Page 96 - The English Carnival 7

enemies to communicate through a medium. Mani faced Swaminathan steadily and
asked, ‘Are you a man?’

Swaminathan turned to Rajam and repeated, ‘Are you a man?’

Rajam flared up and shouted, ‘Which dog doubts it?’

Swaminathan turned to Mani and said ferociously, ‘Which dirty dog doubts it?’

‘Have you the courage to prove that you are a man?’ asked Mani.

Swaminathan turned to Rajam and repeated it.

‘How?’

‘How?’ repeated Swaminathan to Mani.

‘Meet me at the river, near Nallappa’s Grove, tomorrow evening.’

‘Near Nallappa’s Grove,’ Swaminathan was pleased to echo.

‘What for?’ asked Rajam.

‘To see if you can break my head.’
‘Oh, to pieces,’ said Rajam.

Swaminathan’s services were dispensed with. They gave him no time to repeat their

words. Rajam shouted in one ear, and Mani in the other.
‘So we may expect you at the river to-morrow,’ said Swaminathan.

‘Yes,’ Rajam assured them.
Mani wanted to know if the ether would come with guards. No, he would not. And

Mani voiced another doubt: ‘If anything happens to you, will you promise to keep it
out of your father’s knowledge?’ Rajam promised, after repudiating the very suggestion
that he might act otherwise.

Nallappa’s Grove stood a few yards before them. It was past six and the traffic for
the day between the banks was over. The usual evening crowd was far behind them.
Swaminathan and Mani were squatting on the sand. They were silent. Mani was staring
at the ground, with a small wooden club under his arm. He was thinking that he was

going to break Rajam’s head in a short while and throw his body into the river. But
if it should be recovered? But then how could they know that he had done it? But if
Rajam should come and trouble him at night as a spirit? Since his grandfather’s death,
he was sleeping alone. What if Rajam should come and pull his hair at night? After all

it would be better not to kill him. He would content himself with breaking his limbs
and leaving him to his fate. If he should batter his head, who was going to find it out?
Unless of course. He cast a sly look at Swaminathan, who was blinking innocently....

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