46
THE WRECK
never do. Come along, you must come down and have your tea," and he had practically to drag his daughter downstairs. She made straight for the tea- tray and became apparently so absorbed in pouring out tea that she could not lift her eyes to greet either of the guests.
"What are you doing, Hem?" exclaimed Annada Babu. "Why are you giving me sugar? You know I never take it."
Akshay began to snigger. "She can't restrain her generosity to-day. She'll be distributing sweets to every one!"
Ramesh could not bear to hear Akshay sharpening his wit at Hemnalini's expense and he instantly re- solved that once they were married they would cut Akshay out of the list of their acquaintances. . . .
A few days later the same party was assembled round the tea-table when Akshay remarked, "Ramesh Babu, you had better change your name at once." Akshay 's attempts to be humorous merely intensified Ramesh's dislike of him.
"Why should I ?" he asked.
"Here you are," said Akshay, opening a news- paper. "A student of the name of Ramesh induced another student to personate him at an exam, and so succeeded in passing, but he was caught in the end."
Hemnalini knew that Ramesh never had a retort ready on his tongue, so whenever Akshay dealt one of his thrusts she took on herself the task of administer- ing a counter-thrust. This was an occasion that called for her intervention. Suppressing her real indigna- tion she remarked pleasantly, "For the matter of that the jails must be full of Akshays."
"Hearken to her!" cried Akshay, "I try to ad- minister a friendly warning and you take offence; I'll have to tell the whole story. You know my little sister Sarat who goes to the girls' high school? She
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