XII 

 THE COBRA BUNGALOW 



A STORY OF A MONEYLENDER 



Beharilal Surajmul was the greatest money- 

 lender in Dowlutpoor. He was a man of rare talents. 

 He remembered the face of every man who had at 

 any time come to borrow money of him since he 

 began to work, as a little boy, in his father's office, 

 so that it was impossible to deceive him. He had 

 also such a miraculous skill in the making out of 

 accounts that a poor man who had come to him in 

 extremity for a loan of fifty rupees, to meet the 

 expenses of his daughter's marriage, might go on 

 making payments for the remainder of his life 

 without reducing the debt by one rupee. In fact, 

 it seemed to increase with each payment. 



And if the matter went into court, Beharilal never 

 failed to show that there was still a balance due to 

 him much larger than the original loan. But so 

 courteous and pleasant was the Seth in his manner 

 to all that such matters never went into court until 

 the right time, of which he was an infallible judge, 

 for he knew the private affairs of every family in 



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