lage, usually friendly and easygoing, began to get much
exercised over these attentions of the police. The _Patel_, a foolish
and dissipated young man, found his liberty seriously curtailed by
having frequently to attend the City Police Court to report progress.
The village _Mahars_, or low-caste men, are liable to be called upon
amongst their other duties to serve as village constables. These men
were getting tired of having to act as escort to the boys and others,
who were being summoned daily to the court, often being kept waiting
there for the whole day. A large deputation of villagers arrived at
the Mission bungalow to protest, and my assurances that none of these
proceedings arose from any promptings of mine were only partially
believed.

We were left in peace for a week or so, and I hoped that the matter
was at an end. But the police woke up again, and set upon Bhau, the
son of the Mission gardener, on the ground that he cleaned the school
and thus had access to the clock. Bhau was not a particularly
estimable character, but having helped to clean the school for many
years, it did not seem likely that he should suddenly have taken it
into his head to steal an old clock. But it is a disturbing feature of
police inquiries in remote districts, that they feel that anything is
better than to let the crime pass into the category of offences the
perpetrators of which have not been discovered.

It was now the turn of Bhau and his relations to appear daily at the
city court. For a time no cruelty was perpetrated, until one afternoon
two police appeared in the village and beat Bhau in the village
_chowdi_, or place of assembly, and they ordered him to attend the
court again the next day. As soon as I heard what had happened, I was
naturally as indignant as the villagers, and went myself to the court
with the boy. I was quickly taken to the Hindu police inspector of the
district in which Yerandawana is situated. In him I found a courteous,
English-speaking Brahmin, who promised to come himself and look into
the matter. He did so, examined Bhau, asked various questions, and
promised that the conduct of the police should be investigated.

Meanwhile I had written a letter of complaint to the District
Superintendent of Police, and two inspectors, one a Mohammedan, the
other a Hindu, were sent to hold a formal inquiry. One of these men
revealed something of their methods, when engaged in collecting
evidence, by remarking to m