Shaking his head, Ismail already debited his rupee as a bad debt, and went on his way along the red laterite road followed by the patient coolies, who ploughed their way through the red dust like beasts of burden under their heavy load, with no covering for their brown skin save their loin cloths and big turbans.
Ismail began to doubt whether Veeraswamy's commission was not altogether bogus, but his sleek countenance broke into a huge smile when he reached the verandah, and pushing aside a corner of one of the green chinks he caught sight of the two English ladies, who sat chatting together in the most promising manner.
"Oh, here he comes already! Your boy has been uncommonly smart surely," exclaimed Mrs. Fellowes, looking up from the silk sock she was knitting, one of her joys being to keep the colonel in beautiful socks of her own manufacture.
Ismail was salaaming profoundly, but his smile changed to a scowl as he overheard Hester say:
"Ah, but this is not the dear little Yacoob! My boy surely can't have understood the one I wanted."
Ismail hoped devoutly that Veeraswamy would continue to misunderstand. "I werry fine stock, mem-sahib will see," he said eagerly, pushing into the verandah without waiting for an invitation. Beckoning to his coolies, they trudged up and quickly deposited their burdens on the rattan matting of the verandah, and with low salaams hurried down the wide steps again to dispose themselves under the nearest tree and regale themselves with betel-nut, which never failed to find a lodgment in some fold of their linen cloth.
Ismail, being a man of great astuteness as well as of large experience, at once perceived that the butler's report was correct, and that the mem-sahib was on this occasion an intending customer, and an eager one too. He noted also how her pretty eyes, soft grey blue like a monsoon sky, lighted up when she caught sight of his embroideries which he began deftly to display. How fortunate was his good knowledge of "Englishe," he thought, which enabled him to understand even her asides to the older lady, whom he also hoped to captivate as a customer. The young mem-sahib evidently wanted not one thing but many things.
"Yes, I have one beautee smoke-cap, just suiting one padre sahib!" He produced thereupon the article and sold it for the price he asked. Then his richly embroidered table covers sewed on black cloth were examined, but the hawker's face grew dark as he overheard Mrs. Fellowes remarking:
"We must examine carefully the stuff they are sewn on. They often put the most exquisite work on the joined up tail of a dress coat, or even a bit out of a pair of trousers."
Mrs. Fellowes' first finger thereupon went right through a worn-out patch in a gorgeous table cover.