woman to let him know whether he was a member of the or not but she was the only living person who knew his address and as the idea had seemed to please her in common with their whole charming conspiracy this was what she called it had been content a story of west and east when he had become convinced that his eyes would never again be blessed with the sight of a white man or his ears with the sound of intelligible speech the cart rolled through a between two hills and stopped before the of the station at it was a double of red but � for this could have taken it in his arms � it was full of white men they were excessively they were lying in the in long chairs and between each chair was a well worn trunk got himself out of the cart his long legs with difficulty and his muscles one by one he was a mask of dust � dust beyond sand storms or it had the of his clothing and turned his black american four button to a white it had done away with the distinction between the hem of his trousers and the top of his shoes it dropped off him and rolled up from him as he moved his fervent thank god i was extinguished in a dusty cough he stepped into the rubbing his eyes good evening gentlemen he said got anything to drink no one rose but somebody shouted for the servant a man dressed in thin silk the yellow and ill fitting as the on a dried and absolutely as to his face nodded to him and asked languidly who are you for no have they got them here too said to himself in that brief question the universal of the commercial traveller he went down the long line and twisted each hand in pure joy and before he began to draw the east and the west and to ask himself if these idle silent could belong to the profession with which he had stories and political opinions this many a year in smoking cars and hotel offices certainly they were and of the joyous brazen animals whom he knew as the of the west but perhaps � a in his back reminded him � they had all reached this sink of desolation country cart he thrust his nose into twelve inches of and and remained there till there was no more then dropped into a vacant chair and surveyed the group again did some one ask who i was for i m for myself i suppose as much as any one � travelling for pleasure a story of west and east he had not time to enjoy the absurdity of this for all five men burst into a shout of laughter like the laughter of men who have long been from mirth pleasure cried one o lord i pleasure you ve come to the wrong place it s just as well you ve come for pleasure you d be dead before you did business said another you might as well try to get blood out of a stone i ve been here over a fortnight great scott what for asked we ve all been here over a week growled a fourth but what s your lay what s your guess you re an american ain t you yes the statement had no effect upon them he might as well have spoken in greek but what s the trouble why the king married two wives yesterday you can hear the going in the city now he s trying to a new regiment of cavalry for the service of the indian government and he s quarrelled with his political resident i ve been living at colonel s door for three days he says he can t do anything without authority from the supreme government i ve tried to catch the king when he goes out pig shooting i write the every day to the prime minister when i m not riding around the city on a and here s a bunch of letters from the firm asking why i don t collect at the end of ten minutes began to understand that these washed out representatives of half a dozen in and were hopelessly this place on their regular spring campaign to collect a little on account from a king who ordered by the ton and paid by the scruple he had purchased guns dressing cases ornaments work the christmas tree glass balls four in hands scent bottles instruments and by the dozen gross or score as his royal fancy prompted when he lost interest in his purchases he lost interest in paying for them and as few things amused his fancy more than twenty minutes it sometimes came to pass that the mere purchase was sufficient and the costly packing cases from were never opened the ordered peace of the indian empire forbade him to take up arms against his fellow sovereigns the only lasting delight that he or his ancestors had known for thousands of years but there remained a certain modified interest of war in with bill on one side stood the political resident of the a story of west and east state planted there to teach him good government and above all economy on the other side � that is to say at the palace gates � might generally be found a commercial traveller divided between his contempt of an and his english reverence for a king between these two his majesty went forth to take his pleasure in in racing in the of his army in the ordering of more and in the fitful government of his who knew considerably more of each commercial traveller s claims than even the prime minister behind these was the government of india refusing to payment of the king s debts and from time 