CHAPTER XX.
Married and Settled Down—Retired and Happy—A Dip in the Lake—The World Is Round and Wide—Farewell.
In this narrative I have given a clear, comprehensive view of a fakir’s life, as I saw it in my own experience. I have made it no better and no worse, but just as I found it. In the years that I followed the calling I had many ups and downs, yet, on the whole, was constantly advancing. Before I had been at it long I accepted temporary difficulties as a matter of course—unpleasant while they lasted, but certain not to be of great duration. Before long I grew to have the most utter and complete confidence in myself, and faced the problem of the hour without a doubt of success. If I ultimately quit the road it was because, though still a young man, I could retire “with all my honors thick upon me.” In other words, I was fixed for life, if I chose to spend my days in idleness. That I subsequently added to my wealth by other means was nothing against my success as a fakir. Indeed, I am rather inclined to believe that the boom at Harwood was the greatest fake of all.
After that, as I have already explained, I kept my eyes open for good things, and when they came along I caught them.
One day when time was plenty on my hands I got to thinking:
“How old are you, old boy?” I asked myself.
“Thirty-eight,” came the answer.
“Thirty-eight. Is it possible?”
Yes, there was no denying it. Time had slipped along and I scarcely noticed it going.