"All the same, she wept bitterly when I bade her a last farewell.
"I gave fatherly kisses and cakes to all the rest of my wives, and then I left for home."
II
"Two years had passed when the chance of my duties again called me to Bombay. Because I knew the country and the language well, I was left there to undertake another mission, by a sequence of unforeseen circumstances.
"I finished what I had to do as quickly as possible, and as I had a considerable amount of spare time on my hands I determined to go and see my friend Rajah Maddan and my dear little Châli once more, though I expected to find her much changed.
"The rajah received me with every demonstration of pleasure, and hardly left me for a moment during the first day of my visit. At night, however, when I was alone, I sent for Haribadada, and after several misleading questions I said to him:
"'Do you know what has become of little Châli, whom the rajah gave me?'
"He immediately assumed a sad and troubled look, and said, in evident embarrassment:
"'We had better not speak of her.'
"'Why? She was a dear little woman.'