hat! the herdsman Aryaka? Like a bird that flees
from a hawk, he has fallen into the hand of the fowler. [_Reflecting._]
He is no sinner, this man who seeks my protection and sits
in Charudatta's cart. Besides, he is the friend of good Sharvilaka,
who saved my life. On the other hand, there are the king's orders.
What is a man to do in a case like this? Well, what must be, must
be. I promised him my protection just now.

He who gives aid to frightened men,
And joys his neighbor's ills to cure,
If he must die, he dies; but then,
His reputation is secure. 19

[_He gets down uneasily._] I saw the gentleman--[_correcting himself_]
I mean, the lady Vasantasena, and she says "Is it proper, is
it gentlemanly, when I am going to visit Charudatta, to insult me
on the highway?"

_Viraka._ Chandanaka, I have my suspicions.

_Chandanaka._ Suspicions? How so?

[103.2. S.

_Vir._ You gurgled in your craven throat; it seems a trifle shady.
You said "I saw the gentleman," and then "I saw the lady." 20

That's why I'm not satisfied.

_Chandanaka._ What's the matter with you, man? We southerners
don't speak plain. We know a thousand dialects of the barbarians--the
Khashas, the Khattis, the Kadas, the Kadatthobilas, the
Karnatas, the Karnas, the Pravaranas, the Dravidas, the Cholas,
the Chinas, the Barbaras, the Kheras, the Khanas, the Mukhas, the
Madhughatas, and all the rest of 'em, and it all depends on the way
we feel whether we say "he" or "she," "gentleman" or "lady."

_Viraka._ Can't I have a look, too? It's the king's orders. And the
king trusts me.

_Chandanaka._ I suppose the king doesn't trust _me_!

_Viraka._ Is n't it His Majesty's command?

_Chandanaka._ [_Aside_] If people knew that the good herdsman escaped
in Charudatta's cart, then the king would make Charudatta
suffer for it. What's to be done? [_Reflecting._] I'll stir up a quarrel
the way they do down in the Carnatic. [_Aloud._] Well, Viraka, I
made one inspection myself--my name is Chandanaka--and you
want to do it over again. Who are you?

_Viraka._ Confound it! Who are you, anyway?

_Chandanaka._ An honorable and highly respectable person, and you
don't remember your own family.

_Viraka._ [_Angrily._] Confound you! What is my family?

_Chandanaka._ Who speaks of such things?

_Viraka._ Speak!

_Chandanaka._ I think I'd better not.

I know your family, but I won't say;