WhentheYoughalscameintothestation，Strickland——verygravely，ashedideverything——fellinlovewithMissYoughal；andshe，afterawhile，fellinlovewithhimbecauseshecouldnotunderstandhimThenStricklandtoldtheparents；butMrs。
YoughalsaidshewasnotgoingtothrowherdaughterintotheworstpaidDepartmentintheEmpire，andoldYoughalsaid，insomanywords，thathemistrustedStrickland’swaysandworks，andwouldthankhimnottospeakorwritetohisdaughteranymore“Verywell。”saidStrickland，forhedidnotwishtomakehislady-love’slifeaburdenAfteronelongtalkwithMissYoughalhedroppedthebusinessentirely。
TheYoughalswentuptoSimlainApril。
InJuly，Stricklandsecuredthreemonths’leaveon“urgentprivateaffairs。”Helockeduphishouse——thoughnotanativeintheProvidencewouldwittinglyhavetouched“EstreekinSahib’s“gearfortheworld——andwentdowntoseeafriendofhis，anolddyer，atTarnTaran。
Herealltraceofhimwaslost，untilasaismetmeontheSimlaMallwiththisextraordinarynote：
“Dearoldman，Pleasegivebeareraboxofcheroots——Supers，NoI，forpreferenceTheyarefreshestattheClubI’llrepaywhenI
reappear；butatpresentI’moutofSociety。
Yours，ESTRICKLAND。”
Iorderedtwoboxes，andhandedthemovertothesaiswithmylove。
ThatsaiswasStrickland，andhewasinoldYoughal’semploy，attachedtoMissYoughal’sArabThepoorfellowwassufferingforanEnglishsmoke，andknewthatwhateverhappenedIshouldholdmytonguetillthebusinesswasover。
Lateron，MrsYoughal，whowaswrappedupinherservants，begantalkingathouseswhereshecalledofherparagonamongsaises——themanwhowasnevertoobusytogetupinthemorningandpickflowersforthebreakfast-table，andwhoblacked——actuallyBLACKED——
thehoofsofhishorselikeaLondoncoachman！TheturnoutofMissYoughal’sArabwasawonderandadelightStrickland——
Dulloo，Imean——foundhisrewardintheprettythingsthatMissYoughalsaidtohimwhenshewentoutridingHerparentswerepleasedtofindshehadforgottenallherfoolishnessforyoungStricklandandsaidshewasagoodgirl。
StricklandvowsthatthetwomonthsofhisservicewerethemostrigidmentaldisciplinehehasevergonethroughQuiteapartfromthelittlefactthatthewifeofoneofhisfellow-saisesfellinlovewithhimandthentriedtopoisonhimwitharsenicbecausehewouldhavenothingtodowithher，hehadtoschoolhimselfintokeepingquietwhenMissYoughalwentoutridingwithsomemanwhotriedtoflirtwithher，andhewasforcedtotrotbehindcarryingtheblanketandhearingeveryword！Also，hehadtokeephistemperwhenhewasslangedin“Benmore“porchbyapoliceman——
especiallyoncewhenhewasabusedbyaNaikhehadhimselfrecruitedfromIsserJangvillage——or，worsestill，whenayoungsubalterncalledhimapigfornotmakingwayquicklyenough。
ButthelifehaditscompensationsHeobtainedgreatinsightintothewaysandtheftsofsaises——enough，hesays，tohavesummarilyconvictedhalfthechamarpopulationofthePunjabifhehadbeenonbusinessHebecameoneoftheleadingplayersatknuckle-
bones，whichalljhampanisandmanysaisesplaywhiletheyarewaitingoutsidetheGovernmentHouseortheGaietyTheatreofnights；helearnedtosmoketobaccothatwasthree-fourthscowdung；
andheheardthewisdomofthegrizzledJemadaroftheGovernmentHousesaises，whosewordsarevaluableHesawmanythingswhichamusedhim；andhestates，onhonor，thatnomancanappreciateSimlaproperly，tillhehasseenitfromthesais’spointofview。
Healsosaysthat，ifhechosetowriteallhesaw，hisheadwouldbebrokeninseveralplaces。
Strickland’saccountoftheagonyheenduredonwetnights，hearingthemusicandseeingthelightsin“Benmore。”withhistoestinglingforawaltzandhisheadinahorse-blanket，isratheramusingOneofthesedays，StricklandisgoingtowritealittlebookonhisexperiencesThatbookwillbeworthbuying；andevenmore，worthsuppressing。
Thus，heservedfaithfullyasJacobservedforRachel；andhisleavewasnearlyatanendwhentheexplosioncameHehadreallydonehisbesttokeephistemperinthehearingoftheflirtationsIhavementioned；buthebrokedownatlastAnoldandverydistinguishedGeneraltookMissYoughalforaride，andbeganthatsp...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：