"Ten rupees, my lord," he faltered out; "your slave will take ten rupees." We all once more burst into a peal of laughter; the Gomashta's sides appeared to ache, and the tears ran down his cheeks.
"Ai Bhugwan! Ai Narayun!" cried he, catching his breath; "that I should have seen this; Ai Sitaram! but it is most amusing. Ten rupees! why man," said he to the miserable dullal, "you just now wanted fifteen hundred!"
"Nay," said my father, "let him have his due; you said one hundred and fifty,—that he shall have; do you, Meer Sahib, go with this worthy sahoukar to his kothee, and bring the money; I dare say he will give you a guard back, and you can hire a porter for the gold and silver."
"Certainly, you shall have the men," said the Gomashta: "and now come along; I shall have to collect the gold, and it may be late before it can be weighed and delivered to you, and the rupees passed by a suraff." As we went on, the dullal said to me, "You will pay me at the kothee, will you not?"
"We will see," said I; "the money is none of mine, and I will ask advice on the subject."
"Not your money! Whose then?"
"Why his who has employed you, and from whom you are to get one hundred and fifty rupees," I said; "are you a fool? Why do you ask?"
"Ah nothing, only I was thinking—"
"Thinking of what?" I asked; "some rascality I doubt not."
"Ah," said he, "now you speak as you did at the Char-Minar."