Page:Indira and Other Stories.pdf/168

 memories that he kept silence for some time. It has been asserted that he wept, and indeed one or two drops were noticed to fall on the dry dust before him. It is possible, however, that these were due to the fact that his mouth watered at the thought of the daily meals provided during his distant exile. Recovering himself, however, he continued:—

"I need not explain at length how I came to quit this agreeable lodging. One day my attendant, after cleaning my apartment, left the door open; whether because he had guessed the pangs of homesickness from which I was suffering, or from carelessness, I shall now never know. Anyhow, I seized the opportunity—and a disappointingly lean gardener who happened to be passing—and returned to our beloved native land.

If any excuse be required for this detailed account of my adventures among the haunts of men, let me explain that my sole object is to indicate that I had abundant opportunities for making a careful and detailed study of the