90 THE WRECK
Every one was on board, the gang-plank had been withdrawn, and the skipper had given the order to weigh anchor when Akshay finally ejaculated, "I want to get off!" but the crew paid no attention to him. The steamer was quite close to the bank and he leaped off on to terra firma.
There was no trace of Ramesh ashore. The morn- ing train to Calcutta had just steamed out and Akshay came to the conclusion that Ramesh had espied him when he struggled to enter the train, and that, suppos- ing him to have some hostile intention, Ramesh had abandoned his journey to his native place and had doubled back to Calcutta by the morning train. It would be exceedingly difficult to unearth any one in a place the size of Calcutta.
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