Hearing Padri's plea, Baba remarked, "Let the Brahmins come or not come. From the 8th of June, rains will start."
But Padri interposed, "Considering how unbearably hot it is, there should be rain by the 1st of June."
Baba accepted Padri's view, affirming, "If there is no rain by 1 June, break the old dhuni and build another one."
But three days later, on 28 May, it rained for 20 minutes. Thus the old dhuni was preserved.
One hour after retiring to the Jhopdi on the night of 26 May, Baba called Masaji and asked, "Who is outside?"
Masaji had not heard anything and said that perhaps people were passing along the road. Baba sent him to see if anyone was there, and to his surprise he found Padri, Jalbhai, and Vishnu pilfering mangoes from the basket kept near Baba's gaadi in the Mess Quarters. Seeing Masaji, they ran away.
When Masaji informed Baba, he smiled, commenting, "Those two-legged cats have been prowling again."
Baba had caught them stealing mangoes a few years before, and this time, too, the expert mango-stealers were foiled in their attempt.
Baba proposed a holiday for himself on Friday, 27 May 1927, a day of "rest and relaxation" with the mandali in the picturesque village of Shendi, six miles from the city, where he had been invited by the local village headman. Borker's orphanage, Anath Ashram, also had a branch there. However, Baba intimated to Borker and the Patil that his visit should be kept strictly private and that he would not give darshan in Shendi.
Baba and the mandali left at 7:30 A.M. in an open-air trolley pulled by a tractor. They first went to the railway station, where Babu Cyclewalla and Baily had arrived suddenly from Poona, and joined them. Next they went to Ahmednagar and had breakfast at Shahane's home. From there, they proceeded to Shendi, followed by a procession of tongas carrying Borker, Shahane, Raya, Nusserwan, and other devotees of Baba from Ahmednagar.
The village Patil's house was in a cool and shady setting, and it seemed to be a well-chosen spot where Baba could spend the day relaxing in private with his close disciples. However, no sooner had he sat down upon a special carpet spread for him than a crowd began gathering for darshan. Showing his displeasure, he left his seat and directed the mandali to sit in the trolley with the intention of returning to Meherabad.