"Ay, father mine. Tara wanteth thee; and there is pillau for thy evening meal."
Now Ram Deen had fed on Gunga Ram's stale cates the evening before for having expressed approval of the mutilation of Chandni, and this prospect of pillau, besides appealing shrewdly to his eager stomach, was, perhaps, a sign of capitulation on the part of the young wife he had but lately wedded.
As he approached his hut his nostrils were assailed with the odors of a great cooking.
"Thou seest, my father," said little Biroo, with the ineptitude of infancy, "thou seest what awaits thee inside."
When Ram Deen entered his abode a woman's voice came to him from the inner apartment, saying, "Feed, Big Elephant, stupid as thou art tall!"
As Ram Deen fell to, Biroo also dipped his hand in the dish, mouthful for mouthful; and when his little stomach was pleasantly distended, he paused and said, "Where didst thou sleep last night, my father?"
"'Twere better to eat pillau, little Blue Jay, than ask questions that may be answered only through the soles of thy feet," replied Ram Deen.
"O valiant Beater of Babes!" said the voice from the inner room, "were it not for Biroo, I would return to my grandfather's house; but thou wouldst starve and ill-use the little one."
"Nay, my Best Beloved," said Ram Deen, in a conciliatory tone, "thou art not even just to me. Listen——"
"I will not listen, O Brave to Women, till thou hast answered Biroo's question."