ail of a soul in anguish. Others,
too, went to listen, and fled from the place in terror. And soon the
house of Baji Lal came to be shunned by every one as if it had been
plague-stricken.

"'Now you understand why your old friends greeted you with woe-begone
looks. The inner meaning of the story I do not know, but I have told you
the facts that are in my possession. And glad shall I be if you can
conceive any solution for the mystery, and free Baji Lal and his wife
from the terrible accusation of having murdered the man who was their
guest within the gate and had eaten of their salt. If you cannot, then
we must just say kismet, I suppose. Man cannot strive against fate.'

"'Is it your belief, Bimjee,' I asked, 'that the stranger was really
done to death in Baji Lal's home?'

"'No,' he answered decisively. 'But all the same, I have the evidence of
my own ears that a curse has fallen upon the place.'

"For the moment I made no further comment, but sat silent, revolving the
strange story in my mind. My reverie, however, was of short duration,
for all of a sudden Bimjee sprang to his feet in great excitement.

"'Look, look,' he cried, pointing to a crowd of villagers coming in our
direction. 'At last they have laid hold of Baji Lal and his wife, and
are bringing them here for punishment.'

"Bewildered by the suddenness of this blow, I could but watch in
helpless silence the advancing throng, with my poor friends in their
midst, their hands bound, their tottering footsteps directed by rude
shoves towards the pipul tree, the accustomed assembly place of the
villagers and the village council.

"A minute later, however, I had regained my self-possession, and when
the procession came abreast of me, I stepped in front of it and
commanded a halt. Courtesy to me as a visitor to the village was
sufficient to exact this measure of obedience. But when I demanded that
the ropes should be cut and the prisoners liberated, a storm of angry
protests was the only result.

"The leader of the crowd approached me, and in a respectful voice said
they were sorry to refuse my request, but a crime had been committed
that disgraced the whole community. The spirit of a murdered man haunted
the house of Baji Lal and Devaka, and cried to heaven for vengeance. The
villagers would never prosper if they allowed this foul deed to pass
unpunished; why, only that very morning a strange sickness had seized
some of their cattle, and two sacred cows h