IT IS NIGHT.

The travellers spread their mats on the ground under the banyan tree.

A gust of wind blows out the lamp

and the darkness deepens like a sleep into a swoon.

Someone from the crowd suddenly stands up

and pointing to the leader with merciless finger breaks out:

'False prophet, thou hast deceived us!'

Others take up the cry one by one,

women hiss their hatred and men growl.

At last one bolder than others suddenly deals him a blow.

They cannot see his face, but fall upon him in a fury of destruction and hit him till he lies prone upon the ground his life extinct.

The night is still, the sound of the distant waterfall comes muffled and a faint breath of jasmine floats in the air.