Mâdhabi Nâth said gravely, "You are in some trouble, surely?"
"What trouble, sir?"
"In a mass of trouble. How did the police come to know that you have a stolen note in your possession?"
Brahmânanda fell from the sky.
"What do you say? A stolen note in my possession?"
"Oh, not with your knowledge. Some one has paid you a stolen note, and you in ignorance have kept it."
"How can that be, sir? Who would pay a note to me?"
Mâdhabi Nâth lowered his voice. "I know all about it. The police also know. In fact I learned the whole matter from the police. The stolen note came from Prasâdpur. See! there is a policeman standing down there for you. I paid him something to wait a little."
Mâdhabi Nâth then pointed out the figure of the bearded, bâton-bearing constable, walking beneath the trees like a dark cloud.
Brahmânanda began to tremble. Clasping Mâdhabi Nâth's feet and weeping, he cried, "Save me, I beg of you."
