I am quite certain that Ramda has
been falsely charged with stealing a brass vessel which is his own
property."
The Sub-Inspector evidently thought so too. He called the prosecutor
into an inner room. What passed between them there was never known;
but presently the Sub-Inspector returned to the office and ordered
the prisoner to be at once released. Ramda was truly grateful to
Harish Pal for having so cleverly saved him from ruin, and the whole
story soon became common property. Nagendra overheard his neighbours
whispering and pointing to him significantly, and village boys called
him ill-natured nicknames in the street. His irritation was increased
by recourse to the brandy bottle, and he vented it on his luckless
wife. She suffered so terribly that, one morning, Nagendra found
her hanging from a rafter in his cowshed. This suicide was the last
straw. Nagendra saved himself from prosecution for murder by a heavy
bribe, and got leave from the police to burn his wife's body. But
so universally was he execrated that not a man in the village would
help him to take her body to the burning-ghat. In dire despair
he humbled himself so far as to implore Ramda's assistance. The
magnanimous Brahman forgot his wrongs and cheerfully consented to
bear a hand.
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