to submit; but I didn't like it with young William lying there and the fever still on him. As William—that was my first—used to say: 'Orders is orders when spoken by a superior.'"
"Have you heard any spot mentioned as likely to be a hiding-place?"
"There have been all sort of rumours, sir. They said at first that he had gone to you; but a messenger was sent to your house to inquire; and as nothing had been seen of him there they changed their minds. I don't wonder at his running away if they really did illtreat him. As William—that was my second—used to say: 'Distance is the best remedy against the spite of evil men.' You never saw such an evil-looking beast as that uncle was who came poking his nose into everything here. If young William had been himself and not so ashamed of his black eye he would have upped and at him and soon had him out. I think the man himself was afraid that something of the sort might happen. As William—that was my first—used to say when his relations came to stay without an invitation: 'Uninvited guests sit on thorns.'"
"When they discovered that Ananda was not at my house what was the next suspicion of the family?"
"That he had drowned himself in the well."
"What gave rise to that notion?"
"They found his cap in the well."
"But not his body?"
"No, sir; all the same his people believe that he is drowned and they have widowed his wife I am told. I can't answer for the truth of what I hear in the bazaar. As William—that was my first—used to say: 'An Indian bazaar is a nest in which many rotten eggs are laid.'"