_ Scott, indeed!' Then she laughed to herself, for she
knew the country of her service. 'But it will be _Bakri_ all the
same'; and she repeated it under her breath several times slowly,
whispering it into favour.

When he returned to his duties on the railway, Martyn spread the name
far and wide among his associates, so that Scott met it as he led his
paddy-carts to war. The natives believed it to be some English title
of honour, and the cart-drivers used it in all simplicity till Faiz
Ullah, who did not approve of foreign japes, broke their heads. There
was very little time for milking now, except at the big camps, where
Jim had extended Scott's idea, and was feeding large flocks on the
useless northern grains. Enough paddy had come into the Eight
Districts to hold the people safe, if it were only distributed
quickly; and for that purpose no one was better than the big Canal
officer, who never lost his temper, never gave an unnecessary order,
and never questioned an order given. Scott pressed on, saving his
cattle, washing their galled necks daily, so that no time should be
lost on the road; reported himself with his rice at the minor
famine-sheds, unloaded, and went back light by forced night-march to
the next distributing centre, to find Hawkins's unvarying telegram:
'Do it again.' And he did it again and again, and yet again, while
Jim Hawkins, fifty miles away, marked off on a big map the tracks of
his wheels gridironing the stricken lands. Others did well--Hawkins
reported at the end that they all did well--but Scott was the most
excellent, for he kept good coined rupees by him, and paid for his
own cart-repairs on the spot, and ran to meet all sorts of
unconsidered extras, trusting to be recouped later. Theoretically,
the Government should have paid for every shoe and linchpin, for
every hand employed in the loading; but Government vouchers cash
themselves slowly, and intelligent and efficient clerks write at
great length, contesting unauthorised expenditures of eight annas.
The man who wishes to make his work a success must draw on his own
bank-account of money or other things as he goes.

'I told you he'd work,' said Jimmy to his wife at the end of six
weeks. 'He's been in sole charge of a couple of thousand men up north
on the Mosuhl Canal for a year, and he gives one less trouble than
young Martyn with his ten constables; and I'm morally certain--only
Government doesn't recognise moral obligations--that he'