"And he, too, covered his face with his garment, leaving me no choice but to withdraw without further attempt at this manifestly inopportune time to probe the mystery.
"If I was to be of service to my friends, however, knowledge of what had befallen was the first essential. So I took the road that would lead me to the great pipul tree in the village square, close to the tank and to the temple, where all day long there was coming and going, and where therefore I would be most likely to glean the information I desired. By a happy chance I found reclining under the pipul tree the village barber, a loquacious fellow, who counted it as part of his business to know the last detail about other people's affairs.
"After greetings, and a few remarks about the weather and the crops and the season's epidemics, I carefully broached the real purpose of my interview, for a prudent man will never divulge his thoughts to another until he knows that other's thoughts.
"'I have just come from the house of Baji Lal,' I said, in a seemingly casual way.
"The barber's face instantly lost the smile it had worn.
"'How did you find him?' he asked.
"'Strangely altered,' I replied.
"'And so does every one,' he concurred.
"'Why so?' I ventured.
"The barber looked at me squarely, and then said: