Page:Wren--The young stagers.djvu/100

82 Lucy, the Virtuous Lucy, friend and patron of the sons of Soni.

In other words, the village panchayet had assembled under the banyan to see about it.

"‘Nay, brother,' quoth the shikari (whom the Travelling M.P. had brought with him) to the headman of Soni. 'Mad, he is not, but very, very foolish, a babe at the hunting and most wondrous ignorant. There is indeed but one thing to equal his great ignorance and that is his great admiration for his own knowledge and wisdom. Surely there can be no shikar in his own country. But from me he will learn much, provided his folly anger not the gods. '

"‘But he must not slay our virtuous tiger in the process of learning,' interrupted the headman, and he clucked the cluck of uttermost negation.

"‘He will pay well,' said the shikari.

"‘Will he pay the equivalent of all the damage that pig, nilghai, sambur, black-buck, chinkara and other beasts will do to the growing crops