"How long have you been married?"—asked the lady from Benares.
"In the month of Bysakh."
"Only that! How long have you been here?"
"About two months, I think."
"When does your husband leave for office?"
Maloti blushed at the mention of her husband. "At nine o'clock in the morning"—she replied, her eyes directed towards the floor.
"And when does he come home?"
"At six,—sometimes as late as seven o'clock."
II
Girindra Nath returned home no sooner the lamps were lighted. Maloti after giving him the accustomed welcome, said—"So early to-day?"
Girindra smiled and stroking his wife on the chin playfully, said—"I thought you were feeling lonely and so I made haste."
With beaming eyes Maloti said—"But I am not alone to-day. Guess who has come."
Girindra looked surprised. "Who is it?"—he enquired.
"A Bengalee lady—a widow. She was going home from Benares by the afternoon passenger. But as she had lost her ticket, they stopped her here."
