through all the city, bought the young man's grass for a thousand pence.
A few days afterwards his friend the trader by sea told him that a large vessel had come to the port. He thinking, "This will be a good plan," got for eight pennies a carriage that was for hire, with all its proper attendants; and driving to the port with a great show of respectability, gave his seal-ring as a deposit for the ship's cargo. Then he had a tent pitched not far off, and taking his seat gave orders to his men that when merchants came from outside he should be informed of it with triple ceremony.[1]
On hearing that a ship had arrived, about a hundred merchants came from Benares to buy the goods.
They were told, "You can't have the goods: a great merchant of such and such a place has already paid deposit for them."
On hearing this, they went to him; and his footmen announced their arrival, as had been agreed upon — three deep. Each of the merchants then gave him a thousand to become shareholders in the ship, and then another thousand for him to relinquish his remaining share: and thus they made themselves owners of the cargo.
So Chullaka's pupil returned to Benares, taking with him two hundred thousand.[2] And from a feeling of
- ↑ Literally, "with a threefold knock," which I take to mean that the outside attendant announced them to another attendant, he to a third, and the third attendant to their master. The latter thus appeared to be a man of great consequence, as access to him was so difficult, and attended with so much ceremony.
- ↑ That is, twice a thousand pieces from each of the hundred merchants. But of course he should have paid out of this sum the price of the cargo. It can scarcely be intended to suggest that his acuteness led him to go off without paying for the cargo. The omission must be a slip of the story-teller's.
