THE TWO RINGS
Purandar hastily turned aside. He too looked vaguely at the surrounding objects, at sky and shore, at the city and the sea. But it was all no use. The tears would come. They were trickling down his cheek. He angrily wiped them away, and said, "That was what I came to tell you. From the very day that your father announced that he would not consent to our marriage, I made up my mind to go to Ceylon. I hope . . . I hope I may never come back! If ever I can manage to forget you, I will return, but not otherwise. I cannot say any more. You would not understand me if I did. But this you must hear. If all the world and all its wealth were weighed in the balance against you, my darling, I would choose you."
Having said this, the lad stepped aside, and began pacing up and down, tearing another flower to pieces. When the hateful desire to cry was a little abated, he came back, and said: "I know quite well that you love me. But sooner or later you will be someone else's bride.
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