I am a Meena of the Ossary _jat_. In
Jaipur we guard the treasury and the zenanna of the Raja, and it is our
chief who puts the _tika_ upon the forehead of the Maharaja when he
ascends to the throne. Think you, then, Sahib, that an Ossary would
betray a trust?"
Barlow fixed the lean saffron-hued face with a searching look, and
muttered, "Damned if I don't believe the old chap is straight!" "I
think it is true," he said. "Shut the door." Then he continued: "The
one who came last night is in the next room and you must take her out
through the bathroom door, for there is cover of the crotons and
oleanders, and then to the road. Acquire a _gharry_ and go with her to
where she directs you."
"Salaam, Sahib! your servant will obey. And as to the _chota hazri_,
Sahib?"
"By Jove! right you are, Jungwa"; for Barlow had forgotten that--the
little breakfast, as it was called.
Then he ran his fingers through his hair. To send the Gulab off
without even a cup of tea was one thing; to admit the bearer to know of
her presence was another.
The wily old watchman sensed what was passing in his master's mind, and
he hazarded, diplomatically, "If the One is of high caste she will not
eat what is brought by the bearer who is of the Sudra caste, but from
the hands of a Meena none but the Brahmin _pundits_ refuse food.
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