The Magistrate was touring in the Mofussil during the cold weather and
pitched his tent within the village to shoot. The Saheb met Nilmani on
the village _maidan_. The other boys gave him a wide berth, varying
Chanakya's couplet a little, and adding the Saheb to the list of 'the
clawed, the toothed, and the horned beasts.' But grave-natured Nilmani
in imperturbable curiosity serenely gazed at the Saheb.
The Saheb was amused and came up and asked in Bengali: 'You read at
the _pathsala_?'
The boy silently nodded. 'What _pustaks_[30] do you read?' asked the
Saheb.
[30] A literary word for books. The colloquial will be _boi_.
As Nilmani did not understand the word _pustak_, he silently fixed his
gaze on the Magistrate's face. Nilmani told his sister the story of
his meeting the Magistrate with great enthusiasm.
At noon, Joygopal, dressed in trousers, _chapkan_,[31] and
_pagri_,[32] went to pay his salams to the Saheb. A crowd of suitors,
_chaprasies_,[33] and constables stood about him. Fearing the
heat, the Saheb had seated himself at a court-table outside the tent,
in the open shade, and placing Joygopal in a chair, questioned him
about the state of the village. Having taken the seat of honour in
open view of the community, Joygopal swelled inwardly, and thought
it would be a good thing if any of the Chakrabartis or Nandis came
and saw him there.
[31] A _chapkan_ is a long coat.
[32] Turban.
[33] Servants.
At this moment, a woman, closely veiled, and accompanied by Nilmani,
came straight up to the Magistrate. She said: 'Saheb, into your
hands I resign my helpless brother. Save him.' The Saheb, seeing the
large-headed, solemn boy, whose acquaintance he had already made, and
thinking that the woman must be of a respectable family, at once stood
up and said: 'Please enter the tent.'