to obtain Nagendra, no hope of doing so; her despair she had borne in
silence. To have striven for it would have been like striving to reach
the moon in the sky. Now where was that moon? For what fault had
Nagendra thrust her from him? Kunda revolved these thoughts in her
mind night and day; night and day she wept. Well! let Nagendra not
love her. It was her good fortune to love him. Why might she not even
see him? Nor that only: he regarded Kunda as the root of his troubles;
every one considered her so. Kunda thought, "Why should I be blamed
for all this?"

In an evil moment Nagendra had married Kunda. As every one who sits
under the upas-tree must die, so every one who had been touched by the
shadow of this marriage was ruined.

Then again Kunda thought, "Surja Mukhi has come to this condition
through me. Surja Mukhi protected me, loved me as a sister; I have
made her a beggar by the roadside. Who is there more unfortunate than
I? Why did I not die by the roadside? Why do I not die now? I will
not die now; let him come, let me see him again. Will he not come?"
Kunda had not received the news of Surja Mukhi's death, therefore she
thought, "What is the use of dying now? Should Surja Mukhi return, then
I will die; I will no longer be a thorn in her path."

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE RETURN.

The work required to be done in Calcutta was finished. The deed of
gift was drawn up. In it special rewards were indicated for the
_Brahmachari_ and the unknown Brahman. The deed would have to be
registered at Haripur, therefore Nagendra went to Govindpur, taking it
with him. He had instructed his brother-in-law to follow. Srish
Chandra had striven to prevent his executing this deed, also to
restrain him from making the journey on foot, but in vain. His efforts
thus defeated, he followed by boat; and as Kamal Mani could not
endure to be parted from her husband, she and Satish simply
accompanied him without asking any questions.

When Kunda saw Kamal Mani she thought that once more a star had risen
in the sky. Since the flight of Surja Mukhi, Kamal's anger against
Kunda had been inflexible; she had always refused to see her. But now,
at the sight of Kunda's emaciated figure, Kamal's anger departed. She
endeavoured to cheer her with the news that Nagendra was coming, which
brought a smile to the girl's face; but at the news of Surja Mukhi's
death Kunda Nandini wept.

Many fair readers will smile at this, thinking, "The cat wee