The murmur of the city, the chatter of
the club, are hundreds of miles away. We rode downward under the
towering trees, and dismounting, saw a little houseboat tethered
to the bank. It was not of the richer sort that haunts the Bund,
where the native servants follow in a separate boat, and even the
electric light is turned on as part of the luxury. This was a
long low craft, very broad, thatched like a country cottage
afloat. In the forepart lived the native owner, and his family,
their crew, our cooks and servants; for they played many parts in
our service. And in the afterpart, room for a life, a dream, the
joy or curse & many days to be.
But then, I saw only one thing - Vanna sat under the trees,
reading, or looking at the cool dim watery vista, with a single
boat, loaded to the river's edge with melons and scarlet
tomatoes, punting lazily down to Srinagar in the sleepy
afternoon.
She was dressed in white with a shady hat, and her delicate dark
face seemed to glow in the shadow like the heart of a pale rose.
For the first time I knew she was beautiful.
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