The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-07-16
The Story Of Muhammad Din

The polo ball was an old me-, Scared,
Clipped and dinted. 1t stood on the man
tle-piece among the pipe-stems which
Imam Din, khitmatgar, was cleaning for
me.
"Does the Heaven-born want this ball?"
said Imam Din deferentially.
The H~eaven-born set no particular
store by il; but of what use was a polo
ball to a khitmatgar?
"By your honor's favor. | have a little
son. He has a seen this ball and desires
10 play with il. / do not want il for my
self"
No one would for an instant accuse
portly old Imam Din of wanting to play
with polo balls. He carried out the bat
tered thing into the verandah; and there
followed a hurricane of joyful squeaks, a
patter of small feet, and the t%hud-thud-
thud of the ball rolling along the ground.
Evidently the little son had been waiting
outside the door To secure his treasure.
But how had he managed TO see that polo
ball?
Next day, coming back from Office half
an hour earlier thar usual, / was aware
of "A small figure in the dining-room-a
tiny, plump figure i'm n ridiculously inada-
quate shirt which came. perhaps, half
way down the tubby stomach. It wan
dered roundt the room, thumb in mouth,
grooming To itself as it took stock OF the
pictures. Undoubtedly this was the little
SON.
He had no business i'm my room, of
course; but was so deeply absorbed i'm
his discoveries that he never noticed me
in the doorway. ! stepped into the room
and startled him nearly into a III.
He sat down on the ground with
a. gasp. His eyes opened, and
his mouth followed suit.
knee what was coming and fled, followed
by a long, dry howl, which reached the
servants quarters far more quickly than
any command of mine had ever DONE. In
ten seconds Imam Din was i'm the dining
room. Then ~despairing sobs arose, and |
returned 10 find Imam Din admonishing
the small sinner, who was using most of
his shirt as a handkerchief.
This boy" said Imam Din judicially,
lis a budmash, a big budmash.. He will,
without doubt ssgo the j~ailkhana for his he
havior." Renewed yells from the peni-
tent, and an elaborate apology TO myself
from Imam Din.
"Tell the baby" said /. .that the Sahib
is not angry, N take him away" Imam
Din conveyed my forgiveness To the Of
fender, who had now gathered all his shirt
round his neck, s~tringwise, n the yell
subsidized into a sob. The two set Off for
the door. "His name" said Imam Din. as
though the name were part of the crime,
lis Muhammad Din, and he is a bud
mash" Freed from present danger, Mu-
nammad Din turned round his fathers
arms and said gravely; at is true that
my name is Muhammad Din, Tahib, but
| am not n budmash. am a manw
From that day dated my acquaintance
with Muhammad Din. Never again did
he come into my dining-room, but ON the
neutral ground of the compound. we
greeted each other with much state,
though our conversation was confined to
k1'nlant. 1fnhihf fsn... h.g at.1. ana. AkSA-
lam, Muhammad DIM from mine.
Daily on my return from office, the little
white shirt n the fat little body used To
rise from the shade of the cree~percovered
trellis where they had been hid and daily
lchecked my horse here, that my saluta-
ton might not be slurred over or given
unseemly.
Muhammad Din never had any COM
panions. He used to trot about the COM
pound, In N out of the castor-oil bushes,
on mysterious errands of his own; One
day stumbled uyo some OF his handi-
work far down the ground. He had half
buried the polo-ball in dust. and stuck
six shrivelled old marigold flowers
and in a circle round it,. Outside
thatcirc!e again, was a rude square, traced
fragments of broken china; the whole
bounded by a little bank of dust. The
bhistie from the well curb put i'm a plea
Tor the small architect, saying that il was
only the play OF a baby and did not much
disfigure my garden.
Heaven knows that | had no intention
OF touching the chlld's work then or later
but, that evening, q stroll through the gar
den brought me full on il; so
that trampled, before / knew, marigold-
heads,d ust-bank, and fragments of broken
soap-dish into confusion past all hope of
mending. Next morning ! came upon
Muhammad Din crying softly to himself
over the ruin l had wrought. Some one
had cruelty told him that the Sahib was
very angry with him for spelling the gar
den. and had scattered his rubbish. using
bad language the while. Muhammad Din
labored for an hour defacing every trace
OF the dnst-bank and pottery fragments.
and II was will "A fearful and Apologize
a that he said: "Talaam Tahib. when 1
came home from the Office. A hasty inquiry
resulted in Imam Din informing Muliam-
mad Din that 10y my singular favor he was
permitted TO disport HIMSELF as he pleased.
Whereat the child took heart and fell TO
tracing the ~ground-plan of an ediflce
which was TO eclipse the marigold polo
ball creation.
Fol some months, the chubby little &C.
centricity revolved in his humble orbit
among the castor-oil bushes aud in the
dust; always f~ashioning magnificent pal
aces from stale flowers thrown away by
the bearer, smooth water-worn pebbles,
bits of broken glass. and feathers pulled.
fancy. from my fowls-always alone
and always grooming TO himself.
A gayly-spotted sea-shell was dropped
one day close 20 the last of his little build
ings: and | looked that Muhummad Din
should build something more than ordin.
airly on the strength of IL. Nor was ] dis
appointed. He meditated for the better
part of an hour. and his grooming rose to
n jubilant song. Then be began
tracing i'm dust. IL woul certainly
he n ~wondrous palace, this one, for il
WAS two varls long and a ward brpa1 in
ground plan. But the palace was never
completed.