Page:Stories of Bengalee life - Prabhat Kumar Mukerji.pdf/247

Rh longer confided all his thoughts to me. Nevertheless we were excellent friends. He said—"Come to Darjeeling."

"When do you go?"—I asked.

"To-day."

"Goodness! Where is the time?"

Satish opened his watch, and holding his cigarette between his teeth, said—"It is only ten; the train goes at four. Six hours—360 minutes. Heaps and heaps of time."

"My good fellow"—I replied—"you have become a sahib. Can I, a black man, emulate your speedy way of doing things? By the time I have bathed and dined it will be twelve o'clock. Then some little rest—"

"Nonsense! I will not take your excuses."

"If you wanted to go to Darjeeling, why did you not tell me two days ago?"

"It was only this morning that I received the invitation from Dr. Sen."

"What!"—I exclaimed in astonishment—"Is Dr. Sen at Darjeeling with his family—and his daughter?"

"Certainly"—and he laughed a little.

That Dr. Sen's learned daughter Nirmala had captivated my friend was an open secret. I said—"How terrible! Must we wait till four o'clock? Is