Part 6 (1/2)

”The Sikhs! The Sikhs!”

The crowd took it up And since it was a crowd, and there was nothing else to do; and since it had had protection but no violence at Sikh hands ever since '57; and since the babu really did look frightened, it shouted that the Sikhs were cohly afraid

”Run, brothers!” shouted some man in thea new idea and just as good as any, the whole crowd took to its heels, leaving the four police at the body of a dead Sikh, and the fat babu co all of them

Presently a European police officer trotted up on a white pony, examined the body, asked a dozen questions of the four policemen, wrote in his ue

”Come here, you!” he called to the babu

So the babu waddled to hiested deference while leaving no doubt as to the intended insult

”What do you know about this?”

”As peaceful citizen in pursuance of daily bread and other perquisites, I clai on as thrown to ground violentlee by galloping horse whose rider urged saard this or of the law for which I am taxed inordinately”

”What sort of a horse? Who rode it? How long ago?”

”A overwhelmed Should say veree recently, however The horse was ridden by a person who urged it vehemently It was a brown horse, I think”

”Which way did he go?”

”How should I know? He went away, knocking reat distress”

”Was he armed?”

”Two ared hiinary hu for his life, whonize as Ranjoor Singh, even had he been acquainted with the risaldar-, would prefer to say nothing about that It ith the horse-with the rump of the animal that he hit me, and not with a sword of any kind”

”Well, you had better come with me to the office, and there we'll take down your deposition”

”Am I arrested?”

”No You're a witness”

”On the contrary, I aor of the law I deether with fine and i which I shall address co We'll talk about that at the office”

So the babu was escorted to the stuffy little police office, where he was made to sit on a bench beside ten native witnesses of other crimes; and presently he was called to a desk at which a native clerk presided There he was ain, and since he had had ti, disconnected yarn that looked even more untruthful by the time the clerk had written his own version of it on a sheet To this version the babu was required to swear, and he did so without a blink