preparation for the evening bath; and when they seemed somewhat refreshed, offered them food. But the girl said that as they never ate anything not prepared by their own hands, they would cook themselves. At this the dacoit's mother, who had seen the valuables on the persons and horses of her guests, and from these had guessed that they were worth robbing, gave them such materials for cooking as would detain them longest, so that her sons might in the meantime come home, and do with them as they pleased. She gave them such fuel as would take long to ignite, and such rice and dal[1] as would not soon boil. Pushpamela commenced cooking under these disadvantages, and her face and eyes were swollen at the smoke from the oven. She was very ill at ease; and her lover, who had gone for a bath in the tank near the house, was in a similar plight. The old woman had thrown water on the stairs on four different sides of the tank, to make them very slippery, and he could ascend them only after several falls and bruises. He smelt danger, and from outside the house gave the alarm to Pushpamala, saying that she must look sharp, and see that the horses were not removed. He then came in and helped her to finish cooking as soon as possible; and both of them having gone through a hurried meal, got on their horses and galloped off. But the woman they left behind was too clever to be baulked. In order to enable her sons to track the fugitives, she managed to tie to the horses' hind legs very small, hardly perceptible bags of cloth filled with mustard seeds, and perforated in order to allow the escape of the seeds. The lovers did not notice the trick; and so they rode on unaware of the danger, leaving the old woman in a frenzy at the delay of her sons. She waited a long time and then she had recourse to the plan, previously arranged between her and her sons, of making a bonfire in an emergency as a signal to them to come home. Accordingly she set fire to a stack of straw lying by, which quickly burnt into a red blaze, and instantly brought the dacoits home. Not letting them dismount, she seized hold of
- ↑ Pulse.
