Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/232

 Ganges, where the family can rest a few days. The boats will wait there till it is time to depart."

"And at Allahabad too, where the blue Jumna mingles with the ruddy Ganges, we must make a halt. Much merit is acquired, Gokul Das, by those who bathe at the confluence of the sister rivers, and the auspicious day for bathing will come shortly after we reach that place."

"There, too, a proper residence has been secured for mother, and for my young Master and his wife and sister. They say the climate of that place is dry and bracing for those who go from marshy Bengal, and I am sure my young Master needs a change and rest."

"You are right, Gokul Das, Sirish needs a change badly, and will no doubt improve by the change. And he is happy that in his absence the estate will be in charge of a trusted servant who has ever been so faithful and dutiful to us."

"The devil take the woman with her smooth tongue!" Such was the irreverent thought which rose in Gokul Das's mind as the last words were spoken. "I could face her husband's wrath when he thundered volleys of abuse, but this woman's smooth tongue has a sharper edge to it and cuts like a knife."

"Up the river Jumna," continued the widow, "the country they say is pretty, and temples of many gods and goddesses on the sacred river attract crowds of worshippers. They speak a different tongue and dress in a different style, but they will admit us to the shrines where all come to perform the same worship."

"My late Master's name is known far and wide in Upper India, and my mother will be an honoured guest wherever she chooses to go."

"It is many days' journey, they say, up the Jumna