Mr.
Fraser was known always to take the straight road, and upon that
Karim posted himself, as the road up to the place where it branched
off was too public for his purpose. As it happened, Mr. Fraser, for
the first time, took the circuitous road to the right, and reached
his home without meeting Karim. Ania placed himself at the cross way,
and waited there till Karim came up to him. On hearing that he had
taken the right road, Karim said that 'a man in Mr. Fraser's
situation must be a strange ('kafir') unbeliever not to have such a
thing as a torch with him in a dark night. Had he had what he ought',
he said, 'I should not have lost him this time'.
They passed him on the road somewhere or other almost every afternoon
after this for seven days, but could never fall in with him after
dark. On the eighth day, Sunday, the 22nd of March, Karim went, as
usual, in the forenoon to the great mosque to say his prayers; and on
his way back in the afternoon he purchased some plums which he was
eating when he came up to Ania, whom he found cooking his dinner. He
ordered his horse to be saddled immediately, and told Ania to make
haste and eat his dinner, as he had seen Mr.
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