Ramesh returned to Ghazipur from Allahabad at an early hour in the morning. The streets were almost empty and in the piercing cold he drove along the deserted thoroughfare to his bungalow being conscious of nothing but the pulsations of his eager heart.
He stopped his carriage at the gate and alighted ; Kamala must have heard the sound of the wheels and would be awaiting him on the verandah. He had brought with him from Allahabad a costly necklace which he intended to throw over her neck himself, and he now took the box containing this ornament out of the pocket of his overcoat. As he approached the bungalow, however, he found all the doors closed and the bearer Bishan sleeping peacefully on the verandah. He paused for a moment in chagrin, then shouted to Bishan by name, in the hope that the sound would penetrate indoors and awaken another sleeper. This was a cold welcome for one whom excitement had kept awake half the night !
Repeated shouts failed to awaken Bishan and finally Ramesh had to shake him. The bearer sat up and gazed round for a second or two in bewilderment.
"Is your mistress at home ?" asked Ramesh.
For a moment Bishan looked puzzled, then the purport of the question suddenly dawned on him.
"Yes, she's at home," he murmured drowsily, and falling back composed himself to sleep again.
The door opened at a push. Ramesh entered and glanced into one room after another, but all were untenanted.
He shouted "Kamala !" but there was no response.
He made the round of the garden, going as far as the nim-tree, and searched the kitchen, the servants' quarters, and the stables, but Kamala was nowhere to be found.
In the meantime the sun had risen, the crows had begun to caw, and two or three village girls had appeared, carrying jars on their heads, in quest of water from the well of the compound.
Returning to the bungalow, Ramesh found that Bishan was once more buried in slumber. Bending down and shaking the sleeper vigorously Ramesh noticed that his breath smelt strongly of toddy. The rough handling partially restored Bishan to his senses and he scrambled to his feet.
"Where is your mistress ?" inquired Ramesh.
"Why,surely she's in the house," came the reply.
"Nonsense, she's not there," shouted Ramesh.
"She certainly came here yesterday," was the reply.
"Where did she go after that ?", asked Ramesh.
Bishan merely gaped, and at that moment Umesh appeared, gorgeously attired in Kamala's finery, with eyes bloodshot from want of sleep.
"Where is mother, Umesh ?" inquired his master.
"She has been here since yesterday."
"Where have you been ?"
"Mother sent me to see the play at Sidhu Babu's."
"What about my fare, sir ?" interjected the driver at this point.
Ramesh leaped into the carriage and drove straight to Uncle's house. Every thing there was in confusion, and his first thought was that Kamala had taken ill, but he was mistaken. Late in the evening Umi had suddenly commenced to scream, her face had turned blue, and her hands and feet had become cold as ice, to the great alarm of all the elders. The whole household had been kept busy attending to her and no one had had a wink of sleep. Ramesh jumped to the conclusion that Kamala had been called in to assist in nursing the sick child and he remarked to Bipin accordingly ; "Kamala must be greatly worried about poor little Umi." Bipin did not know for certain whether Kamala had come over during the night or not, so he simply nodded and answered, "Yes, she was very fond of the child and she must certainly be anxious. However the doctor says there is no cause for alarm."
Reassuring as this might be, Ramesh's lively hopes had received a check ; he felt correspondingly depressed and it seemed to him some malevolent agency was working against his union with Kamala.
Umesh now arrived from the bungalow. The boy had free access to the zenana and Salaja was very fond of him.
Seeing him enter the house and approach her room, she had hastened to the door to warn him against wakening the child, when to her astonishment he asked where Kamala was.
"Why, dear me, you went off with her to your house yesterday !' said Sailaja. "I thought of sending Lachminia to her last night, but Umi's sickness prevented that."
"And she's not here now ?" groaned Umesh.
"What do you mean ?" snapped out Saila. "Where were you all night ?"
"Mother wouldn't let me stay with her. When we got to the bungalow she packed me off to Sidhu Babu's to see the play," replied Umesh.
"You're a fine fellow ! Where was Bishan ?"
"Bishan knows nothing at all. He drank too much toddy last night."
"Call my husband then, be quick about it."
Saila showed all her concern about the whereabouts of Kamala to her husband requesting him to be on the job of searching for Kamala immediately.
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