Again he asked.

This time an indistinct sound of distress caught his ear.

Then the _Brahmachari_ laid his umbrella and drinking-vessel on the ground, and extending his hands began to feel about.

Ere long he touched a soft body; then as his hand came in contact with a knot of hair he exclaimed, "Oh, _Durga_, it is a woman!" Leaving umbrella and drinking-vessel, he raised the dying or senseless woman in his arms, and, leaving the road, crossed the plain towards a village; he was familiar with the neighbourhood, and could make his way through the darkness.

His frame was not powerful, yet he carried this dying creature like a child through this difficult path.