Page:Chandra Shekhar.djvu/161

 "A Brahmin girl has had no meals yet—can you give her some rice?" said the servant.

Pratap too had no rice with him. But he did not say so—he said, "yes I can—but ask the sentinel to take off my handcuff."

The servant, thereupon, asked the sentinel to take off Pratap's handcuff. But the guard refused to do so without orders. The servant, therefore, went to Amyatt to obtain his permission.

Who takes so much trouble for a stranger? Particularly, so much attention could not be expected of Pirbuksh; for he drew his pay from an English master, and was never in the habit of helping any one willingly. Of all classes of men in the world, the Mahomedan servants of Anglo-Indians are the worst. But Pirbuksh had some interest in doing this little service for Shaibalini. He thought within himself that he would take the woman to the servants' quarter after she had taken some food, and so he became anxious to win over her by serving her with a meal. He, therefore, left to obtain Amyatt's orders—Shaibalini meanwhile waited outside Pratap's boat, drawing a veil over her face.

A beautiful face achieves triumphs everywhere.