"I, too, will find a way!" muttered Gungadhura to himself. Then to the
priest: "What did she say? Why did she go to the commissioner?"

"To ask a favor."

"Of course! What favor?"

"That she may go to Europe."

"Then there is no longer any doubt whatever! By Saraswati (the goddess
of wisdom) I know that she has discovered where the treasure is!"

"My son," said the priest, "it is not manners to call on other gods by
name in this place."

"By Jinendra, then! Thou fat sedentary appetite, what a great god thine
must be, that he can choose no cleverer servant than thee to muddle
his affairs!
While you were lulling me to sleep with dreams about a clue to be found
in a cellar, she has already sucked the secret out from some cobra's
hole and has sold it to the commissioner! As soon as he has paid her
a proportion of it she will escape to Europe to avoid me--will she?"

"But the commissioner refused the desired permission," said the priest,
puffing his lips and stroking his stomach, as much as to add, "It's no
use getting impatient in Jinendra's temple. We have all the inside
information here."

"What do you make of that?" demanded Gungadhura.