O my son, What has been done?
_Nobin._ Sir, _does the cobra shrink from biting the little child
on the lap of its mother on account of the sorrow of the mother_?
I flattered him much, but: he understood nothing by that. He kept
to his word, and said, give us sixty bigahs of land, secured by
written documents, and take 50 Rupees, then we shall close the two
years’ account at once.
_Goluk._ Then, if we are to give sixty bigahs for the cultivation
of the Indigo, we cannot engage in any other cultivation whatever.
Then we shall die without rice crops.
_Nobin._ I said, “Saheb, as you engage all your men, our ploughs,
and our kine, every thing, in the Indigo field, only give us every
year through our food. We don’t want hire.” On which, he with a
laugh said, “You surely don’t eat Yaban’s[2] rice.”
_Sadhu._ Those whose only pay is a belly full of food are, I
think, happier than we are.
_Goluk._ We have nearly abandoned all the ploughs; still we have
to cultivate Indigo. We have no chance in a dispute with the
Sahebs. They bind and beat us, it is for us to suffer. We are
consequently obliged to work.
_Nobin._ I shall do as you order, Sir; but my design is for once
to bring action into Court.