youaregoingitHasn’tanykindfriendtoldyouthatshe’sthemostdangerouswomaninSimla？”
　　YeerechuckledandpassedoutWhen，ohwhen，wouldhisnewclothesbeready？HedescendedintotheMalltoinquire；andMrsHauksbee，comingovertheChurchRidgeinher’rickshaw，lookeddownuponhimapprovingly’He’slearningtocarryhimselfasifwereaman，insteadofapieceoffurniture，-and。”shescreweduphereyestoseethebetterthroughthesunlight-“heisamanwhenheholdshimselflikethat。
　　OhblessedConceit，whatshouldwebewithoutyou？”
　　Withthenewclothescameanewstockofself-confidenceOtisYeerediscoveredthathecouldenteraroomwithoutbreakingintoagentleperspiration-couldcrossone，eventotalktoMrs。
　　Hauksbee，asthoughroomsweremeanttobecrossedHewasforthefirsttimeinnineyearsproudofhimself，andcontentedwithhislife，satisfiedwithhisnewclothes，andrejoicinginthefriendshipofMrsHauksbee。
　　“Conceitiswhatthepoorfellowwants。”shesaidinconfidencetoMrsMallowe“IbelievetheymustuseCivilianstoploughthefieldswithinLowerBengalsYouseeIhavetobeginfromtheverybeginning-haven’tI？Butyou’lladmit，won’tyou，dear，thatheisimmenselyimprovedsinceItookhiminhandOnlygivemealittlemoretimeandhewon’tknowhimself。”
　　Indeed，Yeerewasrapidlybeginningtoforgetwhathehadbeen。
　　OneofhisownrankandfileputthematterbrutallywhenheaskedYeere，inreferencetonothing，“Andwhohasbeenmaking“ouaMembetofCouncil，lately？Youcarrythesideofhalfadozenof’em。”
　　“I-I’mawf’lysorryIdidn’tmeanit，youknow。”saidYeere，apologetically。
　　“There’llbenoholdingyou。”continuedtheoldstager，grimly。
　　“Climbdown，Otis-climbdown，andgetallthatbeastlyaffectationknockedoutofyouwithfever！
　　Threethousandamonthwouldn’tsupportit。”
　　YeererepeatedtheincidenttoMrsHauksbeeHehadcometolookuponherashisMotherConfessor。
　　“Andyouapologized！”shesaid“Oh，shame！IhateamanwhoapologizesNeverapologizeforwhatyourfriendcalled’side。’Never！It’saman’sbusinesstobeinsolentandoverbearinguntilhemeetswithastrongerNow，youbadboy，listentome。”
　　Simplyandstraightforwardly，asthe’rickshawloiteredroundJakko，MrsHauksbeepreachedtoOtisYeeretheGreatGospelofConceit，illustratingitwithlivingpicturesencounteredduringtheirSundayafternoonstroll。
　　“Goodgracious！”sheended，withthepersonalargument，“you’llapologizenextforbeingmyattache““
　　“Never！”saidOtisYeere“That’sanotherthingaltogetherIshallalwaysbe“-“What’scoming？”
　　thoughtMrs。
　　Hauksbee。
　　“Proudofthat。”saidOtis。
　　“Safeforthepresent。”shesaidtoherself。
　　“ButI’mafraidIhavegrownconceitedLikeJeshurun，youknow。
　　Whenhewaxedfat，thenhekickedIt’sthehavingnoworryonone’smindandtheHillair，I
　　suppose。”
　　“Hillair，indeed！”saidMrsHauksbeetoherself“He’dhavebeenhidingT~
　　intheClubtillthelastdayofhisleave，ifIhadn’tdiscoveredhim。”
　　Andaloud-“Whyshouldn’tyoube？Youhaveeveryrightto。”“I！Why？”
　　“Oh，hundredsofthingsI’mnotgoingtowastethislovelyafternoonbyexplaining；butIknowyouhaveWhatwasthatheapofmanuscriptyoushowedmeaboutthegrammaroftheaboriginalwhat’stheirnames？”
　　“G’渓lalsApieceofnonsenseI’vefartoomuchworktodotobotheroverGullalsnowYoushouldseemyDistrictComedownwithyourhusbandsomedayandI’llshowyouroundSuchalovelyplaceintheRains！Asheetofwaterwiththerailway-embankmentandthesnakesstickingout，and，inthesummer，greenfliesandgreensquashThepeoplewoulddieoffearifyoushookadogwhipat’emButtheyknowyou’reforbiddentodothat，sotheyconspiretomakeyourlifeaburdentoyouMyDistrict’sworkedbysomemanatDarjiling，onthestrengthofunativepleader’sfalsereportsOh，it’saheavenlyplace！”
　　OtisYeerelaughedbitterly。
　　“There’snottheleastnecessitythatyoushouldstayinitWhydoyou？”
　　“BecauseImustHow’mItogetoutofit？”
　　“How！InahundredandfiftywaysIfthereweren’tsomanypeopleontheroad，I’dliketoboxyourearsAsk，mydearboy，ask！Look，ThereisyoungHexarlywithsixyears’serviceandhalfyourtalentsHeaskedforwhathewanted，andhegotitSee，downbytheConvent！There’sMeArthursonwhohascometohispresentpositionbyasking-sheer，downrightasking-afterhehadpushedhimselfoutoftherankandfileOnemanisasgoodasanotherinyourservie~believemeI’veseenSimlaformoreseasonsthanIcaretothinkabout。
　　Doyousupposemenarechosenforappointmentsbecauseoftheirspecialfitnessbejorehand？Youhaveallpassedahightest-whatdoyoucallit？-inthebeginning，and，exceptforthefewwhohavegonealtogethertothehad，youcanallworkhardAskingdoestherestCallitcheek，callitinsolence，callitanythingyoulike，butask！Menargue-yes，Iknowwhatmensay-thataman，bythemereaudacityofhisrequest，inusthavesomegoodinhimAweakmandoesn’tsay：’Givemethisandthat。’Hewhines’Whyhaven’tIbeengiventhisandthat？’IfyouwereintheArmy，IshouldsaylearntospinplatesorplayatambourinewithyourtoesAsitis-ask！YoubelongtoaServicethatoughttobeabletocommandtheChannelFleet，orsetalegattwentyminutes’notice，andyetyouhesitateoveraskingtoescapefromasquashygreendistrictwhereyouadmityouarenotmasterDroptheBengalGovernmentaltogetherEvenDarjilmgisalittleout-of-the-wayhole。
　　Iwasthereonce，andtherentswereextortionateAssertyourself。
　　GettheGovernmentofIndiatotakeyouoverTrytogetontheFrontier，whereeverymanhasagrandchanceifhecantrusthimselfGosomewhere！Dosomething！Youhavetwicethewitsandthreetimesthepresenceofthemenuphere，and，and“-MrsHauksbeepausedforbreath：
　　thencontin’ted-
　　“andinanywayyoulookatit，yououghttoYouwhocouldgosofar！”
　　“Tdon’tknow。”saidYeere，rathertakenabackbytheunexpectedeloquence“1haven’tsuchagoodopinionofmyself。”
　　ItwasnotstrictlyPlatonic，hutitwasPolicyMrsHauksbeelaidherhandlightlyupontheunglovedpawthatrestedontheturn~d-backed’rickshawhood，and，lookingthemanfullintheface，saidtenderly，almosttootenderly，’IbelieveinyouifyoumistrustyourselfIsthatenough，myfriend？”
　　“Itisenough。”answeredOtis，verysolemnly。
　　Hewassilentforalongtime，redreamingthedramasthathehaddreamedeightyearsago，butthroughthemallran，assheet-lightningthroughgoldencloud，thelightofMrsHauksbce’svioleteyes。
　　CuriousandimpcnetrablearethemazesofSimlalife-theonlyexistenceinthisdesolatelandworththelivingGraduallyitwentabroadamongmenandwomen，inthepausesbetweendance，playandGymkhana，thatOtisYeere，themanwiththenewly-litlightofself-confidenceinhiseyes，had“donesomethingdecent“inthewildswhencehecame。
　　HehadbroughtanerringMunicipalitytoreason，appropriatedthefundsonhisownresponsibility，andsavedthelivesofhundreds，HeknewmoreabouttheGullalsthananylivingman。
　　Hadavastknowledgeoftheaboriginaltribes；was，inspiteofhisjuniority，thegreatestauthorityonthea~originalGullals。
　　NoonequiteknewwhoorwhattheGullalsweretillThe’lussuek，whohadbeencallingonMrs。
　　~aukshee，andpridedhimselfuponpick-
　　mgpeople’sbrains，explainedtheywereatribeofferocioushillmen，somewherenearSikkim，whosefriendshipeventheGreatIndianEmpirewouldfinditworthherwhiletosecureNowweknowthatOtisYeerehadshowedMrsHauksbeehisMSnotesofsixyears’standingonthesameGullalsHehadtoldher，too，how，sickandshakenwiththefevertheirnegligencehadbred，crippledbythelossofhispetclerk，andsavagel~angryatthedesolationinhischarge，hehadoncedamnedthecollectiveeyesofhis“intelligentlocalboard“forasetofharamzadas。
　　Whichactof“brutalandtyrannousoppression“wonhimaReprimandRoyalfromtheBengatGovernment；hutintheanecdoteasamendedforNorthernconsumptionwefindnorecordofthisHencewe~reforcedtoconcludethatMrsHauksbeeeditedhisreminiscencesbeforesowingtheminidleears，ready，asshewel~knew，toexaggerategoodorevilAndOtisYeereborehimselfasbefittedtheheroofmanytales。
　　“Youcantalktomewhenyoudon’tfallintoabrownstudyTalknow，andtalkyourbrightestandbest。”saidMrsHaukshee。
　　OtisneedednospurLooktoama~whohasthecounselofawomanoforabovetheworldtobackhimSolon~ashekeepshishead，hecanmeetbothsexesonequalground-anadvantag6
　　neverintendedbyProvidence，whofashionedManononedayandWomanonanother，insignthatneithershouldknov’morethanaverylittleoftheother’ah’fe。
　　Suchamangoesfar，or，thecounselbeingwithdrawn，collapsessuddenlywhilehisworldseeksthereason。
　　GeneralledbyMrsHauksbeewho，ThEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
　　again，hadallMrsMallowe’swisdomatherdisposal，proudofhimselfand，intheend，believinginhimselfbecausehewasbelievedin，OtisYeerestoodreadyforanyfortunethatmightbefall，certainthatitwouldbegoodHewouldfightforhisownhand，andintendedthatthissecondstruggleshouldleadtobetterissuethanthefirsthelplesssurrenderofthebewildered’Stunt。
　　Whatmighthavehappened，itisimpossibletosayThislamentablethingbefell，breddirectlybyastatementofMrsHauksbeethatshewouldspendthenextseasoninDarjiling。
　　“Areyoucertainofthat？”saidOtisVeere。
　　“QuiteWe’rewritingaboutahouse~iow。
　　OtisYeere“stoppedd~ad。”asMrsHauksbeeputitindiscussingtherelapsewithMrsMallowe。
　　’~Hehasbehaved。”shesaid，angrily，’justlikeCaptainKerrington’spony-onlyOtisisadonkey-atthelastGymichanaPlantedhisforefeetandrefusedtogoonanotherstepPolly，myman’sgoingtodisappointmeWhatshallIdo？”
　　Asarul~，MrsMallowedoesnota~proveofstaring，butonthisoccasionsheopenedhereyestotheutmost。
　　“Youhavemanagedcleverlysofar。”，hesaid“Speaktohim，andaskhimwhathemeans。”
　　’Iwill-atto~night’sdance。”
　　“N~o，notatadance。”saidMrsMallowe，cautiously“Menarenever~themselvesquiteatdancesBetterwait’illto-morrowmorning。”
　　“NonsenseIfhe’sgoingto’vertinthisinsaneway，thereisn’tadayto~seAreyougaing？No？
　　Thensitupforme，there’sadearIshan’tstaylongerthansupperunderanycircumstances。”
　　Mr~Mallowewaitedthroughtheevening，lookinglongandearnestlyintothefire，andsometimessmilingtoherself。
　　“Oh！oh！oh！Theman’sanidiot！Araving，positiveidiot！I’msorryIeversawhim！”
　　MrsHauksbeeburstintoMrsMallowe’shouse，atmidnight，almostintears。
　　“Whatintheworldhashappened？”saidMrsMallowe，buthereyesshowedthatshehadguessedananswer。
　　“Happened！Everythinghashappened！HewasthereIwenttohimandsaid，’Now，whatdoesthisnonsensemean？’Don’tlaugh，dear，Ican’tbearit。
　　ButyouknowwhatImeanIsaidThenitwasasquare，andIsatitoutwithhimandwantedanexplanation，andhesaid-Oh！Ihaven’tpatiencewithsuchidiots！
　　YouknowwhatIsaidaboutgoingtoDarjilingnextyear？Itdoesn’tmattertomewhereIgoI’dhavechangedtheStationandlosttherenttohavesavedthisHesaid，insomanywords，thathewasn’tgoingtotrytoworkupanymore，because-becausehewouldbeshiftedintoaprovinceawayfromDarjiling，andhisownDistrict，wherethesecreaturesare，iswithinaday’sjourney“-“Ah-hh！”saidMrsMallowe，inatoneofonewhohassuccessfullytrackedanobscurewordthroughalargedictionary。
　　“Didyoueverhearofanythingsomad-soabsurd？AndhehadtheballathisfeetHehadonlytokickit！I