“Umm,” said Kim thoughtfully, considering the past. “It may be that I have acquired merit also … At least she did not treat me like a child.” He hitched the front of his robe, where lay the slab of documents and maps, re-stowed the precious food-bag at the lama’s feet, laid his hand on the litter’s edge, and buckled down to the slow pace of the grunting husbands.
“These also acquire merit,” said the lama after three miles.
“More than that, they shall be paid in silver,” quoth Kim. The Woman of Shamlegh had given it to him; and it was only fair, he argued, that her men should earn it back again.