Then Tulsí Rám opened his heart to his wife, for he had none other in whom he could safely confide. “Know, O Juwalí!” said he, “that some time since, from beyond the dark water, there came a messenger from my great Father, Kamíl Rahím,—that Father whom I never have seen, but who loves me with exceeding great love. This messenger, whose name is Narayan Das, brought to me and to my three brothers, Mulá Mal, Biharí Lal, and Nihál Chand, the following message:—
“I bring to you, O brothers! good tidings from your great and merciful Father, who ever careth for His children. There is a treasure hidden for you at the foot of a Cross, even jewels of priceless value,—a ruby called Pardon, a pearl called Purity, and a diamond called Heaven. The three jewels are joined together in one setting of gold, and never must be divided one from another. He who wears these jewels over his heart will have safety in danger, perfect health, and become the heir to a glorious throne. The treasure is a free gift from your Father, and each one of you who shall seek for it in the right way shall possess it for his own.”
“These are wonderful tidings indeed!” exclaimed Juwalí; “but did my lord and his brothers believe them?”
“Mulá Mal would not believe,” replied Tulsí Rám; “he would not so much as listen to Narayan Das, or read the letter which the messenger had brought to him from our Father;” and Tulsí Rám, as he spoke, laid his hand on a book called the Bible, which Juwalí had often heard him reading aloud to himself. “Biharí Lal, on the contrary, believed the brave and earnest man who had left his native land, and come through trials and dangers, to bring good tidings to us. But my second brother’s heart was set on his merchandise and his business, and he put off seeking for the treasure till a more convenient season.”
“Alas!” cried Juwalí, “in the midst of all his cares and his pleasures, poor Biharí Lal was smitten by cholera, and he passed away from earth, even as the rain sinks in the sand and is seen no more.”
“When I stood by the funeral-pile of Biharí Lal,” said Tulsí Rám, “I resolved in my heart that I would not delay searching for the treasure as my poor brother had done. I girded myself and set out on my journey. Great was my desire to wear over my heart the jewels of Pardon, Purity, and Heaven.”
Juwalí did not venture to ask, “And did my lord find them?”—for she saw by the anguish written on his face that Tulsí Rám had never possessed the treasure.
“But I found the journey to be one of exceeding difficulty,” continued Tulsí Rám with a sigh. “To possess myself of the promised jewels, I had to cross a river called Baptism, to pass which was to break my caste; and I could not reach it without descending, with much danger and pain, a very steep bank. On this bank grows thickly that plant with exceeding sharp thorns whose name is Persecution, and briers whose names are Loss and Contempt. Juwalí, I went some steps forward; but then I stopped short, for I could not, I dared not go further! The thorns and briers had torn my garments and wounded my flesh. I groaned in the anguish of my spirit. Great as was my longing to possess Pardon, Purity, and Heaven, I could not endure the suffering through which I must pass to win them. I turned back, O wretched man that I am! I turned back;” and Tulsí Rám groaned aloud.
Tears dropped from the eyes of Juwalí. She had heard enough of the Father’s letter, from the lips of her husband, to feel sure that the treasure which he had lost was one of priceless value. Juwalí had even, with great pains, learned to read a little herself from the Book which her husband prized, and she had thought much, by night and by day, over what she had heard and read.