He lay waiting and presently all the men of the house went away to join in the danka dance; leaving the mistress of the house and her daughter-in-law alone.  Presently, the two began to talk and the elder woman said “Well what with the pigs and the goats that have been sacrificed during this Sohrai we have had plenty of meat to eat lately and yet I don’t feel as if I had had any.”  “That is so,” answered her daughter-in-law; “fowls’ and pig’s flesh is very unsatisfying.”  “Then what are we to do?” rejoined the old woman, “I don’t know unless you do for the father of your grandchild.”  When he heard this Chandrai shivered with fright and hid himself further under the rice shelf, for he saw that the two women must be witches.

That day was the day on which a bullock is tied to a post outside each house and at noon the husband of the younger witch began to dig a hole outside the house to receive the post.  While he was working Chandrai heard the two women begin to talk again.  “Now is your opportunity,” said the younger woman, “while he is digging the hole.”  “But perhaps the ojha will be able to discover us,” objected the other.  “Oh we can prevent that by making the ojha see in the oiled leaf the faces of Rupi and Bindi—­naming two girls of the village—­and we can say that my husband had seduced them and then declined to marry them and that that was why they killed him.”  The old woman seemed to be satisfied, for she took up a hatchet and went out to where her son was digging the hole.  She waited till he bent down to throw out the earth with his hands and then cut open his back and pulled out his liver and heart and brought them into the house.  Her unfortunate son felt a spasm of pain when his mother struck him but he did not know what had hurt him and there was no visible wound.  The two women then chopped up the liver and heart and cooked and ate them.

That night when the village youths came round to the house, singing, Chandrai slipped out with them unperceived and hastened home.  Two or three days later the bewitched man became seriously ill; medicines and sacrifices did him no good; the ojhas were called in but could make nothing of the illness.  The villagers were very angry with them for the failure and the headman told them that they must ascertain by means of the oiled leaf who had caused the illness, or it would be the worse for them.  So the ojhas went through their ceremonies and after a time declared that the oiled leaf showed the faces of the two girls Rupi and Bindi; and that it was they who were eating up the sick man.  So the two girls were sent for and questioned but they solemnly swore that they knew nothing about the matter.  No one believed their protestations and the headman ordered that filth should be put into their mouths and that they should be well beaten to make them confess.  However before any harm was done them Chandrai sprang up and called out to the headman:  “You have proof that these