Chapter 22

For some days now there had been talk of the marriage of Rai Sahib's daughter. Along with it the election too had come upon him. But more urgent than all these, he had to file a civil suit, the court fee for which alone came to fifty thousand rupees, with all the other expenses besides. Rai Sahib's brother-in-law, who had been the sole master of his estate, had died in the very prime of youth in a motor accident, and Rai Sahib wished to take refuge in the law to secure that estate on behalf of his minor son. His wife's cousins had seized possession of the estate and were not prepared to give Rai Sahib any share in it. Rai Sahib had tried hard to come to a compromise, that his cousins-in-law should accept some maintenance allowance and step aside; he was even prepared to give up half the income of that estate, but the cousins would not agree to any settlement of any kind, and on the mere strength of the lathi had begun to collect rents and revenue from the estate. Rai Sahib had no path left except to take refuge in the courts. The suit would cost lakhs, but the estate was no property of less than twenty lakhs. The lawyers had said with full assurance that a decree in his favour was certain. Who could let such a chance slip? The trouble was only that these three matters had fallen upon him all at once, and they could in no way be put off. The daughter had reached the age of eighteen, and only for want of ready money her marriage had kept being postponed. The estimate of the cost was a lakh of rupees. Whomever he went to opened his mouth wide enough, but lately a very good opportunity had fallen into his hands. The wife of Kunwar Digvijay Singh had become an offering to consumption, and the Kunwar wished to set up his desolate household again as quickly as possible. The match too had been settled on favourable terms, and lest the quarry slip from his hands, it was absolutely necessary that the marriage take place in this very auspicious season.

The Kunwar was a storehouse of vices. Liquor, ganja, opium, madak, charas — there was no intoxicant that he did not indulge in. And debauchery, after all, is the very ornament of a nobleman. What sort of nobleman is he who is not a debauchee? How else is wealth to be enjoyed? Yet, in spite of all these vices, he was so gifted that even good scholars acknowledged his superiority. In music, the dramatic art, palmistry, astrology, yoga, the lathi, wrestling, marksmanship and other accomplishments he had no equal. Along with this he was bold and fearless. He gave wholehearted support to the national movement — secretly, of course. This was not hidden from the authorities, yet he commanded great prestige, and once or twice a year the Governor himself would become his guest. His age was still not more than thirty or thirty-two, and his health was such that he could eat a whole goat alone and digest it. Rai Sahib reckoned it as the cat's good fortune that the shelf-pot had toppled. The Kunwar had not yet completed the sixteenth-day rites for his late wife when Rai Sahib opened the negotiations. For the Kunwar, marriage was merely a means of increasing his influence and power. Rai Sahib was already a member of the Council, and influential in other ways too. By demonstrating his sacrifice in the national struggle, he had also become an object of reverence. There could be no obstacle to the marriage being settled. And it was settled.

There remained the election. This was a golden sickle which could neither be spat out nor swallowed. He had already been elected twice, and both times he had been hit for a lakh of rupees apiece, but this time a certain Raja had stood from the very same district and proclaimed by beat of drum that even if he had to give a thousand rupees to every single voter, even if an estate worth fifty lakhs were ground into the dust, he would not let Rai Amarpal Singh enter the Council. And the authorities had assured him of their support too. Rai Sahib was thoughtful, he was shrewd, he understood his own profit and loss, but he was a Rajput and a nobleman from the swaddling-clothes. Having received such a challenge, how could he withdraw from the field? Now, had Raja Surya Pratap Singh come and said to him, "Brother, you have been to the Council twice, let me go this time," then perhaps Rai Sahib would have welcomed him. He no longer had any attachment to the Council, but in the face of this challenge there was no road left but to thump his chest and accept it. There was one more consideration. Mr Tankha had given him the assurance: "You just stand, then take a purse of a lakh from the Raja and withdraw." He had even said that the Raja would give a lakh with great pleasure — "I have already spoken with him" — but now it had become known that the Raja did not wish to forgo the glory of defeating Rai Sahib, and the chief reason for this was that the marriage of Rai Sahib's daughter to the Kunwar had been settled. The Raja considered the alliance of two influential houses harmful to his own prestige. On top of this, Rai Sahib had hopes of getting the estate from his wife's family. This thorn too was pricking the Raja badly. If that estate were to come to Rai Sahib — and the law was already on Rai Sahib's side — then a rival to the Raja would be set up. It was therefore his bounden duty to crush Rai Sahib and grind his prestige into the dust.

Poor Rai Sahib had fallen into great difficulty. He had begun to suspect that Mr Tankha had deceived him merely to serve his own ends. The news had come that Tankha had now become the Raja's agent. This was salt on Rai Sahib's wound. He had called Tankha several times, but either Tankha was not at home, or he promised to come and then forgot. At last, resolving to meet him himself, Rai Sahib went to him. By chance Mr Tankha was found at home, but Rai Sahib had to wait a full hour for him. This was the same Mr Tankha who had once danced daily attendance at Rai Sahib's door. Today he had grown so haughty. Rai Sahib sat there fuming. The moment Mr Tankha, dressed and groomed, a cigar clamped in his mouth, entered the room and stretched out his hand, Rai Sahib loosed a bombshell — "I have been sitting here for an hour, and you have only just deigned to come out. I consider this an insult to me."

Sitting down on a sofa, blowing smoke with an unconcerned air, Mr Tankha said — "I am sorry for that. I was engaged in an urgent matter. You should have telephoned me and fixed a time."

Ghee was poured on the fire, but Rai Sahib suppressed his anger. He had not come to quarrel. This was the occasion to swallow the insult. He said — "Yes, that was my mistake. You have very little leisure these days, perhaps."

"Yes indeed, very little, otherwise I should certainly have come."

"It was about that very matter that I came to ask you. There seems to be no hope of a compromise. Over there the preparations for war are going on at full pitch."

"You know the Raja, of course — he is a blustering man, thoroughly capricious. Some whim or other always rides him. Just now the whim is that he will bring Rai Sahib low. And when a whim seizes him, he listens to no one, however great a loss he must bear. He has a burden of some forty lakhs on his head, yet there is the same swagger, the same reckless extravagance. He counts money as nothing. The servants' wages have been owing for six months, but the Hira-Mahal is being built. The flooring is of marble. The inlay-work is so fine that the eyes cannot rest on it. Baskets of gifts go daily to the officials. I hear he is going to engage an English manager."

"Then how was it that you said you would arrange a compromise?"

"Whatever I could do, I did. Beyond that, what else could I do? If a man is bent on staking his own two or four lakhs, what power have I over it?"

Rai Sahib could no longer hold his anger — "Especially when, out of those two or four lakhs, there is also the hope that ten or twenty thousand will fall into your hands."

Why should Mr Tankha be cowed now? He said — "Rai Sahib, do not make me speak plainly. Here neither am I an ascetic, nor are you. We have all come out to earn something or other. You are as much on the lookout for the blind of eye and the full of purse as I am. I proposed to you that you should stand. You stood, out of greed for a lakh. Had the dice fallen red, you would today be the master of a lakh and, without taking a single pie in loan, the alliance with the Kunwar would have come about, and the suit too would have been filed. But by your misfortune that move fell flat. When you yourself were left high and dry, what would I have got? In the end, beating my brains, I caught hold of the Raja's tail. Somehow or other one has to cross this river of death."

Rai Sahib was so overcome with passion that he could have shot this scoundrel dead. It was this very rascal who had shown him green gardens and made him stand, and now he was giving his own clean account, not letting a speck of dust touch his back. But the circumstances kept his tongue tied.

"Then nothing can now be done by you?"

"You may take it so."

"I am ready to compromise even at fifty thousand."

"The Raja will not agree in any way."

"At twenty-five thousand he will agree?"

"No hope. He has said plainly."

"Has he said it, or are you saying it?"

"Do you take me for a liar?"

In a humble tone Rai Sahib said — "I do not take you for a liar, but this much I certainly believe — that had you wished it, the matter would have been settled."

"So your idea is that I did not let the compromise happen?"

"No, that is not my meaning. I only wish to say this much — that had you wished it, the thing would have been done, and I should not have fallen into this mess."

Glancing at his watch, Mr Tankha said — "Then, Rai Sahib, if you want plain speaking, listen — had you placed a cheque for ten thousand in my hand, you would today certainly be the master of a lakh. You probably thought that once you had got the money from the Raja, you would give me a thousand or two. But I do not play such raw moves. You would have taken the Raja's money, locked it in your safe, and shown me the thumb. Then tell me, what could I have made of you? I could not even go to law against you, after all."

With wounded eyes Rai Sahib looked at him — "You take me for such a dishonest man?"

Rising from his chair, Tankha said — "Who calls this dishonesty! This is the very cleverness of the day. How best to make fools of others — that is the policy of success, and you are a master of it."

Clenching his fist, Rai Sahib said — "I?"

"Yes indeed, you! In the first election I pleaded your case with heart and soul. With great difficulty, after much weeping and wailing, you gave me five hundred rupees. In the second election you got rid of me by giving a battered, broken-down old car. One scalded by milk blows even on buttermilk before drinking it."

He walked out of the room and ordered the car to be brought.

Rai Sahib's blood was boiling. Even this rudeness had its limits! First he was made to wait a full hour, and now, behaving with such utter discourtesy, the man was forcibly turning him out of the house. Had Rai Sahib been confident that he could throw Mr Tankha down, he would never have let the chance slip, but in build Tankha was the larger man. When Mr Tankha sounded the horn, Rai Sahib too came and got into his own car and went straight to Mr Khanna.

It was nine o'clock, but Khanna Sahib was still enjoying the sweetness of sleep. He never slept before two in the morning, and to sleep till nine was only natural. Here too Rai Sahib had to sit for half an hour, so that when, at about half past nine, Mr Khanna came out smiling, Rai Sahib scolded him — "Splendid! So now the gentleman's eyes open at half past nine. You have collected your money, that is why you are free of care. Were you a talukdar like me, you too would by now be standing at someone's door. Just sitting, your head would begin to spin."

Holding out his cigarette-case to him with a cheerful face, Mr Khanna said — "I was very late getting to sleep last night. Where are you coming from at this hour?"

In a few words Rai Sahib stated all his difficulties. In his heart he was abusing Khanna, who, though his old schoolfellow, was always scheming to cheat him, but to his face he flattered him.

Khanna put on a look as though he had been thrown into great anxiety, and said — "My advice is, fire a bullet at the election and file your suit against your brothers-in-law. As for the marriage, that is a three days' show. It is not proper to ruin yourself over it. The Kunwar is among my friends; no question of give and take will arise."

Sarcastically Rai Sahib said — "You forget, Mr Khanna, that I am not a banker but a talukdar. The Kunwar does not ask for dowry — God has given him everything — but you know that this is my only daughter, and her mother is dead. Were she alive today, perhaps she would not be content even if the whole house were emptied for her. Then perhaps I might have ordered her to spend with a restraining hand, but now I am both her mother and her father. If I have to draw out the very blood of my heart and give it, I shall give it gladly. In this widower's life it is only through love of my children that I have quenched my soul's thirst. It is in the love of these two children that I have kept my vow of fidelity to my wife. It is impossible for me, on this auspicious occasion, not to fulfil the longings of my heart. I can persuade my own mind, but what I regard as my wife's command cannot be reasoned away. And to flee the field of the election is also impossible for me. I know I shall lose. There is no contest for me against the Raja, but this much I certainly wish to show the Raja — that Amarpal Singh is not soft fodder."

"And to file the suit is necessary?"

"On that everything depends. Now tell me, how can you help me?"

"You know already what my directors' orders are in this matter. And that the Raja too is one of our directors, that too is known to you. Repeated injunctions are coming to recover old dues. A new transaction can hardly be done."

His face fallen, Rai Sahib said — "Why, you are sinking my very boat, Mr Khanna!"

"Whatever is my own is yours, but in the bank's affairs I must obey the owners' orders."

"If this estate comes into my hands — and I have every hope of it — I shall pay back to the last pie."

"Can you tell me how deep in the water you are at present?"

Hesitating, Rai Sahib said — "Reckon five or six lakhs. It will be somewhat less."

With a look of disbelief Khanna said — "Either you do not remember, or you are concealing it."

Emphatically Rai Sahib said — "No indeed, I have neither forgotten nor am I concealing. My property at present is worth at least fifty lakhs, and the property of my wife's family is no less than this. On so much property a burden of five or ten lakhs is as good as nothing."

"But how can you say that there is no debt on your wife's family's estate either?"

"As far as I know, that estate is unblemished."

"And I have received the information that on that estate there is a burden of no less than ten lakhs. From that estate nothing is now to be had, and on your estate too, in my opinion, no less than ten lakhs is owing. And this estate is not now worth fifty lakhs but barely twenty-five. In this condition no bank can give you a loan. Take it that you are standing on the mouth of a volcano. One slight push can send you to the underworld. You must walk very cautiously at this juncture."

Drawing his hand towards himself, Rai Sahib said — "All this I understand very well, my friend! But what is the tragedy of life if not this — that the very work your soul does not wish to do, you are forced to do. On this occasion you must arrange at least two lakhs for me."

Taking a long breath, Khanna said — "My God. Two lakhs. Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"I shall dash my head at your door and give up my life, Khanna, understand that much. It is on your strength alone that I have made all these plans. If you disappoint me, perhaps I shall have to eat poison. I cannot bend my knees before Surya Pratap Singh. The daughter's marriage can be put off another two or four months. There is still enough time to file the suit, but this election has come upon my head, and that is my greatest worry."

In astonishment Khanna said — "Then you will put two lakhs into the election?"

"It is not a question of the election, brother, it is a question of honour. Is my honour, in your opinion, not worth even two lakhs? Let my whole estate be sold, no matter, but I shall not let Surya Pratap Singh win an easy victory."

After blowing smoke for a minute, Khanna said — "I have laid before you the bank's position. The bank has in a manner of speaking stopped its lending business. I shall try to have a special concession made for you, but business is business, you know that. What will my commission be? I shall have to recommend you specially. How much influence the Raja has over the other directors, that too you know. I shall have to form a faction against him. Take it that the matter will be done on my own responsibility alone."

Rai Sahib's face fell. Khanna was among his intimate friends. Schoolfellows, companions in company. And he expected commission from him — such heartlessness? After all, why had he been flattering Khanna all these days? When fruit was produced in the garden, when vegetables grew, it was to Khanna that he sent the first basket. Whatever festivity or gathering there might be, it was Khanna who got the first invitation. And this was his answer? Despondently he said — "As you wish, but I had thought of you as a brother."

With a look of gratitude Khanna said — "That is your kindness. I too have always regarded you as my elder brother, and still regard you so. I have never kept any veil from you, but business is a different sphere altogether. Here no one is anyone's friend, no one anyone's brother. Just as I, in the capacity of a brother, cannot say to you, 'Give me more commission than to others,' so too you should not press for a concession in my commission. I assure you, whatever concession I can make for you, I shall make. Come tomorrow during office hours and let us put the matter in writing. There — business finished. Have you heard anything else? Mehta Sahib is these days extraordinarily smitten with Malti. All his philosophy has flown away. Once or twice a day he certainly pays his attendance, and in the evening the two often go out walking together. It was my own dignity that I never went to dance attendance at Malti's door. Perhaps she is now making me pay for that. Once it was such that whatever there was, it was Mr Khanna. Whenever any business arose, she would come running to Khanna. When she needed money, a note would come in Khanna's name. And now she turns her face away on seeing me. I had a watch sent specially for her from France. I took it to her with great eagerness, but she did not accept it. Only yesterday I sent a basket of apples — they had been sent for from Kashmir — and she returned it. It astonishes me how a person can change so quickly."

In his heart Rai Sahib was pleased at her slighting of Khanna, but, showing sympathy, he said — "Even if we grant that she has fallen in love with Mehta, still there is no reason to break off relations."

In a pained voice Khanna said — "That is precisely the grief, brother! That much I knew from the beginning — she could never come into my hands. I tell you truly, I never fell into the delusion that Malti loved me. That a thing like love could be had from her, that I never even hoped. I was only a worshipper of her beauty. Knowing that the snake has venom, we still give it milk to drink; what creature is more pitiless than the parrot, yet, charmed only by its beauty and voice, people keep it and put it in a golden cage. For me too Malti was like that parrot. The regret is only that I did not come to my senses earlier. I have wasted thousands of rupees over her, brother! When her note arrived, I sent the money at once. My car is to this day in her service. I have ruined my home over her, brother! All the sap that was in my heart ran with such force towards the barren ground that the garden on the other side was left wholly dry. It is years since I spoke openly with Govindi from my heart. I had grown as averse to her service and affection and self-sacrifice as a man suffering from indigestion grows to a rich pudding. Malti made me dance just as a juggler makes a monkey dance. And I danced with pleasure. She insulted me and I laughed with pleasure. She ruled over me and I bowed my head. She never showed me any encouragement, that I admit. She never gave me any encouragement, that too is true; yet, like a moth, I gave my life upon the lamp of her face. And now she cannot even behave towards me with civility. But, brother — I tell you, Khanna is not a man to sit quiet. Her notes are safe with me; I shall recover every pie from her, and Doctor Mehta — I shall not rest until I have driven him out of Lucknow. I shall make it impossible for him to live here."

At that very moment came the sound of a horn, and in an instant Mr Mehta entered and stood there. A fair, clear complexion, the ruddiness of health glowing on his cheeks, a short achkan, churidar pyjama, a golden pince-nez. He looked like the very god of gentleness.

Khanna rose and shook his hand — "Come, Mr Mehta, it was of you we were speaking."

Shaking hands with both the gentlemen, Mehta said — "It was at a very fortunate hour that I left home, to meet you both gentlemen in one place. You have perhaps seen in the papers — a women's gymnasium is being planned here. Miss Malti is the president of that committee. It is estimated that two lakhs of rupees will go into the gymnasium. How much the city needs it, you gentlemen know better than I. I wish your two names to be at the very top. Miss Malti was to come herself, but today her father's health is not good, so she could not come."

He placed the subscription list in Rai Sahib's hand. The first name was that of Raja Surya Pratap Singh, against which stood the sum of five thousand rupees. After that came Kunwar Digvijay Singh's three thousand. After that several sums were of this much or somewhat less. Malti had given five hundred rupees, and Doctor Mehta one thousand.

Embarrassed, Rai Sahib said — "You have wheedled out some forty thousand." With pride Mehta said — "It is all your gentlemen's kindness. And this is the labour of only some three hours. Raja Surya Pratap Singh has hardly ever taken part in any public work, but today, without being told a thing, he wrote out a cheque. There is an awakening in the country. The people are ready to give their cooperation to any good work. Only they must have confidence that their gift will be well spent. From you I have great hopes, Mr Khanna!"

With an air of indifference Khanna said — "I do not get mixed up in such useless affairs. I do not know how far you people will go in slavery to the West. Women are already growing averse to the home as it is. If the craze for exercise takes hold of them, they will be good for nothing. The woman who does the housework needs no exercise. And for the woman who does no housework and is engrossed only in pleasure and luxury, to give a subscription for her exercise I consider an irreligion."

Mehta was not in the least discouraged — "In that case I shall ask nothing of you. To give any kind of help to a project in which we have no faith is indeed an irreligion. You, Rai Sahib, do not agree with Mr Khanna?"

Rai Sahib was sunk in deep thought. Surya Pratap's five thousand were dispiriting him. Starting, he said — "Did you say something to me?"

"I said — you, surely, do not consider it an irreligion to cooperate in this project?"

"Whether the work in which you take part is religion or irreligion, I do not care."

"I wish you would consider for yourself, and if you think this project useful for society, then cooperate in it. Mr Khanna's policy pleased me very much."

Khanna said — "I speak plainly, and that is why I have a bad name."

With a feeble smile Rai Sahib said — "I have no power of thought at all. To follow the lead of good men I consider my duty."

"Then write some good sum."

"Whatever you say, let me write it."

"As you please."

"Write whatever you say."

"Then what less than two thousand will you write?"

In a wounded voice Rai Sahib said — "Is this my standing in your eyes?"

He took up the pen and, writing his name, wrote five thousand against it. Mehta took the list from his hand, but he felt such remorse that he forgot even to thank Rai Sahib. That he had done a great wrong by showing Rai Sahib the subscription list — this barb began to torment him.

Mr Khanna looked at Rai Sahib with eyes of pity and mockery, as though saying, "What a great donkey you are!"

Suddenly Mehta flung his arms around Rai Sahib's neck and cried out at the top of his voice — "Three cheers for Rai Sahib, Hip Hip Hurrah!"

Sourly Khanna said — "These are kings and great kings, after all; if they do not give donations in these matters, who will?"

Mehta said — "I regard you as the king of kings. You rule over them. Their topknot is in your hand."

Rai Sahib was pleased — "That is a most telling thing you have said, Mehta ji! We are kings only in name. The real kings are our bankers."

Mehta adopted the line of flattering Khanna — "I have no complaint against you, Khanna ji! You do not wish to take part in this work just now — so be it — but you will surely come sooner or later. It is by the grace of the lords of wealth that our great institutions run. Who ran the national movement with such pomp for two or three years? Who is building so many dharamshalas and schools? Today the reins of the world's government are in the hands of bankers. Governments are toys in their hands. I am not disappointed in you either. For a man who can go to jail for the nation, to spend a few thousand is no great thing. We have decided that the foundation stone of this gymnasium shall be laid by the hands of Govindi Devi. We two shall soon meet the Governor as well, and I am confident we shall get his help. How much love Lady Wilson has for the women's movement, you know. The Raja and other gentlemen too were of the opinion that Lady Wilson should lay the foundation, but in the end it was settled that this auspicious work should be done by the hands of one of our own sisters. You will at least come on that occasion, surely?"

Khanna mocked — "Yes, when Lord Wilson comes my attendance will of course be necessary. In this way you will snare many a nobleman. You people are full of clever tricks. And our noblemen are fit for it too. They can only be fleeced by being made fools of."

"When wealth becomes more than is needed, it seeks an outlet for itself. If it does not get out in this way, it will go into gambling, it will go into horse-racing, it will go into bricks and stones, or it will go into debauchery."

It was the stroke of eleven. The time for Khanna Sahib's office had come. Mehta left. Rai Sahib too rose, but Khanna caught his hand and made him sit — "No, sit a while. You see, Mehta has so badly fanned the fire under me that no road of escape is left. They will have the foundation stone laid by Govindi. In such a case, is it not ridiculous for me to keep aloof? How Govindi agreed, I cannot understand, and how Malti has tolerated it is harder still to comprehend. What is your idea — is there some mystery in it or not?"

Rai Sahib showed intimacy — "In such a matter a woman should always take counsel from a man!"

Khanna looked at Rai Sahib with eyes of gratitude — "It is over just these things that I burn against Govindi, and on top of it people call me the bad one. You judge for yourself — what have I to do with these quarrels? Let those fall into them who have spare money, spare time and a hunger for fame. What is bound to happen is that two or four gentlemen will become secretary and under-secretary and president and vice-president and give banquets to the officials, become their favourites, and gather the University girls and go off on pleasure trips. Exercise is only the show-teeth. In such an institution this is always what happens and will happen, and the fools will be ourselves and our brothers who are called the wealthy — and all this on account of Govindi."

He rose once from his chair, then sat down again. His anger against Govindi was growing fiercer. Holding his head with both hands, he said — "I do not understand what I should do."

Rai Sahib played the toady — "Nothing — you simply tell Govindi Devi plainly, 'Write a letter of refusal to Mehta,' and the matter is over. I have got caught in the rivalry. Why should you get caught?"

After considering this proposal for a moment, Khanna said — "But think how difficult a task it is. The matter must have been mentioned to Lady Wilson, the news must have spread through the whole city, and perhaps today it will even come out in the papers. This is all Malti's mischief. It is she who has devised this way of cornering me."

"Yes, that is how it appears."

"She wishes to humiliate me."

"You go away from town on the day of the foundation-laying."

"It is difficult, Rai Sahib! There would be nowhere left for me to show my face. On that day, even if I had cholera, I should have to go there."

Rai Sahib, keeping his hopes alive, promised to come the next day, and the moment he left, Khanna went inside and took Govindi to task — "Why did you agree to lay the foundation of this gymnasium?"

How could Govindi say how delighted she had felt in her heart at receiving this honour? With what application she had been writing her speech for that occasion, and what spirited verses she had composed. In her heart she had thought that by accepting this proposal she would please Khanna. Her honour, after all, was her husband's honour. That Khanna could have any objection to it she had not even imagined. For some days past, seeing her husband somewhat kindly, her courage had begun to grow. She was dreaming of enchanting people with her speech and her verses.

Hearing this question and seeing Khanna's expression, her heart began to pound. Like a culprit she said — "Doctor Mehta urged me, so I agreed."

"If Doctor Mehta told you to jump into a well, you would probably be ready for it with no less pleasure!"

Govindi's tongue was sealed.

"When God did not give you intelligence, why did you not ask me? Mehta and Malti are both playing this trick to wheedle a few thousand out of me. And I have resolved that I shall not give a cowrie. You write Mehta a letter of refusal this very day."

After thinking for a moment, Govindi said — "Then you write it yourself."

"Why should I write it? You did the talking, and I should write?"

"If the Doctor asks the reason, what shall I tell him?"

"Tell him your own head, and what else! I do not wish to give a single farthing to this house of vice."

"But who is telling you to give?"

Biting his lip, Khanna said — "What foolish talk you speak! If you lay the foundation there and give nothing, what will the world say?"

As though on the point of a bayonet, Govindi said — "Very well, I shall write it."

"It must be written this very day."

"I have said I shall write it."

Khanna came out and began looking through the post. When he was late going to office, the peon would deliver the post at the house itself. Sugar had risen sharply. Khanna's face lit up. He opened the second letter. The committee that had been sitting to fix the rate of sugarcane had decided that no such control could be imposed. Curse it. He had been saying this very thing before, but that fire-sacrificer of a man had raised an uproar and forced the committee to sit. In the end the rascal had got a slap on his own face. This was a matter between the mill-owners and the cultivators. Who was the Government to interfere in it?

Suddenly Miss Malti got down from her car. Blooming like a lotus, glowing like a lamp, an image of vivacity and joy — confident, untroubled — as though she were sure that the door of honour and happiness in the world stood open for her. Khanna came out onto the verandah and greeted her.

Malti asked — "Did Mehta come here?"

"Yes, he did come."

"Did he say anything — where he was going?"

"That he did not say."

"Where on earth has he dived off to? I have been all round. How much did you give for the gymnasium?"

In a guilty tone Khanna said — "I have not yet even understood this matter."

Malti glared at him with her large eyes, as though debating whether to pity him or to be angry.

"What was there to understand in it? You could have understood it sooner or later — just now it was a matter of giving something. I pushed Mehta and sent him here. The poor man was afraid of what answer you might give. Do you know what the result of this stinginess of yours will be? Nothing will come from the business community here. You have perhaps resolved to humiliate me. Everyone's opinion was that Lady Wilson should lay the foundation. I took Govindi Devi's side and, fighting, brought everyone round, and now you declare you have not even understood the matter. You understand the knots of banking, but this much of a plain thing you did not understand. Its meaning is nothing other than that you wish to shame me. Very well, so be it."

Malti's face turned red. Khanna was flustered, his bluster departed; but along with this he also realized that if he had got caught in thorns, Malti had got caught in a quagmire — if his purse was in danger, Malti's prestige was in danger, which was more precious than purses. Then why should his mind not take pleasure in Malti's plight? He had put Malti into a tight corner, and though he had lost the courage to anger her, he did not wish to let slip the chance of saying two or four pointed things. He also wished to show that he was no mere simpleton. Blocking her way, he said — "I am astonished that you have grown so gracious to me, Malti!"

Knitting her brows, Malti said — "I do not understand the meaning of that!"

"Is your behaviour towards me still the same as it was some days ago?"

"I see no difference in it."

"But I see a difference of heaven and earth."

"All right, suppose your guess is correct — then what? I have come to ask your help in a good work, not to give an account of my behaviour. And if you think that by giving a subscription you can get anything besides fame and thanks, you are mistaken."

Khanna was defeated. He had got caught in such a narrow corner that there was no room to move this way or that. Did he have the courage to say to her, "Until now I have squandered thousands of rupees on you — is this its reward?" With shame his face shrank to a small size, as though it had contracted. Sheepishly he said — "That was not my meaning, Malti — you have misunderstood entirely."

In a teasing tone Malti said — "God grant that I have misunderstood, for if I take it to be true, I shall flee even from your shadow. I am beautiful. You too are only one among my many admirers. It was my kindness that, where I returned others' gifts, I accepted even your most ordinary things with thanks, and when need arose I would even ask you for money. If, in your madness of wealth, you have read some other meaning into this, I shall forgive you. This is masculine nature, no exception. But understand this — that wealth has to this day never conquered the heart of any woman, nor ever will."

At each word Khanna seemed to sink an arm's length lower. He no longer had the spirit to bear any further blows. Ashamed, he said — "Malti, I fall at your feet, do not humiliate me further. If nothing else, let our friendship at least remain."

Saying this, he took the cheque-book from the drawer and, writing one thousand, with fear held it out towards Malti.

Taking the cheque, Malti made a merciless jibe — "Is this the price of my behaviour, or the subscription for the gymnasium?"

With moist eyes Khanna said — "Now spare my life, Malti. Why are you smearing my face with black?"

Malti burst into a loud laugh — "See — she scolded and also extracted a thousand rupees. Now you will never do such mischief again?"

"Never, never as long as I live."

"Hold your ears."

"I hold my ears, but now do me the kindness of going and let me sit alone and think and weep. Today you have taken all the joy of my life……."

Malti laughed louder still — "See, you are insulting me greatly, and you know beauty cannot bear insult. I did you a good turn, and you are taking it for an ill turn."

With rebellious eyes Khanna said — "Have you done me a good turn, or cut my throat with the knife held backwards?"

"Why, I was robbing you and robbing you to fill my own house. You have escaped that robbery."

"Why are you sprinkling salt on the wound, Malti! I too am a human being."

Malti looked at Khanna in such a way as though she wished to determine whether he was a human being or not.

"As yet I see no sign of it."

"You are an absolute riddle — today this has been proved."

"Yes, I am a riddle to you and shall remain a riddle."

Saying this, she flew off like a bird, and Khanna, putting his hand to his head, began to wonder — is this a game, or her true self?