Page:Broken Ties and Other Stories.pdf/204

 them are barbarians, some are fools, and some are blind; but these modern men do not fit into any of them.

‘So Mani called her counsellor for consultation. Some cousin of hers was engaged as assistant steward on Bhusan’s estate. He was not the kind of man to profit himself by dint of hard work, but by help of his position in the family he was able to save his salary, and even a little more.

‘Mani called him and told him what had happened. She ended up by asking him: “Now what is your advice?”

‘He shook his head wisely and said: “I don’t like the look of things at all.” The fact is that wise men never like the look of things. Then he added: “Babu will never be able to raise the money, and in the end he will have to fall back upon that jewelry of yours.”

‘From what she knew of humanity she thought that this was not only possible but likely. Her anxiety became keener than ever. She had no child to love, and though she had a husband she was almost unable to realise his very existence. So her blood froze at the very thought that her only object of love, the wealth which like a child had grown from year to year, was to be in a moment