adopted by his visitor. He asked,
"Why, what's the matter with Gopal, nothing wrong I hope and trust?"

"No, not exactly; but I'm in a hurry to-day, you must excuse my
taking leave."

Sham Babu, however, would not be put off with vague insinuations. He
said, "I must ask you, Ramanath, to be more precise. You know your
brother has borrowed Rs. 10,000 from me on a mere note of hand,
and I am naturally very anxious to learn the truth."

Ramanath Babu paused for a few seconds before replying. "It is a
fact that my brother's speculations have been unfortunate of late. He
certainly made a good deal of money at one time, but sunk the bulk of
it in bricks and mortar, which you know are not easily turned into
liquid capital. You, as a large creditor, ought to be told how the
land lies."

"This is the first I have heard of Gopal's difficulties," groaned
Sham Babu.

"Yes, because no one troubled himself to tell you the truth; but I
can assure you that Gopal's liabilities are something awful, and it
is quite possible that he may have to take insolvency proceedings."

"You don't say so! What shall I do? If Gopal becomes bankrupt,
I shall be utterly ruined."

"Well, I cannot advise you fully," replied Ramanath Babu, "but
forewarned is forearmed. If I were in your shoes I would certainly
call in my loan." Thereon he took leave.

Sham Babu passed a restless night, dreaming of the debtor's jail and
a starving family. On Hari Babu's return, next morning, he related the
purport of his conversation with Ramanath. His host said: "You should
not attach too much importance to such tittle-tattle. Ramanath has
had a quarrel with his brother about family matters, and he is not
at all averse to doing him a bad turn." Sham Babu was not satisfied
with this explanation. He answered:--

"I can hardly believe Ramanath capable of telling deliberate lies,
which must inevitably be detected."

"Perhaps not. It is quite possible that Gopal may be in temporary
straits. But can you point to a single merchant among your
acquaintances whose career has been uniformly prosperous? There are
ups and downs in commerce, which no one can avoid. Mark my words,
Gopal will soon pull himself together again!"

Sham Babu was by no means convinced by his brother-in-law's
optimism. He remarked, "In any case I ought not to allow my loan to
stand without some tangible security. Gopal has house property in
Calcutta, I believe?"

"To be sure he has. There is hi