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THE WRECK 279

apparent insensibility and broached the thorny sub- ject.

"By the way, Hem," he began, "about this affair of Ramesh- " but Hemnalini cut him short.

"The sun's too hot for you now, dad. You must come inside immediately;" and without allowing him a chance to protest she took his arm and drew him into the house. There she installed him in an arm- chair, wrapped hot flannels round his body, gave him the newspaper, herself took his spectacles out of the case and put them on his nose, and left him with the parting injunction, "Now read your paper, I must leave you for a little."

Like a docile child Annada Babu strove to comply with Hemnalini's dictates but anxiety for his daugh- ter prevented him from concentrating his thoughts on the newspaper, and at last he laid it aside and went in search of her. Early though it was, he found the door of her chamber closed and he retired silently to the verandah, where he paced up and down till in desperation he made another attempt Her door was, however, still fast. Again he retreated to the verandah and collapsed wearily into his chair, where he sat nervously rumpling his thin hair till Nalinaksha arrived.

After examining Annada Babu and prescribing a course of treatment for him the doctor turned to Hem and asked if the patient had been worrying over any- thing.

Hem answered this question with a qualified af- firmative.

"If possible," said Nalinaksha, "he should be kept free from all anxiety. I find the same difficulty with my own mother. She takes trifling matters so much to heart that it is not easy to keep her in good health. Some petty worry — presumably something that hap- pened yesterday — kept her awake the whole of last

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