that she and her baby should attend the wedding.

Not far off, also in Hooghly, lived a widowed sister (of the girl)
in her father-in-law's house. She too was going to the wedding,
and it was settled that both sisters should travel in the same
boat to Calcutta. No male member of either family could accompany
them. Therefore, their father sent an old servant from Calcutta to
fetch them. This man was trusted and treated like a member of the
family, with whom he had been for years.

The girl put together her clothes. Her good mother-in-law unlocked the
great safe and took out the girl's best jewels. An Indian wedding
is the occasion for a great display of clothes and jewellery,
and a well-dressed and richly-adorned bow raises the credit of the
mother-in-law, especially if the wedding is in the girl's own family;
so a careful selection was made. Baby was not forgotten either. Tiny
gold bangles and chains had been showered upon him at his birth,
and this was his first public appearance.

They started early, so as to arrive during the afternoon. There was
to be a ceremony the next day and many guests had arrived at the
bride-groom's house, and all watched eagerly for the two sisters. But
the hours waned and still they tarried. Late in the evening, the old
servant arrived, agitated and all mud-bespattered.

Family, guests and servants plied him with questions concerning
the sisters. Not a word would he reply. Suspicions soon voiced
themselves. Dacoits were about. Everyone knew of the wedding and the
consequent family gathering. Everyone knew too that the daughter was
the cherished bow of a rich family.