Chapter 17, The Landlord Summary

Shabanu and Phulan are filling water pots from the canal. Phulan stays behind to do some washing while Shabanu heads back to the camp. On the way there, a group of men and the evil Nazir stop her. They are on a hunting trip. Nazir has a tradition of "giving" a girl from his tenants to a friend in his hunting party, and they eye Shabanu. However, when Phulan starts to walk toward them, they decide they like her better. Shabanu keeps her head in this desperate situation. She dumps the water pots on the men, leaps onto Xhush Dil, pulling Phulan up with her, and rides away. The men laugh at Nazir's humiliation.

When they get to the camp, Shabanu tells Dadi the whole story. He grabs his gun to go warn Hamir. He directs them to get...