HUBL: 7?

How can I £0 very near yon or touch your sacred

Xo sooner did Ram das hear this, than he rushed to-
wards the pariah and, throwing his arms round his
shoulders, embraced him.
"Yon are not an untouchable. You are Lord Vithoba
Himself. Are yon not the same dhed who ran to the rescue
of Damaji Pant, the noted saint of Mangalvedha ?"
He laughed knowingly and recapitulated the incident.
" Xow, master, where are yon going?"1 he asked.
** Don't knn-w -where/' was Ramdas* reply.
He said : " Two miles from here, there is a tiny village
on the banks of the river Bhima. Do proceed to that village.
It hc?s only one shop. You go and stand before the shop,
and the Lnrd will attend to all your needs- I can escort yon
a? far as the outskirts of the Tillage. My way lies in a
different direction/'
Ram-'las acquiesced. There was no further talk. He was
merged In a blissful abstraction. The village loomed in
view. He made straight for it. He was now only about
fifty yards from the Tillage- hnts when he turned back to
look for his strange companion. The so-called pariah had
disappeared.
The sun. had risen right overhead. As advised by him,
Ramdas stopped before the only shop of the village. An un-
usually stout woman was attending to the customers with
the help of a young man. The mother saw Ramdas,
Suddenly her maternal heart went out for her child, the
lone wanderer. Brushing aside the customers, who had
crowded in front of her shop, she beckoned Mm with both
hands to draw near.
tSSon, son/1 she said to the young man by her, "first
give this sadhu something to eat/'
Soon, in the outstretched cloth of Ramdas rained a
pretty large quantity of parched rice, jaggery, dates etc.
The stout mother jumped down from her seat in the shop