Page:The Wreck.djvu/132

This page needs to be proofread.

128 THE WRECK

A water-laden cloud glides along till it meets a fel- low-wanderer in the shape of a breeze; then it can no longer sustain its load. Thus with Kamala; a word of sympathy from the poor homeless lad and she could not hold back the tears that welled up in her breast. She essayed to speak but sobs choked her utterance.

In his distress Umesh cast about for means to con- sole her. After a long silence he blurted out, "I say, mother, there's seven annas left out of the rupee that you gave me."

The current of Kamala's tears was checked and she smiled and loved him for his inapposite remark. "Keep the money for the present," she said. "Now be off to bed."

The moon sank behind the trees. This time Kam- ala's weary eyes closed as soon as she laid her head on the pillow. In the morning the sun's imperious sum- mons to arise found her still buried in slumber.

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.