Annada Babu regretted his outburst at the tea-table and temporary loss of his usual composer ; and when Jogendra went upstairs he greeted Jogendra accordingly with more than his customary heartiness.
"Come along, Jogedra, come and sit down, lad !"
"Look here , dad," began Jogendra, "you and Hemamalini never seem to stir out of the house nowadays. Staying indoors all day can't be good for you."
"Well,well," replied Annada, "we've always been stay-at-home folk. Besides, one has to cudgel one's brains for an excuse to take Hem out."
"Come now, dad," put in Hemamalini, "you mustn't put the blame on me. You know I'm quite ready to go anywhere with you." She tried to have them believe that she took a lively interest in all that happened outside.
"Well,dad, " said Jogendra, "there's to be a meeting to-morrow ; you had better take Hem to it."
Annada Babu was aware of Hemamalini's constitutional distaste for crowded public assemblies, and instead of answering he looked across at his daughter for guidance.
"A meeting !" she cried, with a forced animation. "Who is the speaker to be ?"
"Doctor Nalinaksha. He is a remarkably fine speaker, and what's more he has a most extraoridinary history. Such self-denial ! Such constancy ! He's a man in a million," told Jogendra, and yet two hours before he had known nothing of Nalinaksha save one vague rumor !
"Well, dad," said Hemamalini, with a display of alacrity, "we must certainly go and hear this paragon."
Annada was by no means convinced by Hemamalini's show of eagerness ; still he was sensible of a certain relief and Hemamalini would regain her normal tone. The society of one's fellow-men is the surest remedy for mental disorders.
"All right," he said, "you take us to the meeting to-morrow and see that we're there in good time ; but tell me what you know about Nalinaksha. One hears so many different stories about him."
Jogendra commenced with a tirade against scandal-mongers in general.
"The ultra-religious," he began, "believe that Heaven entrusted them at birth with a licence to slander and abuse their fellow-men indiscriminately. There's no one more uncharitable and malevolent than these piety-merchants !" and Jogendra's indignation boiled over.
"I'm with you ; I'm with you," repeated Annada soothingly. "To be always discussing his neighbors'failings makes a man sour, narrow-minded, and suspicious."
"Hello, dad !" exclaimed Jogendra, "are you having a dig at me ? I'm not like these pious folk, you know ; I can praise as well as blame. I'm quite prepared to tell a man my opinion of him to his face and back it up with my fists if necessary !"
"Don't be foolish, Jogen," Annada hastened to reply ; "of course, I wasn't thinking of you. Surely I know you by this time !"
Jogen now launched forth into the story of Nalinaksha, lavishing on his subject all the eulogy at his command.
"It was to make his mother happy," he concluded, "that Nlinaksha subdued his natural insticts and went live in Benares ; and all these friends of yours, dad, have seized the opportunity to invent scandalous stories about him. Personally, I admire his conduct. What do you say Hem ?"
"I'm of your opinion," said Hemamalini.
"I knew that Hem would approve of his action," resumed Jogendra. "I haven't the least doubt that if the occasion arose she would exercise equal self-denial to make her father happy."
Annada cast an affectionate glance at his daughter. Hem's face turned crimson, and she dropped her eyes in confusion.
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