تپه‌ها

CHAPTER TEN

The Hills

Kim and the lama began walking slowly north from Saharunpore. They walked through the cities of Dehradun and then, closer to the hills, the city of Mussoorie. At the beginning of their journey the lama needed Kim’s help walking. But, as they began to go upwards in the hills, the lama became stronger and stronger. For Kim, however, the walking became more and more difficult, and the winds colder and colder. The lama, who was a hillman, led Kim away from the main road along more difficult paths. The people of the hills welcomed the lama and Kim. Many of them were Buddhists and saw the lama as a very important holy man.

Gradually, Kim became stronger, and he studied more deeply the Wheel of Life with the lama. In these hills, there was very little to distract them. Occasionally, they saw a bear on a distant hill, or an eagle in the sky. One morning they even saw a snow leopard that was eating a goat. Otherwise, there was nothing. These hills under the great Himalayas were like a world of dreams.

‘Surely the Gods live here!’ said Kim, who was amazed by the great distances and silence of the place. ‘This is no place for men!’

Hurree Babu, who was carrying a blue and white umbrella, also walked up into the hills, but he stayed on the main road. Soon, he met the Russian and Frenchman. He presented himself as ‘an agent for the Rajah of Rampur’. The Russian and Frenchman were very happy because they were having trouble with their porters. They had baskets carrying mountain goat heads - they were pretending to be hunters. But, most important to them was a basket with a red cover, which carried all their maps and papers. They planned to take these precious documents down to Simla and then send them back to Russia.

Hurree Babu soon solved their problem with their porters, who were hillmen. So, the Russian and Frenchman - now with the assistance of an ‘agent of the Rajah of Rampur’ - continued their journey down to Simla. On the second day, they saw Kim and the lama studying the Wheel of Life near the road. Hurree Babu, who always thought very quickly, said, ‘Look, that is a very important local holy man, a subject of the Rajah of Rampur.’

‘What is he doing? It is very curious,’ said the Russian.

‘He is explaining the holy picture, which is made by hand,’ said Hurree Babu.

‘Tell him that I want to buy his picture,’ said the Russian.

Hurree Babu walked closer to Kim and the lama. Kim understood the situation immediately.

‘Holy One,’ said the Babu, ‘these Sahibs want to buy your drawing.’

‘No,’ replied the lama, who was also an artist.

‘He says no,’ Hurree Babu said to the Russian. The Russian became angry: he did not see the lama as an important holy man: he saw him as a dirty old man arguing about money for an old drawing. He walked up to the lama and grabbed at the drawing. The lama did not let go and the drawing ripped. The lama became angry and stood up. Then the Russian hit him on the face. The hillmen carrying the baskets were shocked. They became afraid and ran up the hill with the baskets on their backs. Kim, too, was shocked. He attacked the Russian. The two went rolling down the hill.

Again, the Babu thought very quickly. He went and pulled Kim off the Russian - Kim wanted to kill him. Then he whispered in his ear, ‘You must run up with the hillmen who have the baskets. The one with the red cover has all the important documents. Keep that one! Go!’

Kim ran off with the hillmen, who had also taken the lama with them.

The Frenchman now had his pistol in his hand, but the Babu shouted at him, ‘Do not shoot! They will come and kill us all! Why did you hit their holy man? You have done something horrible! Now we will be lucky to arrive in Simla alive!’

But, of course, the Babu was very happy that the Russian had done something so horrible: Kim now had all their secret letters and documents.