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THE WRECK

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used to drop in twice a day, while after he returned to Calcutta he burrowed somnewhere miles away and never even called. Even then you two continued to believe in him and you invited him back on the old footing. Such a thing could never have happened if I had been here."

Still Hemnalini did not open her mouth.

Jogendra. "Did either of you make any attempt to fathom the meaning of his extraordinary behaviour? Did you never feel the slightest curiosity about it? You seem to have had very strong faith in him."

Still Hemnalini said nothing.

Jogendra. "Very good. One is driven to the ccn- clusion that you have a natural disinclination to suspect any one. I hope you'll believe what I'm going to tell you now. I went personally to the girls' school and found that Ramesh has a wife who is a boarder there, and he had arranged to leave her there for the holi- days. Two or three days ago came a bolt from the blue in the shape of a letter from the headmistress saying that she couldn't keep Kamala — that's Ramesh's wife — there during the vacation. The school broke up to-day, and Kamala was deposited by the school omni- bus at their old rooms in Darjjipara. I went there myself and found Kamala peeling and cutting up an apple with a chopper while Ramesh was sitting on the floor in front of her taking the pieces from her and putting them in his mouth. I asked Ramesh for an explanation and he said he would tell us nothing. If he had made the least attempt to deny that Kamala was his wife we should have accepted his word and should have endeavoured to allay our suspicions, but he would neither affirm nor deny it. Can you continue to trust Ramesh after that?"

Jogendra waited for an answer with eyes on his sister's face. She had turned strangely pale and was gripping the arms of the chair with all her strength.