S3
village. Resting for an hour in the cool shade of the
grove he continued his journey, Bijapur now lay only at a
distance of six miles which he made up by five o'clock in
the evening.
He went to the house of Shankarlal Oza, the kind
merchant friend -whose hospitable roof had sheltered him,
•when he had visited Bijapnron the previous occasion. At his
pressure Ramdas stayed with him for two days. He and
his ailing wife proved by their kind attention that they
were the very embodiments of love. Shankarlal noticed the
con<Iition of Ramdas1 feet. They were so ranch swollen that
they appeared to be stricken with elephantiasis. He spoke
with great concern aboat this matter in the presence of his
friends who, touched by his reference, raised a contribnticn
f'*r h;s railway fare to Enbli. Ramdas had told him that he
was to go to Hubli.
(iii) You are in the upper storey, eh!
On the third day h-? left by the evening train. After
purchasing the ticket Shankarlal found a balance of eight
annss left from the amount subscribed by the friends. He
nrgeil Ramdas to accept the money and, in spite of his
protest, he slipped it into the pocket of a long coat Ramdas
was then wearing, as also the ticket.
Night passed, the day dawned. The eight-anna change
was jingling in his pocket. He did not know vhat to do
with it. Till then he was not in the habit of carrying money,
because he needed none. The Lord looked after him in all
matters without giving him occasion to handle moneys.
When the train stopped at a station, a blind beggar got into
the compartment. Here was a way out of the situation,
thought Ramdas, and handed the beggar a two-anna bit,
reserving the balance for any beggars who might come
along at subsequent stations. Station after station, passed
and yet no sight of a beggar.
At about ten o'clock the train steamed into the Hnbli
u*