"What do you want, wretched slave—death?"
Kulsam looked the Nawab in the face and for a time remained staring at him. She then said in a stern voice, "Nawab! Where is your Begum—where is Dalani Biby gone?"
The fearless manner in which Kulsam addressed herself to the Nawab surprised and, to some extent, frightened Amir Hossain—he made a profound bow to the Nawab and retired from the place. Mir Kashim then said,
"You will be soon sent to the place where that wicked soul now rests."
Sterner than before, Kulsam replied, "Yes, I shall be, but you too shall have to follow her—it is for this reason why I have come to you. On my way here, I heard that Dalani Begum had committed suicide—tell me, is it true?"
"Suicide"! replied the Nawab in astonishment. "She was doomed to death by royal orders. You were her accomplice in all her crimes—I will see that you are torn off into pieces by dogs—"
Kulsam could bear no more—she threw herself down on the floor and burst into a wail. She then began to scold and abuse the Nawab in no measured language. Hearing her, the guards, the
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