Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/84

 within sight of the winning-post. A wild uproar arose from the assembled multitude, and screams of alarm issued from the ladies' pavilion. Hundreds of men rushed to the river bank, and all was disorder and confusion.

The boatmen easily swam ashore. Noren, too, who was an expert swimmer, had reached the shore, but was instantly surrounded by the armed retainers of Nobo Kumar. Noren's few partisans were soon disarmed after a short scuffle, and he sat wet, shivering, humiliated, and a prisoner.

His quick mind saw at a glance the mischief he had done. He had by his insane rashness killed the Chief of Debipur. He had ruined his faithful friends and retainers. He had lost his grandfather's estate, which would never be allowed to descend to a criminal. And when his glance fell on the ladies' pavilion he felt that a stream of blood ran between him and the most dearly-cherished being on earth. An acute pain, severer than any which his enemies could inflict, tortured the silent young man; and tears of agony, such as few had witnessed on Noren's eyes, trickled down his face. But his worst fears were soon dispelled. In the midst of the general uproar Sirish alone had kept a cool head. He had marked where Nobo Kumar's boat had sunk, and he had seen the helpless old man struggling in the waters. The best swimmer in Birnagar, he had plunged into the river, buffeted its strong current with his manly arms, and had reached the sinking man just as he was disappearing under the waters. With one hand he clutched him by the waistband and kept him afloat, and with the other he swam back