tiOTJKT ABU 201
When she heard the reply she -went into ecstasies. She
gripped with joy and rubbed with her hands his two palms
which l;e had held up in the mode of salutation. What a
glorious heart she possessed!
Many prominent men who had come up to Abu for the
summer visited Ramdas In his room and held long conver-
sations with him. Love ponred in on him from all sides.
Amongst them there was also a saint named Ramprasad
from Jamnagar who lived in a small detached house, close
to mother Elizabeth's villa on the same grounds. It appeared
he had founded an orphanage in Jamnagar in which the
poor and helpless children found rest, training and food.
The saint had expressed a desire that Eamdas should pay a
visit to the orphanage, but Earn did not afford him an
opportunity for fulfilling his wish.
On the day previous to his departure, Raja Rani
suggested that as he was to return to his state four days
later, it would be as well for him to travel in his company.
As an inducement he held out:
"Ramdas, I am going in my special saloon car and you
can also travel in it."
"Ramdas1 departure tomorrow has already been fixed;
he cannot change it. He travels always third class. Even if
he were to travel by the same train as the one you were to
go by, he would prefer a third class carriage to your well-
furnished saloon," replied Ramdas.
Raja Ram became silent. Xow the mother wished to
have somebody to escort Ramdas as far as Wadhwan. He
made her understand that an escort was quite unnecessary
as, being a fakir, he was accustomed to travel long
distances alone.
"No, Ramdas, for my satisfaction I would send with
you Raja Ram's sepoy," she said.
Raja Ram also agreed with Ramdas that there was no
need of an escort for him. But the mother was unshakably
firm in her resolution.
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