When the next dish came another surprise awaited everybody.

As the cover was removed it was found that the whole contents were covered with a thin layer of sweepings.  The Khansama (the servant who serves at the table) looked at Mr. Anderson and Mr. Anderson at the Khansama “with a wild surmise”; the cover was replaced and the dish taken away.  Nothing was said this time.

After about 5 minutes of waiting a third covered dish was brought.

When the cover was removed the contents were found mixed with stable sweepings.  The smell was horrible, the dish was at once removed.

This was about the limit.

No man can eat after that.  Mr. Anderson left the table and went to his office—­without breakfast.

It was the habit of Mr. Anderson to have his lunch in his office.  A Khansama used to take a tiffin basket to the office and there in his private room Mr. Anderson ate his lunch punctually at 2 P.M.  Today he expected his tiffin early.  He thought, that though he had left no instructions himself the Khansama would have the sense to remember that he had gone to office without breakfast.  And so Mr. Anderson expected a lunch heavier than usual and earlier too.

But it was two o’clock and the servant had not arrived.  Mr. Anderson was a man of particularly regular habits.  He was very hungry.  The thought of the beggar in the morning made him angry too.  He shouted to his punkha coolie to pull harder.

It was a quarter after two and still the Khansama would not arrive.  It was probably the first time in 20 years that the fellow was late.  Mr. Anderson sent his chaprasi (peon) to look for the Khansama at about half past two.  A couple of minutes after the chaprasi’s departure, Mr. Atkins, the Collector of the district, was announced (A Collector is generally a District Magistrate also, and in the Central Provinces he is called the Deputy Commissioner).  He is one of the principal officers in the district.  In this particular district of which I am speaking there were two principal government officers.  The Divisional Judge was the head of the Civil Administration as well as the person who tried the murderers and all other big offenders who deserved more than seven years imprisonment.  He was a Bengal Brahman.  Mr. Atkins was the Collector or rather the Deputy Commissioner.  He was the executive head of the district.  He was also the District Magistrate.  Mr. Atkins came in and thus explained a sad accident which Mr. Anderson’s Khansama had met with: 

“As I was passing along the road in my motor car, your man came in the way and was knocked down.  The man is hurt but not badly.  He had been carrying a tiffin basket which was also knocked down, as a matter of course; and the car having passed over it everything the basket contained in the shape of china was smashed up.  The man has been taken to the hospital by myself in an unconscious condition, but the doctor says there is nothing very serious, and he will be all right in a couple of days.”