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THE WRECK

should hear this, knowing full well that the hint would not be lost on her.

"Come along dear, and we'll dry your hair," re- marked Sailaja to Kamala as they returned from their bath in the river.

"Is there any particular hurry to-day?*'

"I'll tell you later; let me do your hair first," replied Sailaja, and she set to work. There seemed to be a great many braids and the resulting coiffure was an elaborate affair. The next item was a heated argument about the dress that Kamala was to wear.

Sailaja insisted on something brightly-coloured, while Kamala could not understand the motive under- lying her insistence. Finally, however, to humour Sailaja, she yielded the point.

After the midday meal Sailaja whispered something in her husband's ear and was granted a short leave of absence. She then tried to induce Kamala to pay a visit to the men's part of the house.

On previous occasions Kamala had shown no par- ticular constraint about seeking Ramesh's society and she had never been taught that there was anything un- conventional in such conduct. Ramesh himself had broken down the barriers of reserve at the outset and she had had no confidante of her own sex to reproach her with impropriety. Yet on this occasion she shrank from yielding to Sailaja's importunity. She knew what it was that gave Sailaja the right of access to her husband. She was not conscious of possessing the same title herself, and she could not approach Ramesh in the guise of a suppliant.

When Sailaja found that her exhortations had no 

effect on Kamala she came to the conclusion that the girl was too proud to take the initiative; of course pride must be at the bottom of it ! The pair had now been living apart for several days and yet Ramesh had never sought a pretext to visit his wife.

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