When a crowd collected round the hut, and
Juggut Khan applied the butt of a lighted cigarette to the tender
skin between the fakir's shoulder-blades, the anxious fakir-worshipers
were told that all was well. They were to let the white soldiers
take two wagons, or three even, if they wanted them. They were to
return to their houses at once, and hide, lest the devils who would
shortly overwhelm the white men should make mistakes and include
them, too, in the whelming. He, the fakir, intended to take the
white men for a little journey along the road toward Jailpore, where
the devils who would deal with them would have no opportunity to
make mistakes. And, since the natives knew that Jailpore was a rebel
stronghold, and that ten white men and a native would have no chance
to do the slightest damage there, they chose to believe the fakir
and to obey him.
Hindus have as stubborn and unalterable a habit of obeying and believing
their priests--when the fancy suits them--as white men of other religions
have.
If the fakir had told them through the doorway of the hut that he
intended going with the white men in the direction of Bholat, they
would most surely have prevented him.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125