78
THE WRECK
dered what course he should pursue. He relapsed into absent-mindedness, gazing intently at Kamala without responding to her last remark. Kamala felt that the occasion demanded seriousness. "I say, you weren't annoyed because I didn't want to stay on at school for the holidays, were you?" she asked "Tell me the truth, now!"
"To tell you the truth" replied Ramesh, "it was myself I was annoyed with, not you."
With a mighty effort he freed himself from the tangle of his thoughts and set about engaging Kamala in conversation. "Come now, Kamala," he said briskly, "tell me what you've been learning at school all this time."
Kamala began readily enough to display her learn- ing. She tried to astonish Ramesh by her knowledge of the fact that the earth is round. Ramesh duly declared himself a sceptic on the subject and asked how such a thing was possible. Kamala opened her eyes : "Why, it's in our book ; we learned all about it."
"You don't say so," said Ramesh, affecting sur- prise. "It's in a book, is it? How big is the book?"
This query brought Kamala up in arms. "It's not so very big, but it's in print, and there are pictures in , it too!" This was incontestable proof and Ramesh had to succumb.
When Kamala had finished detailing all that she had learnt she launched forth on an account of the other girls, of the teachers, and of the school routine. Ramesh became absent-minded again, but murmured assent now and then. At times he caught the tail- end of a sentence and threw in half a question. Sud- denly Kamala exclaimed, "You're not listening to me at all!" and stood up in vexation.
"Come, come, Kamala," said Ramesh hastily, "don't get angry; I'm not quite myself to-day."
