I picked up the old French coin and left the sutler's shop to the sounds of him hitting the two Indian girls with his thick black belt just because he...had nothing better to do. I knew I was going to have to do something about Hidalgo and that I better do it soon because he was starting to really annoy me.A small patrol of troopers with a pair of Apache scouts came into the fort riding a mite faster than normal and informed us,"Geronimo is on the warpath again and scalped a family of Mormons up. They laughed at this joke. Then Senthil continued saying that if you had a fair complexion you could “uru-ya valachu podalam” (all the village people will be at your feet). My wife was now lying on her back and her “munthanai” (top of her saree), was way off the mark and was not covering what it was supposed to cover. I think cramps must have set in her hands since trying to support her head for so long. I whispered in Nimi’s ear; see how your conservative sister is lying in front of her. A guy answers holding a beer and says to me, "You here for the party?". I tell him I am and he invites me in to sit down on the couch. I notice that I am the only one there beside him, and someone in the bathroom in the bedroom... I could here the water running in the sink and a shadow moving from in front of the bathroom light. He says I'm a bit early, but others should be showing up soon. My heart is pounding wondering what was going on. Then another knock at the door. Another guy comes in,. He poured some of the golden liquidinto his palm and massaged it into foam on his hair, rinsing and repeated the shampoo three times as she had told him. He quickly rinsed off with theshower wand and opened the tub drain as he stepped out onto the soft pile ofthe bath rug. He towelled briskly off, then hurriedly shaved his face, his eyes occasionally straying to the diaphanous garment that sat prominently tohis left. He managed to finish the shave without a nick, his beard being sparse to.