Kamala began the next day with a feeling of lassitude ; the sunlight seemed to lack lustre, the river flowed languidly, and the trees on the bank drooped like tired wayfarers. When Umesh came to assist her with her work she said wearily, "Run away, Umesh ; you must not worry me to-day"; but Umesh was not easily repressed.
"I'm not going to worry you, mother ; I've just come to grind the spices."
Later her haggard look attracted Ramesh's notice. "Are you not feeling well, Kamala ?" he asked, but he received no reply. She signified by an emphatic shake of her head that she considered his inquiry superfluous and in bad taste, and departed towards kitchen.
Ramesh realized that every day that passed accentuated the complexity of his problem and that there must be no further delay in finding a solution. He came to the conclusion that if he could only unbosom himself to Hemamalini it would be easy to decide where his duty lay. After prolonged reflection he sat down to write to Hem.
He had been writing for some and then erasing what he had written, when he heard a strange voice. "May I inquire your name, sir ?" and he looked up in surprise. He saw before him an elderly gentleman with grey mustache and hair that thinned over the forehead.
Ramesh's mind had been concentrated on his letter and he could not immediately collect his scattered wits.
"You're a Brahman, aren't you ?" the stranger went on. "Good morning to you. Your name is Ramesh Babu ; that much I know already. If I have offended for being uncivilized in asking you like this, please excuse me. You've only to ask me and I'll tell you my name and my father's name too."
"My name is Trailakya Chakrabartti, and I'm known to every one as 'Uncle Chakrabartti' up the whole west-country. By the way, sir, where are you bound for ?"
"I haven't decided yet where to leave the steamer."replied Ramesh.
"You're in no hurry to decide where to disembark. When it's a question of embarking, one has to decide in a hurry," commemted Trailakya.
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