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THE WRECK

lord is afraid to turn me out. Some day I'll see in the Gazette that the Joint has been transferred to some

other district. Then I'll know that my sun has set and that the days of my headmastership at Bisaipur are numbered. Now I've only one person left to talk to — my dog Punch. The looks that other people cast at me aren't what one calls auspicious 1"

They reached Jogendra's quarters, where Ramesh at once subsided into a chair.

"Don't sit down yet," said Jogendra. "I haven't forgotten your prejudice in favour of a morning bath. Go and have your tub now. Meanwhile I'll put the kettle on again and make your arrival an excuse to indulge in a second brew of tea."

The whole day passed in eating, talking, and rest- ing, and Jogendra never gave Ramesh a chance to mention the important business which had brought him to Bisaipur.

After supper, however, they drew their chairs into the lamplight, and while jackals howled outside and the darkness vibrated to the trilling of the crickets, Ramesh had at last an opportunity to explain his errand.

"Well, Jogen," he began, "your intuition must tell you what has brought me here. You once asked me a question which at the time I was unable to answer. There is no longer anything to prevent my answering it."

Ramesh relapsed into silence. After a few moments he proceeded slowly to relate the whole story of his connection with Kamala from beginning to end. At times he choked and his voice trembled and at certain points he stopped altogether. Jogendra heard him out in silence.

When he had finished Jogendra sighed. "Had you told it all to me that day I couldn't have believed it!"

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