n trail on silent, slippered feet,
stepped into the open.

"No! By Shiva and by Shiva! Not the laws of nature, the eternal laws of
logic, as interpreted by a priest well versed in Sruti and Smriti--in
revelation and tradition. Not the laws of nature, rational and
evidential, physical and metaphysical, analytical and synthetical,
philosophical, and philological, as expounded by a Parohita familiar
with the Vedas and the blessed wisdom of the ancient Upanishads of
Hind!"

He salaamed low before Vikramavati.

"It is written in the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of Books, the Lay of Brahm
the Lord, that each crime shall find condign punishment, be it committed
by high caste or low caste, by prince or peasant, by raja or ryot. To
each his punishment, says the Karma, which is fate!"

"And--these two?" demanded Vikramavati. "What punishment shall be meted
out to the faithless woman and the faithless captain of horse, Brahmin?"

Deo Singh spread out his fingers like the sticks of a fan.

"They have chosen their own sentence, these worshipers of Kartikeya, God
of Rogues and Rascals," he chuckled. "Of a chain they spoke. An
unbreakable chain that defies all laws, except belike"--again he laughed
deep in his throat--"the wise laws of nature. Weld them together with
such a chain, forged by a master smith, made so strong that not even a
tough-thewed captain of horse may break it with the clouting muscles of
his arms and back. A chain, ten feet long, so that they may never be far
away from each other, so that they may always be able to slake the hot,
turbulent thirst of love, so that they may never have to wait for the
thrill of fulfillment as a beggar waits at life's feast, so that day and
night, each hour, each minute, each second they may revel in the
sunshine of their love, so that never they may have to stand helpless
before the flood-tide of their desire.

"Grant them their wish, O king, being wise and merciful; and then lock
them into a room containing the choicest food, the sweetest drinks, the
whitest flowers, the softest, silkenest couch draped with purple and
gold. A room such as lovers dream of--and fools! Leave them there
together for three days, three nights, three sobbing, crunching, killing
eternities! With no sound, no touch, no scent, no taste, but their own
voices, their own hearts and souls and minds and bodies! And at the end
of the three days----"

"Yes?" asked Vikramavati.

"They will have suffered the wors