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THE WRECK

The property had been long without a tenant and both house and grounds showed signs of much neglect. The garden was a wilderness and the rooms were un- swept and filthy; but Kamala had no qualms on that account. She was so delighted at attaining the status of a housewife that everything in her eyes was beau- tiful. She lost no time in deciding to what use each room was to be put and what was to grow in each corner of the garden, and she took measures, in con- sultation with Uncle, to reclaim the whole of the wilderness. She personally superintended the con- struction of fireplaces in the kitchen and the necessary alterations in the store-room adjoining it. She spent the whole day cleaning, sweeping, and tidying and her energy was ever finding some new vent.

Housework displays feminine beauty in its most varied and alluring forms, and Kamala at her work reminded Ramesh of a bird freed from its cage and soaring aloft. Her radiant face and the finished dex- terity with which she went about her tasks gave him new sensations of mingled wonder and delight.

It was the first time that he had beheld her in the guise of housewife; she had, as it were, come into her kingdom and something of dignity was added to her beauty.

"What are you doing, Kamala?" he asked; "you'll wear yourself out!"

Kamala stopped for a minute in the middle of her task and looked up at Ramesh with a happy smile. "No fear, I'll be all right," and she resumed her work, gratified to know that Ramesh was taking an interest in her doings.

Ramesh's infatuation soon brought him back on an- other pretext. "Have you had breakfast yet, Kamala?" he asked.

"Of course I have! Hours ago!" she replied. Ramesh knew this as well as she did but he could

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