Page:Indira and Other Stories.pdf/34

 Ramram said: "May be, may be, the girl is not from this part of the world."

The guest seized the opportunity, and looking me boldly in the face, he asked, "Where is your home, my girl?"

I thought to myself, shall I tell him, or shall I not? Finally I decided that I would tell him.

But another doubt arose, should I tell him the truth or a lie? I decided that I would tell him a lie. Why I came to this decision, He alone knows who has made the mind of woman deceitful beyond understanding and fond of crooked ways. I thought that if need be, I could tell the truth at any time. Let me deceive him for the present. So it was that I replied:

"Our home is at Kaladighi!"

He was visibly startled. After a time he asked in a gentle voice, "Which Kaladighi? You don't mean Kaladighi of the Dacoits?"

I blush to say I answered, "Yes".

He did not utter another word.

All this time I was standing with the dish in