Page:Mashi and Other Stories.djvu/187

Rh she had given up visiting the temple, the ghāt, or the Sanyasi.

What happened next I do not know, but after a while the two met together on my steps one evening.

With downcast looks, Kusum asked: "Master, did you send for me?"

"Yes, why do I not see you? Why have you grown neglectful of late in serving the gods?"

She kept silent.

"Tell me your thoughts without reserve."

Half averting her face, she replied: "I am a sinner, Master, and hence I have failed in the worship."

The Sanyasi said: "Kusum, I know there is unrest in your heart."

She gave a slight start, and, drawing the end of her sári over her face, she sat down on the step at the Sanyasi's feet, and wept.

He moved a little away, and said: "Tell me what you have in your heart, and I shall show you the way to peace."

She replied in a tone of unshaken faith, stopping now and then for words: "If you bid me, I must