"Be that as it may, however—whether there are hell-punishments or not—this is certain, that, of all my deeds, only one lies heavy on my conscience, and that is, that with my crafty 'Rite of Truth' I cheated thee. Even then I did not dare to look thee in the face, and the memory of that hour sits ever like a thorn in my flesh. Well, the wrong I did thee then, I would now like to make good, so far as that is still possible, and to do away with the evil consequences of my act. Thou wert separated by my guilty dealing from Kamanita whom thou didst believe to be dead, and wert chained to this false Satagira. These fetters I now wish to take from thee that thou mayst be free to unite thyself to thy beloved, and I will myself go to Ujjeni and bring him safe and sound. Now do thy part—I will do mine. For a beautiful woman, it is not difficult to draw a secret from her husband. To-morrow, as soon as it is dark, I shall come hither to get the necessary information from thee."
He bowed deeply, and, before it was possible for me in my bewilderment and dismay to utter a word, he vanished from the Terrace as suddenly as he had appeared.
