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THE WRECK

Ramesh. "Did any one else go with them?" Bearer, "Yes, Nalin Babu." Ramesh. "Who is Nalin Babu?" Bearer. "I don't know."

Ramesh Babu elicited from Sukhan that this Nalin

was a young gentleman who had been a frequent visitor at the house of late. Though Ramesh had renounced all hopes of Heninalini for himself, he felt distinctly prejudiced against Nalin Babu.

"Was the young lady in good health when she left?" he asked

"Oh, yes, she was quite well" — the answer was in- tended to be reassuring and to please Ramesh, but Heaven only knows how far out Sukhan was in his calculations!

"I should like to go upstairs for a minute or two," said Ramesh.

The bearer took his smoking kerosene lamp and led the way upstairs.

Ramesh flitted from room to room like a ghost, stop- ping now and then to seat himself again on some familiar chair or sofa. Furniture, fittings, everything was the same except for this interloper Nalin Babu, who had suddenly appeared from nowhere. Nature abhors a vacuum and will never suffer one long ! There was the window-bay in which Ramesh had stood by Hemnalini's side in the glow of the autumn sunset while their two hearts beat as one. Each day as the sun descended its rays must reillumine that room. Must Ramesh have a successor who would try to rear- range the tableau of two heads framed in that win- dow? and would the spirit of the past not take its stand between them and silently drive them apart with an upraised finger of warning? Wounded pride raged in Ramesh's breast.

Next day instead of going to Allahabad he took train for Ghazipur direct.

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