1 r
2 SUBHANA'S FATE 415
3 interrupt him for a few minutes, and then I gently called
4 him. The poor fellow stood smiling in front of me.
5 * Do not pack up my things/ I said ; * I am not going
6 away.' * Not going away, your Excellency ! ' he cried,
7 and his face fell with consternation. I am afraid that
8 we took a malicious delight in watching this sudden
9 revulsion of spirits. There were no more smiles and
10 jokes for Subhana that morning. His happier fellow-
11 servants, who were returning to peaceful lands, bade
12 him be of good cheer, and plied him with the usual
13 cheap philosophy. * As a good Mussulman,' they said,
14 * you must be resigned to your fate. It is Kismet ; it
15 is not right to grieve about it. He whose fate it is to
16 live, Uves. He whose fate it is to die by the sword,
17 dies by the sword,' which was all very well for them,
18 setting out, as they were, for the security of the Vale
19 of Kashmir, but was poor consolation for the unhappy
20 Subhana.
21 Our little mess having now broken up, I was kindly
22 invited to join the head-quarters mess for the rest of
23 the campaign.