Page:Old Deccan Days.djvu/245

Rh 'Of whom do you speak?' asked the old woman. 'Oh!' said the other, 'I suppose as you 're a milk-seller from the country you know nothing about it. But that's not to be talked about, for the Rajah has said that whoever speaks of him, or mourns him, shall be instantly hanged. Ah! he was very handsome.'

'Where is he now?' whispered the old woman. 'There, answered the other; 'you can see the place where that crowd of people has collected. The Rajah's Jeweller accused him of having stolen the bangle; so he was executed; many thought unjustly, but do not say I said it.' And so saying, she pointed towards the jungle some way off. The old woman ran to the place; but when she there saw the two halves of Koila's body lying side by side, stiff and cold, she threw her earthen chattee down on the ground, and fell on her knees, crying bitterly. The noise attracted the attention of the Rajah's guards, some of whom immediately seized her, saying, 'Old woman, it is against the law to lament that dead man, or murmur at the Rajah's decree; you deserve to be put to death.' But she answered quickly, 'The dead man! I do not cry for the dead man; can you not see that my chattee is broken, and all the milk spilt? Is it not enough to make one weep?' And she began to cry again. 'Hush! hush!' they answered; 'don't cry; come, the chattee wasn't worth much; it was only an earthen thing. Stop your tears, and may be we'll give you a chattee of gold.'

'I neither care for your golden chattees, nor for silver,' she said angrily. 'Go away; go away! my earthen chattee was worth them all. My grandfather's grandfather and my grandmother's grandmother used this chattee; and to think that it should now be broken and all the milk spilt.' And picking up the broken pieces, she went home sobbing, as if the loss of her chattee was all her grief. But when she got to her own house, she ran in to where Chandra was, crying, 'Alas, my pretty child! alas, my daughter! your fears are true!' and as gently as she could she told her what had happened.

No sooner did Chandra hear it than she ran away straight to the Rajah's Palace in the midst of the town, and rushing into the room where he was, said, 'How did you dare to kill my husband?'

Now, at the sound of her voice, her bangle, which the Ranee had locked up in the cupboard, broke through all the intervening doors, and rolled to Chandra's feet.

The Rajah was unable to answer her a word. Then she fell