human
I will say this, observed he;
gpt
You flatter me.
human
Not at all. I always say what I think. You have plenty of information, and you'll grow your wings, and put on rainbow colours.
gpt
What on earth do you mean?
human
Do you not know, said he,
gpt
Nor of whisky.
human
Nor of whisky, he repeated.
gpt
You know it is so with the grub.
human
Grub is ambiguous,
gpt
I do not mean victuals, but the caterpillar. That creature spends its short life in eating, eating, eating. Look at a cabbage-leaf, it is riddled with holes; the grub has consumed all that vegetable matter, and I will inform you for what purpose. It retires into its chrysalis, and during the winter a transformation takes place, and in spring it breaks forth as a glorious butterfly. The painted wings of the insect in its second stage of existence are the sublimated cabbage it has devoured in its condition of larva.
human
Quite so. What has that to do with me?
gpt
We are also in our larva condition. But do not for a moment suppose that the wings we shall put on with rainbow painting are the produce of what we eat here--of ham and chicken, kidneys, beef, and the like. No, sir, certainly not. They are fashioned out of the information we have absorbed, the knowledge we have acquired during the first stage of life.
human
How do you know that?
gpt
I will tell you, he answered.
human
I had a remarkable experience once. It is a rather long story, but as we have some five hours and a half to sit here looking at one another till the tide rises and floats us, I may as well tell you, and it will help to the laying on of the colours on your pinions when you acquire them. You would like to hear the tale?
gpt
Above all things.
human
There is a sort of prologue to it, he went on.
gpt
I cannot well dispense with it as it leads up to what I particularly want to say.
human
By all means let me have the prologue, if it be instructive.
gpt
It is eminently instructive, he said.
human
But before I begin, just pass me the bottle, if there is any whisky left.
gpt
It is drained,
human
Well, well, it can't be helped. When I was in India, I moved from one place to another, and I had pitched my tent in a certain spot. I had a native servant. I forget what his real name was, and it does not matter. I always called him Alec. He was a curious fellow, and the other servants stood in awe of him. They thought that he saw ghosts and had familiar dealings with the spiritual world. He was honest as natives go. He would not allow anyone else to rob me; but, of course, he filched things of mine himself. We are accustomed to that, and think nothing of it. But it was a satisfaction that he kept the fingers of the others off my property. Well, one night, when, as I have informed you, my tent was pitched on a spot I considered eminently convenient, I slept very uncomfortably. It was as though a centipede were crawling over me. Next morning I spoke to Alec, and told him my experiences, and bade him search well my mattress and the floor of my tent. A Hindu's face is impassive, but I thought I detected in his eyes a twinkle of understanding. Nevertheless I did not give it much thought. Next night it was as bad, and in the morning I found my panjams slit from head to foot. I called Alec to me and held up the garment, and said how uncomfortable I had been. 'Ah! sahib,' said he, 'that is the doings of Abdulhamid, the blood-thirsty scoundrel!'
gpt
Excuse me, I interrupted.
human
Did he mean the present Sultan of Turkey?
gpt
No, quite another, of the same name.
human
I beg your pardon, I said.
gpt
But when you mentioned him as a blood-thirsty scoundrel, I supposed it must be he.
human
It was not he. It was another. Call him, if you like, the other Abdul. But to proceed with my story.
gpt
One inquiry more, said I.
human
Surely Abdulhamid cannot be a Hindu name?
gpt
I did not say that it was, retorted the major with a touch of asperity in his tone.
human
He was doubtless a Mohammedan.
gpt
But the name is rather Turkish or Arabic.
human
I am not responsible for that; I was not his godfathers and godmothers at his baptism. I am merely repeating what Alec told me. If you are so captious, I shall shut up and relate no more.
gpt
Do not take umbrage, said I.
human
I surely have a right to test the quality of the material I take in, out of which my wings are to be evolved. Go ahead; I will interrupt no further.
gpt
Very well, then, let that be understood between us. Are you caking?
human
Slowly, I replied.
gpt
The sun is hot; I am drying up on one side of my body.
human
I think that we had best shift sides of the boat, said the major.
gpt
It is the same with me.
human
There, said Donelly.
gpt
How goes the enemy? My watch got smothered in the mud, and has stopped.
human
Mine, I explained,
gpt
Well, said the major,
human
Excuse the interruption, said I,
gpt
That, said Donelly,