"My lord!" faltered Hunumân, "this is irrelevant--this is contempt of court."
"Peace! oh Hunumân! and respect the voice of thy parent," began the blue monkey.
Then a roar of inextinguishable laughter played the mischief with majesty.
Half an hour afterwards, when Chand Kor in tears was washing the blue distemper off her lord and master's shrivelled limbs, he repeated his injunction regarding the fifth commandment to his son, who sat haranguing on liberty, freedom, public spirit, equality, fraternity, and a host of other duties and privileges.
"They are good, my son," he said, "but money is good also, and peace best of all. Ask no more. I am content, and thou hast naught to do with it. The temple is, and the blue monkey was mine--at least I was the blue monkey."
Then Hunumân Sing swore.
That evening the deputy commissioner held a friendly inquiry, and everybody shook hands all round, excepting Hunumân Sing and his friend, who left by ekka before the proceedings commenced, vowing vengeance on all summary justice. He was a full-blown pleader before the famous case of "Mool Raj and a Conch versus Azmutoollah Khan and Others" came up before the chief court of appeal. On that occasion he argued most eloquently on various subjects for half an hour, and was about to resume his seat, covered with perspiration and honour, when a voice from the body of the court cried:
"Respect thy parent, O Hunumân! Remember the things that are behind."
Coiled up neatly on his chair was a blue tail, and once more laughter played the mischief with majesty.
Some people say that was why the appeal was dismissed. Anyhow, it is certain that shortly afterwards Hunumân set up as a pleader in another province.