Page:Stories of Bengalee life - Prabhat Kumar Mukerji.pdf/57

Rh The boys said to the Swadeshi shopkeeper—"Kindly let us have eight annas in cash. We will repay you this amount together with the price of the tin to-morrow."

The Khansama, pocketing his eight annas, looked at the tin again and said—"Are you quite sure, Babuji, that these biscuits would be just as good as English?"

"Better, a great deal better—we can assure you. Never buy English biscuits in future. They are haram."

"Toba toba" ejaculated the Khansama and proceeded towards the Dak Bungalow.

The boys came out of the shop and opening the tin, scattered its contents on the street. They then began to dance on the biscuits, singing in unison the opening bars of a popular song which exhorted people to kick all foreign commerce out of the country. They punctuated their song with frequent shouts of Bande Mataram. One of them kicked the empty tin out of shape and flung it into the gutter by the roadside.

The Khansama witnessed the whole performance from a little distance. Having newly come from Assam, he was at a loss to understand what it all meant. Seeing another pass, he asked—"Have the Babus turned mad or what?"