attending to the plague patients. The third day, at 6 o’clock in the morning I was scarcely ready to go out when Mr West knocked at my door. When I opened it, I saw Mr West with his beaming face.
‘I am so glad to see you,’ he exclaimed. ‘I had been worrying about you, not finding you at the restaurant. Do tell me if I can do anything for you.’
‘Will you nurse the patients?’ I asked jocularly.
‘Why not? I am quite ready.’
Meanwhile I had thought out my plans, and said, ‘No other answer could be expected of you, but there are already many helping with the nursing, and besides, I propose to put you to still harder work. Madanjit is here on plague duty, and there is no one to look after the Indian Opinion press. If you go to Durban and take charge of the press, it will be really a great help. I cannot of course offer you any tempting terms. Ten pounds a month and half the profits if any is all that I can afford.’
‘That is rather a tough job. I must have my partner’s permission, and then there are some dues to be collected. But never mind. Will you wait till evening for my final answer?’
‘Yes, we meet in the park at 6 o’clock.’
So we met. Mr West had obtained his partner’s permission. He entrusted me with the recovery of his dues, and left for Durban by the evening train the next day. In a month I had his report that not only was the press not profitable at all but it was actually a losing concern. There were large arrears to be collected but the books had been badly kept. Even the list of the names and addresses of subscribers was incomplete. There was also mismanagement in other respects. Mr West did not write all this as a matter of complaint. As he did not care for profit, he assured me that he would not give up what he had undertaken, but gave me clearly to understand that the paper would not be paying its way for a long time to come.
Shri Madanjit had come to Johannesburg to canvass subscribers for the paper as well as to confer with me as
