"Among many lies told unto me, that is true; and again, among many lies, it is also true that he had not, neither did he ever possess, the gold lacquer bowl, on the subject of which my Master bade me question him. He knows not how Mhtoon Pah found it, but he believes that it was through a sorcery he practised, for the man is as full of evil as the chatti lifted from the brink of the well is full of water."
Coryndon smiled and glanced at Shiraz.
"And you think so also, grandson of a Tucktoo, for though you are old, your white hairs bring you no wisdom."
"I am the Sahib's servant, but who knoweth the ways of devils, since their footprints cannot be seen, neither upon the sand of the desert nor in the snows of the great hills?"
"Did he speak of Absalom?"
"He told me, Protector of the Poor, that the boy, though of Christian caste, was to Mhtoon Pah as the apple of his eye, and that he fed him upon sweets from the vendor's stall. Let it be said, for thy wisdom to unravel, that therefore Leh Shin felt mirth in his mind, knowing that the heart of his foe was wrung as the Dhobie wrings the soiled garment."
Shiraz fell silent and looked up from the floor at the face of his master, who got up and stretched himself.
"Is my bath ready, Shiraz?"
"All is prepared, though the pani walla, a worker of iniquity, steals the wood for his own burning; therefore, the water is not hot, and ill is done to the good name of Hartley Sahib's house."
When he was dressed he strolled into the drawing-room, and sat down at the piano, playing softly until Hartley came in.