Vīr. You gurgled in your craven throat; it seems a trifle shady.
You said "I saw the gentleman," and then "I saw the lady." 20
That's why I'm not satisfied.
Chandanaka. What's the matter with you, man? We southerners don't speak plain. We know a thousand dialects of the barbarians—the Khashas, the Khattis, the Kadas, the Kadatthobilas, the Karnātas, the Karnas, the Prāvaranas, the Drāvidas, the Cholas, the Chīnas, the Barbaras, the Kheras, the Khānas, the Mukhas, the Madhughātas, and all the rest of 'em, and it all depends on the way we feel whether we say "he" or "she," "gentleman" or "lady."
Vīraka. Can't I have a look, too? It 's the king's orders. And the king trusts me.
Chandanaka. I suppose the king doesn't trust me!
Vīraka. Isn't it His Majesty's command?
Chandanaka. [Aside.] If people knew that the good herdsman es- caped in Chārudatta's cart, then the king would make Chārudatta suffer for it. What 's to be done? [Reflecting.] I'll stir up a quarrel the way they do down in the Carnatic. [Aloud.] Well, Vīraka, I made one inspection myself—my name is Chandanaka—and you want to do it over again. Who are you?
Vīraka. Confound it! Who are you, anyway?
Chandanaka. An honorable and highly respectable person, and you don't remember your own family.
Vīraka. [Angrily.] Confound you! What is my family?
Chandanaka. Who speaks of such things?
Vīraka. Speak!
Chandanaka. I think I'd better not.
I know your family, but I won't say;
'T would not be modest, such things to betray;
What good's a rotten apple anyway? 21
Vīraka. Speak, speak! [Chandanaka makes a significant gesture.] Confound you! What does that mean?
