I do not think those two men will profit by tonight 's watch . ' An hour passed , and , with the best will in the world to keep awake all night , he slept deeply . Now and again a night train roared along the metals within twenty feet of him ; but he had all the Oriental 's indifference to mere noise , and it did not even weave a dream through his slumber . Mahbub was anything but asleep . It annoyed him vehemently that people outside his tribe and unaffected by his casual amours should pursue him for the life . His first and natural impulse was to cross the line lower down , work up again , and , catching his well-wishers from behind , summarily slay them . Here , he reflected with sorrow , another branch of the Government , totally unconnected with Colonel Creighton , might demand explanations which would be hard to supply ; and he knew that south of the Border a perfectly ridiculous fuss is made about a corpse or so . He had not been troubled in this way since he sent Kim to Umballa with the message , and hoped that suspicion had been finally diverted . Then a most brilliant notion struck him . ` The English do eternally tell the truth , ' he said , ` therefore we of this country are eternally made foolish . By Allah , I will tell the truth to an Englishman ! Of what use is the Government police if a poor Kabuli be robbed of his horses in their very trucks . This is as bad as Peshawur ! I should lay a complaint at the station . Better still , some young Sahib on the Railway ! They are zealous , and if they catch thieves it is remembered to their honour . ' He tied up his horse outside the station , and strode on to the platform . ` Hullo , Mahbub Ali ' said a young Assistant District Traffic Superintendent who was waiting to go down the line -- a tall , tow-haired , horsey youth in dingy white linen . ` What are you doing here ? Selling weeds -- eh ? '
` No ; I am not XXXXX for my horses .
Selling catch knew made pursue remembered sent slay tied troubled