Page:An American Girl in India.djvu/121

 Yet nothing would induce people in India to bestir themselves and get everybody to keep the same time. It's just apathy. They much prefer to get hustled and lose their tempers and their best friends at the same time rather than take the amount of trouble necessary to set things right once and for all. Well, in consequence of this elusive half hour in the Indian time, a strange thing happened. It was ten o'clock, as I have said, by my watch. That might mean that it was only half past nine or it might mean that it was half past ten. That wouldn't matter a bit on an ordinary day in India, when time is of no account whatever, but on a wedding day one likes to strike the right time somewhere near about anyway. Well, it was no good my asking even if there had been anybody in sight to ask, because I knew I should forget again straight away within the next five minutes, so I thought I had best go right on to the church, and leave the shopping until afterwards. If I was somehow late already there was nothing for it but to drive fast. If I was early I could sit in St. Jude's, and work up a suitable wedding march frame of mind. The driver deposited me at St. Jude's, and demanded quite twice the proper fare, which I meekly paid him, having no command of the language, and not wishing to create a scandal on the church steps on a wedding morning. The door was just ajar, and I cautiously pushed it open and passed inside. Then I was aware at once that I was late