Page:The Spoilt Child.djvu/125

 being prepared, made up of a number of different ingredients; essential oils were being refined, and gold ground into powder. The kabiraj himself was just on the point of leaving his house, with a box of his drugs in one hand and a bottle of oil in the other, when Haladhar arrived and said to him: "Oh, sir, please come as quick as you can: a boy is very ill of fever in the house of a zemindar, and he seems to be in a very critical state: his life and your fame, you see, are both at stake: you will get undying honour if you restore him to health again. It is thought that he may get all right by the administration of some very powerful drug: if you can succeed in curing him, you will be richly rewarded." Upon this, the kabiraj made all haste, and was soon at the bedside of the patient.

The young Babus, who were all present, called out: "Welcome, welcome, sir kabiraj, may you revive us all! Dolgovinda has been lying on his bed some fifteen days with this fever: his temperature is very high, and he suffers from terrible thirst: he gets no sleep at night, only tosses restlessly about. Please examine his pulse carefully, sir, and meanwhile refresh yourself by having a smoke." Brojonath was a very old man, without much education: he was not very skilful even at his own trade, had no opinions of his own, and could do nothing on his own responsibility. In person he was emaciated, with no teeth, a harsh voice, and a heavy grey moustache, of which he was so enamoured that he was always stroking it. He sighed as he looked at the patient's hand, and sat perfectly motionless. Haladhar then said to him: "Honoured sir, have you nothing to say?" The kabiraj without replying gazed intently on the face of the patient, who was glaring wildly about him, lolling his tongue out, and grinding his teeth. He also gave a tug at the kabiraj's moustache: and as he moved away a little, the boy rolled