Page:Anandamath, The Abbey of Bliss - Chatterjee.djvu/163

Rh " You went to see her ? ,J " Well, and then ? " " You are greatly enamoured of the damsel." Bhavananda mused a while and said : " Dhirananda, why did you seek to know so much ? Every word of what you say is true. How many other than yourself know it ?" " No one but myself." "Then I can save my good name only if I kill you ?" " You can." " Then come let us fight in this solitude. Either I shall kill you and be easy myself or you will kill me and make an end of all my troubles. Are you armed ?" " Certainly ; who would dare talk to you of these things unarmed ? If fight be your object, I- am in for it. A fight between two Children is forbidden, but there is no prohibition against fighting for self-defence. But would it not be much better to begin the fight after I have said all that I had to say ? " " There's no harm in that ; go on," said Bhavananda, and taking his sword out of the scabbard placed it on Dhirananda's shoulder, lest he should fly. " I was going to say, you had better marry Kalyani," said Dhirananda. " Kalyani ! You even know the name ?" f< Why don't you marry her ?" " She has got a husband. 5 ' " Oh, Vaishnava's dp marry like that !" " That is for the low-class men and not for the Children — a Child can never marry."