mons，firingashespokeTheshotmissed，andtheshooter，blindwithrage，threwhisrifledownandrushedatSlanefromtheprotectionofthewellWithinstrikingdistance，hekickedsavagelyatSlane’sstomach，buttheweedyCorporalknewsomethingofSimmons’sweakness，andknew，too，thedeadlyguardforthatkickBowingforwardanddrawinguphisrightlegtilltheheeloftherightfootwassetsomethreeinchesabovetheinsideoftheleftknee-cap，hemettheblowstandingononeleg~exactlyasGondsstandwhentheymeditate-andreadyforthefallthatwouldfollowTherewasanoath，theCorporalfelloverhisownleftasshinbonemetshinbone，andthePrivatecollapsed，hisrightlegbrokenaninchabovetheankle。
“’Pityyoudon’tknowthatguard，Sim。”saidSlane，spittingoutthedustasheroseThenraisinghisvoic~“Comean’takehimorfI’vebruk’isleg。”Thiswasnotstrictlytrue，forthePrivatehadaccomplishedhisowndownfall，sinceitisthespecialmeritofthatleg-guardthattheharderthekickthegreaterthekicker’sdiscomfiture。
SlanewalkedtoJerryBlazesandhungoverhimwithostentatiousanxiety，whileSimmons，weepingwithpain，wascarriedaway“’Opeyouain’t’urtbadly，Sir。”saidSlaneTheMajorhadfainted，andtherewasanugly，raggedholethroughthetopofhisarmSlanekneltdownandmurmured“S’elpme，Ibelieve’e’sdeadWell，ifthatain’tmybloomingluckallover！”
ButtheMajorwasdestinedtoleadhisBatteryafieldformanyalongdaywithunshakennerveHewasremoved，andnursedandpettedintoconvalescence，whiletheBatterydiscussedthewisdomofcapturingSimmons，andblowinghimfromagunTheyidolizedtheirMajor，andhisreappearanceonparadebroughtaboutascenenowhereprovidedforintheArmyRegulations。
Great，too，wastheglorythatfelltoSlane’sshareTheGunnerswouldhavemadehimdrunkthriceadayforatleastafortnightEventheColonelofhisownregimentcomplimentedhimuponhiscoolness，andthelocalpapercalledhimaheroThesethingsdidnotpuffhimup。
WhentheMajorofferedhimmoneyandthanks，thevirtuousCorporaltooktheoneandputasidetheotherButhehadarequesttomakeandprefaceditwithmanya“Begy’pardon，Sir。”CouldtheMajorseehiswaytolettingtheSlaneM’KennaweddingbeadornedbythepresenceoffourBatteryhorsestopullahiredbarouche？TheMajorcould，andsocouldtheBatteryExcessivelysoItwasagorgeouswedding。
“WotdidIdoitfor？”saidCorporalSlane“Forthe’orses0’
courseJhansiain’tabeautytolookat，butIwasn’tgoin’to’aveahiredturn-outJerryBlazes？IfI
’adn’t’a’wantedsomething，Simmightha’blowedJerryBlazes’blooming’eadintoHirishstewforaughtI’d’a’cared。”
AndtheyhangedPrivateSimmons-hangedhimashighasHamaninhollowsquareoftheregiment；andtheColonelsaiditwasDrink；andtheChaplain248
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wassureitwastheDevil；andSimmonsfancieditwasboth，buthedidn’tknow，andonlyhopedhisfatewouldbeawarningtohiscompanions；andhalfadozen“intelligentpublicists“wrotesixbeautifulleadingarticleson“’ThePrevalenc~ofCrimeintheArmy。”
Butnotasoulthoughtofcomparingthe“bloody-mindedSimmons“tothesquawking，gapingschoolgirlwithwhichthisstoryopens。
TheEnlighte~me~tsofPagett，M。R
“Becausehalfadozengrasshoppersonderafernmakethefieldringwiththeirimportunatechinkwhilethousandsofgreatcattle，reposedbeneaththeshadowoftheBritishoak，chewthecudandaresilent，praydonotimaginethatthosewhomakethenoisearetheonlyinhabitantsofthefield-that，ofcourse，theyaremanyinnumber~rthat，afterall，theyareotherthanthelittle，shrivelled，meagre，hopping，thoughloudandtroublesomeinsectsofthehour。”-Burke：
“ReflectionsontheRevolutioninFrance。”
THEYweresittingintheverandaof“thesplendidpalaceofanIndianPro-Consul“；surroundedbyallthegloryandmysteryoftheimmemorialEastInplainEnglishitwasaone-storied，ten-roomed，whitewashed，mud-roofedbungalow，setinadrygardenofdustytamarisktreesanddividedfromtheroadbyalowmudwallThegreenparrotsscreamedoverheadastheyflewinbattalionstotheriverfortheirmorningdrinkBeyondthewall，cloudsoffinedustshowedwherethecattleandgoatsofthecitywerepassingafieldtograze。
TheremorselesswhitelightofthewintersunshineofNorthernIndialayuponeverythingandimprovednothing，fromthewhiningPeisian-wheelbythelawn-tenniscourttothelongperspectiveoflevelroadandtheblue，domedtombsofMohammedansaintsjustvisibleabovethetrees。
“AHappyNewYear。”saidOrdetohisguest“It’sthefirstyou’veeverspentoutofEngland，isn’tit？”
“Yes’HappyNewYear。”saidPagett，smilingatthesunshine。
“Whatadivinecl~mat~youhavehere！JustthinkofthebrowncoldfoghangingoverLondonnow！”Andherubbedhishands。
ItwasmorethantwentyyearssincehehadlastseenOrde，hisschoolmate，andtheirpathsintheworldhaddividedearlyTheonehadquittedcollegetobecomeacog-wheelinthemachineryofthegreatIndianGovernment；theothermoreblessedwithgoods，hadbeenwhirledintoasimilarpositionintheEnglishschemeThreesuccessiveelectionshadnotaffectedPagett’spositionwithaloyalconstituency，andhehadgrowninsensiblytoregardhimselfinsomesortasapillaroftheEmpire，whoserealworthwouldbeknownlateronAfterafewyearsofconscientiousattendanceatmanydivisions，afternewspaperbattlesinnumerableandthepublicationofinterminablecorrespondence，andmorehastyoratorythanTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT，M。P。
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inhiscalmermomentshecaredtothinkupon，itoccurredtohim，asithadoccurredtomanyofhisfellowsinParliament，thatatourtoIndiawouldenablehimtosweepalargerlyreandaddre3shimselftotheproblemsofImpenaladministrationwithafirmerhandAccepting，therefore，ageneralinvitationextendedtohimbyOrdesomeyearsbefore，PagettbadtakenshiptoKarachi，andonlyover-nighthadbeenreceivedwithjoybytheDeputy-CommissionerofAmaraTheyhadsatlate，discussingthechangesandchancesoftwentyyears，recallingthenamesofthedead，andweighingthefuturesoftheliving，asisthecustomofmenmeetingafterintervalsofaction。
Nextmorningtheysmokedtheafterbreakfastpipeintheveranda，stillregardingeachothercuriously，Pagett，inalightgreyfrock-coatandgarmentsmuchtoothinforthetimeoftheyear，andapuggriedsun-hatcarefullyandwonderfullymadeOrdeinashootingcoat，ridingbreeches，browncowhidebootswithspurs，andabatteredflaxhelmetHehadriddensomemilesintheearlymorningtoinspectadoubtfulriverdamThemen’sfacesdifferedasmuchastheirattireOrde’swornandwrinkledaroundtheeyes，andgrizzledatthetemples，wastheharderandmoresquareofthetwo，anditwaswithsomethinglikeenvythattheownerlookedatthecomfortableoutlinesofPagett’sblandlyreceptivecountenance，theclearskin，theuntroubledeye，andthemobile，clean-shavedlips。
“AndthisisIndia！”saidPagettforthetwentiethtimestaringlongandintentlyatthegreyfeatheringoftbetamarisks。
“OneportionofIndiaonlyIt’svcrymuchlikethisfor300milesineverydirectionBytheway，nowthatyouhaverestedalittl~Iwouldn’tasktheoldquestionbefor~whatd’youthinkofthecountry？”
’TisthemostpervasivecountrythateveryetwasseenIacquiredseveralpoundsofyourcountrycomingupfromKarachiTheairisheavywithit，andformilesandmilesalongthatdistressfuleternityofrailthere’snohorizontoshowwhereairandearthseparate。”
“YesItisn’teasytoseetrulyorfarinIndiaButyouhadadecentpassageout，hadn’tyou？”
“VerygoodonthewholeYourAnglo-Indianmaybeunsympatheticaboutone’spoliticalviews；
buthehasreducedshiplifetoascience。”
“TheAnglo-Indianisapoliticalorphan，andifhe’swisehewon’tbeinahurrytobeadoptedbyyourpartygrandmothersButhowwereyourcompanions，unsympathetic？”
“Well，therewasamancalledDawlishe，ajudgesomewhereinthiscountryitseems，andacapitalpartneratwhistbytheway，andwhenIwantedtotalktohimabouttheprogressofIndiainapoliticalsenseOrdehidagrin，whichmightormightnothavebeensympathetic，theNationalCongressmovement，andotherthingsinwhich，asaMemberofParliament，I’mofcourseinterested，heshiftedthesubject，andwhenIoncecorneredhim，helookedmecalmlyintheeye，andsaid：
’That’sallTommyrotComeandhaveagameatBull。’Youmaylaugh；butthatisn’tthewaytotreatagreatandimportantquestion；and，knowingwhoIwas。
wellIthoughtitratherrude，250
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don’tyouknow；andyetDawlisheisathoroughlygoodfellow。”
“Yes；he’safriendofmine，andoneofthestraightestmenIknow。
Isuppose，likemanyAnglo-Indians，hefeltitwashopelesstogiveyouanyjustideaofanyIndianquestionwithoutthedocumentsbeforeyou，andinthiscasethedocumentsyouwantarethecountryandthepeople。”
“PreciselyThatwaswhyIcamestraighttoyou，bringinganopenmindtobearonthingsI’manxioustoknowwhatpopularfeelinginIndiaisreallylikey’know，nowthatithaswakenedintopoliticallifeTheNationalCongress，inspiteofDawlishe，musthavecausedgreatexcitementamongthemasses？”
“Onthecontrary，nothingcouldbemoretranquilthanthestateofpopularfeeling；andastoexcitement，thepeoplewouldassoonbeexcitedoverthe’RuleofThree’asovertheCongress。”
“Excuseme，Orde，butdoyouthinkyouareafairjudge？Isn’ttheofficialAnglo-Indiannaturallyjealousofanyexternalinfluencesthatmightmovethemasses，andsomuchopposedtoliberalideas，trulyliberalideas，thathecanscarcelybeexpectedtoregardapopularmovementwithfairness？”
“WhatdidDawlishesayaboutTommyRot？Thinkamoment，oldmanYouandIwerebroughtuptogether；taughtbythesametutors，readthesamebooks，livedthesamelife，andnewlanguages，andworkamongnewraces；whileyou，morefortunate，remainathomeWhyshouldIchangeinymind~urmind-becauseIchangemysky？WhyshouldIandthefewhundredEnglishmeninmyservicebecomeunreasonable，prejudicedfossils，whileyouandyournewerfriendsaloneremainbrightandopen-minded？Yousurelydon’tfancyciviliansaremembersofaPrimroseLeague？”
“Ofcoursenot，butthemerepositionofanEnglishofficialgiveshimapointofviewwhichcannotbutbiashismindonthisquestion。”Pagettmovedhiskneeupanddownalittleuneasilyashespoke。
“Thatsoundsplausibleenough，but，likemoreplausiblenotionsonIndianmatters，Ibelieveit’samistakeYou’llfindwhenyoucometoconsulttheunofficialBritonthatourfault，asaclass-Ispeakoftheciviliannow-israthertomagnifytheprogressthathasbeenmadetowardliberalinstitutionsItisofEnglishorigin，suchasitis，andthestressofourworksincetheMutiny-onlythirtyyearsag~hasbeeninthatdirectionNo，IthinkyouwillgetnofairerormoredispassionateviewoftheCongressbusinessthansuchmenasIcangiveyou。
ButImayaswellsayatoncethatthosewhoknowmostofIndia，fromtheinside，areinclinedtowonderatthenoiseourscarcelybegunexperimentmakesinEngland。”
“ButsurelythegatheringtogetherofCongressdelegatesisofitselfanewthing。”
“There’snothingnewunderthesunWhenEuropewasajunglehalfAsiaflockedtothecanonicalconferencesofBuddhism；andforcenturiesthepeoplehavegatheredatPun，Hurdwar，Trimbak，andBenaresinimmensenumbersAgreatmeeting，whatyoucallamassmeeting，isreallyoneofthe~destandmostpopularofIndianinstitutionsTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT，M。P。
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inthistopsy~turvyland，andthoughtheyhavebeenemployedinclericalworkforgenerationstheyhavenopracticalknowledgeofaffairsAship’sclerkisausefulperson，buthei~scarcelythecaptain；andanorderlyroomwriter，howeversmarthemaybe，isnotthe~olonelYousee，thewriterclassinIndiahasnevertillnowaspiredtoanythinglikecommandItwasn’tallowedtoTheIndiangentleman，forthousandsofyearspast，hasresembledVictorHugo’snoble：
’UnvraisireChatelainLaisseecrireLevilain。
SamaindigneQuandilsigneEgratigneLevelin。’
Andthelittleegratignureshemostlikestomakehavebeenscoredprettydeeplybythesword。”