ByomkeshBakshi

Copyright©PrabirChakrabortyandMonimalaDhar2003

FirstPublished2003FifthImpression2012

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Contents

Acknowledgements

AnIntroduction

TheDeadlyDiamond

TheHiddenHeirloom

TheAvenger

TheManinaRedCoat

ThePhantomClient

Quicksand

RoomNumberTwo

Acknowledgements

Iwould like to conveymy gratitude tomy husband, Prof. P.P.Dhar, for hisconstantsupportandpatient,hardworkintypingoutafewstories,inspiteofhisbusy schedule;mydaughter,Amrita,whose idea itwas that I should translateByomkesh stories intoEnglish;ParomitaDaswhohelped to typemanyof thestoriesandlastbutnottheleast,RupaandCo.withoutwhoseencouragementitwouldhavebeenimpossibletogetthestoriespublished.

MonimalaDhar

AnIntroduction

Saradindu Bandopadhyay was born on the 30th of March, 1899, in Purnea,Bihar,where his fatherwas posted.His original homewas inBaranagar, nearCalcutta. After completing his graduation in 1919, he passed his lawexaminationin1926.Butheleftthelegalprofessionandbecameafull-fledgedwriterfromtheyear1929.HewascalledtotheMumbaifilmworldasascriptwriter. In 1941, he left Mumbai and settled permanently in Pune where hebreathedhislastintheearly70s.Hiswritingswereimmenselypopularduringthe60sand70s.Hehaswrittena

large number of novels, novellas, long and short stories, historical fiction andreincarnation stories, plays, belles-lettres — and last but not the least —detectivestoriesandnovelsfeaturingByomkeshBakshi—TheTruthSeekerorSatyanneshi, who hated to be called a detective! These stories were writtenwithin the vast span of 1932 to 1970. There are over thirty five Byomkeshthrillersintheformoflongandshortstories,novelsandnovellas.Byomkeshwas introduced in the story—Satyanneshiwhere he firstmeets

Ajit Bandopadhyay in amess-house,while staying there incognito, to solve acase.Ajit,thewriter,thenjoinsByomkeshandbecomeshisconstantcompanion,evenafterByomkeshmarriesandsettlesdown.ByomkeshBakshiwaspopularisedbyDoordarshaninaserialwiththesame

namefeaturingthewell-knownactorRajitKapoor.SatyajitRayalsopicturisedanovellabySaradindu—"Chiriakhana"or"TheZoo".Ihopethereadersfindthestories enthralling and interesting as I found them when I read them in theoriginal.

MonimalaDhar

TheDeadlyDiamond(RaktamukhiNeela)

Byomkeshhadputuphislegsonatableandwasfidgetinghisfeetrestlessly.The newspaper was open on his lap. On this monsoon morning, we werespendinganidledayathome.Thelastfourdayshadbeenspentsimilarly.Wewere feelingdepressedabout spending thisday in thesameway.Theconstantmovement of his feet, did not disturb his concentration. He was reading thepaper.Iwassmokingacigarette—noneofuswasexchanginganywords.Buthowlongcouldwekeepquiet?Justforthesakeoftalking,Isaid,"Isthereanynews?"Byomkeshspokewithoutliftinghiseyesfromthepaper,"Thenewsisserious.

Twoculpritshavebeenreleased."Hopefully,Isaid,"Whoarethey?""OneisSaratchandra'sCharitraheen—hehasbeenreleasedinsomecinema

halls.TheotherisRamanathNeogi—hewasreleasedfromtheAlipurjails.Itisa ten day old news— and Kalketu has kindly published it only today!" Heturnedthepaperinfrustrationandgotup.Irealisedthathehadlostpatiencebecauseofthisdearthofnews.Itwasunfair

thatonsucharainyday therewasnocrunchyandhotnews. Iasked,"WhoisRamanathNeogi?"Byomkeshbeganpacing the room.He lookedout of thewindow towards a

dullandwetdayandsaid,"Neogiisnotanunknownperson—afewyearsbackhisnamewaspublishedinlargeprintonnewspaper.""Youhavenotansweredmyquestion—whoishe?""Heisathief—notapettypilfererbutajewelthief.Hewasasintelligentas

bold and daring,"Byomkesh heaved a sigh of regret, "Nowadays one doesn'tfindsuchgreatcriminals."Isaidsarcastically,"Itisreallythemisfortuneofourcountry.Butwhywashis

nameprintedinlargeletters?""Becauseatlasthewascaughtandtriedinacourtoflaw."Byomkeshpicked

upacigarettefromatinandlititcarefully,relaxedinhischairandsaid,"Istillremembertheincidentsalthoughitwastenyearsago.Ihadjuststartedmywork—itwaslongbeforeImetyou."

I noticed that though he had started talking casually, he was graduallybecominganimatedasherecalledthepast.Ithoughtthatitwasbettertolistentoan interesting story on a dull, lazy, rainyday, rather thanbe bored.So I said,"Tellmethestory."Byomkeshsaid,"Thereisnostory—butthewholeincidentisamysteryto

me.Thepolicehadworkedveryhardandshowedsomesuccess toobutcouldnotretrievetherealthing.""Whatwastherealthing?""During that year, therewas a sudden spate of jewellry theft in this city of

Calcutta— today JawaharlalHiralalwas robbed, thenext dayDutta jewellerswas burgled— in fifteen days at least five large shops suffered great losses,mountingtolakhsofrupees.Policestartedinvestigating."Then, there was a burglary in Maharaja Ramendra Sinha's house. I won't

insult your knowledge by telling youwho he is. There are very fewBengaliswhoarenotacquaintedwithhisname.Heisasrichasheisbenevolent.Therearefewlikehimnowadays.Heisinabitoftroublenow—butletthatbe.Hewasacollectorofpreciousstones.Thestonesweredisplayedinaglasscaseinaroomin thesecondfloorofhishouse.Theroomwasguardedcontinuously—andverywell.Buteventhentherewasabreakin.Twoguardswerefoundlyingunconsciousandquiteafewjewelswerestolen."Maharaja had a blue diamond in his collection— he treasured this stone

becausehethoughtthatitbroughthimluck—heworeitinaring.Butlatelythestone had become loose. So he had kept it in the room and was thinking ofcallingajewellertoresetitinanotherring.Thisbluediamondwasalsostolen."I don't know how much knowledge you have of diamonds. But blue

diamonds are rare and exquisite stones. The value of blue diamonds doesn'tdependonlyon theirweightbut arepriced, especially inour country,on theirpowersofchangingthefortuneofaperson.ThebluediamondissupposedtobethestoneoftheplanetSaturn.Itiscommonbeliefthatifabluediamondiswornanditsuitstheperson—hecanrisefromragstorichesandifitdoesnotsuitaperson,hecanbecomeapauper.Theeffectof thebluediamond iseitherverygoodorverybaddependingon thepersonwearing it, andwhether it suits theperson.Sothevalueofthesebluediamondsisnotdeterminedbytheirweight.Ihave seen a Marwari gentleman paying thousands for a tiny piece of bluediamond.IamnotsuperstitiousbynaturebutevenIhavebeenforcedtoadmitthepowersofthisparticularstone."Anyway, when this diamond was stolen from his house— the Maharaja

raisedagreathueandcry.Althoughhehad lost thousandsof rupeesworthofprecious stones he was most concerned about this particular diamond. He

announced thateven if the thiefwasnotcaught,and ifanyonecouldgivehimbackthediamondhewouldrewardhimamply.Thepolicestartedinvestigatingwithgreatgusto—theyevenemployedtheirdetectiveNirmalbabuforthejob."Nirmal babu is unknown to you, but he is really very intelligent. I was

fortunate to know him, he has retired now. Within seven days, Nirmal baburecoveredall the stolen jewelswith theburglar—whowasnoother thanourRamanathNeogi.Althoughallthestoneswerefoundaftersearchinghishouse,thebluediamondwasmissing."Later,Ramanathwasconsignedtothejailfortwelveyearsafteralongcourt

case. But still the diamond was not found. Ramanath refused to speak. ButMaharajaRamendraSinhabeganpressurisingthepolicetoretrievehisdiamond.So much so, that after three months of imprisonment, Ramanath's cell wassearchedbynoother thanNirmalbabu.Police spies in theguiseof prisoners,hadinformedthattheyhadseenthestoneonRamanath.Butnothingwasfound.Ramanath was in Alipur jail at that time — but where he had hidden thediamondinthatsmallcell,wasarealmystery.Thepolicegraduallygaveupthesearch."Byomkesh was silent for a few minutes, then spoke to himself, "Strange

problem—wherecouldaprisonerhideastoneasbigasacardamompea.IfIwasinvestigatingthecase,Imayhavefounditandcouldhavewonthereward,"In the middle of Byomkesh's soliloquy we heard footsteps on the stairs

outside. I sat up, "That must be a client, Byomkesh." Byomkesh listenedattentivelyandsaid,"Oldman,costlyshoes,theycanbeheardevenonthisrainyday. Probably roams around in cars— so he iswealthy.He limps a little....."Suddenlyinanexcitedvoice,Byomkeshsaid,"Ajit,lookoutofthewindowandseeifahugeRollsRoyceisstandingatourdoor—yes?ThenIamright.Whatco-incidence,Ajit, thepersonwewerespeakingof,MaharajaRamendraSinhahascometome—doyouknowwhy?"Isaidexcitedly,"Iknow,Isawthenewsinthepaper.HissecretaryHaripada

Rakshithasbeenmurderedrecently—maybethat'swhy...."Therewasaknockat thedoor.Byomkeshwelcomedthevisitorwarmlyand

reverentially.AlthoughIhadoftenseenhisphotographs innewspapers—thiswas the first time I had seen him in person. Therewas no pomp or grandeursurroundinghim.Heseemedasimple,frailperson.Therewassomeprobleminhis leg for which he limped a little. He was over sixty but his skin was notwrinkled—hehadanairofcalmdignity.MaharajasmiledquestioninglyatByomkesh,hewasalittlesurprisedtoo,"It

seemsfromyourexpressionthatyouwerewaitingforme.DidyouguessthatIwasgoingtovisityou?"

Byomkeshtoosmiled,"Ican'tbelievemygoodfortune.Butwhenthepolicecouldnotsolvethemurderofyoursecretary,Ihopedthatyoumightaskformyhelp.Butfirst,pleasetakeyourseat."The Maharaja sat on a chair and said slowly, "Yes, five or six days have

alreadypassed.Thepolicehavebeen able todonothing.So I thought Iwouldpayyouavisit,hopingthatyoumightbeabletohelp.IhadgraduallybecomeveryfondofHaripada—besidesthewayhediedwasterrible."TheMaharajastoppedawhile,"Ofcourse,hewasnotasaint.Butyoumustbe

knowingthatitisafancyofminetobringwaywardpeopleontherightpath.Ifyouconsiderhimfromallangles—Haripadawasnotabadperson.Hewasverygood at his work. Moreover his heart was full of gratitude for me— I hadreceivedproofofthattoo."Byomkeshsaid,"Excuseme, Iwasnotaware thatHaripadawasnotagood

man.Whatevildeedwasheinvolvedin?"TheMaharaja said, "According to themanon the street,hewasahardened

criminal.Hehadbeen sent to jail several times.The last timehe cameout ofprison,hemetme."Byomkeshsaid,"Pleasestartfromtheverybeginning.Ihavereadthenewsin

thepapersbutitissoinadequatethatIcouldnotcometoanyconclusion.Pleaseassume that I know nothing and relate every detail — that will help me tounderstandthecase."TheMaharaja said, "All right, I will do that." Then clearing his throat, he

began, "It was about six months back — about the middle of February thatHaripadafirstcametoseeme.Hehadcomeoutofthejailthepreviousday,hedisclosedeverythingtomeandconcealednothing.HetoldmethatifIgavehimachancetoliveanhonestlifehewouldnevergobacktohiscriminalways."I felt sorry forhim.Hewasbelow fortybut alreadyhehadvisited the jail

fourtimes.Thelasttimehehadbeencaughtonchargesoftheftandforgery.Hissentencewas a longone. I found that hewas sincerely repentant. I askedhimwhathecoulddo.Hesaidthathedidnothavemuchchancetostudybecausehehadbeen sent to jail several timesafter theageofnineteen.Even thenhehadmanagedtolearnshorthandandtyping.HeassuredmethatifIemployedhim,hewouldservemefaithfully."MyheartsoftenedtowardsHaripada,theveryfirsttimethatIsawhim.For

somereasonIcannotignoretheappealofthistypeofpeople.So,althoughIdidnotneedashorthandtypist,Iemployedhim.Herentedasmallhousenearby,ashehadnorelatives."SoonInoticedthatthemanwasveryefficientandintelligent.Hedidthings

which hewas not supposed to do, very perfectly.He did a lot ofmywork in

advance. Within two months, his services became indispensable to me — Icouldn'tdowithouthim."Justatthattime,myoldsecretaryAbinashbabudied.IappointedHaripada

inhisplace.Myemployeeswerenothappyaboutthisappointment—butIdidnotbother.IknewthatHaripadawasthemostsuitablemanforthejob."For the last four months Haripada had dispensed his duties of a secretary

veryefficiently.Otheremployeescomplainedabouthim,butIignoredthem.ItistruethatHaripadawasajailbirdbutIcanassureyouthatattheendhewasachangedperson.Ithinkthatpovertyhadturnedhimintoacriminalandassoonasheovercamethatproblem,heturnedoveranewleaf.Infactweshouldtrytoreformcriminalswhohavegonetothejailsforsimilarreasons."Anyway,whathappenedlastTuesdaywasunthinkable.Youmusthaveread

about the incident in the newspapers. I got the news in the morning thatHaripadawasmurdered.Iinformedthepoliceandwenttohishousemyself.Hewaslyingonthefloorofhisbedroom—thewholeroomwasbespatteredwithblood.ThemurdererhadcuthisthroatsomercilesslythatevennowIshivertothinkofit.Hiswindpipewastorntoshreds.Youcouldnothaveseenamurdercommittedwithsuchbestialviolence."Maharaja stopped for some time and shivered when he tried to recall that

moment.Byomkeshasked,"Wastherenootherwoundonhisbody?"TheMaharaja said, "Yes, hewas stabbed to death.The doctor said that his

throat was cut after he was stabbed. So themurderer must have stabbed himfatally and then cut his throat.How cruel it was! I can't imagine how humanbeingsbehavelikesenselessanimals."Everyone was quiet for sometime. TheMaharaja was probably thinking of

animalscalledhumanbeings.Byomkeshwasdeepinthought,too.Suddenly I noticedByomkesh's half-closed eyes. I became excited at once.

Thatsameexpression—Ihadseenitoften—therewasnomistake!Byomkeshhadfoundaclue.TheMaharajabrokehissilenceandsaid,"IhavetoldyouwhateverIknow.I

wantyoutoworktogetherwiththepolicetosolvethiscase.Ifeelthatthiscruelmurderer should not be allowed to roam freely in society— it is everyone'smoraldutytocatchhim.Ihopeyoudon'tmindtakingupthiscase."Byomkesh said, "I have no quarrel with the police—wewill surelywork

together.CanyoutellmethedurationofHaripada'slastterminjail?"Maharajasaid,"Haripadahadtoldmethathislasttermwasoffourteenyears

butbecauseofhisgoodbehaviour,hewasreleasedafterelevenyears."Byomkeshsaidhappily,"CanyoutellmeanythingelseaboutHaripada?"

Maharajasaid,"Whatexactlydoyouwanttoknow?"Byomkesh said, "Did you notice anything unnatural in his behaviour a few

daysbeforehisdeath?"TheMaharaja said, "Yes, threeor fourdaysbeforehisdeath,Haripadawas

doinghisworknearmeonemorning,whenhebecameveryill.LookingathimIfeltthathewasterrifiedforsomereason.""Wastherenoonenearyouatthattime?"The Maharaj thought for some time and said, "I was going through the

applications of some people who were asking for alms. One petitioner waspresentthere.""Haripadatookillinfrontofthatman—didhe?""Yes."AfteraminuteofsilenceByomkeshasked,"Canyouthinkofanythingelse?"Maharaja thought forsometimeandsaid,"I rememberedasmall incident. I

don't know if you remember that a few years back a blue diamond had beenstolenfrommyhouse.""Yes,Idoremember.""YoumustbeknowingthenthatIhadannouncedarewardforitsreturn.""Iknowthattoo,butIdon'tknowiftherewardstillstands."TheMaharaja said, "This is the question Haripada askedmewhen he first

tookthejobofatypist.IwassurprisedbecauseIhadgivenupallhopeofevengettingbackthediamond.""WhatanswerdidyougivetoHaripada?""IsaidthatIwillcertainlygivetherewardifIgetbackthebluediamond."yomkeshsprangup,"If Iaskyou thesamequestion—willyouranswerbe

thesametoo?"TheMaharajalookedsurprised,"Yes,ofcourse—but—"Byomkeshsatdownagain,—"DoyouwanttoknowthenameofHaripada's

murderer?"The Maharaja was stunned, he said, "I can't understand anything. Do you

knowthenameofHaripada'smurderer?""Iknowthenamebutitisnotmyjobtogatherevidenceagainsthim—thatis

thejobofthepolice.Iwillonlytellyouhisname—thenthepolicecansearchhishouseandfindtheproof.Idon'tthinkthatwillbedifficult.""This seems like magic, do you really know the name of the culprit?" the

Maharajaasked,overwhelmed."RightnowIamjustassuming—butIknowthatmyassumptionwillnotbe

wrong—thenameofthemurdererisRamanathNeogi.""RamanathNeogi?—thenamesoundsfamiliar."

"Ofcourseitwillsoundfamiliar.Tenyearsback,hehadstolenyourdiamond—hehasjustcomeoutofjail.""Yes, I remember, butwhy did he killHaripada?—Whatwas the relation

betweenthetwo?""There is a relation between them— if I go through old documents in the

prison,itwillbecomeclear.Butitisnownearlyeleven,Iwon'tdetainyouhereanymore.Ifyoupleasecomebackhereatfourintheafternoon,everythingwillbecomecleartoyou.Maybeyouwillalsogetbackyourdiamond—Iwillseetoeverything."

After bidding good-bye to the stunnedMaharaja—Byomkesh started gettingreadytogoout.Iasked,"Whereareyougoingoutsolateintheday?"Hesaid,"Iwillhavetogothroughsomeoldpapersinthejailoffice.BesidesI

haveotherthingstodo.Idon'tknowwhenIwillreturn.IfIgettimeIwillhavelunchinsomehotel."Sayingthis,hewentoutwithhisraincoatandumbrellainthepouringrain.Hereturnedataboutthreeintheafternoon.Whileopeninghisshoeshesaid,

"Iamveryhungry—Ihaven'teatenanything.Iwillhaveaquickbath.Putiram,pleasepreparesomethingforme.Atfour,thematineeshowwillbegin."Surprised,Isaid,"Whatshow?Where?"Byomkeshsaid,"Don'tworry.Theshowwillbeheldhereinthisroom.Ajit,

pleaseplaceafewmorechairsforthespectators."Hewentintobathe.Whilehewaseating,Iasked,"Whatdidyoudothewholedaylong?"Byomkesh put a large chunk of omlette in his mouth. Chewing with great

relish,hesaid,"Ihaveafriendinthejaildepartment,Iwenttohimfirst.ThereIwentthroughtheoldrecordsandfoundthatmyassumptioniscorrect.""Whatwasyourassumption?"Byomkeshignoredmyquestionandcontinuedspeaking,"Afterfinishingmy

workthereIwenttoBuddhubabu—sorry—Bidhubabuthepoliceinspector.TheareainwhichHaripadawasmurderedfallsunderhisjurisdiction.Thepoliceofficer in-chargeof themurder isPurnababu. I explainedeverything toPurnababu.ThenIbutteredBidhubabusufficientlytogetmyworkdone.""But,whatwork?"Iaskeddesperately."Thework is to find RamanathNeogi's present address, secondly, to arrest

him and search his house. It was easy to find his address but the searchwasfruitless.Theonlythingdiscoveredinhisroomwasahuge,sharpknife.Ithasbeen sent for forensic test to find tracesofhumanblood.Butwhat Ihoped to

findwasnotthere.Theman'sgiftforconcealingthingsisjustamazing.""Whatthing?""TheMaharaja'sdiamond.""Nowwhatwillyoudo?""Someacting.IwillstrikeattherootofthesuperstitiousfearinRamanath—

letsseeifIgetanyresult.There!TheMaharajahasarrived.Theotherswillsoonarrivetoo.""Whoaretheothers?""Ramanathandhiscustodians.""Theywillcomehere?""Yes,that'sthearrangementImadewithBidhubabu.Putiram,removethese

dishes."Ididnotgetachance toaskanymorequestions.TheMaharajaentered the

roomastheclockstruckfour.Hewaspunctual,justasexpectedfromapersonofhisstature.Assoonashesatdownweheardthefootstepsofothers.Soon,Bidhubabu,

Purnababu,twosub-inspectorsandRamanathenteredtheroom.There was nothing unusual about Ramanath. Probably his non-descript

appearancewas a good foil for his profession.He had closely cropped hair, anarrow forehead, a sharp chin and shifty eyes. He wore a very old multi-coloured, leather buttoned sporting coat (madeprobablybeforehewent to thejail). He wore a pair of unexpectedly large rubber boots. He looked a comicsight.Neverwouldoneimaginethathewasadangerousman.Byomkesh pointed towards Ramanath and asked the Maharaja, "Do you

recognizehim?""Yes,hewastheonewhocameforalms,thatday.""Now,allofyoupleasetakeyourseats.Bidhubabu,youknowtheMaharaja

—please sit next to him.Ramanath, please sit here."Byomkesh pointed to achair next to the table. Ramanath sat down without a word. The two sub-inspectorssatbyhissides.Bidhubabuglaredateverythingwithasuperiorairofgravity. He could not accept the fact that something unofficial was about tohappeninhispresence.Hisexpressionandbehaviourshowedthathewasveryuneasyandindignantaboutthewholething.Byomkeshsat in frontof the tablewheneveryonewas seated.Hebegan, "I

will tell you a story today. It is not an imaginary story like the ones thatAjitwrites,butatruestory.Iwillrelateitastruthfullyandcorrectlyaspossible.IfImake a mistake Ramanath will correct me. Another person knew this storybesidesRamanath—butheisdead."After this introduction, Byomkesh began his story. Ramanath's face was

expressionless.Heneitherlookeduporspoke.Hekeptonscribblingonthetablewithhisfingers."IwillbeginmystoryafterRamanathwassenttothejail.Thoughhewassent

to the jail, he did not part with the Maharaja's diamond. How he did this isunknowntomeandisnotimportanttomystory.Ramanathcandiscloseit,ifhewishes."RamanathglancedforasecondatByomkeshandcontinuedmovinghisfingersonthetable,withaninscrutableexpression.Byomkeshsaid,"Ramanathhad stolenmany other precious stones—whichwere retrieved by the police,with the exception of the blue diamond. He always kept it with him. In allpossibility,thestonehasamagneticpower,besidesitwasbeautifultolookat—a blue diamondwith a red streak in the center.He couldn't resist keeping thestonewithhim.Healsothoughtthatthestonewaslucky.Buthedidnotknowthatitcouldproveunluckyforsome.Whenmisfortunefollowsaman—heisoftenmisguidedbyit."Anyway,Ramanathwaskept in theAlipur jail.After some time thepolice

got to know that the diamond was with him. His cell was searched. He hadanother companion in the same cell — that man was also searched — butnothingwasfound.Wherewasit?"Thesecondprisoner inthecellwasHaripadaRakshit.Haripadawasanold

criminal. He had spent years in jail right from his childhood.He knewmanytricks.Thosewhodealwithjailbirds,knowthatmanycriminalscanmakeakindof pocket inside their throats. It sounds strange but it is a fact. The prisonerscannottakemoneyintothejail.Butmostofthemareaddictsofsomesort,theyneedtobribethewardenstobringdrugsfromoutside.Sotheykeepthemoneyinthesebagsinsidetheirthroats.Thosewhohaveservedjailtermsfromanearlyage,areexpertsinthis.Seniorpoliceofficersareawareofthis."Haripadahadmadeapocketinsidehisthroat.WhenRamanathbegansharing

his cell — the two became quite friendly. He got to know about Haripada'sspecialtrick."Then the police raided the jail one day. There was no place to hide the

diamond.Ramanath,yougavethediamondtoHaripadaandaskedhimtohideitin his throat.Haripadawas very attracted by the stone— so he swallowed itquickly.Thediamondremained insidehis throat.Nowonder, thepolice foundnothing."Theverynextday,Haripadawastransferredtoanotherjail,accordingtothe

prisonrecords.Haripadathoughthimselftobefortunate.Hebetrayedhisfriend—hedidnotreturnthediamondtoRamanath.Ramanathcouldnotcomplaintoanyone. A thief cannot cry for goods stolen from him. It was from then thatRamanathplannedhisrevengeonHaripada."

I noticed at this point that although there was no change of expression inRamanath's face,nerves inhis foreheadwere throbbingandhiseyeswere red.Byomkesh continued, "Then ten years passed by.Haripadawas released fromjail.HecamestraightawaytotheMaharajaafterhisrelease.HisintentionwastogetacquaintedwiththeMaharajaandreturnthediamondforareward.Heknewthatifhetriedtosellthediamondoutside,hemightgetcaught."ButtheMaharajawassokindtohimrightfromthebeginningthathewasin

a dilemma. Even then he brought up the subject of the diamond with theMaharaja.Butlaterhefeltashamedtoproducethediamondandtaketherewardfromapersonwhohadbeensogoodtohim.ItisremarkablehowtheMaharaja'skindnessinfusedasenseofgratitudeinthemindofahardenedcriminal."But Haripada's days were numbered. A few days earlier Ramanath was

releasedfromjail.HedidnotknowwhereHaripadawasbutasfatewouldhaveit,within four days of his release he sawhim in theMaharaja's house. ItwasafterseeingRamanaththatHaripadabecameill,therewasnootherreasonwhyheshouldsuddenlybecomesosick.""ThesparkofrevengewhichwasburninginRamanath'sheartforthelastten

years burst into flames. Itwas easy for him to findoutwhereHaripada lived.Thenthatfatefulnight,hewentthere....."Till now Byomkesh was facing all of us — now suddenly he turned on

Ramanath.RamanathwasstaringatByomkeshwithunblinkingeyes,likethatofa snake.Byomkeshpointedathimwithhis fingerandsaid inan intense, low,magneticvoice,"Ramanath,thatnightyoutoreapartHaripada'sthroatinsearchofthediamond,whereisitnow?"Ramanath could not look away from Byomkesh's hypnotic gaze. He

moistenedhislipswiththetipofhistongue,triedtostandupandthenwithgreateffort tried to break away from Byomkesh's magnetic control. He said in acrackedvoice, "Idon'tknow, Idon'tknow. Idon'tknowHaripada. Ihavenotmurderedhim. Idon'tknowanythingaboutadiamond. It isnotwithme."HelookedatByomkeshwithred,rebelliouseyesandheldhisarmstightacrosshischest.Byomkesh'sfingerwasstillpointingathim.Ifeltthatwewerewitnessingthe

climax of an intense and exciting drama. Two tremendous will powers werefightingadual.Wewerewaiting instunnedsilence toseewhowouldwin thelastround.Byomkesh's voice took on a terrible, foreboding note. He bent close to

Ramanath and spoke in the same low, intense voice, "Ramanath, you don'trealizethecurseofthisdiamond,thatiswhyyouarenotabletogiveitup.Justthink, till the time you had not stolen this diamond, no onewas able to catch

you.Assoonasyoustoleit,youwerecaughtandsenttothejail.ThenthinkofwhathappenedtoHaripada.Hehadhiddenthediamondinhisthroat.Lookwhathappenedtohisthroat—nooneknowsitbetter thanyou.Ifyouwanttolive,giveback that terrible diamond. It is not a diamondbut poison fromcobra. Ifyouwearthediamondinyourhandthenyourhandwillbechained.Ifyouwearit inyourneck, youwill behanged.That diamondwillmakeyouhang in thegallows."Ramanath stoodupwith an indistinct sound.Wedidnot realize the terrible

stormthatwasbrewinginhisheart.Helookedaroundlikeamadmanthentoreabuttonfromhiscoatandthrewitaway.Hescreamedwithterror,"Idon'twantit,Idon'twantit!Takeawayyourcurseddiamond—letmelive."Sayingthisheheavedagreatsighandfellintoaswoon.Byomkesh wiped the sweat from his brow. I saw that his hands were

trembling.Hehadwoninthefightofwills—butithadtakenatollonhim,too.HepickedupthebuttonthrownawaybyRamanath—toreawaytheleather

coveringandsaidinatremblingvoice,"Maharaja,hereisyourdiamond."

TheHiddenHeirloom(SeemantaHeera)

Byomkeshwas out of work for some time now. The people of this countryhaveabadhabitofnoteveninformingthepoliceaboutsmallcrimesliketheft—bettertohavepeacethanprosperity—thatistheirphilosophy.Ifsomethingserioushappens—thepolicegettoknowbutnoonespendshard-earnedmoneyonaprivatedetective.Forsomedaystheymoanandgroanandcomplain,evenabusethepolice,thentheyforgetaboutthewholething.Murdersarealsocommittedinourcountry.Butmostofthetimetheyareacts

ofanger—unplannedandunintelligent—so that themurderersarecaughtatonce—putintothejailandlaterhanged.SoitisnotsurprisingthattheTruthSeekerByomkeshBakshihadhardlyany

truthtoseek.Byomkeshwasnotatallbotheredaboutthis.Hecontinuedreadingthenewspaper from itsnorth-west comer to the south-east comer indetail andtherestofthetimehespentinhislibrarybehindcloseddoors.ButIwasgettingimpatientwithsomuchoffreetime.Thoughmyjobwasnottocatchcriminalsbuttoentertainreaderswithmystoriesfreeofcost,infactthatwasthemottoofmy life, I was addicted to the catching of the criminals. As a result, lifewasgettingasboringasasalt-lessdiet.Sothatmorning,whiledrinkingtea,IaskedByomkesh,"Whathashappened,

brother?HavethethievesandcriminalsofBengalbecomesaintsandsages?"Byomkesh smiled and said, "No, you are getting proof of that in the

newspapereveryday.""True,butwhyarewenotgettingachancetocatchthem?""Patience,wewillgetachance.Thefishwilltakethebaitatitsowntime—

wecan'tforceit.Anintelligentcriminalisbecomingaparadoxinourcountry—it'snotmyfault.Mostofthenamesinthepolicediariesareofsmallfries.Thosebigfishhardlyswimuptogetcaughtinthenet.Iaminterestedinthese.Youmustbeknowingthat thosepondsorriverswhichhavelargefisharea

temptationtopeoplelikeme."I said, "Your similes have a fishy stink in them. If therewas a psychiatrist

herehewouldhavecertainlyconcludedthatyouwouldleaveyourjoboftruth-seekingandstartsellingfish."

Byomkesh said, "In that case the psychiatrist would have made a terriblemistake."Just then therewas a knock on the door— the postman delivered a letter.

Letterswereararecommodityinourlives—soitsarrivalinstantlyarousedourinterest.ItwasaninsuredletterinByomkesh'sname.When he pulled out the letter from the envelope,weweremore impressed.

There was a bronze and blue monogram on top of it. The paper was thick,smooth and expensive, attached to the letter was a cheque of five thousandrupees.Byomkeshreadtheshortletterandpassedittomesmilingly,"Takeit,avery seriousmatter.Amystery in the home of a rich elite inNorthBengal. Ihavebeenasked togo therepost-haste—even the travelingexpensehasbeenadvanced.Thesecretaryof thegentlemanhaswritten, "KumarTridibNarayanRoyhasaskedmetowritethislettertoyou.Hehasheardaboutyouandwantsyourhelpandadviceregardingaveryseriousmatter.Sowewillbegrateful ifyou can come here as soon as possible — let us know which train you areboardingandwewillsendourcartothestation.Yoursetc."Nofactcouldbegatheredfromtheletter.Isaid,"Itseemsveryserious.Could

youmakeoutanythingfromthewritingorthepaper—youareknowledgeableaboutthesethings.""No. But from what I know about the rich in our country, I wouldn't be

surprised ifKumarTridibendrahadanightmare thathispetelephanthadbeenstolenbyhisrival—frightened,hehascalledforadetective.""No,no,Ithinkyouareexaggerating.Can'tyouseethathehasalreadysentso

muchofmoney—somethingseriousmusthavehappened.""That is yourmistake. If the patient iswealthy, you think that his illness is

alsoserious.Itisusuallytheopposite.Adoctoriscalledforincaseofthericheven to treata smallpimplebutapoordiesunattendedeven ifhe is seriouslyill.""Anyway,areyougoing?"Byomkeshthoughtforamoment."SinceIhavenothingelsetodo,letusgofortwodays.Atleastwewillsee

somenewplaces—Idon'tthinkthatyouhavebeentothoseparts."Iwasvery eager to gobut I hesitated, "Should I go?Theyhave calledyou

only."Byomkeshsmiled,"Nothingiswronginyourgoing.InfactKumarBahadur

will be happy to see two of us instead of one.Besides, since someone else isspending themoney, it isourmoralduty togo.According to thescriptures—weshouldalwaysgoonapilgrimageatotherpeoples'expense."

Icouldnotrememberwhichscripturehadgivensuchwiseadvice—anywayIdidnotneedmuchpersuasiontoaccompanyByomkesh.Weleft thateveningbytrain.Nothingmuchhappenedinthejourneyexcept

that we met a very friendly man. There were only three of us in thecompartment. After chatting with us for some time, the gentleman asked,"Whereareyougoing?"Inreply,Byomkeshsmiledpleasantlyandasked,"Whereareyougoing?"Thegentlemanwasabitbewilderedbythequestion,"Iwillgetdownat the

nextstation."Byomkeshagainsmiledandsaid, "Wewillgetdownat thestationafter the

next."Therewasnoneedtotellsuchalie—butIrealisedthatByomkeshmustbe

havingsomereasonfordoingso.Assoonasthetrainstopped,thegentlemangotdown.Itwasdarkoutsideandhesoonvanishedinthecrowd.After a few stations, I got down at the platform to stretchmy legs,when I

spottedthegentlemaninthecompartmentnexttoours—hewasstaringatmebut as soon as our eyes met, he ducked. Excitedly, I told Byomkesh,"Listen..........."Hesaid,"Iknow,thegentlemanisinthenextcompartment.Thingsarenotso

simpleastheyseem.That'sgood."Afterthisincident,Itriedtotracethegentlemanateachstationbutfailed.Earlynextmorning,wereachedourdestination.Wewouldhavetotravelfor

about six or sevenmiles by car to reach the house.The stationwas small, anemployeeofMr.Roywaswaitingforuswithanexpensivecar.Hewelcomeduswarmlyandsoonwewereonourway—movingfastthroughthelonelyroads.Theemployeewaselderlyandverydiscreet—becausewhenByomkeshtried

toprobehesaidthatheknewnothing.Hewasonlyobeyingordersbyreceivingandtakingustohisemployer.Welookedateachotherandremainedquietfortherestofthejourney.When

we reached there,we found thatwewere entering a huge ancientmansion. Itconsisted of five wings. There was a beautiful garden, hot house, swimmingpool, tennis court, guest house etc. Therewere a lot ofworkers, servants andemployeesaround.Wewere taken inbyMr.Roy'sprivatesecretary.Weweregivenawholesuite toourselves.Thesecretary toldus,"Pleasefreshenupandhavesomerefreshments—KumarBahadurwillalsobereadybythentomeetyou."Afteragoodbreakfast,wewererelaxingwhilesmoking,whenthesecretary

came and told us to follow him, Kumar Bahadur was waiting for us in thelibrary.Wefeltasifweweregoingtohaveanaudiencewithaking.Thegrand

welcome,theverynameKumarTridibendraNarayanRoy—inspiredsomekindofawe.Butwhenwemethim,wefoundthathewasasimplyclad,pleasant,fairand good-looking youngman— therewas no pomposity n his behaviour.Hestood upwhen he saw us, folded his hands in greeting, looked hesitatingly atByomkeshandsaid,"AreyouByomkeshbabu?"Byomkesh introduced me and said, "He is my friend, assistant and future

biographer.That'swhyIalwaystakehimalongwithmewhereverIgo."TridibendraNarayansmiledandsaid,"Ihopeyourbiographywon'tbewritten

ina long time. Iamglad thatAjitbabuhasaccompaniedyou. It is throughhiswritingsthatIgottoknowaboutyou."Iwas filledwith joy—thekind, thateverywriter feelswhenhiswriting is

mentioned. We realised that although he was wealthy, he was educated andintelligent.The librarywaspackedwithdifferentkindsofbooks.On the tabletoosomebookswerescatteredproving the fact that the librarywasnotonlyashowpiecebut also that the bookswere regularly used.After some small talk,KumarBahaduraskedhissecretaryto leaveusaloneandalsotoshut thedoorbehindhim.Thenhestartedspeaking,"ThejobforwhichIhavegivenyouallthetrouble

andbroughtyouhereisveryseriousandveryconfidential.SobeforeItellyouanythingyouhavetopromisethatnootherpersonwillknowaboutthismatterbecauseitconcernstheprestigeofourfamily."Byomkesh said, "I don't think it is necessary for us to promise anything

becauseweconsideralltheaffairsofourclientsashighlyconfidential—thatisour professional etiquette. Anyway, how do you want us to take our vow ofsecrecy?"Kumarsmiledandsaid,"Thereisnoneedforavow—yourwordisequally

valuable."Iwasabithesitant,"CanInotevenmentiontheaffairintheformofastory."AdeterminedTridibsaid,"No,Idon'twantanydiscussionaboutthis."I sighed with disappointment at missing a chance of writing a good story.

Byomkeshsaid,"Don'tworry,wewillnotrevealanything."Kumar was quiet for some time and then said, "We have very old and

expensivejewels,stonesanddiamondsinourfamily—Idon'tthinkyouknowaboutit."Byomkesh said, "I do know a little about those — especially a particular

diamondwhichisrareandexquisite.""Youknowabout it?Thenyoumust also be knowing that lastmonth there

was an exhibition of precious stones in Calcutta— that diamondwas shownthere."

Byomkesh nodded his head, "Yes, I heard about it but I was not fortunateenoughtoseethediamond."Kumarwassilentforsometime,"Youmaynevergetachancetoseeit.Ithas

beenstolen."Byomkeshechoed,"Stolen!"Tridib said, "That is why I brought you here. Let me start at the very

beginning.OurfamilydatesbacktothetimesoftheMoghuls.Itwasduringthistimethatmyancestorsweregiventhislandasagift.MyancestorwasaboldandcourageousmanwhopersuadedtheEmperortogiveadeedofgrantfortheland.We still have that deedwith us in the family. The diamond has been handeddownfromthoseearlydaystillnow.Thereisasayingthatnoharmwillcometoourfamilyifthediamondremainswithusbutifitgoestoanyotherbranchofthefamily—ourfamilywillbedestroyed.Theheirtothepropertyistheeldestson—thisistheruleofourfamily.The

youngersonswillgetanallowance.Soaftermyfather'sdeathtwoyearsago,Iinheritedtheproperty.Iamanonlychild.Atpresent,Ihaveanuncle,whogetsafewthousandsamonthasanallowancefromthefamilycoffer.This is just an introduction. Now let me tell you how the diamond

disappeared.WhenIgottheinvitationtoexhibitmydiamondintheExhibition—I tookit inaspecial train toCalcutta.IonlyheavedasighofreliefwhenIhanded it over to the organisers.Youmust be knowing that in this exhibitionexquisite jewels and diamonds from the royal families ofBaroda,Hyderabad,Patiala etc. were displayed— it was a prestigious affair and theGovernmentitselfwasresponsible.Soitseemedimpossibleforthediamondtogetstolen.ItwaskeptinaglasscaseandonlyIhadthekeystoit.Theexhibitionwentonforsevendays.OntheeighthdayIcamebackhome

withthediamond.Itwasthenthatitwasdiscoveredthatithadbeenstolenandwhat I had brought homewas only an inexpensive imitationworth about twohundredrupees."Kumar was silent. Byomkesh asked, "Didn't you let the police or the

organisersknowaboutthetheft?"Kumarsaid,"Thatwouldhavebeenuseless,becauseassoonasthetheftwas

discovered,Iknewwhohadstolenthediamond.""Oh!"saidByomkeshandlookedsearchinglyatKumar,"Pleasecontinue."Kumar said, "It is not amatter to bediscussed. I didnot even letmy close

familyknowaboutitincasetherewasascandalandpeoplegottoknowaboutitor if itwent to thepress.Theonlyotherpersonwhoknowsabout it isouroldDewanwholooksafterthefinancesofourfamily.""Iwill tell you everything in detail. I have already told you that I have an

uncle. He stays in Calcutta and gets few thousands as an allowance from theestate.Youmusthaveheardabouthim.Heisafamousartistandascientist,SirDigindraNarayanRoy.He is a strangeman. Ifhewasbornabroad,hewouldhave been recognised as a genius.His knowledge is vast and he is extremelyintelligent.Inhisyoungdayshehaddiscoveredsomeunknownfactsabouttheplaster of paris — he was knighted by the British Government. Even in theworld of arts, his talents are well-known— youmust have heard about him.EveryoneknowsabouttheaccoladeshewoninanartexhibitioninPariswherehe exhibited a stone statue of Lord Shiva, sculpted by him. A multi-facetedpersonlikehimisararephenomenon."Kumarsmiled."Myunclehasagreatdealofaffectionformebutwedon'tagreeaboutone

thing.Heaskedmeforthatdiamond.Hehadanunnecessarydesireforit.Itwasnot for itsmonetary value that he wanted it— he just wished desperately topossessit."Iasked,"Howexpensiveisthediamond?""Probably,threecroresormore.Noonecanbuyitwithmoneyinourcountry.

Besides,wenever evaluated it. Itwas regarded as an auspicious charm inourfamily—itwaspriceless.Anyway,myuncle even askedmy father for thediamond—butmy father

refused.Aftermyfatherpassedaway,heaskedmeforit.Hesaidthathedidnotwant any allowance, instead he requestedme to give the diamond.My fatherwarnedmeaboutitbeforehedied.SoItoldhimthathecouldaskforanythingelsebutthediamond,asitwouldgoagainstmydeadfather'swish.HesaidnothingbutIrealisedthathewasverydispleasedwithme.AfterthatI

didnotmeetmyuncle.But I got a letter from him on the day I returned from Calcutta with the

diamondaftertheexhibition.Itwasashortletterbutenoughtomakemenearlyfaintwithanxiety.Readthisletter."Heopened thedrawerof theSecretariatTablewithhiskeysand tookout a

letter.Itwaswritteninabeautifulhand.

"DearTridib,Don'tbesad.Youdidnotwanttogiveit,soItookitmyself.Don'tbelieveinthesuperstitiousstoryofyourfamilybeingdestroyedifyoulosethediamond.Itwasjustaployofourancestorstoensurethatitremainedwithonlyonebranchofthefamily.Godblessyou.

Youruncle,DigindranarayanRoy."

Byomkesh returned the letter silently.Kumar continued, "As soon as I read

theletter,Irantothelockerroom,openedthevault, tookouttheboxwiththediamondandfoundthatitwasthere.IcalledtheDewan.Hegotitcheckedbyanexpert, an experienced fellow, who said that it was a mere imitation, but itlookedexactlyliketheoriginal."Kumaropenedanalmirahandtookoutavelvetbox.The roundedstone reflected the lightandsparkledas soonas the lidwasopened.Kumar lifted itwith two fingers andpassed it toByomkesh, "Nooneexcept a jeweler will know the difference. This one costs only about twohundredrupees."Forsometime,thetwoofuslookedatthestone,thenByomkeshgaveitback

toTridibnarayanandsaidwithasigh,"Somyjobistogetbackthediamond."KumarlookedkeenlyatByomkeshandsaid,"Yes.Idon'twanttoknowhow

itwas stolenbut Iwantmydiamondback at any cost. I am ready topay anyamountforit—don'tworryaboutexpenses.Butpleaseseethatthisaffairisnotleakedtothepress."Byomkeshsaidcasually,"Howsoondoyouwantthediamondback?"Kumar's faceshonewithhappyexpectation,"Howsoon?—thatmeansyou

aresuretogetitbackforme?"Byomkesh smiled, "It is a very simple matter. I expected a much more

complicated mystery. Anyhow today is a Saturday, you will get back thediamondbynextSaturday,"sayingthishegotup.

AfterreturningtoCalcuttawecoulddonothingonthefirstday.We spoke in the evening. "Haveyou chalkedout anyplanof campaign?" I

asked.Byomkesh said, "No. Firstly, I will have to see the house and get some

information.OnlythenwillIchalkoutaplan.""Isthediamondinthehouse?""Ofcourse.Thegreedofthediamondmadeanunclestealitfromhisnephew.

Isitpossibleforhimtopartwithitevenforamoment?Iwillonlyhavetofindoutwherehehaskeptit,Ithink..........""Whatdoyouthink?""No, it is onlymy guess. Iwill have tomeet oldDigindranarayan before I

arriveatanyconclusion."I was quiet for some time, then said, "Byomkesh have you considered the

moralsideofthewholeaffair?""Whataffair?""Thewayyouaregoingtoretrievethediamond?""Yes,Ihavethoughtaboutit.Ifitwasonlysimpletheft—Iwouldbeclapped

inchainsifIamcaught.Tosetathieftocatchathiefisanactofgreatvirtue.""Maybe,butthelawsofthecountrywillnotagreetothat.""Iamnotconcernedwiththat.Thelawmakersofthecountryarefreetocatch

meiftheycan."Nextafternoon,Byomkeshwentoutaloneandcamebacklateintheevening.

Later,Iaskedhimwhilesippingacupoftea,"Howfarhaveyouprogressed?"Distractedly,Byomkeshbitintoasamosaandsaid,"Notmuch.Theoldman

isahardnuttocrack.ThereisaNepalichawkidarwhohasaneyelikeahawk.Anyhow,theoldmanwantsasecretary—soIgaveintwoapplications.""Tellmeeverything."Sipping his tea, Byomkesh said, "WhateverKumar Bahadur saidwas quite

true. His uncle is a very shrewd person. The house is like a museum — acollectionofbeautifulthings.Helivesalonebutthereisnodearthofloyalandtrustedemployees.Firstly,itisdifficulttoenterthecompound—therearefourchawkidarswithguns,atthegate,theyaskathousandquestionsifyouwishtogo in. it is impossible to scale the eight feet high surrounding wall which istopped with iron spikes. If you somehow manage to go through the gate byflatteringthefourwatchmen—thenyouhavetofaceUjreSingh—theNepaliservantwho is sitting at the frontdoor like a ferocious tiger. If youcan't givehimaconvincingexcusetogoin—yourchancesofgettinginsidearenil.Thearrangementsatnight areevenbetter.Thehumanguardsarealready there,ontopof that are fourwatchdogs,which are left loose in the compound.So it isimpossibletogetmyworkdoneinthesilenceofthenight.""Nowwhat?""There is a way. The old fellow needs a secretary — he has put in an

advertisement—thesalaryisathousandrupeesandhehastostayinthehouse.Heshouldbeasciencegraduateandhaveaknowledgeofshorthandandtypingandvariousothergoodqualities.SoIhaveputintwoapplications.Tomorrowistheinterview.""Whydidyouputintwoapplications?""Oneforyouandoneformesothatifoneofusfails,theotherwillpass."Nextmorning, that is onMonday,wewent for an interview at eight in the

morningatSirDigindranarayan'shouse.HishousewasinaposhareaofsouthCalcutta. When we pushed our way through the barricade of watchmen, wefound that therewere quite a few job seekerswaiting for their turn.Weweremadetositinoneroomandwelookedaskanceateachother.ByomkeshandIpretendedthatwedidnotknoweachother—thatwasourplan.The master of the house was calling each candidate individually from

somewhere inside thehouse.Wewereworried that someonewouldbe chosen

for the job and we would not be called at all. But luckily we found that thedisappointedcandidateswereleavingoneaftertheother,aftertheinterview.ThelastoneslefttobeinterviewedwereByomkeshandI.Needlesstosaywehadgivenfalsenamesinourapplications.Byomkeshwas

NikhileshandIwasJitendranath.IwasmentallyrecitingmynewnameincaseIshouldforgetit—whenaservantcameandcalledbothofustogether.Wewerealittlesurprised.Tillnoweachcandidatewasbeingcalledindividually—whywerewebeingcalledtogether?Anyway,wefollowedtheservantwithoutawordtothemasterofthehouse.In a huge room, devoid of any furniture except a big secretariat table, Sir

Digindranarayanwassittingonachairbehindthetable—facingthedoor.Hewasahugemanwearinga sleevelessphiran.Canyou imagineabulldogwithgrizzlybeardandmoustache?—WellSirDigindra lookedlikeone.Yourfirstreactionafter seeinghimwouldbe to turnaroundand run from the room.Hisheadwaslikeahugeroundvessel,therewasabaldpatchinthecenter.Hehadnochin.Hishugehairyarmsremindedoneofafrighteningape,surprisinglyhisfingersweredelicate,slim,longandartistic.Hiseyesweresmallanddeep-set,aggressivelyhuntingforanadversarytofight.Thismanwhoresembledagiantfrom theArabianNights lookedas ifhehad thecapacity todobothgoodandevil.Heinspiredfearaswellasrespect.Wehumblypaidour obeisance and stood in front of the table.Those small

eyes looked from one to the other and fixed onByomkesh. Then therewas acurioussmileonthehugeface.Idon'tknowifabulldogsmiles—butifitdiditwouldhave looked likehim.The smilevanished.Heordered in adeepvoice,"Ujre,shutthedoor."Theservantdidexactlyashewastoldandwentout.Themasterglancedatourapplicationsonthetableandsaid,"WhoisNikhilesh?"Byomkesh said, "I amNikhilesh."Themaster said, "YouareNikhilesh and

youareJitendranath—youhaveconspiredtoapplytogether?"Byomkeshsaid,"Sir,Idon'tknowhim.""Really,youdon'tknoweachother?ButIcametoadifferentconclusionafter

readingyourapplications.AnywayyouhavepassedyourM.Sc.exams?""Yes,Sir.""FromCalcuttaUniversity."Hepickedupathickbookthetableandsaid,"Whichyear?"Petrified, I realized that the bookwas theUniversity gazettewhich had the

namesofallthesuccessfulcandidatesofthepastyears.Ibeganperspiringwithnervousness—nowwewillbecaught.ButByomkeshsaidinasteadyvoice,"Ipassedthisyear,Sir.Myresultscame

outaboutamonthback."

Iheavedasighof relief—thenamesof thisyear'scandidateswerenotyetincludedinthegazette.The gentleman pushed the book aside and then began cross-questioning

Byomkesh. But he could not find any fault or loopholes in his answers.Byomkesh passed the shorthand test easily. Themasterwas pleased and said,"Good,youwillservemypurpose.Justsitthere."Byomkeshsatdown.Ouremployerthensatstaringatthetablewithafrown

onhisforehead.Aftersometime,hesuddenlyliftedhishead,lookedatmeandsaid,"Ajitbabu?""Yes?"He burst into laughter like a huge bomb. His body was heaving with

uncontrolled laughter. I was puzzled at his sudden burst of amusement andlooked at Byomkesh. He was looking at me with an accusing expression. IrealisedthatIhadblunderedandwasfullofshameandremorse.Ihadspoiledeverythinginamomentwithmycarelessness.The gentleman's laughter continued about five minutes, the sound

reverberating in the room.Hewiped his tears of laughter, and looking atmyshame-faced expression, said, "Don't feel so sad— there is no shame in mycatchingyouout.Iamsurprisedandamusedthatyoushouldevenimaginethatbeingsoyounginmaturityandintelligence—youwouldbeabletocheatme."We were silent. He looked at Byomkesh and said, "I did not expect this

stupidity fromyou—youareyoungbut theshapeofyourhead indicates thatyouareintelligent."HestaredatByomkesh'sheadandsaid,"Youhaveatleastfiftyfiveouncesofbraininyourskull.Butitisnotenoughjusttohavebrains—everything depends on convolutions. High cheek bones and a prominentjawbone, hookednose, the shape of the face—all indicate a fast thinker andwalker, shrewd and stubborn — a great deal of intuition — well-developedreasoningpowerbutithasnotmaturedyet—yes,moreorlessintelligent."Ifelt thathewasdoingapost-mortemofa livingperson.Hewasdissecting

andweighingByomkesh'sbrainandIwasstandingbyandobservingit.Thegentlemanstoppedhissoliloquyandsaid,"Doyouknowhowmuchbrain

I have? Sixty ounces — five ounces more than you. In other words thedifferenceintheweightofthebrainofanapeandahumanbeing—thatisthedifferencebetweenyourbrainandmine—infactabitmore."Byomkeshsatlikeastatuewithablankexpression.Again Sir Digindra laughed, then suddenly he became serious and said, "I

knowthatmynephewhassentyou tosteal something fromme.Doyou thinkyouwillsucceed?"Even nowByomkesh did not reply—observing his silence, the gentleman

said,"What'swrongByomkesh,haveyouforgottentospeak?Youhavetakenupagreattask—youtriedtodisguiseyourselftogetholdofagreatobject—sowhatdoyouthink?Willyousucceed?"Byomkeshsaidcoolly,"IhavepromisedKumarBahadurthatIwillgiveback

hisstonetohimwithinsevendays."Digindra's huge face looked frightening — his puckered hairy eyebrows

knottedonhisforehead."Really? You are very bold and cheeky but how will you succeed? I will

throwyououtofthehouserightnow—thenhowwillyoucomeback?"Byomkesh smiled and said, "Yourwords havemade something obvious—

thediamondisinthishouse."Hiseyesflashingwithanger,themastersaid,"Yes,itisinthishouse.Butwill

youbeabletofindit?Doyouhavethatmuchofintelligence?"Byomkeshonlysmiled.Thisseemedtoinfuriatethegentlemanandhelooked

as if he was about to burst. The prominent veins on his forehead startedthrobbing,hiseyesgleamedwithrevenge.Iftherewasanyweaponnearhim—Byomkeshwould have been at a great risk of life. ThankGod that therewasnothing near at hand, so he shook his great head and said, "Look hereByomkeshbabu,you think thatyouarevery intelligent, isn't it?You think thatyouarethegreatestdetectivethissideoftheAtlantic?Iwillnotthrowyouout.Youwillhavecompletefreedomtocomeinandtogooutofthishouse.Findoutwhatyouhavecomefor.Youhavegivenyourwordthatyouwillfinditwithinsevendays.Iamgivingyousevenyears—finditifyoucanandbedamned."Hestoodup,"UjreSingh!"UjreSinghcameoutatonce.Themastershowedustohimandsaid,"Lookat

these two gentlemen— allow them to come into the house even if I am notthere.Youcanmoveanywhereinsidethehouse—don'tstopthem."UjreSinghlookedatusandsaid,"Yes,Sir."Andwentout.Then Sir Digindra roared like a lion, "Finders keepers — have you

understood,ByomkeshChandra."Byomkeshsaid,"Sir,onlyByomkesh,notByomkeshChandra.""Nevermind.Youwillgrowoldanddiebutyouwillneverfindthediamond.

ItisimpossibleforByomkeshBakshitofindwhatDiginRoyhashidden.Ifyouneedthekeystomyvaultsyoujusthavetoask.IhavepricelessthingsinthembutIdon'tdistrustyou.ButIamwarningyouaboutonething—donotdestroymy paintings and statues in your eagerness to search for the diamond. If youbreak or tear or destroy any of my works of art, you will be asked to leaveimmediatelyandyouwillloseyourchancesofevergettingthediamond."Pleasinguswithsuchpoliteandgenialconversation—hestompedoutofthe

room.Wesatfacingeachotherquietly.Byomkeshwasalsotiredafterhistete-e-tetewiththeoldman.Hissmilewaspalewhenhesaid,"Let'sgobackhome—nothingcanbedonetoday."It was insulting and demoralising for us to be caught while trying to fool

someone—sowewentbackhomeunhappyanddefeated.After taking a cup of tea — I recovered a bit and said, "Byomkesh, it is

becauseofmyfoolishnessthatyouhavebeeninsultedlikethis."Byomkeshsaid,"Yes,youwerefoolish—butthatdidnotalteranything.The

old man knew everything right from the beginning. Do you remember thatgentlemaninthetrain?Theonewhosaidthathewouldgetdownatthenextstopandgotontothenextcompartment?Hewasthisgentleman'sspy.Theoldmanknowseverydetailaboutus.""Hereallymadeafoolofus.Thishasneverhappenedbefore."Byomkeshsaidafterafewminutesofsilence,"ThankGodthat theoldman

hasaterribleweakness,otherwisewewouldhavetogiveitallup."Isatup,"How?Doyoustillhavesomehope?""Ofcourse.Hadhethrownusoutthenitwouldhavebeendifficult.Anyway,

since the old man has shown a weakness — we will have to use it to ouradvantagetowintheday.""Whatweaknessareyoutalkingabout—Isawnochinkinhisarmour—it

seemedthickandstrongasiron.""But there is a hole, and a big one at that and through that hole we have

managedtoenterthehouse.Idon'tknowwhy,butthesegreatpeoplearealwayssusceptible to thisweakness.Themore intelligent theyare, thegreater is theirpride.Sosometimestheirintelligencegoestowaste.""Why are you talking in riddles — please tell me clearly without

insinuations.""Theoldman'sgreatestweaknessishisprideinhisintelligence.Irealisedit

rightatthebeginningsoIusedthistogetmyworkdone.HalfthebattleiswonbecauseIhavemanagedtoenterthehouse.Nowtheonlythingleftistofindthediamond.""Areyougoingthereagain?""Ofcourse,Ican'tletthischanceslipfrommyhands.""If you go this time,Ujre Singhwill stab youwith his dagger.Anyway do

whateveryouwant—Iamnotinit."Byomkeshsmiledandsaid,"That'snotpossible.Youhavetoaccompanyme

—weareinittogether."

The next day we went early to Sir Digindra's house. I felt as nervous as aticketlesstravellerwhenweenteredthehouse.Butthewatchmensaidnothingtous.UjreSinghpretendednottoseeus.Byomkeshtalkedtoaservantandgottoknowthatthemasterofthehousewasinhisstudio.Thenbeganoursearch.OnlyByomkeshcoulddaretolookforasmallstone

in this huge mansion. Anyone else would have been disheartened and wouldhave left the job. It was like looking for a needle in haystack. Firstly, it wasuselesstosearchthoseplaceslikealmirahs,cupboardsandvaultswherepreciousthings are usually kept. The oldmanwas too shrewd to keep the diamond intheseobviousplaces.Thenwherewoulditbe?IhadreadastorybyEdgarAllanPoewhereanimportantdocumenthadbeenhiddeninaveryinnocuousplace.Byomkeshwasnotapersontoidleawayhistime.Hebeganaregularsearch.

Hetestedthewallstoseeif thesewerehollow.Hetookoutnearlyeverybookfrom a huge cupboard. Sir Digindra's house was a virtual art gallery withbeautifulpaintingsandsculptures.Everyroomhadbeautifulpicturesandstatuesmadeofplasterofparis.But thehousehadvery little furniture. Itdidnot takemore than two hours to search the whole house. Our search, of course, wasfruitless.LastlywewenttothestudiowhereSirDigindrawasworking.Weknockedatthedoorandadeepvoiceaskedustocomein.Theroomwaslarge.Atablecoveredoneentiresideoftheroom.Therewere

many scientific instruments on the table.As soon aswe entered, SirDigindraroaredwithlaughter,"HelloByomkeshbabu,didyougetyourtouchstone?YouwillgrowabeardlikeoldRipVanWinklebythetimeyougetyourstone."Byomkeshsaid,"Iwanttoseeyoursteelvault."SriDigindrasaid,"Sure,heretakethekeys.Iwouldhavehelpedyoutolook

for thediamond.But atpresent I ambusywith thisplaster cast.Ajitbabuwillhelpyouinstead—ormaybeUjreSingh."Byomkesh stopped his sarcastic comments by asking, "What's that you are

doing?"Hissmiledslightlyandsaid,"Youmusthaveheardaboutmyworldfamous

statuesofNataraj.Thisisaminiatureofthesame—thereisanotheroneonmytable—whichyoumusthaveseen.Itsnotbadasapaperweight."I remember that I had seen an exquisite statue ofNataraj on his table— I

realized that, thatmustbe theminiatureofhis famousNataraj statue—I saidadmiringly,"IsthattheoneyouexhibitedinParis?"He said casually, "Yes the original statue is in stone and at present it is in

Louvre."We came out of the room. Thisman's versatility impressedme greatly. So

when Byomkesh started looking through the vault, I just stood aside.Was it

possibletofightawarwiththisgenius?Afterhissearch,Byomkeshsighedandsaid,"No,nothinghere,let'sgoandsit

inthedrawingroomforsometime."WhenweenteredtheroomwefoundDigindraalreadythere,smokingacigar

proportionatetohissize.HelookedatByomkeshandsaid,"Didn'tgetit?Nevermind,restawhilethenbeginyoursearchagain."Byomkeshgavebackthekeys,whichDigindracasuallyputinhispocketand

askedme,"Ajitbabu,youareawriter—soyoumustbeappreciatingtrueartandbeauty. What do you think of this small statue?" saying this he handed theminiatureofNatarajtome.Thestatuettewasaboutsixinchesinheightandthreeinches in circumference. But evenwithin these limits, it was exquisite. Everyexpressionof theNataraj'sdanceofdestructionwasetchedoneachpartof thebodyofthatlittlestatue.Ilookedatitadmiringlyandsaid,"Beautiful,ithasnocomparison."Byomkeshaskeddisinterestedly,"Didyoumouldityourself?"SirDigindrablewoutamouthfulofsmokeandsaid,"Whowilldoitexcept

me?"Byomkesh took the statue fromme and looked at it, "Is it available in the

market?"SirDigindrasaid,"No—why,wouldyouhaveboughtitifitwas?""Maybe.Whydon'tyoumakeplastercastsofthisstatueonalargescaleand

sellitinthemarket—Ithinkthereismoneyinsuchabusiness."Annoyed,Digindrasaid,"IfIneedmoneybadly,Iwill takeyouradvice.At

presentIdon'twanttocheapenmyworkofartbysellingitinthemarket."Byomkesh got up and said, "We will go now and come again in the

afternoon."Sayingthishekeptthestatueonthetablewithaloudthud.SirDigindrawasatoncestartledandannoyed,"Areyouafool—youwould

havebrokenit justnow."ThenhelookedatByomkeshlikeanangrytigerandsaid, "I have already warned you that if you destroy any of my paintings orstatues,youwillbethrownoutofmyhouse."Byomkesh looked repentant and said he was sorry for his carelessness. Sir

Digindra cooled down, "I can't tolerate negligence of my art pieces. Anywaycome in theafternoon—whichsideof thehousewillyousearch this time. Ifyouwant todigup thegarden—Iwill alsomakearrangements for that. It isgoodtoseeyousodetermined."Wedigestedhisscornandcameoutofthehouse.Byomkeshsaid,"Let'sgototheNationalLibrary."InthelibraryByomkeshreadtheportionsonplastercastings,ingreatdetail.I

noticedthatforsomereasonhewasquiteexcited.AfterreturninghomeIasked,

"Whyareyousocuriousaboutplastercasting?"Byomkeshsaid,"YouknowthatIamsometimesunnecessarilycurious—that

ismyweakness.""Iknowthat,butwhatdidyoufindout?""I foundout thatplaster casting is avery simple thing—anyonecando it.

Youhavetomixsomeplasterofparisinwaterandstirit till itbecomesthick,thenyouhavetopouritslowlyintoamould.Withintenminutesithardens—andthenitistobetakenoutfromthemould.Theonlythingwhichisdifficulttomakeisthemould.""Whyareyousoworriedaboutallthis.""No,Iamnotworried.Ifapersonputinasmallroundedstonewhilepouring

theplasterofparis,thenitwillremaininthestatue.""What do you mean?" Byomkesh looked at me quizzically and said,

"Whoeverunderstandswillrealise."IntheafternoonweagainwenttoSirDigindra'shouse.Againwesearchedthe

house minutely without any result. Sir Digindra sometimes came to makescornfuldigsatus.At last, tired,wecameto thesittingroomandrestedabit.Wewereservedteaandsnacks.IwasashamedtotaketheteabutIfoundthatByomkesh quite shamelessly consumed everything that was served, whiletalkingtoDigindraamiably.SirDigindraasked,"Forhowlongareyougoingtotry?Areyounotgoingto

giveup?"Byomkeshsaid,"TodayisWednesday—Ihavetwomoredays."Sir Digindra laughed loudly. Byomkesh did not react but picked up the

Natarajstatuefromthetableandsaid,"Whendidyoumakethisone?"SirDigindra thought for some time and said, "About fifteenor twentydays

back—why?""No particular reason—we will come tomorrow— goodbye." Byomkesh

stoodup.Assoonaswe returned,Putiram,our servantgaveusa letterwhichhesaid

had been delivered by an uniformed peon. The envelope contained only avisitingcardofKumarTridibendraNarayanRoy—ontheoppositesidewasasmallnoteinpencil,"Ihavearrivedjustnow,puttingupattheGrandHotel,howfarhaveyouprogressed?"Byomkeshkeptthecardasideandsatonthearmchair.Irealisedthathewas

nothappyatthesuddenarrivalofKumarBahadur.WhenIaskedhim,hesaid,"His anxiety may affect the other party. His arrival may make the old mannervousandhemaychangehisplans—thenIwillhavetobeginalloveragain."Byomkesh relaxed in thearmchair thewholeevening.Weslept in the same

roomintwoseparatebeds.Usuallywechattedforalongtimebeforegoingofftosleep.Butthisnight,Byomkeshwassilent.Ispokeinsoliloquyforsometimeandthenwentofftosleep.I dreamt that Byomkesh, Sir Digindra and I were playing marbles with

diamonds. Byomkesh was winning all the diamonds and Sir Digindra washowlinglikealittleboy.Iwokeupwithastart.IfoundByomkeshsittingbymybedinthedark.WhenherealisedthatIwas

awakehesaid,"Iamsurethatthediamondisonthetableinthesittingroom."Iaskedsleepily,"Whattimeofthenightisit?""2.30 a.m. Did you notice that the old man always glances at the table

wheneverheenterstheroom?"Isaid,"Maybe,nowyoucloseyoureyesandgotosleep."Byomkeshbeganspeakingtohimself,"Whydoeshelookatthetable?Isitin

thedrawer?No it ison the table.Whatare the things thereon the table—anivoryinkpot,asmalltimepiece,abottleofgum,afewbooks,blottingpad,aboxofcigars,pincushions,Nataraj..........."Iwentofftosleep.WheneverIwokeupatnight,IfoundByomkeshwalking

upanddowntheroom.In themorning,Byomkeshwrotea letter toKumarTridibandposted it.He

wasaskednot toworryand towait tillSaturdaywhenByomkeshwouldmeethim.Wewentoutagain.IrealisedthatByomkeshhadcometoaconclusionafter

stayingupthewholenight.SirDigindrawasinthesittingroom.Hewelcomedusheartilyassoonashe

sawus, "Welcomemy inseparable friends,youareveryearly today.Bring teaforthetwogentlemen.Byomkeshbabu—yourfaceissmallandyoulooktired—couldyounotsleepduetoanxiety?"ByomkeshpickeduptheNatarajfromthetableandsaid,"Iaminlovewith

thisstatue—Icouldnotsleeplastnightbecauseofthis."Foraminute,theireyeslocked.Thereseemedtobeasilentwarbetweenthe

two.After some time,SirDigindra laughedandsaid, "Ihaveunderstoodwhatyoumean,Byomkesh— you can't cheat this oldman.You said you couldn'tsleepbecauseofthisstatue—allright,Iampresentingittoyou."Byomkeshwastrulystartled—seeinghisexpression,theoldmansaid,"Now

what?Youdidnotexpectthis,didyou?Butdon'tdestroythestatue—it isofgreatvaluetome."Byomkeshrecoveredinaminute,wrappedthestatueinahanky,putitinhis

pocketandsaid,"Thankyou."Then againwe continuedour fruitless search and returnedhome.Sitting on

thechair,Byomkeshsaid,"Iwaswrong."Isaid,"Whathappened?Icouldunderstandnothingthatpassedbetweenthe

twoofyou."Takingoutthestatue,Byomkeshsaid,"Iwascertainaftermuchthoughtthat

thediamondwasinsidethisstatue.Justthink,thiswasaperfectplacetohidethestone. It is in front of everyone's eyes yet no one would suspect anything.Digindranathcouldeasilyput thediamond insidewhile casting it inplasterofparis.Moreover,Digindranathlovesthediamondsomuchthathewouldalwayswant itnearhimwithout raisinganyone's suspicion.So Iwaspositive that thediamond was in the statue and I was going to challenge the old man intoadmitting it. But I was wrong. Not only did the old man realise what I wasthinkingof—butmywholetheoryhasgoneforatoss.Topileinsulttoinjury,the old fellow gaveme the statue as a present!Now Iwill have to beginmyinvestigationalloveragain."Isaid,"Thereisnotimenow—thereisonlyonedayleft."Byomkeshturnedthestatueandwrotehisinitialsbelowitinpencilandsaid,

"Yes,onlyonedayleft.Idon'tthinkIwillbeabletokeepmypromise.KumarisalreadyinCalcutta.Thisoldmanisreallymakingmealaughingstock."SayingthisByomkeshkeptthestatueonthetableandsatwithhisheadbent.Intheafternoon,asusual,ByomkeshandIwenttothehouseofSirDigindra.

We learnt that themaster had gone out. Byomkesh tried a new device— heaskedme togo away so that he couldhave a friendly chatwithUjreSingh. Iwanderedaround thegardenandnoticedUjreSinghandByomkesh talking. Itwas true that Byomkesh could easily gain the confidence of people. But IdoubtedifhewouldbeabletothawtheHimalayaniceoftheNepaliUjreSingh.Aftertwohourswhenthetwoofuscameoutofthathouse,Byomkeshsaid,"Myeffortswereuseless, eitherUjreSingh isvery stupidormuchmore intelligentthanIam."After returning home, we were informed by our servant that someone had

waited for us for half an hour and then left saying that hewould come back.Byomkeshsaidtiredly,"ThatmusthavebeenKumar'sman."IwastiredofthewholebusinessandtoldByomkesh,"Leavethiscase—this

timeyouwillhave toadmitdefeat.TellKumarSaheb thatyouaresorry,whykeephimhoping?"Sittingat the table,Byomkeshwasplayingwith theNatarajandsaid, "Let's

see—westillhavetomorrow."Beforehecouldcompletehissentence,Ifoundthattheexpressiononhisfacehadchangedtooneofintenseexcitement.HewasstaringattheNataraj."Whathappened?"Iasked.

With trembling hands, Byomkesh passed the statue tome and said, "Look,youmust remember that I hadwrittenmy initials at the bottom— this statuedoesnothaveit."I saw that itwasnot therebutwhatwas there toget so excited about?The

initialswerewritteninpencil—itcouldhavebeenrubbedoff.Byomkeshsaid,"Can'tyouunderstand?"helaughedloudly,"Whatafoolthe

oldmanhasmadeofus!Butagianthasagiantkillertoo.Putiram!"hecalled.When our servant, Putiram came, Byomkesh asked, "Where did the

gentleman,whowaitedforus,sit?""Inthisroom,sir.""Wereyouherewithhimallthetime?""Yes,butinbetweenheaskedforaglassofwaterso........""O.K.youmaygo."Byomkeshsmiledquietlytohimself,"Youwillbesurprisedtoknowthatthe

diamondwashereonmytablefrommorningtillthisevening."Iwassurprised—hasByomkeshgoneoutofhismind?IheardhimtalkingtoTridibendraNarayanoverthephone,"Youwillgetyour

diamondby10o'clock tomorrowmorning.Yourspecial trainshouldbeready.Assoonasyouget the thing,youshouldstart—it isnotsafe foryou tostayherewith the thing.Please see that you leaveCalcutta by10.All right, Iwillarrangefor thespecial train.Don'tsayanythingtoanyone—noteventoyoursecretary."Thenhewentout,probablytoarrangeforaspecialtrain—hetoldmetotake

mydinnerandgotobedbecausehewouldbelate.Idon'tknowwhenByomkeshreturned.Nextmorning,ateightthirty,wewentoutasusual.InoticedthattheNatarajstatuewasnotinitsplaceonourtable—whenIaskedByomkesh,heonlysaid,"Ihavekeptit."SirDigindrawasinhissittingroom.Hesawusandsaid,"Youhavebecomea

habitwithme—Ihavelearnttowaitforyoutocome."Byomkesh said apologetically, "We have given you a lot of trouble—we

won'tanymore—thatiswhatwehavecometotellyou.Inagamelikethisonehastoloseandtheotherwillwin—itisnousefeelingsorryforit,itisbettertoacceptit.Youwon'tseeusfromtomorrow.Youalreadyknowthatyournephewishere.YesterdayItoldhimtoleaveCalcutta—Iwillgivehimmyfinalanswertoday."SirDigindrastaredatByomkesh,thenhesmiledagainlikeabulldogandsaid,

"Iamgladthatyouhavecometoyoursenses.Tellmynephewnottowastehistime.""All right," Byomkesh picked up another Nataraj statue from the table and

said,"Youhavemadeanewone.Ihavekeptyourgiftwithgreatcare.Notonlybecause it is beautiful but because itwill be a souvenir of yourmemory. If itbreaks—willIgetanotherone?"SirDigindrawaspleased,"Yes,youwillgetanotherone.Youhavelearntto

appreciateartinmyhouse—thatisagreatthing.Withgreathumility,Byomkeshsaid,"Really,allthesepastyears,thatareaof

mymindhadbeencoveredwith adark curtain. Itwas inyourpresence that Ibegan to appreciate art, I have realised what invaluable, priceless matter ishiddeninart.Ilikethatpaintingbehindyou—haveyoudonethattoo?"Itwasabeautiful painting— Sir Digindra turned his head to look at it. In a secondByomkeshshowedtremendoussleightofhandbyexchangingtheNatarajonthetable with the one in his pocket. When Sir Digindra turned his face —Byomkesh was looking admiringly at the painting. Sir Digindra said, "Yes, Ihavedone it."Myheart began thumpingwith excitement— Iheardhisvoicefrom a distance— I was lucky that he did not look at my expression— hewouldsurelyhavecaughtusoutthen.Byomkeshgotupslowlyandsaid,"Wewillleavenow.Ihavebenefittedafter

coming in contact with you— Iwill never forget that. I hope you toowon'tforgetme. I ama truth seeker—myhobbyandmypassion is to findout thetruth. If you ever needme, I will be only too eager to help you. ComeAjit.Goodbye,Sir."IturnedaroundtoseethatSirDigindrawaslookingatByomkeshquizzically

—half-awareofByomkesh'sinnuendoes.WecaughtataxiandbegandrivingtoGrandHotel.IcaughtByomkeshbythehandandsaid,"Whatishappening?"Byomkeshsmiled,"Didn'tyouunderstand?Myassumptionthatthediamond

was in the Nataraj was correct. The old man understood and to puzzle me,presentedmewith thatverystatue.Thenhemadeanotheroneexactly like thefirstandexchangeditwiththeonehehadgivenmeinmyownhouse.IwouldnothaveunderstoodanythingifIhadnotscribbledmyinitialsatthebottomofthe statue." He turned the statue and showed me the faded initials. "When Ifoundthatmyinitialswerenotthereunderthestatue,lastevening,Irealisedthatithasbeenexchanged.Everythingbecameclear.LateryousawthetrickIplayedtoexchangethestatueinthepresenceofSirDigindra.""Areyousurethatthediamondisinthisstatue?Whatifitisn't?""Ifitisn't,thenIwillthinkthatthereisnothingcalledlogicorconjectureor

truthinthisworld."In the hotel, Kumar Bahadur said, "This is Uncle's Nataraj— where's my

diamond?"

"Itisinsidethestatue.""Ican'tunderstandanything—areyousure?"saidavisiblyimpatientKumar.Byomkesh struck the statue with a paperweight — it broke into pieces.

Byomkeshpickedupthediamondfromthecrumbledpiecesofplasterofparisandhandedittothegentleman—"Takeyourdiamond."Although some broken pieces of plasterwere still sticking to it— it could

easilyberecognisedasapricelessobject,evenbyamateurs.Kumar Bahadur virtually snatched the diamond from Byomkesh's hand—

staredatitandsaiddelightedly,"Yes,thisismydiamond—Idon'tknowhowtothankyou.Lookatit—itisgivingoffalightblueray."Byomkesh said, "Now you leaveCalcutta as fast as you can. If your uncle

discoversthatthediamondiswithyou—hewillmakeanotherplan.""No,no,Iwillleavejustnow—butyourfees?""Paymelater—firstyoumustreachhomesafely."We took Kumar to the station, came back home and relaxed in our room.

Byomkeshsaidsmilingly,"Ijustwanttoknowwhattheoldmanwilldowhenhediscoverstheloss."Afterafewdays,wereceivedaregisteredenvelopefromKumarBahadur.A

chequewasattachedtoaletterfromhim.

"DearByomkeshbabu,Iamsendingyouthissmallsumasatokenofmyeternalgratitude—pleaseacceptitalthoughIknowthatitisapittanceincomparisontoyourtalent.Iamlookingforwardtomeetingyouinthenearfuture.ThenexttimeIgotoCalcutta,Iwillgettoknowfromyouallthathadhappened.PleasethankAjitbabuforme—heisawriter.Idon'twanttoinsulthisartbyofferinghim money. (Oh! Hapless writer!). If he wishes to write the story of thisdiamondbychangingnamesandplaces,thenIwillnotobject.

MyrespectsYoursadmiringly,

SirTridibendraNarayanRoy.

TheAvenger(AchinPakhi)

Byomkesh and Iwent to Birenbabu's daughter'swedding last February. Thetown was some distance away from Calcutta. It was ancient and dirty. FromCalcuttaIttookusaboutthreehoursbytrain.We knewBirenbabu intimately for a long time. Hewas a police officer in

Calcutta.An amiable andhelpfulman, he had retired twoyears back andhadsettled here in his ancestral home. He had begged us to attend his daughter'swedding.Byomkeshwasfree,sowedecidedtoaccepttheinvitation.Aswe reached the house,we heard the soundof "shehnai" and sawpeople

busilyrunninghereandthere.Birenbabuwelcomeduswarmlyandtookustoadecoratedroom,whichthebridegroomwithhisentouragewouldoccupyintheevening. At present it was empty.We made ourselves comfortably there andwereservedteaandsnacks.ByomkeshtoldBirenbabu,"Youmustbeverybusy,feelfreetogoandattendtoyourduties.Weareverycomfortable."Birenbabulookedrelieved.Suddenlyweheardadeepvoiceoutside,"Biren,I

have come to see what arrangements you have made for your daughter'swedding."Birenbabuquicklywentoutandusheredanelderlymanintotheroom,"Itis

good,Sir,thatyouhavecome.ThesearemytwofriendsfromCalcutta.Heisthewell-knownByomkeshBakshi, theTruthSeekerand this ishis famouswriter-friend—AjitBanerjee.""Yes, indeed, I have heard of them." The old gentleman gave us a sharp

glance.Birenbabu said, "He is Neelmani Majumdar. Also a well-known police

officer.Hehassettledhereafterretirement."Hewasatallandfairman,wellabovesixtybuterectasaramrod.Although

hehadawalkingstickinhishand—hedidnotseemtoneedit.Hisvoicewasheavyandhisappearancecommandedrespect.Byomkeshaskedhimtositdown.Birenbabusoughtourpermissiontoleave.

Byomkeshasked,"Isyourancestralhomehere,too?"Neelmanibabusaid,"No,myhomewasinEastBengal—buteverythingwas

lostduringPartition.AfterretirementIhavesettledhere."

Byomkeshasked,"Doyouhaverelativeshere?"Neelmanibabusaid,"Ihavenorelatives. Iamabachelor. Iwasso involved

withthepolicejobthatIdidnot thinkofanythingelse.ThenwhenIretired,Iremainedhere.Ihaveanaffectionforthistown.WhenIstartedmycareerasasub-inspector,Iwaspostedhere.BeforeIretired,Iwaspostedhere,too."Byomkeshsmiled,"Youlovethistown.Howlonghaveyoubeenretired?""Sevenyears."Asinmostcases,ByomkeshwasthesubjectofNeelmanibabu'scuriosity.But

hisglancewasdifferentfromtheadmiringglancesofotherpeople.HeseemedtobeweighingandgaugingByomkeshandhisintelligence.When he spoke, he sounded skeptical and at the same time curious,

"Byomkeshbabu,Ihavereadaboutyouandyourwork.Ihavenoticedthatyouhave solved all the caseswhich have come to you. So I am curious to know,haveyouneverbeenunsuccessful?Haveyounevermadeamistake?"Byomkeshsmiledhumbly,"Ican'tsayIhavenevermademistakesorIhave

neverfailed. Infact Ihaveevenfailed tocatchcriminals ina fewcases.But Ihave always got to the bottom of the mystery and found out the truth. Sir,rememberthatIamatruthseeker.But,ofcourse,youmusthavehadmanymorecasesthanIhaveeverhad."Neelmanibabu seemed quite satisfied with Byomkesh's answer. He now

soundedabitmorefriendly."Looktherearealotofproblemsinourjob.Mostofthecasesaresmallonesdealingwithpettycriminals.Itisrarelythatwegetcasesinvolvingbigcriminals.Again,myexperiencesaysthatitiseasiertocatchthebiggeroffendersthanthesmallones."Byomkeshsaid,"Eventhedoctorssaythatitiseasiertocureseriousdiseases

rather than common cold. So, have you been successful in catching all yourimportantoffenders?"Neelmanibabuwasquietforsometime.ThenhelookedatByomkeshsharply."I have been successful in most cases, except the last case of my life. It

happenedinthistownitself.ButIcouldnotsolveit."Byomkeshsaid,"Youknowwhotheculpritwasbutcouldnotproveit—is

thatso?"Neelmanibabu said hesitantly, "I was sure that one particular person was

involvedbut Icouldnotbreakhisalibi.Thenanother incidentoccurredwhichturned all my investigations topsy turvy. I never could find out who the realculpritwas."Byomkeshwasquiet.NeelmaniMajumdar lookedatByomkeshsharplyand

said,"Doyouwanttohearthestory?"Byomkeshsaideagerly,"Ofcourse,itseemsaveryinterestingone."

"Youwilljudgewhetheritwasinteresting.IwilltellyouallIknowaboutthecase.MaybeyouwillsucceedwhereIhadfailed!"There was a note of challenge in his voice. Byomkesh smiled and said, "I

don'tthinkitispossibleformetosolvesomethingwhichanexperiencedpersonlikeyoucouldnot.Iamonlyinterestedinhearingthestory."NeelmaniMajumdarbeganhisstoryinhisdeepresonantvoice:—Justbefore

retirement, Neelmanibabu was posted in this town as the head of the policestationhere.Hehadthreegoodqualities,intelligence,diligenceandhonesty—he never took bribes. This town, though small, was known for its criminalactivities.Neelmaniknewthistownwell,soafterbeingtransferredhere,hetookupthereinsofpoliceadministrationwithironhands.A year and a half passed. There was some peace in this town, thanks to

Neelmani.Hehadahabitofgoingonrounds twiceaweekatmidnightonhiscycle.Nooneknewwhenhewouldgoon these rounds.Onepartof the townwasespeciallypronetocrimes.ThispartwasaspecialfavouritewithNeelmani.He used to move around the small lanes and by-lanes and kept a watch onwhetherthepolicemenondutywerealert.Therewerenolightsinhiscyclebuthealwayshadhisrevolverandatorchwithhim.Onthisparticularnight,hewasonhisusualrounds.Itwasadarknightandno

onewasaround.Therewasanareain-betweentheplacewhichhousedwell-to-do, decent society and the dark lanes of the criminal world. This area was atwilight area, surrounded by mango groves. It consisted of a few dilapidatedhouses.Thepeopleofthisareatoobelongedneitherherenorthere.Whilemovinginthisarea,Neelmaninoticedthataboutfiftyyardsawayafew

men were carrying something like a bamboo cot on their shoulders. Theirbehaviourwassuspicious.Hequicklyrodeuptothemandaccostedthembyflashinghistorchontheir

faces,"Stop!"Therewere fourpeople, theydropped thecot andvanished in thedark.But

Neelmaniclearlysawthefaceofoneofthem.Hewastheownerofoneofthosehouses—SureshwarGhose.The men had vanished in all directions — it was useless following them.

Neelmani went up to the cot and found that on it was the body of a young,healthywoman—therewasnosignofwoundsbutshewasdead.Neelmani blew his whistle. Slowly policemen and people began collecting

there.The neighbours identified the body immediately— itwasHashi— thewife of Sureshwar.No one else lived in the house besides Sureshwar and hiswife.Neelmanitookafewneighbourswithhimandenteredthehouse.Itwasquite

alargehousewithaboutsixrooms.Butmostoftheroomswerenotused.Onlytwo roomswere used—onewas the bedroom. Itwas a large roomwith twobeds. One looked slept in— the other was not. But there was no one in thehouse.Therewasnoone in thegardeneither.Thereweremangoand jackfruittreesinthegarden.Neelmanibabuaskedtheneighbours,"Wasthegirlill?"Oneofthemsaid,"No,thisafternoonIsawhertalkingtoBinodbabu,nearthe

gate.""WhoisBinodbabu?""BinodSarkar—heisajewellerandhasashopinthemarket."Somemoreconstableshadarrivedwiththesub-inspector—hesentthebody

withthemforpost-mortem.Theneighbourswerestillstandingaround,gossipingandwhisperingtoeach

other.Neelmaniaskedthem,"Whatisthenameofthegirl'shusband?""SureshwarGhose.""Whereishe?"Nooneopenedhismouth.Thenonepersonsaidunwillingly,"Sureshwargoes

outofthehouseafterdinneranddoesnotcomebacktillonethirtyortwointhenight.""Wheredoeshego?""We'veheardthathegoestoKalikinkarDas'sshoptogamble.""WhereisKalikinkarDas'sshop?"Theneighboursgavehimtheaddress.Neelmanileftaconstablewaitinginthe

house and took the sub-inspector with him to look for the shop. He told theneighbours,"Iwillcomeandtakeyourtestimonytomorrowmorning."Kalikinkar's shop was half a mile from Sureshwar's house— just near the

edgeofthemarketplace.Itwasanironandsteelshop.Thisareaofthemarketwasknownas'Lohapatty'.Neelmani reachedhisshop,walking through thedesertedmarketplace. Iron

rods were heaped in front of the shop. But the door of the shop was closed.Neelmanibabulookedaroundandthenpeepedthroughaholeinthewindow.Onacarpetonthefloorsatfourmen,playingcardswithgreatconcentration.

In the middle, was some money. They were obviously gambling for a stake.Theywereplayingflush.Neelmani beckoned the sub-inspector. The latter stood at the door, while

Neelmaniknockedatthewindow.Allfourturnedanxiouseyesonthewindow.Oneofthemgrabbedallthemoneyinthecenterandputitintohispocket.Neelmanicalledoutinasternvoice,"Openthedoor."The four looked at each other and one of them raised his voice and asked,

"Whoisit?"

Neelmanisaid,"Police,openthedoor."Again they lookedateachother, thenprobablyKalikinkarDasgotup.Now

Neelmanimovedawayfromthewindowandstoodinfrontofthedoor.Thedooropened.Thethin,skeletalmanlookedatthetwopoliceofficialsandtookastepbackward,"What?Whatdoyouwant?"Neelmanisaid,"AreyouKalikinkarDas?""Yes,whatdoyouwant?""Whoelsearetherewithyou?"Kalikinkargulpedandsaid,"Threeofmyfriends."Neelmanienteredtheshopwiththesub-inspector.Nexttothisroomwasthe

doortotheofficeoftheshop.Whenheenteredtheoffice,Neelmanifoundthatthe threemen were still playing cards. He watched each of them. Their agesranged from thirty-five to forty.Theirappearanceswereundistinguished.Onlytheonewhowasservingthecardslookedquitemuscular.Helookedliketheirleader.Neelmanibabuasked,"WhoisSureshwarGhose?"The stoutman looked up, put away the pack of cards and stood up. "I am

SureshwarGhose,whatdoyouwant?"Hisvoicewascalmandhewas totallycomposed.Neelmanilookedfromonetotheother."Youthoughtthatyouwouldtakethe

deadbodyquietlyinthedeadofthenightandburnitintheghat?Onceitwasburnt,therewouldbenoproofofthecrime?"Allfourlookedgenuinelysurprised.Sureshwarsaid,"Deadbody,whosedead

body?"Neelmanibabusaid, "Don'tpretend. I sawyou in the lightof the torch.You

areoneofthefour,whowascarryingthedeadbody."Sureshwarsaid,"Whichdayareyoutalkingabout?""Iamtalkingabouttoday—tonightattwelve.""Youaretalkingrubbish.Westartedplayingcardsat8.30pm.intheevening

andnoneofuswentoutevenforaminute.""So,youwereplayingcards—gambling?"Thethreelookeddownguiltily.Sureshwarwasbold,"Yesweweregambling.

Thefourofussometimesplaytogether."Neelmanifoundthatitwasimpossibletogetanythingoutofthemhere;they

hadtobetakentothepolicestation.Hesaid,"RightnowIamarrestingyouonchargesofgambling.Comewithustothepolicestation."Therewasanargumentbutat lastallfouragreedtogotothepolicestation.

Neelmanibabusaid,"Ifyoucangetabail,Iwillletyougotonight."On theway to the police station, Sureshwar asked, "Whatwere you saying

aboutadeadbody?Whosedeadbody?"Neelmanisaid,"Yourwife's."Sureshwarstoodstockstillontheroad,"Mywife's?Whatareyousaying?""Iamsayingthatyourwifehasbeenmurdered.""No,no,Idon'tbelieveallthis—Hashi—no,Iamgoinghome.""It'snousegoinghome,thedeadbodyhasbeensentforpost-mortem."In the police station, Neelmanibabu began questioning the four separately.

FirsthecalledSureshwar.Whenhesatdown,Neelmaniasked,"Whatworkdoyoudo?"Sureshwarsaid,"Ilookafterdifferentkindsofbusiness.Iamamoneyedman

notapettybusinessman.""Isthehouseyours?""Yes.""Whendidyoubuyit?""Aboutfiveorsixyearsback.""Whendidyougetmarried?""Sevenyearsback.""Whereisyourin-laws'house?""Inthistown.""Whatisthenameofyourfather-in-law?""DinamaniHaldar.""Whereishenow?""Iamnotsure—probablyinjail.""Jail?""Yes—jailiswherehespendsmostofhistime.""Doyouhaveagoodrelationshipwithyourfather-in-law?""Ican'tstandhim."Neelmanibabu thought for some time and asked, "Did you have a good

relationshipwithyourwife?"Sureshwar hesitated for a while and said, "As good a relationship as is

possibleaftersevenyearsofmarriage.""Doyouhavenochildren?""No,mywifewasinfertile."Neelmanibabuliftedhisfingerathimandsaid,"AttwelvetonightIsawyou

andyourthreefriendscarryingthedeadbodyofyourwife.Iflashedmytorchonyourface."Sureshwarsaidinanunperturbedvoice,"Youarewrong.Iwasplayingcards

inKalikinkar'sshopwiththreeofmyfriendsattwelve.""Whatwasthecharacterofyourwifelike?"

"Whocansayaboutthecharactersofwomen—buttheneighboursspokeillofher.""Whatdidtheysay?'"Ireturnlateatnight.ItseemsapersonusedtocomeandmeetHashiforthe

lastfewmonths.""Didyouaskyourwifeaboutthis?""Yes.Shesaidthatitwasalllies.""Anythingelse?""Whatelse?OnceIopenedhercupboardandfoundafewpiecesofjewellery

whichIhadnotgivenher.""Didyouaskwherethosepiecescamefrom?""What'stheuse?Ifawomanwantstogoastray,noonecansaveher.""Butonecanmurderher.""IhavenotkilledHashi."NeelmanitriedhardbutcouldnotmakeSureshwarconfessanything.Infactit

seemedthathewasoutspokenandtruthful.NexthecalledKalikinkar.Thelatterhadahard,strongheartinathin,infirm

body.Neelmanicouldnotmakehimconfesseither.According tohimthefourfriendshadstartedplayingcardsateightthirtyintheeveningandweretheretillthe police entered the shop. But he was also quite frank. Sureshwar was hischildhood friend. Sureshwar was not very rich earlier but had made moneythrough contracts during the war. He had married Hashi when he was poor.Hashi's fatherwasa thief anda fool.Healwaysgot caughtwhenstealingandspentalotofhistimeintheprison.Hashi'smotherhadabadname—livingintheslumhadcorruptedhercharacter.WhenHashi'sfatherwasinthejail—hermotherentertainedcustomers.SowhenSureshwarwantedtomarryHashi—allhis friends had advised him against it. But he did not listen to anyone. ThenSureshwarbecamequite rich,bought ahousebutby that time the relationshipbetweenhimandhiswifehadsoured.Heneverstayedhomeforlongbutspentmostofhistimeoutside.Butitisnottruethathehadmurderedhiswife.Hewasnotthatkindofaperson.Hecamefromagoodfamilyandhadstruggledalotinhisearlylife.Buthehadaheartofgold.Neelmaniaskedatthispoint,"WhereisSureshwar'sfather-in-law,DinamaniHaldarnow?"Kalikinkarsaid,"About twoyearsback,DinamaniHaldarcameinsearchof

hisdaughter—hiswifewasdead.Helivedwithhisdaughterandson-in-lawfortwoorthreedays.OnedayhehadaquarrelwithSureshwar—thenDinamanileft.Ihaven'tseenhimagain.Hewasold,besidesjaillifehadweakenedhim—hemustbedead."NextwasDebuMondol's turn.Debudidbusiness in coal and firewood.He

wasawealthyman.Sureshwarwasaverygoodchildhoodfriend.Itwasatotallie thatSureshwarhadmurderedhiswifeandwas takingherbodyaway tobeburnt. They were playing cards. He refused to comment on the character ofHashi—butthegirldidnotcomefromagoodfamily.Neelmanisaid,"Doyouhaveashopoffirewoodintheburningghat?"Debuwasalittleshaken,"Yes,Ihavetwogodownsinthetownandoneinthe

burningghat."Neelmanibabu looked at himwith a frown and said, "Will you tell me the

truthnow?""Iamtellingthetruth."The fourthpersonwasBilashDutta—abuildingcontractor—verysweet-

tongued,politeandwitty.Buthe,too,hadnodoubtthatthefourofthemwereplayingcardsfromeightthirtyintheeveningtill thepolicecamein.Neelmanifound out that Bilash Dutta belonged to that category of human beings whotalkedalotofrubbishbutneverthetruth.Disappointed, he asked, "You are a contractor, youmust be having a lot of

bamboos."Bilashsaid,"Bamboos,yes—lotsofbamboos.Ineedthemforscaffoldings

forbuildings.""Youneedthemalsotomakecotsforthedead."ItwasearlymorningbythetimeNeelmanibabufinishedquestioningthefour.

Buthecouldnotkeepthemincustodybecausetheirlawyerbailedthemouttheverynextday.NeelmaniwassurethatSureshwarhadkilledhiswifebutwasunabletoprove

it.Hewasalsosurethattheotherthreewereinvolved.Buttherewasnoproof.Therewasnowitnesstowhathehadseen.Theirlawyerwouldprovehimwronginthecourt.Sohecouldnotbringthechargeofmurder—althoughhedidbringthechargeofgamblingagainstthem.But he continued investigating the case. He questioned Sureshwar's

neighbours,twoofhisassistants.Thenhewenttohishouseataboutoneintheafternoon.TherewasaconstableatthegatewhosaidthatSureshwarhadcomebackatelevenandwasinthehouse.Neelmanibabu entered the house and found him sleeping in one bed. He

opened bloodshot eyes at the soundof footsteps andmumbled sleepily, "Nowwhatdoyouwant?"Neelmanibabusaid,"Wewanttosearchthehouse.""Dowhateveryouwant—letmesleep."Hewasprobablymakingup fora

sleepless night. But did he not feel anything for hiswife? Even if he did notmurderher—thisseemedastrangereactiontoNeelmanibabuwhowasangryat

hiscallousbehaviour.HedidnotallowSureshwartosleep."Iwanttoseeyourwife'sornaments."Sureshwar got up irritatedly, opened the cupboard and took out a box of

ornaments.Neelmanisaid,"Whichonesoutoftheredidyounotgiveher?"Sureshwar picked up a ring, a pair of earrings and a hairclip from the box.

Neelmanitookthemandputtheminhispocket,"Iamtakingthese.Iwillreturnthemlater."Then thepoliceparty searched thewholehouseandgarden.But they found

nothingincriminating.Ataboutthreeintheafternoon,NeelmanibabuwentfromSureshwar'shouse

totheshopofBinodSarkar—thejeweller.Itwasalargeshop.Ononesidetheworkerssatmakingornaments.Binodwas

sitting in awell-decorated room.Hewas about fifty but had fancy tastes. Heworea silkkurta, a finequalitydhoti, andhadawell-trimmedmoustache.Hetried to hide his bald pate by covering itwith hair from all the sides.Hewasshortandabitplump.Whenhesawpolicemenathisdoorstephewasslightlynervous."Hasanythinghappenedinmyshop?Whathashappened?"Neelmanisatonachairoppositehimandsaid,"No,Ihavecometogetsome

informationfromyou.""Yes?""Sureshwar'swifeisdead.Doyouknowanythingaboutit?"Binodbabu jumped up from his chair, "Hashi is dead? But I saw her last

evening.""Shediedlastnight.""Butshewasallrightintheevening.Howdidshedie?""Ithinkshewasmurdered.""Murdered!"Binodbabusatonhischairandstaredvacantly.Thenheslapped

thetableandsaid,"Sureshwarhaskilledher,Iamsure.""ButSureshwarhasaperfectalibi.""Idon'tcareaboutalibi.Heandhisthreefriendskilledthegirl.Theyareall

wicked.Theycandoanything."Neelmanibabusaid,"DidyouknowHashiforalongtime?""I knew her from when she was three or four years old." Then he gave

Neelmania furtive, shy lookandsaid ina lowvoice, "Youareapoliceman, Iwillnotconcealanythingfromyou.WhenIwasyoung,IhadarelationshipwithHashi'smother.Thatwasabouttwentyyearsago.Hashi'sfatherwasascoundrel,thief,smuggler,drunkard.Hecouldnotfeedhiswifeanddaughter.Sobecauseofpovertyshehadto...letthatbe.Afewyearsago,Hashi'smotherdied.Beforeher death she toldme to look after her daughter, as Sureshwarwas awickedperson.Icouldnotavoidherlastrequest.SoIusedtogotothehousetomeet

Hashi.Hashi'smotherwasnotthemodeloffidelity—that'strue—butshewasagoodhumanbeing.Shehadaverysweetnature."Noonespokeforsometime.ThenNeelmanibabusaid,"Thenyoususpectthat

SureshwarhasmurderedHashi?"Binodbabu surfaced from a sea of memories and said absent mindedly,

"What?Yes,Ithinkso.""Butwhatwashismotive?""Look,whenSureshwarmarriedHashihewasapoorman.Thenduring the

war he became very rich. Now he wanted to be associated with respectablepeople.ButifHashiwasalive,itwasimpossible.EveryoneknewwhatkindofafamilyHashi came from.Sohekilledher.Hewillmarry again andbecomeagentleman.""WhatwasHashi'scharacterandconductlike?""Shewasasimplegirlwithoutanyhypocrisyorcunning.Shemayhavebeen

alittlefondofmalecompany;shewouldstandat thegate in theeveningsandcall people and talk to them. One can't blame her — the women in theneighbourhoodavoidedherforherantecedents—soshetooneededcompany.Icansaywithconvictionthatshehadnootherseriousfaultofcharacter."Neelmanibabu then took out Hashi's ornaments from his pocket, "Can you

recognisethese?""AretheseHashi'sornaments?ButIhaveneverseenherwearingthem.""Youneverpresentedherwithornaments?""No, I gave her sarees during the Pujas and Holi. I never gave her any

ornaments."Neelamnibabusaid,"Havethesebeenmadeinyourshop?"Binodbabuexaminedthem,"No,thesehavenotbeenmadeinmyshop.Justa

minute—,"hecalledaworker,"PleasesendRamdayaltome."An oldman came to him; Binodbabu showed him the ornaments. "Didwe

makethese,Ramdayal?"He looked at them carefully and said, "No, Sir, these have been made in

Calcutta.""Alright,youcango."Neelmanigotuptoleave."IwillcomeagainifIneedyou.""Mostcertainly."ThateveningNeelmanibabumetthecivilsurgeoninhisbungalow.Hisoffice

was on one side of the house.MajorBurmanwaswinding up hisworkwhenNeelmaniarrived,"Icametofindoutaboutthereport."MajorBurmansaid,"Sitdown,Ihavedonethepost-mortem.Youwillgetthe

reporttomorrow."

"Whatdidyoufindout?Whendidshedie?""Shediedatabouttenatnight.""Howdidshedie?""Therewasnosignofanyassaultonherbody.""Wasitpoisonthen?"MajorBurmansaidslowly,"No,notevenpoison.Shewaskilled inanovel

way.Isthereanymilitarymanamongyoursuspects?"Neelmanisaid,"No,butthegirl'shusbandwasamilitarycontractorduringthe

war and had worked closely with the American soldiers posted here. Why,what'sthematter?"MajorBurmansaid,"Onecan'tseeanysignofablowanywhereinthebody

butthethyroidcartilageinherthroatwascompletelybroken."Neelmanisaid,"Thatmeansshewasthrottledtodeath.""No, if she was throttled, there would have been marks of fingers on her

throat.""Then?"MajorBurmansaid,"Inthelastwarthesoldiersweretaughttofightwithout

arms.""How'sthat?""Suppose that a battle was going on in the jungle. You are unarmed and

cannotdefendyourselfandyouhavebeencapturedbyanarmedenemysoldier.Youareunabletoescape—ifyoutry,hewillshootyou.Sowhatdoyoudo?Cunningly,youmove to the rightofyourenemyandsuddenlyyou turn roundand hit him hard on the throat with the side of your right palm. The thyroidcartilage breaks and the person dies at once— something like your modernkaratechop.""Instantdeath?""Yes."Neelmanibabusaid,"Youaresurethatthegirlwaskilledlikethat?""Iamcertain.""Alright,tomorrowIwillsendapersonforthereport."Neelmani came back to the police stationwithout a doubt in hismind that

Sureshwar had killedHashi. Therewas only onemystery.Who used to comeandmeetHashi atnight?Didhegive theornaments?What relationdidHashihavewiththisman?ButifhewasHashi'sfriend—whyshouldhekillHashi?The next day, Neelmanibabu went with a sub-inspector and a constable to

Sureshwar'shouse.Hewasdeterminedtogetaconfessionoutofhim.Sureshwar's house was wide open and there was no one in the house. He

calledoutafewtimesandwentin.

Hestoppedshortwhenhereachedthebedroom.Sureshwarwaslyingdeadonthefloor.Theeveningbeforetoo,Sureshwarhadgonetohisfriend'shousetoplaycards

andhadcomebackataboutmidnight.Thennooneknowswhathadhappened.MajorBurmangavethepost-mortemreportofSureshwar'sbody.Hetoohad

died because his thyroid cartilage had been broken with a blow. Hashi andSureshwarwerekilledinthesameway.

After finishing the story,Neelmanibabu stopped for some time—waiting forByomkeshtoasksomequestions."I have told you everything I know. At first I thought that Sureshwar had

killedHashi.Butlater,Sureshwarwaskilledinthesameway.SothemanwhomurderedHashimusthavekilledSureshwaralso.Canyouguessanything?"Byomkeshwaslisteningattentively,"Iwanttoaskafewmorequestions.""IwillgiveyouanswersifIknowtheanswersmyself."Byomkeshsaid,"WhoisSureshwar'sheir?""A cousin of Sureshwar — he had not made a will. She is a widow and

penniless.Shehasgotallhisproperty.""Wherewerehisthreefriendsonthenightofhisdeath?""AfterSureshwarleftforhome,theyplayedcardsnearlyforthewholenight

inKalikinkar'sshop.Ihademployedinformers tobringmeall thenews.TheydidnotkillSureshwar.""WhataboutBinodSarkar?""No,Ididnotsuspecthim—whatwashismotive?Hewasgenuinelyfondof

Hashi.""WherewasDinamaniHaldaratthattime?""Hewassufferingfroma terribleattackofdysentery inavillagefiftymiles

away.He couldnotmove.Besideshowwouldheknow the trickof killing inthatspecialway?""Alright.DoyouthinkthatHashihadaloosecharacter?""No,Ithinkshewasagoodgirl."Byomkeshthoughtforsometime,"Butshewasbornofanotherwithaloose

character—whatdidyousayhernamewas?""Amala."Byomkesh looked up and stared at Neelmanibabu. He too, looked at

Byomkeshandhisbodystiffened.ThenByomkeshrelaxedinhischair.Neelmanisaid,"Doyouwanttoknowanythingelse?"Byomkeshsaiddisinterestedly,"Thereisnothingelsetoknow."

Neelmanisaidsarcastically,"Haveyouunderstoodanything?"Byomkeshsaidgravely,"Neelmanibabu,Ihaveunderstoodeverything."Neelmaniwasstillforsometime."YouhaveunderstoodwhokilledHashi?""Yes,ofcourse.HashiwasmurderedbySureshwar.""Really?ThenwhokilledSureshwar?""SureshwarwaskilledbyHashi'sfather.""Hashi's father?But I told you just now thatDinamaniHaldarwas ill, fifty

milesaway.""I am not talking about Dinamani Haldar. I am talking about Hashi's real

father,hernaturalfather."Neelmani was very quiet. I found that he had become very pale.When he

spokeagain,hisvoicewasamerewhisper,"Naturalfather?Whodoyoumean?"Byomkesh shook his head sadly, "You know who I am talking about,

Neelmanibabu.Youshouldnothavetoldmethisstory."I don't know how Neelmanibabu would have reacted to this, but at that

momentBirenbabucameintotheroom."Byomkeshbabu, lunch is ready. Please have your bath. Neelmanida, why

don'tyoustaybackforlunch,too?"Neelmanibabustooduphastily,"No,no,Iamgoing.Iamalreadylate."Hewentoutoftheroomquickly,withoutoncelookingbackatus.

Afterlunch,wewererelaxingagaininthesameroom.Iasked,"HowdidyouguessaboutNeelmanibabu?"Byomkesh said, "While listening to his story I felt that he was favourably

inclinedtowardsHashi,althoughtherewasnoreasontobeso.Accordingtohimhe did not knowHashiwhen shewas alive.Whateverwe got to know aboutHashifromhisstoryshowedhertobeaflirt,herhusbandwassuspiciousabouther,anunknownmanusedtovisitheratnight.ThenwhyshouldNeelmanibabubewell-disposedtowardsher?Hashi'smotherwas not an example of true fidelity either!Amala's husband

DinamaniHaldarwasmore often inside the prison thannot. SoHashi's fathermaynothavebeenDinamani.BinodSarkarwasalsonotHashi'sfather,becausehemethermother,Amala,

whenHashiwasaboutthreeorfouryearsold.Thenwhowastheunknownman?"Neelmanitoldusevenbeforehebeganhisstorythathisfirstpostingwasin

this town.Dinamaniwasaprofessional thief.NeelmanibabumayhavegonetoAmalaandDinamani'shouseeithertosearchitortoarresthim.Itwasthenthattheyoungpolicemanhadarelationshipwiththeattractivewifeofthethief.

"Afterayearortwo,Neelmaniwastransferredfromthisplace.BythistimehehadgottoknowthathehadadaughterfromAmalaandshewascalledHashi.HeusedtokeepintouchwithHashiandhermotherevenwhenhewaspostedtootherplaces.Hehadnotmarried—sotheonlybloodrelationhehadwasHashi.Towardstheendofhiscareerhewasagainpostedinthistown.Hashi'smotherwas dead by that time and she was married. Neelmanibabu had a habit ofmovingaroundatnightonhiscycletokeepvigil.ItwasduringthesetimesthathemetHashiandevenpresentedherwithafewpiecesofjewellery.Shemayormaynothaveknownaboutherrelationshipwithhim.Butshemayhaveguessed.Butherneighboursjumpedtothewrongconclusionsandthoughtthatsheusedtomeetherparamouratnight,intheabsenceofherhusband."OnthedaythatHashiwasmurdered,Neelmaniwasprobablygoingtomeet

her. Then we know what happened from the story he related to us. I thinkSureshwarkilledhiswifeandaskedhisfriendstohelphimthatnighttoburnthebody.The friends decided that theywould leave no trace of the body and thenextdaytheywouldtelleveryonethatHashihadeloped.Theywereindeedfastfriends!"Neelmanibroughtallthefourtothepolicestationbutfailedtofindachink

in their alibi.When he found that hewas unable to hang themurderer of hisdaughter,hedecidedtokillSureshwarhimselftoavengethedeathofHashi.Hedidnotwait,within twenty fourhoursofHashi'sdeathhekilledSureshwar inthe sameway as Sureshwar had killedHashi.He had learnt the art of killingwithoutarms,fromwhathehadheardfromthedoctor."But just think, Ajit, whatever I have told you is based entirely on

supposition!IcouldonlybesureifIhadanywayofprovingthatNeelmaniwasHashi'sfather.SoIsetatrapforhim.SuddenlyIasked,'WhatwasthenameofHashi'smother?'"Heansweredwithoutthinking,'Amala.'Howdidheknowhername?Noone

hadmentionedhernameevenonce inconnectionwith thiscase.Shehaddiedtenyearsago.Ihadnodoubtsleftnow.AssoonashementionedAmala'snameto me, he realised that he had walked into my trap. I, too, realised from theexpressiononhisfacethatmysuspicionwascorrect.Neelmanibabu'sunknownculpritwasNeelmanibabuhimself."

TheManinaRedCoat(ChhalanarChanda)

Byomkeshspokeintothephone,"Hello?"The police inspector Rakhalbabu's voice was heard at the other end,

"Byomkeshbabu,IamRakhal.IamcallingyouupfromNetajiHospital.Couldyoupleasecomehereforawhile?""What'swrong?""Attempttomurder—someonehadtriedtoshootamandead—butdidnot

succeed.Nowthatinjuredmanhasbeenbroughttothehospital.Heisrelatingastrangestory.""Really?Iamcoming."ByomkeshhadmovedtohisnewhouseinKeyatala—Netajihospitalwasnot

veryfarfromhishouse.Abouthalfanhour later,ataboutfive in theevening,Byomkesh reached the place and found Rakhal standing near the EmergencyWard.Herevealedmanydetailsaboutthecasewhilestandingthere.Thenameofthe

injured person was Gangapada Choudhury. A good man. He was foundunconsciousonthefirstfloorofahouseinalaneoffFraserRoad.Theparttimeservant had come in at three in the afternoon and discovered him. Itwas thisservantwhohadinformedthepoliceandthehospital.Gangapadahadregainedhisconsciousnessbuthewasweakbecausehehadlostalotofblood.Gangapada was looking out of his first floor window, which overlooked a

lane,whenabulletgrazedhis skull and slippedover the skull-bone insteadofpiercingit.Thebulletwasfoundinsidetheroom.Shotfromarevolverithadnowbeen

sent for examination. Rakhal took Byomkesh to the man. He had received abloodtransfusionandwasfeelingmuchbetter.GangapadaChoudhurywaslyinginasmallnarrowroom,onanironbed.A

bigbandagecoveredhishead likea turban.His facewas thinand longish.Helooked pale probably due to the loss of blood. He was about thirty-five. Helookedagoodandsimpleperson.ByomkeshandRakhalbabupulleduptwochairsoneithersideofhisbedand

satdown.GangapadalookedonceatByomkeshandthenatRakhalbabu.There

wasafaintsmileonhispalelips.Themanhadfortunatelyreturnedfromdeath'sdoor,buttherewasnosignoffearinhisexpression.Rakhalbabusaid,"ThisisByomkeshBakshi.Hehascometohearyourstory."Gangapada'sfacelitup,hetriedtosituponhisbedquickly.Byomkeshgently

pushedhimdownonhispillows,"Don'tgetup,liedown."Gangapadafoldedhishandsingreetingandsaidinanawestruckvoice,"You

are the Truth Seeker — Byomkesh Bakshi. My visit to Calcutta has beenworthwhile."Rakhalbabu said, "If you are feeling stronger please relate your story to

Byomkeshbabu.Butifyouarestillfeelingweak—wewillcomelater."Gangapadasaid,"Iamnotfeelingweakanymore—theyhavepumpedalot

ofbloodintome."Helaughedoutaloud."Thenbeginyourstory."Therewasaglassofwateronthetablenexttohisbed—heliftedhimselfup

ononeelbowanddranksomewater.Thenwithasmilehebeganhisstorywithasmile."MynameisnotGangapadaChoudhury—itisAshokeMaiti.HowIbecame

GangapadaaftercomingtoCalcuttaisastrangestory.I live in Meerat. My forefathers had settled there even before the Sepoy

Mutiny.SoIhaveverylittleconnectionwithBengal.IdoasmalljobinMeerat.Ilivewithmywidowedmotherandanunmarried

sister. I hadmarried butmywife had died about five years ago— I did notremarry.Iamtryingtogetagoodboyformysister.Whateveritis—amonth'sleavewasduetomefromtheoffice.SoIthought

thatIwouldvisitCalcutta.IhavenofriendsorrelativesinCalcutta.Ihadcometo Calcutta when I was very young— then I never visited the city again. IthoughttomyselfthatIwouldseemyhomelandandalsotrytogetabridegroomformysister.IgotdownatHowrahstation. Ihadgot theaddressofadharmashala from

Meerat—soI thought that Iwouldputup there.AftergettingdownfromthetrainIstartedmovingtowardsthegateof thestation.Isuddenlynoticedthatabearded man was walking by my side and constantly turning his head andlookingatme.Ifeltthathewantedtotellmesomething.Iwonderedwhohewas—maybeanagentfromahotel,Ithought.When I reached the dharmashala, I was in trouble. There were no vacant

roomsthere.NowIwouldhavetolookforahotel.Butastayinahotelwouldbeexpensive— how would I manage? I was wondering what to do when thatbeardedmanapproachedme.Hewasnowwearingdarkglasses.Hesaid,"Youdidn'tgetaplace?"

"No,whoareyou?"Hesaid,"MynameisGangapadaChoudhury.Whereareyoucomingfrom?"I said, "From Meerat. My name is Ashoke Maiti. Are you the agent of a

hotel?"Hesaid,"No,IhadseenyouatHowrahstation—Iwasamazed—Iwilltell

you why I was amazed later. Now tell me, do you have no place to stay inCalcutta?"Isaid,"WhywouldIlookforaroominadharmashala,ifIhadanyonehere.I

can'taffordtostayinahotel.SoIamthinkingwhattodo."Gangapadasaid,"Ihaveaproposal.I liveinCalcutta.MyhouseisinSouth

Calcutta.Iamgoingoutofthecityforamonth.Thehousewillbevacant.Ifyoustayinmyhouseitwillbeconvenientforbothyouandme.Ihaveapart-timeservant—hewilllookafteryou—youwillhavenoproblem."I was surprised, "You will hand over your house to a totally unknown

person!"Gangapadasmiledandsaid,"InthatcaseIwilltellyouwhyIwasamazedto

seeyouatthestation.YoulookverymuchlikemyyoungerbrotherDurgapada.Durgapada is missing for the last two years — probably he has become anascetic.Youbear an amazing resemblance tohim.So I havedeveloped a softspotforyou.Besidesifyoustayinmyhouse,Iwillalsoberelievedbecauseitisdangeroustolockupahouseandgoforaholidaynowadays."Iconsideredmyselfverylucky.Iagreedveryhappily.Gangapada tookme to his house in a taxi. Itwas a small roomon the first

floorinasmalllane.Therewasabedwithbedclothes,afewshelvesagainstthewall,afewboxesandcasesandthat'sall.The Hindi-speaking part-time servant was present — his name was

Ramchatur.Gangapadagavehimmoney to bring tea and snacks froma shop.After the servant left Gangapada opened the window overlooking the laneoutside,andcamebacktositonthebed.Hesaid,"Sitdown,Ihavesomethingmoretotellyou."Isatdownonthebedtoo.Gangapadasaid,"MylandlordstaysinKashipur—

heisnotaniceman.IfhegetstoknowthatIhavekeptamaninmyhouseforamonthandhaveleftCalcutta—hemaycreatetrouble.Soifanyoneasksyourname—you say that you areGangapadaChoudhury.Peoplewill think that Ihaveshavedoffmybeard.Theywillnotdoubtanythingbecausewe resembleeachother."Ifounditamusing.Isaid,"Thatisnoproblematall."Then Ramchatur came with tea and snacks. Gangapada was very kind and

hospitable and said, "I will go now. You stay here without worrying about

anything.Goodbye."Hewenttothedoorandcamebacktomeagain,"Ihaven'tsaidsomethingto

you.Whenyouare at homeplease lookoutof thewindowsometimes.Pleasewatchoutforamanwitharedcoat.Ifyouseehimpleasenotedownthedateandtime.Alright?""O.K."Gangapadawentaway.Ithoughtthatthemanwasaneccentric.Butwhatever

itwas—hewasagoodman.Iwasquitecomfortableinhisroom.Ramchaturwas there to look afterme. I roamed around here and there. I stayed at homeduringnoonandnight.Occasionally,Ilookedoutofthewindowforamaninaredcoat.ButitseemedimpossiblethatanymanwouldwalkaboutthestreetsofCalcutta ina redcoat.But since IpromisedGangapada—Idid thisduty.Hecouldberight.Ispentaweekincomfort.This morning I went to the newspaper office to put in a matrimonial

advertisement for my sister. After returning, I rested a little after lunch.Ramchaturleftafterhefinishedhiswork.I got up from my afternoon nap at about a quarter to three. I opened the

windowandlookedout.SuddenlyIfeltaterriblepaininmyhead—Ifelldownonthefloor.ThenIcannotrememberanything.Iregainedmyconsciousnessinthehospital.NowIamlyingwithaturbantied

onmyhead.Itseemsthatsomeonehadshotatmyheadandmissedit.Whatisthematter,Byomkeshbabu?""It will take some time to get to the bottom of this mystery. You can rest

now."Byomkeshgotuptoleave.Atabouttenthirtyinthemorningnextday,RakhalbabucametoByomkesh's

house.Hewasgoingthroughadvertisementsinthenewspaperlazilyinhisofficechamber.HeofferedacigarettetoRakhalbabuandsaid,"Anythingnew?"Rakhalbabulitacigaretteandsaid,"Ramchaturisabsconding.""Oh,thatservant?""Yes,after informing thepoliceyesterday,hehasgone intohiding.We just

can'ttracehim.""Truetohisname—heisveryclever.Hedoesn'twanttogetinvolvedwith

thepolice.BynowhehasprobablyreachedhisvillageinBiharandisenjoyingroastedmaize—anyothernews?""WeinformedthelandlordinKashipur.Webroughthimtothehospital.His

firstreactionwasthatthepatientwasGangapadaChoudhuryhimself.Whenheheard his voice, he said that it was someone else but the resemblance wasamazing."

Byomkesh repeated, "Is there a great resemblance between GangapadaChoudhuryandAshokeMaiti?"Rakhalbabusaid,"GangapadahadsaidthatAshokeresembledhisbrother—

sotherecouldbearesemblancebetweenthesetwo.""IthinkGangapada'sbeardwasfalse.""Ithinkso,too.Butitisdifficulttounderstandhismotive.Whydidhebring

Ashoketohishouse?WhydidhebequeathhisnametoAshoke?Itisdifficulttounderstand."Byomkeshstoppedhimselffromsayingsomething,thensaidinalazyvoice,

"Itispuzzling.Gangapadaisstillmissing,Ipresume?""Yes.Wegot somepapers fromhis shelf and foundout from those that he

worksinanironfactoryandhasgoneonleaveforamonth.""Wherewasthebulletfiredfrom?""Fromtheoppositehouse—thereisanabandonedhouseontheoppositeside

of the lane.Someonehad shot atAshoke from thewindowof that house.Wefoundsomefreshfingerprintsonthewindowofthathouse,whichdirectlyfacesthewindowofGangapada'shouse.Butitisdifficulttoidentifythefingerprints."Byomkeshputaside thepapersandasked, "Has themysterybecomea little

clearer?"Rakhalbabupuffedathiscigaretteandsaidslowly,"ThefactthatGangapada's

beard is false isquiteobvious.His landlordhadnever seenGangapadawithabeard. I had asked him that.Now the question iswhy does hemove about indisguise.Onereasonmaybethathewantstocommitaterriblecrimeanddoesnotwishtobeidentified.HesawAshokeMaitiinHowrahstation,foundthathelookedlikehim,sohebroughthimtohishouse,andwentintohiding.MaybehehimselftriedtokillAshokeMaitifromtheoppositehouse—totrytoconvincepeople that itwasGangapadawhowasdead.Maybehewanted to get a largeamountfromtheLifeInsuranceCompany.Nowthesituationisthatweneitherknowwhoheisnorhispresentaddress,nordoweknowforacertaintywhetherhereallytriedtokillAshokeMaiti.TherewasnoLifeInsurancePolicyamonghispapers.Sowhattodonow?"Byomkesh thought for a while, then said, "Have you made enquiries in

Meerat?""IhavemadeAshokesendatelegramtohismotherinMeerat—wehaven'tgotareplyasyet.Why,doyoususpectAshoke?""Ashokeseemsagoodmanbuthehasnoalibis.Maybeheistellingthetruth.

RamchaturcouldhaveverifiedwhatAshokeissaying—buthehasrunaway.Anyway,wheredoesGangapadawork?""InanIronFoundrynearCalcutta,"Rakhalbabubroughtoutanotebookfrom

hispocketandreadout—"ScrapIronandSteelFactoryLtd."

"Wemaygetsomeinformationthere.""Iamgoingthere—willyoucomewithus?""Yes.Ihavenothingtodoathomeatpresent."

The factory was in the southern outskirts of Calcutta. It was situated on twoacres of land. There were some sheds here and there with corrugated roofs,between thesewere piles of rusted iron rods. The busy activity in the factoryshowed that it was a flourishing one. At one side of the gate was a smallconcretehouse—thiswastheofficeofthefactory.When Byomkesh and Rakhalbabu reached the factory, the owner, Ratanlal

Kapadiawasintheoffice.KapadiahadbeenlivinginBengalforthelastthreegenerations,sohecould

speak fluently inBengali althoughhewasaMarwari.Heoffereduscigarettesandaskeduswhathecoulddoforus.Rakhalbabu glanced at Byomkesh and began asking his questions —

Byomkeshlistenedquietly."DoesGangapadaChoudhuryworkhere?""Yes,heisatpresentonleave.""Whatworkdoeshedo?""HeisamelterintheElectricfurnace.""Whatisthat?""NowadaysironismeltedinElectricfurnaces—themanwhoknowshowto

do that work is a melter. Gangapada is our senior melter — it has becomeinconvenientforusbecausehisassistantsarenottoogoodatthejobnowthatheisonleave.Thereareveryfewgoodmeltersinourcountry—Gangapadaisoneofthem.""Really?Whydidhetakeleave?""Amonth'sleavewasdue—hehasgoneforatourofIndia.Nowadaysthere

aremany special trains which take people on a tour of the whole of India atreducedfares.""Yes.Doeshehaverelatives?""Idon'tthinkso.Helivedalone.""Whatkindofapersonishe?""Veryactive,goodathiswork,intelligentandalert."Rakhalbabu looked at Byomkesh, Byomkesh was listening a little

inattentively—nowheasked,"DoesGangapadahaveanyenemies?"Ratanlalfrowned,"Enemy?NoIhaven'theardofanyenemies—but,oh!"Hesuddenlylaughed,"Yes,Gangapadadidhaveanenemybutheisinjailat

present.""Whoishe?""His name is Naresh Mandal. He was our chief melter for three years,

Gangapadawashisassistant.Therewassomequarrelbetweenthetwo.Nareshwasahot-temperedmanandGangapadawascunning.Butbothwereefficient.Iusedtowatchthefun.ThenonedaysuddenlyNareshkilledaman.Gangapadagaveatestimonyinthecourtagainsthim.Nareshwassenttotheprison.""Doyouknowthedurationofhissentence?""Idon'tknowexactly—maybefourorfiveyears.AfterNareshwenttojail,

Gangapadabecamethechiefmelter,"helaughedheartily.Byomkesh stood up smilingly, "We won't bother you anymore— just one

thing,whendidyoulastseeGangapada?""Aboutfifteenorsixteendaysback.""Didhehaveabeardthen?""Beard?Heneverhadabeard.""Thankyou!"Rakhalbabuaskedaftercomingoutintothestreet,"Nowwhat?'Byomkeshsaid,"Theonlythinglefttodoistogropearoundinthedark.We

can do another thing. NareshMandal went to jail after committing a murderaboutfourorfiveyearsback.Itmightbehelpfulifyoucangetcopiesofallthecourtdocuments.AtleastifwecangetacopyoftheMagistrate'sverdict—itwouldbeuseful.Wemayevengetsomecluesfromit."Rakhalsaid,"Allright—sinceIhavenothingbettertodo—Iwilldothat—

youwillgetalltheinformationbytomorrow."

Thenextday,Byomkeshwaslookingoutofthewindowofhisownhouse.Henoticedchildrenwearingreddresses,womenwearingredsareesbutnotasinglemalewearingaredcoat.Amanwearingaredcoatwasindeedanunusualandraresight.Thetelephonerangatthatmoment.Rakhalbabusaid,"Ireceivedacopyofthe

verdictofthecase.Theredoesn'tseemtobeanythingimportant—anywayIamsendingittoyouthroughabearer—youcanreadthroughit."AconstabledeliveredthedocumenttoByomkeshafterabouthalfanhour.It

wasaheavyofficialdocumentrunningintofifteenorsixteenpages.Byomkeshstartedreadingthedocumentafterlightingacigarette.Before giving the verdict, the Judge had given a description of the incident

whichledtothecrime,thentherewasanaccountofwhatthewitnesseshadtosay, then came the verdict. This was the summary of the whole case: "TheaccusedisNareshMandal,Age39.Heworks

inafactorycalled,"ScrapIronandSteelFactoryLtd."Heisaccusedofkillingastreetbeggar.ThecasehasbeensetupaccordingtoPenalCode304/323.We learn from the primary witness Gangapada Choudhury and other

witnesses that theaccused is ill-temperedandquarrelsome.At fiveo'clock,onthe day of the crime, the accused Naresh Mandal and witness GangapadaChoudhury were returning from their work place, together. Both work in thesame,abovementionedfactory.GangapadaChoudhuryistheassistantofNareshMandal.While walking through the market place, Naresh picked a quarrel

unnecessarilywithGangapada.SoGangapadaallowedNareshtowalkaheadofhim.HewaswalkingabouttwentyyardsbehindNaresh.AtthattimeanAnglo-Indianbeggarwearingpantsandcoatstartedfollowing

Naresh,askingforalms.ThebeggarwasthinandpalebuthespokeinEnglish.Hewasawell-knownfigureinthemarketplace.Gangapada noticed while walking behind Naresh that he was waving his

handsirritablytogetridofthebeggarbutthebeggarwasveryinsistent.SuddenlyNareshlosthistemperandgaveahardslaptothebeggar.Theman

fellonthestreetbutNareshdidnotevenwaittoseewhathadhappenedtohimandwalkedoffangrily.Gangapadahadwitnessed thewhole incident.Hecame forwardquicklyand

foundthatthebeggarwasdead.Thepostmortemreportsaidthatthemanwasphysicallyweak,soahardblowwasenoughtokillhim.Inthemeantime,manyotherspectatorshadcollectedaroundtheman.Many

had seen Naresh slapping that man. They informed the police. The policearrestedhimfromhishouse.According to thepolice, thosewhowerewitness to the casewereobjective

aboutthewholeincidentexceptGangapada.Theaccusedhadpleadednotguilty.According to himGangapada is his enemy, hewants to take his place in thefactorybyremovinghim,thatwaswhyhehadframedNareshinthiscase.ItistruethatGangapadawasnotselflessorobjectiveasfarasthiscasewas

concernedbuthisstatementwassimilartotheothereyewitnessesofthecase.SoGangapadawasnotlying.So Naresh Mandal has been accused of committing a murder unwillingly.

AccordingtoSection304ofthePenalCodeheiscondemnedtothreeyearsofrigorousimprisonment."Byomkesh finished reading thedocument. Itwaseveningand the roomwas

dark. Byomkesh sat silently for a long time and then got up to switch on thelight.Thenhepickedupthetelephone.

"Rakhal,Ireadthedocument.""Didyouunderstandanything?""Igottheanalysisofthecharacterofanill-temperedman.""Soitwasnousereadingtheverdict.""Iwon'tsaythat—itisbettertoinvestigateeveryangleofthecasetogeta

clue.""That'strue.""Didyoutakephotographsofthefingerprintswhichyougotintheabandoned

house?""Yes.""DidyougetanynewsofGangapada?""No,weevencheckedthenamesofpassengersinthetouristspecialtrains.""Maybehedidn'tevengo—heishidinginCalcutta.""Maybe—anyothernews?""WehavejustreceivedatelegramfromMeerat.AshokeMaitiisnotlying.""Good,anythingelse?""No,nowwhatshouldwedo?""Ican'tthinkofanythingelse.CanyoufindoutwhenNareshMandalwillbe

releasedfromjail?""Iwillgiveyouthisnewstomorrow."

Aboutnineinthemorning,RakhalbabucametoByomkesh.Helookedgrim.Hesaid,"Thematterisserious.NareshMandalhadcomeoutofthejailamonthandahalfback.Hehadbeengivenafewmonthsremissionforgoodbehaviour."Byomkeshsaid,"Wherehashegoneafterbeingreleasedfromjail?""Hedidnot go tohis oldquarter, neither didhego to the factory.Sohe is

untraceable."Byomkeshwas silent for some timeand said, "Things arebecomingclearer

now.Nareshmustbeguiltyofplottingsomecrimeorelsewhyshouldhegointohiding?HeshouldhavegonetoKapadia'sfactorytogetbackhisjob.""Ithinksotoo.""Wecannoworganise thestory in itscorrectorder.NareshMandalwas ill-

tempered and quarrelsome and Gangapada Choudhury was cunning. Theyworkedinthesamefactory.Thetwooftenquarreledwitheachother.Gangapadawanted to oust Naresh and get his position in the factory. But that was notpossiblebecauseNareshwasagoodworker.Thenallofasudden,Gangapadagothisopportunity.Nareshhitabeggarinthestreetandkilledhim.ThatwasagreatchanceforGangapada.HetriedhisbesttogetNareshhanged.But Naresh did not get a death sentence, in fact he didn't even get a life

sentence.Hewasjailedonlyforthreeyears.Gangapadabecamethechiefmelterinhisplaceinthefactory.Nareshwasnotonlybad-tempered,hewas revengefulalso.Beforegoing to

thejail,hehadmadeavowthathewouldkillGangapada,oncehewasout.Thishatredincreasedwhilehewasinjailandhisresolvegrewstronger.GangapadaknewthatNareshwasinprisonforthreeyearsonly—sohewas

onhisguard.WhenNaresh cameout a fewmonthsbeforehis termwasover,Gangapadawasawareofthefact.Hewasfrightened.HemayhaveseenNareshmovingaroundnearhishouseorintheabandonedhouseoppositehiswindow.Hedecidedthathewouldvanishfromsightforamonthatleast.Hetookamonth'sleavefromthefactory,gotholdofafalsebeardandbegan

roamingaroundinitsothatNareshwouldnotbeabletorecognisehim.MaybehewasreallyintendingtogoonatourofIndia,beforehesawAshokeMaitiintheHowrahstationoneday.Strangely,Ashokelookedverymuchlikehim.Gangapada was a very cunning man. He made a plan. He would install

AshokeMaiti in his house.NareshwouldmistakeAshoke forGangapada andkillhim.Gangapadawouldbesafealthoughhewouldlosethejob—buthislifewas naturally more important than his job. Gangapada was sure that Nareshwouldkillhimfromthehouseoppositehiswindow.Nowlet'sconsiderNaresh'spointofview.Nareshhadsomehowmanagedto

acquire a revolver after getting out of the jail.He did not get back to his oldhome,he livedelsewhereandhebeganmovingaroundGangapada'shouse foranopportunity.HethoughtthathewouldkillGangapadainsidehisownhousefromtheabandonedhouseacrossthelane.Thatwouldattractlessattentionthanifheshotathiminapublicplace.AfterthathewouldescapefromCalcutta.In the meantime, Gangapada set up poor Ashoke in his house and went

missing.BeforegoinghetoldAshoketolookoutofthewindowforamaninared coat. That of course, was total nonsense. His main purpose was to makeAshokeMaitilookoutofthewindow—sothathewouldbeasittingtargetforNaresh.Everythingwentoffasplanned,exceptthatAshokewasonlyinjuredanddid

notdie.Hetoldthepoliceeverything.NowGangapadaandNareshwereinthesame boat. None of them could appear in public. Both were wanted by thepolice.Naresh,ofcourse,wasacriminal,hecouldbecaughtforattemptedmurder.

But Gangapada was no less a criminal — he had pushed an innocent mantowardssuredeath.Butevenifheiscaughtitwouldbedifficulttopunishhim."Byomkeshbecamesilent.Rakhalbabusaid,"Thatmaybe—buthowtocatch

thepersonwhocanbepunishedbylaw—thatisNareshMondol?"

Afterremainingsilentforsometime,Byomkeshsaid,"Theonlywaytocatchhimistoadvertise.""Advertise?""Yes,towaitforthefishtobitethebait."Afterthreedays,anadvertisementappearedintwomajordailiesinCalcutta:

BombaySteelFoundryLtd.WerequireanexperiencedmelterforourBombayFactory.Salary–1000–75–3000.Come for an interview in the address given below between 10 am to 5 pm

withcertificates."JustabovetheGariahatMarket,therewasasignboardhangingoverasmallroom—"BombaySteelFoundryLtd.(BranchOffice)"Insidetheroom,Rakhalbabuwassittingatatableinplainclothes,attentively

lookingatsomepapers.A littleawayfromhimByomkeshsatatasmall tablewithatypewriter.Therewasauniformedbeareratthedoor.Otherswerearoundbutinvisibletothecommonpublic.ThefirstdayByomkeshandRakhalbabusatintheofficebetween10am.to5

pm.No one came for a job.While locking the room,Rakhal said, "Wemustcontinueputtingtheadvertisementinthepapers."Thenextdayamanappeared.Hewasleanandthin.Itseemedunlikelythathe

couldkillanyonewithoneblow.HisnamewasPrafullaDey—anelectrician.Hehadneverworkedasamelter.Hecouldlearntheworkanddothejobifhewasgiventhechance.Rakhalbabugotridofhim.Onthethirddayanothermancameintotheroom.Rakhalbabubecamealertas

soonashe sawhim.Hewas stronglybuilt, dark complexioned, his eyeswereblood shot, he had a crew cut and he was wearing a khaki coat. He lookedaskanceatthem,asheenteredtheroom.HestoodinfrontofRakhalbabu'stableandsaidinahoarsevoice,"Ihavecomehereafterseeingtheadvertisement.""Sitdown."He sat carefully on the chair opposite and looked at Byomkesh with sharp

eyes.Rakhalbabusaidinaverynormalvoice,"Haveyoucomeforthejobofanelectricmelter?""Yes.""Whereareyourcertificates?"Themanwassilentforsometime.Thenhesaid,"Ihavelostmycertificates.I

wasillforthreeyearsandIhadtoleavemyjob.ThenIlostmycertificates.""Wheredidyouworkearlier?""Inan IronFoundry inNagpur.Look, I reallyknow theworkofanelectric

melter.Ifyoudon'tbelieveme,IamreadytogotoBombayatmyownexpensesandprovethisfact."

Rakhalbabulookedatthemanandsaid,"That'snotabadproposal.Butthisisonlyabranchoffice.Wehavejustopenedit.Icannottakethisdecisiononmyown. Iwill informmy head office inBombay. Please come tomorrow at thistime.""CertainlyIwillcome."RakhalbabulookedatByomkesh,"Bakshi,takedownhisnameandaddress."Byomkeshsaid,"Yes,Sir."Themanhesitatedabitbeforegivinghisnameandaddress.Thensaid,"My

nameisNrisinhaMullick.Addressis17,KunjaMistrilane."Byomkesh took down his name and address. In the meantime Rakhalbabu

pressedabellhiddenunderhistable,whichalertedthepoliceoutsidethattheymust follow thisman.Rakhalbabuwas sure that thiswasNareshMondol.Butbeforehecouldbearrestedoneneededtoknowtheaddressofhishousewheretherevolvercouldbefound.Butnothingwasnecessary!Nareshwasabouttostepoutofthedoor,whenanothermanenteredtheroom.

There was no doubt that this was Gangapada Choudhury. He looked like thetwinbrotherofAshokeMaiti.Hewaswithoutabeardthisday.BeforeGangapadasawNaresh—Nareshhadseenhim.Heroaredlikealion

andpouncedonGangapada.Heclutchedathisthroat,abusedhimprofuselyandsaid,"TodayIwillnotletyougo,youswine."Rakhalbabu quickly blew his whistle. All the constables and policemen

aroundthebuildingcamerunningintotheroom.Withgreateffort,thetwowereseparated. Naresh was handcuffed, Rakhalbabu said, "Naresh Mondol, I amarrestingyouonthechargeoftryingtomurderGangapadaChoudhury."But Naresh was quite oblivious of anything else except his hatred for

Gangapada,"Iwillkillyou,treacherousfox."Byomkeshsatcomfortablyonhischairandlitacigarette.Rakhalbabu told his assistant, "Dhiren, this is Naresh Mondol's address.

Searchhishouse,IamsureyouwillgettherevolverwithwhichhetriedtokillAshokeMaiti.Iamtakingthesetwotothelock-up."Gangapadawas sitting on the floor, trying to recover fromNaresh's sudden

attack.Hegot upquickly and said, "Why shouldyou takeme to the lock-up?WhathaveIdone?"Rakhalbabu said, "You tried to get Ashoke Maiti murdered. The public

prosecutorwilldecideunderwhichpenalcodeyourcrimewillbetried.Getupnow."

In the evening, Rakhalbabu and Byomkesh were sipping tea in Byomkesh'shouse.Rakhalbabusaid,"Howdidyouguessthatbothwouldcometotheofficeforajob?"Byomkeshsaid,"Itwasapossibility.ButIreallydidnotexpectthembothto

arrive at the same time and start fighting like this. But it was good that wecaughttwofisheswithonebait.DidyougettherevolverinNaresh'shouse?""Yes,thecaseagainsthimisstrong.Nowlet'sseeifwecancatchGangapada.

Ihavekepthimincustody.Let'sseewhathappens.Atleastitwillbesomekindofretributionforhiswickedness.""WhataboutAshokeMaiti?""Heisstillinthehospital.Butevenwhenhecomesout,hewillbeourmain

witness—sohecannotleavethecity."Byomkesh laughed, "ThankGodhe is alive. If he haddied— thismystery

wouldneverhavebeensolved."

ThePhantomClient(Shailarahasya)

ShayahadriHotel,Mahabaleshwar,

Pune

3rdJanuary

DearAjit,Icouldn'twritetoyouaftercomingtoBombay.YouknowhowdifficultIfind

towriteletters.Youareawritersoyouarecapableofwritinglongletters.ButwherewillIgetyourimagination?Ionlydealwithtruth!Still, Iamsitting towrite this long letter toyou.YouwillunderstandwhyI

amundertakingthisHerculeantask,assoonasyoucometotheendofthisletter.IamwritingthisletterincandlelightfromthehotelroomofMahabaleshwar,ahill station. It iscoldanddarkoutside. I amsitting inaclosed roombut I amunablestilltoavoidthecoldandthedark.Thewickofthecandleisflickering.There are long shadows moving silently on the walls. Indeed, a ghostlyatmosphere!Ihavealwaystriedtoavoiddealingwiththesupernaturalinmylife—but—itisbecomingdifficultformetokeepitoutofmybusinesshere.AsIamunable to relate a story as you do, I have firstwrittenwhat I should haverelatedlater—Imustbeginfromtheverybeginning!ItookaboutfourdaystofinishmyworkinBombay.Ihaddecidedtoreturn

on the sameday.But Ihadgotacquaintedwithapolicebigwig—Mr.VishuVinayakApte—Maharashtrian.Hesaid,"HowcanyougobackfromBombaywithoutseeingPoona?"Iasked,"WhatistheretoseeinPoona?"Hesaid,"PoonawastheGreatShivaji'scapital.Thereis lots toseethere—

SinghGarh,BhabaniMandir,etc."IthoughtthatImightnotcometothispartofIndiaagain—sowhymissthe

chanceofseeingplaces.

Isaid,"Alright,Iaminterested."WestartedoutinApte'scar.TheroadfromBombaytoPoonaisbeautiful.It

weavedinandoutoftheShayahadriMountainRangesoftheWesternGhats.Itisdifficultforapersonlikemetodescribethescenicbeautyoftheseparts—ononesidearethemountainranges,ontheother—deepgorges.Youwouldhavewrittenanepiconthebeautyofthisplace.Iwas a guest inApte's house inPoona.Therewasnodearthof hospitality.

Poona is colder than Bombay. But this cold does not make one feel numb,insteadonefeelsenergetic.I stayed inPoona for threedaysandsawall thathad tobeseen.ThenApte

said,"HowcanyouleavePoonawithoutseeingMahabaleshwar?"Isaid,"What'sthat?"Aptelaughedandsaid,"It'saplace.ItisthebesthillstationofMaharastra—

justasyourDarjeeling.It'stwothousandfeethigherthanPoona.EveryonefromBombaygoesforaholidayinMahabaleshwarduringthesummers.""Butnoonegoesduringthewinters.Howcoldisit?""It'sliketheweatherinEngland—let'sgo—youwilllikeit."SohereIaminMahabaleshwar—andamIenjoyingmyself.Mahabaleshwarisseventy-fivemilesfromPoona.Westartedoutbycarafter

lunchand reachedMahabaleshwar at about four in the afternoon.On reachingwe found that the town was virtually empty, except for a few permanentresidents. It was really "home"weather here— as Englishmenwould say—severe cold during day, severe cold during night. I had borrowed a heavyovercoatfromApte—orelseitwouldhavebeenimpossibleformetobearthecold.The townwas a smaller version ofDarjeeling.Apte and I put up in theShayahadriHotel.Therewasnotoneguest in thehotel.Onlytheownerof thehotelwastherewithtwoorthreeservants.Theowner isaParsigentlemancalledShorabHomji.He isanoldfriendof

Apte—middle-aged,plump—veryfair.Hemustbeagoodbusinessmanbutheisalsoaveryamiableperson.Apteintroducedmetohim—helookedatmesharply—thenwelcomedme

tohissittingroom—coffeeandpastriescamesoonafter.Thesunhadsetbythetimewe had finished our coffee.Aptewent out tomeet a relative of hiswholivedhere.Hesaidthathewouldreturnwithinanhour.After he left, Homji smiled and said, "You are a Bengali. You will be

surprisedtoknowthatamonthandahalfbackthishotelbelongedtoaBengalicouple.."Iwassurprised,"Whatareyousaying?ABengalicameandstartedahotelso

faraway!"

Homjisaid,"Buthedidnotstartitalone,hehadaGujaratipartner."TheservantcameandsaidsomethingtoHomji.Heaskedme,"Hotwater is

ready,doyouwanttohaveabath?"I said, "Are you crazy? In this cold! I will bathe only after returning to

Bombay."Homjilaughed.Iaskedhim,"YourhomeisinBombay—thenwhyareyou

stayinghereinthiscold.Therearenobeachesherenow."Homjisaid,"Thereisalotofworktobedonehere.Visitorswillstartcoming

fromMarch.Sothehotelhas tobepaintedandtidiedupbythen.ThenIhavemadearosegardenatthebackofthehotel.Whydon'tyoucomealongwithme,itisstilldaylight—Iamsurethatyouwouldliketoseethegarden."The gardenwas at the back of the hotel. Flowerswill begin blooming in a

monthor two.Thehotelwasawhitewashed, twostoreyedhouse. Ithadabouttwelve to fourteenrooms.Aredpathwaypassed thefrontof thehouse.At theback,aftertherosegarden,wasadeepgorge.Ifonebendsdown—onewouldnoticeadenseforestandastream,deepdowninthegorge.Wewere returning indoorswhena roarechoed in thegorge.Bynowitwas

pitchdarkbelow.Iasked,"Whatwasthat?"Homjisaid,"Atiger'sroar.Let'sgoin."Theelectric lightswereon inside—theservantbroughtacoalstovenearus.Wepulledourchairsnearit.Iasked,"Sotherearetigershere?"Homjisaid,"Yes, there are also cheetahs, hyenas andwolves. The tiger which you heardroaringisunabletoleavetheplacebecausehehastastedhumanblood.""Itisaman-eater—howmanyhumansdiditkill?""Iknowonlyofone.Itisaveryexcitingstory—doyouwanttohearit?"Justatthattime,Aptecameback—theexcitingstorywasforgotten.Hesaid

that his relative had requested him to have dinner and spend the night in hishouse—soAptewouldgothereforthenightandreturnatninethenextmorningtotakemetotheplacesoftouristinterestoverhere—BombayPoint,Arther'sSeat, Pratap Ghar Fort etc. He went off. We chatted for some time. ThensuddenlyHomjiaskedme,"Ihopeyouarenotafraidofghosts."I laughed.Homji said, "Somepeople are afraid to sleep alone.Then shall I

makearrangementsforyoutosleepinthefirstfloor?"Isaid,"Mostcertainly.Wheredoyousleep?"hesaid,"Isleepdownstairs.My

bedroomisnext tomysittingroom.Iamaskingyou tosleep in thefirst floorbecause we have put away all the bedding in the storerooms as there are novisitors.Onlyoneroomonthefirstfloorisready.Thepreviousownerstayedinitwithhiswife.Wehavenotmovedanythingasyetfromthatroom."Isaid,"Noproblem,Iwillsleepthere."We had our dinner at eight in the evening. It seemed like midnight —

everythingwasdarkandquiet.IaskedHomji,"Youdidnottellmeyourexcitingstory."Homjisaid,"Yes,indeed,itisanexcitingstory.Thisincidenthastodowith

thetwopreviousownersofthishotel."Homjibeganhisstory.Aboutsixyearsback,aGujaratinamedManekMehtaandaBengalinamed

Bijoy Biswas started this hotel inMahabaleshwar. They were equal partners.Mehtagavethemoney,BijoyBiswas,thehardwork.Andthehotelstarted.ManekMehtahadalotofotherworkandwashardlyeverinMahabaleshwar.

Heonlycameoccasionally.BijoyBiswaswasthepersonwhoranthehotel,withthehelpofhiswife,Haimabati.ManekMehtawasnotagoodman.Hehad threewives,one inGoa,one in

Bombay and the other in Ahmedabad. He lived in one or the other of theseplaces.Hehadmanyillegalbusinesses,too—hewasabootlegger,asmugglerandwhatnot.Manya times,hisgoodshadbeenconfiscatedbuthewasnevercaught.Hewasasslipperyasaneel.NooneknewhowBijoyBiswasandMehtametanddecidedtostartahotelbusiness—becauseBiswaswasnotthatkindofa person. As far as common knowledge goes Biswas was experienced in therunningofhotels.Hehada smallhotel in eitherBombayorAhmedabad.Thekind of business that Mehta was involved in brought him a lot of moneysometimesandsometimesnotapenny.Sohehaddecidedtoinvestinahotelforrainy days.Biswas probably did not knowwhat kind of aman hewas, so hetrustedMehtaandpartneredhiminthisbusiness.With the good management of Biswas and his wife, the Shayahadri hotel

became one of the best inMahabaleshwar.Here the tourist season is only fortwo-and-a-halfmonths—oramaximumofthreemonths.Thecoupleworkedsohardthatwithinafewyearstheprofitofthehoteldoubled.Mehtacameat theendofthetouristseasontocollecthispartoftheprofit.During theseyears,ShorabHomji,wasa regularvisitor to thishotelduring

thesummers.Helikedthishotelanddreamedofowningonehimselfsomeday.Thepreviousyear,Homjicametostayasusual inMay.Asanoldclienthe

was given a lot of importance. Haimabati took special care to make himcomfortable.OnedayshetoldHomjisadly,"Sethji,nextyearyouwillnotseeushere.""Why?"Haimabatisaid,"Thehotelwillbesold.Ourpartnerisnotwillingtokeepthe

hotelanymore.Wewillalsoleaveandreturntoourownstate.Myhusbanddoesnotkeepwellinthiscoldclimate."That evening, Homji met Bijoy Biswas in his office, "Are you thinking of

sellingthehotel?"

BijoyBiswaswasaboutforty-fiveyearsofage—mucholderthanhiswife.He looked a little sickly. He always wore a lot of warm clothes including amuffler,evenduringthesummer.Hesaid,"Yes?Doyouwanttobuyit?"Homjisaid,"Yes—ifthepricesuitsme.Butwhereisyourpartner?""Mypartnerisabroadnow—hehasgivenmethepowerofattorneytosell

theplace."HeopenedhiscupboardandshowedHomjithedocument.Finally,afteralotofbargainingtheplacewassoldtoHomji.Butthewhole

process of registration took a fewmonths. In themiddle ofNovember,HomjiandBiswaswenttoPoonaandintheRegistrar'soffice,Homjipaidthemoneyincash. It was decided that hewould take possession of the hotel on the 1st ofDecember. After that Homji went to Bombay and Biswas returned toMahabaleshwarfromPoona.Therewerenoguestsinthehotelatthattime.Therewasonlyamaidthere.So

whatever happened after this was known only from Haimabati's testimony.Manek Mehta must have given the power of attorney to Biswas purposely,becausetheverynextdayafterthetransaction,hearrivedatthehotelat9p.m.Later it was found out that Manek had left his car two miles away fromMahabaleshwarandhadwalkedallthewaytothehotel.Whenhearrivedat thehotel,Biswasandhiswifewereplanningwhat they

were going to do in the future. They had finished their dinner. Themaid hadgoneoff tosleep. Itwasquitecold then.Mehtawaswearingaheavyovercoatand a woollen monkey cap. His behaviour was always perfect. He said,"Haimaben,Iwilleatandstayheretonight.Makemesomethingsimple."Haimabatiwent to thekitchen tomake something forMehta—shedidnot

wake up the servant. Mehta and Biswas began talking about money matters.Therewasastrongironlockerintheoffice,allthemoneyfromthesaleofthehotelaswellassomeofthemoneyfromthebankwaskeptthere.BiswasknewthatMehtawouldarriveanydaytotakehisshare.AlthoughHaimabatiwascooking,herearswerealert toanyconversation in

theofficeroom.Sheheardtwomencomeoutoftheofficeroomandgooutofthehouse,tothebackgarden.Shewasverysurprised—becauseBiswascouldnot tolerate the cold,winter air. But still she could not imagine that anythinguntowardwasabouttohappen.Shecontinuedcooking.Thensheheardafaintscreamfrombehindthehouse.Shewasterrified.That

was her husband's voice! She ran to the back of the house through a dooropeningonthebackyard.Assoonassheopenedthedoor,Mehtarushedin.HepushedHaimabatiasideandrantowardsthefrontdoor."What's wrong? What's wrong?" screamed Haimabati and ran out into the

back yard. Therewas no one there. She then ran into the office room— shefoundtheironsafewideopenandallthemoneymissing.NowsherealisedthatMehtahadpushedherhusbandintothegorgeandescapedwithall themoney.Shescreamedandfainted.Dear Ajit — I will have to stop here. The disembodied soul has started

disturbingme!Iwillfinishmylettertomorrow.

4thJanuary

I could not finish my letter yesterday, I have started writing again today incandle light,after10p.m.Homjiwas tellingmethestory.Wefinishedhavingourfoodbeforehefinishedrelatingthestory.Wecamebacktothesittingroom.Theservantserveduscoffee.Homjibeganspeaking:—WhenHaimabati regainedher senses itwas past ten— the lights hadgone

off.Shecalledhermaidbuttherewasnoonetohelpforthatnight.Thepolicecamethenextmorning.PoliceinvestigationshowedthatHaimabatiwascorrect.Thereweresignsofstruggleatthebackgardenattheedgeofthegorge.Moreinformationcametothepolicegradually.ManekMehtawasabsconding.Hewassmuggling three lakhs of gold from Pakistan, when the Customs departmentconfiscatedthegoods.Hegavethepolicetheslipbuthadbecomepenniless.Sohehadmurderedhispartnerandhadvanishedwithallthemoneyfromthesafe.ItwasnecessarytoretrievethebodyofBijoyBiswasfromthegorge.Butthis

gorgewassoinaccessiblethatitwasaverydifficulttasktogodowninsearchofthe body.Moreover, a tiger couple had come to live in the valley below thegorge.Onecouldhearthemroarinthenight.Anyway,thepolicewentdownthegorgewithafewtribals—intothevalley,insearchofthebody.Buttheyfoundvery little of the remains of the body.They came upwith a few bones, someblood-stainedclothesandamuffler—allbelongingtoBijoyBiswas.ThepoliceissuedanarrestwarrantagainstMehta.Itwassoon the1stofDecember.Onecouldeasily imagine theconditionof

the poor, destitute, widow. Homji was a kind man, he gave some money toHaimabati.SheleftMahabaleshwarforgood,wipinghertearsofgriefandloss.Amonth passed.ManekMehta was still absconding. But the tiger and the

tigresswerestilllivinginthegorge.Theyhadtastedhumanbloodandsowereunabletoleavetheplace.Iwasabit sadwhen IheardHomji's story. I felt sorry fora fellowBengali

who had made some money but had lost all of it and also his life. But the

condition of hiswidowwas of course,worse. Iwondered if the policewouldeverbeabletocatchManekMehta.Itwasadifficultjobinacountrylikeours,wherethepopulationwasvast.I was thinking about all this, when the lights went off. Homji said, "Here

lightsgooffat tenatnightandcomebackearlyinthemorning.Come,letmeseeyoutoyourroom."Hehadahuge,longtorchwithwhichheshowedmethewaytomybedroom.

Therewasarowofrooms,allofthemwerelockedexceptthelastroominthecorner.Therewasalongverandahinfrontoftherooms.Theservanthadkeptacandleonthetable.Theroomwasbig,infrontwastheverandah,andattheside,abalcony.There

weretwosinglebedsoneithersideoftheroom.Onewasmade,theotherbare.In the middle of the room was a large table and two chairs. There was awardrobeagainstthewall,analarmclockonthetable,aboxofcandles,aboxofmatchsticksandaflaskfullofcoffee—incaseIfeltcoldatnight.Homjiwasindeedhospitable.Homjisaid,"BijoyBiswas livedherewithhiswife.Thisroomhasnotbeen

usedafterHaimabatileft.Ihopeyouwillbeallright."Isaid,"Iwillbeverycomfortable—don'tworry.Yougoandrest.Ithinkitis

usualforpeopletoretireearlyinthisplace."Homji smiled, "Yes, especially in the winters. No one stirs before eight or

nineinthemorning.Ifyouwanttogetupearly,youcanputonthealarm.Keepthistorch,youmayneeditatnight."'Thankyou."Homjiwentdownstairs.Iclosedthedoor.Inthelightofthecandle,shadows

wereplayingintheroom.Mysuitcasewaskeptnexttothewardrobe.Isatonachairandlitacigarette.Although all the doors and windows were shut, chilling cold air filled the

room. I quickly smokedmy cigarette and put the alarm at seven thirty in themorning.Aptewillcomeatnine.Ikept the torchnext tomypillow,putoff thecandleandslippedunder two

comfortableandwarmblankets. Idozedoff to sleep. I receivednohintof thepresenceofthesupernaturaltillthen.SuddenlyIwasrudelywokenupbythesoundofthealarmclock.Isatup—

was it seven thirty already? I flashed the torch on my watch— it was twoo'clock and the clockon the table too indicated two.Did Imake amistake inputtingonthehandsofthealarmattherighttime?Theclockmustbeadefectiveone.Iwentofftosleepandgotupthenextmorning.Thiswasmyfirstnight'sexperience.Atbreakfast thenextmorning, Iasked

Homji,"Istheresomethingwrongwiththealarmoftheclockinmyroom?"Hesaid,"No,why?"I told him.He lookedworried.Then he said, "Maybe it has stopped. Iwill

giveyouanotheronetonight."AtthatmomenttheservantcameinwithApte'sletter.Hehadwrittenthatthe

previousnighthehadsprainedhisankleinhisrelative'shouse—hecouldnotmovehislegs—couldwepleasecometomeethim.Iasked,"Howfarisit?"Homjisaid,"Apte's relative is themanagerofabank,situated in themarket

placeabouttwomilesaway.Themanagerstaysonthetopfloorofthebank."WedrovedowninHomji'scar.Weclimbedthestairsofatwostoreyedhouse

toreachthefirstfloor.WefoundAptelyinginbedwithhisfeetonapillow.Hewashappytoseeus,"JustlookatmyconditionIshouldhavebeenshowingyouroundtheplacebuthereIaminbed."Iasked,"Whathappened?"Apte said, "I heard someone knocking at my door at night and jumped up

frombed.Iopenedthedoorandfoundnoone.SoIshut itagainandasIwaswalkingtowardsmybed,Ifelldownandsprainedmyleftankle.""Haveyouhurtyourselfanywhereelse?""No,but—"Aptewasquietforsometime,"Strangely,Ididn'ttripandfall.I

feltasifIwaspushedfrombehind."Isuddenlyasked,"Whatwasthetimethen?""Exactlytwo."Wedidnotspeakaboutitanymore—thehosthadcometowelcomeus.He

wasajollyman.Wehadcoffeeandsnacksandchattedforsometime.Aptesaid,"IthoughtIwouldtakeMr.BakshiaroundbutIwillnotbeabletomovefortwoorthreedays."Homjisaid,"Don'tworry,Iwilltakehimaround.Iamfreenow."Wewentbacktothehotelafterpromisingtocomebackthenextday.Homji

tookmeoutafterlunchtoseeafewfamousspots.After coming back, I askedHomji for a letter padwhich is nearly finished

now. That night I went to bed fiveminutes before ten. The servant had kepteverythinginorder.Inoticedthathehadalsokeptanewalarmclockinsteadoftheoldone.Ididnotwindthealarmbutlockedthekey.Ididnotneedanalarm—IwouldgetupwheneverIwantedto.SuddenlyInoticedabigblackmothflyingaroundtheroom.Iwasthinkingif

Ishouldopenthedoortoletitout,whenthelightswentoff.Iwaslyinginbedandthinking.Thealarmrangattwoatnightandtwomiles

awayAptesprainedhisankle.Itmusthavebeenacoincidence.Butifhehadnot

sprained his ankle—hewould have been sleeping in this room, on the otherbed.I had dozed off when I woke up with a start. The new alarm clock was

ringing.ButIhadnotwoundthealarm,infactIhadlockedthekey!Igotupfrombedandflashedthetorch—itwastwoo'clockatnight.Thekey

ofthealarmclockwaslockedbutstillthebellwasringing.Whatwaswrong?Igotupfrombedandtooktheclockinmyhands—thesoundstopped.Ajit, you know that I don't like any mysteries. If I encounter anything

mysterious—Iwanttogettothebottomofit.Butwhatwasthemysteryhere?Mypractical attitude is against anything supernatural— thiswas something Icouldnotprove.Butwhatwasthis?Thesehappeningscouldnotbeexplainedbyanyreasoning.Ireallyhavetofindthetruth.Ilitacandle.Ihadalreadywrittentoyouthat

thereweretwochairsintheroom—onewasanordinarychairandtheotherarockingchair.Isatontherockingchair,litacigaretteandbeganrockinggently.Iwasfacingthedoor.Onmyrightwasthetable,onmyleftthewardrobe,and

behindmewasthebed.Themothbeganflyingagain.Iwasthinking,withmyeyesclosed.Boththealarmclocksbeganringingat

twointhenight—wasthisHomji'spracticaljokeonme?Hedidnotseemthatkindofaperson—butIdidlaughyesterdaywhenheaskedmeaboutghosts.Iwillexaminetheclockmyself.ButHomjiwasanelderlyman,wouldhecrackthiskindofjoke?Itseemedunlikely.I don't know for how long I sat rocking the chair— notmore than ten or

fifteenminutesatthemost—suddenlyIopenedmyeyesandfoundthatIwasfacing thewardrobeandnot thedoor.Notonly that, Ihadcomequiteclose tothewardrobe.Thechaircould turnfornatural reasons.But ifa thing like thishappenedat

two at night— your senses do receive a jolt. Then suddenly the alarm clockstartedringingagain.Ijumpeduptostopit—suddenlythecandleflickeredandwentoff.Ifmynerveshadbeenweak,Idon'tknowwhatIwouldhavedone.Istiffened

mybodyandforcedmyselftobecalm.Ilitthecandleagain—tookuptheclockanditstoppedringing.But this time I kept the clock insidemy clothes in thewardrobe— so that

evenifthealarmwentoff—thesoundwouldbemuffled.Therewasastrangesmellofcamphorandperfumeinsidethewardrobe.Ishutthedoorandlaydowninbed.Icouldnotsleepwell—suddenlyIfeltsomethingmovinginsidetheblanket

nearmychest.Ithrewawaytheblanket,litthecandleandfoundthattheblack

mothhadsomehowmadeitswayinsidetheblanket.Itwasnowhalf-dead.Itwasthree-thirtyatnight,bymywatch.I sat for the restof thenighton theother chair.This letter isbecoming too

long.Iwillfinishitquickly.Atfiveinthemorning,thelightscameonagain.Itookouttheclockfromthewardrobe.Aslipofbrownpapercameoutwiththeclock,withanaddresswrittenonit.TheaddresswaswritteninBengali.ItwasthatofalocalityinthesouthernendofCalcutta.Iamsendingtheaddresstoyou—youwillneedit.ThenIopenedtheinsideofthewatchwithmypenknifeandfoundthatthere

wasnodefectinit.ThistimeIhadtoadmitthetruth—becauseIamatruthseeker—evenifthe

truthwas a supernatural one! I addressed the disembodied spirit in the room,"Whatdoyouwant?"Therewasnoanswer,but the tablemoved—Ihadmyhandon the table. I

said,"Doyouwantmetoinvestigateyourmurder?"Thistimenotonlydidthetablemovebuteventwolegsofthechairwentup

—Inearlyfellonthetable.I said, "But thepolice is investigating—whatwill Ido?Wherewill I start

investigating?"Suddenlytheslipofthebrownpaperwiththeaddress,whichwasonthetable,

flewtowardsme.ThenIthought,isManekMehtahidingnearCalcutta?Maybe—ishealone

or—?Isaid,"Alright,Iwilltry."Isawthelightofdawnslowlycominginthroughthewindow.IdidnotsayanythingtoHomji.WewenttoseeApteatnineinthemorning.

OnthewayIaskedHomji,"WhatdidHaimabatilooklike?"Homjismiledatme,"Veryattractive—notveryfair—butattractive.""Age?""Alittleabovethirty,maybe.Butshestilllookedyoung."Aptewasabitbetter,butnot completelywell.Wemethis relative. I asked

him,"DidyouknowBijoyBiswas?""Yes,hehaddepositedallthemoneyofthehotelinmybank.""Didhehavepersonalaccount?""Yes,buthehadwithdrawnmostofthemoneyafewdaysbeforehisdeath—

only a fewhundreds are left.However hiswife cannotwithdraw it unless shegivesasuccessioncertificate—thatwilltakesometime.""DoyouknowHaimabati'spresentaddress?""No."

"Doesanyonehereknow?"Homji replied,"Idon't thinkso,becausesheherselfwasnotsurewhereshe

wouldbegoing,poorsoul."IaskedApte,"Youmustbeknowingabout thiscase.Havethepolicefound

outthewhereaboutsofManekMehta?"Hesaid,"No.Iwouldhaveheardaboutitotherwise.""IsthereanyphotographofManekMehta?""Therewas agroupphotographofManek,BijoyandHaimabati,when they

startedthehotel.Butitismissing."Isleptsoundlyafterreturningtothehotel.Istartedwritingtoyouatnightbut

could not complete my letter after being disturbed repeatedly. Anyway I amcompletingmylettertoday.YoumusthaverealisedbynowwhatIwantyoutodo.Youwillpleasegoto

thisaddressinthesouthernpartofCalcutta.Ifyoudon'tmeetHaimabatiBiswasthere, then there isnothingelse todo.But ifyoumeether, thenaskher thesequestions.WhereisthegroupphotographwhichsheandherhusbandtookwithManekMehta? Try to guess how close shewas toManekMehta.Where didMehta first meet the Biswas' and when? What is the financial condition ofHaimabatiatpresent?Whoaretherewithhernowinthehouse?Moreover,askheranyotherquestionwhichyouwouldwantto.Thenwritebacktomeindetail— don't leave out anything even if you feel it is not important. If you findanythingsuspicious—sendmeatelegramimmediately.Iwillwaitforyourreply.Idon'tfeellikestayingonhereinthiscold.ButIam

unabletoleavewithoutsolvingthiscase.Withlove,Byomkesh.

Calcutta,

8thJanuary

DearByomkesh,IreceivedyourletterthismorningandIamwritingtoyouatnight.Mydear

agnostic,isn'titashameforyoutofallintotheclutchesofaghost!Anyway,according toyour instructions, Iwasgetting ready togooutabout

three in the afternoonwhenBikashDutta (our assistant) arrived.When I toldhimwhereIwasgoing,heexclaimed,"Goodness,that'satthebackofbeyond,willyoubeabletofindtheaddressonyourown?"

Isaid,"Thenwhydon'tyouaccompanyme?"Heagreed,butIdidnotgivehimthedetailsofthecase.Theplacewasreallyfar.Whenwereachedourdestination,Ifoundthatthere

wasonestraightroadandthehouseswerefewandfarbetween.Wereachedtheaddressgivenbyyouataboutfourthirty.Asitisthewinterisseverethisyear—eveninCalcuttaitisquitecoldintheevenings.Herewefoundthatitwasquitecoldevenatfourthirtyintheafternoon,probablybecauseoftheopenspaceallaround.Thesmallone-storeyedhousewasalittledistanceawayfromtheroadandit

wassurroundedbyfields.Therewerenohousesnearby.ItoldBikash,"Youwaitoutsidethehouse,Imayreturnimmediatelyorafter

anhour."Iknockedatthedoor.Afterquiteawhile,aservantopenedthedoorandsaid,

"Whodoyouwant?"Isaid,"IwanttomeetHaimabatiBiswas."Heasked,"Whatisyourname?"Isaid,"AjitBanerjee.""Whatdoyouwanttoseeherfor?""I will tell her that. Just inform her that I have come with a letter from

Mahabaleshwar.""Pleasewait,"saidtheservantandshutthedoor.Istoodoutsideforaboutten

minutes.Thenthedooropenedagainandtheservantsaid,"Comein."Therewere twochairsanda table in thesmall room.Theservantsaid,"My

mistressistakingabath,pleasesitdown.""Howlonghaveyoubeenworkinghere?"Hesaid,"Aboutamonth."InoticedthathespokewithastrongeastBengaliaccent."Whereisyouroriginalhome?""Faridpur,inEastBengal."Hesatdownontheground.Hewasmiddle-agedandwaswearingadirty,torn

sweater."HowmanyyearshaveyoubeeninCalcutta?""Aboutthreeyears.""Howmanypeoplestayinthishouse?""Themistressstaysalone.""Sheisawoman—shestaysaloneinthislonelyplace?""Iamanoldman—Ilookafterher—sheisverygoodtome.""Doesshehavevisitors?'"No,sir,youarethefirstvisitorIhaveseensinceIstartedworkinghere."

Atthispoint,Haimabatiappearedatthedoor.Shetoldtheservant,"Mahesh,bringalantern."Itwasgettingdarkoutside.Eveninthefadedlight,shelookedbeautifuland

dignified. She was fair and attractive. She was wearing the white saree of awidow,andnoornaments.Iknowyouwillteasemeformypoeticdescriptionofthe lady—but she looked like a stalk of rajanigandha—wet in the eveningmist.Herlongwethairwasleftopen.Igreetedherandshereturnedthegreetings.Sheasked,"AreyoucomingfromMahabaleshwar?"I said, "No, my friend Byomkesh Bakshi, the Truth Seeker, is in

Mahabaleshwar—IhavecometomeetyouafterIreceivedaletterfromhim."This time there was an eagerness in her voice, "Has Manek Mehta been

traced?""No,notyet."Haimabatisatonachairslowlyandsaidinadisappointedvoice,"Whyhave

youcometome?""Myfriend,ByomkeshBakshi"Ibegan."Isheinthepolicedepartment?"IeagerlygaveallyourdetailswithprideandhereIwouldliketotellyouthat

you are not as famous as you think you are. This lady did not know of yourexistence,shewasquiteindifferent."Idon'tknowhim;IhavealwayslivedawayfromBengal."Theservantbroughtthelightedlanternandputitonthetable.Inthelightofthelamp,Isawherfaceclearly.Itwasabeautifulfacebutwith

atiredanddisappointedexpression.Afewstrandsofwethaircrownedherface.Ifeltashamedtoharassthisgrief-strickenlady.Isaid,"Pleaseforgiveme,Byomkeshhastoldmetoaskyouafewquestions

inconnectionwiththearrestofMehta.Whendidyoufirstmeethim?"Haimabatisaid,"Sixyearsago.Wehadasmallhotel inAhmedabad.Itwas

ourbadluckthatwehadcomeacrossamanlikehim.""WereyouclosetoMehta?""Ihadpersonallymethimaboutfiveorsixtimes.Hecameonlytwiceevery

year.Hecamestealthilytocollectthemoneyandleftinthesameway.""Didyounotsuspecthimforthis?""No,wethoughtthatitwashisnature.""Doyouhaveanyphotographofhim?""Therewasagroupphoto in theoffice roomof thehotelbuton that fateful

night — when I regained consciousness I found that the photograph wasmissing."

"Howmuchmoneywasthereinthehotelsafethatnight.""Iamnotsure—butafewlakhs."ThenIdidnotknowwhatelsetoaskandwaspreparingtoleave—whenshe

asked,"Howdidyourfriendknowmyaddress?Ihaven'tgivenittoanyone."Naturally,Icouldnotbroachthetopicofghostsinherpresentstateofmind,

soIsaid,"Iamnotsure.Willyoubeherenow?"Shesaid,"Ithinkso.Afriendofmyhusbandtookpityonmyconditionand

allowedmetostayinthishouse."IfoundthatitwasquitedarkoutsidewhenIcameoutofthehouse.Bikashwaswaitingforme.Weluckilygotanemptytaxiandboardedit.Bikashasked,"Didyougetyourworkdone?""Yes,somewhat."Iwasnotcertainmyself.Bikashwasquietforsometime.

Thenhe said, "Whenyouwrite toByomkeshbabu tell him that there are twobedsinthebedroom.""Howdidyouknow?"Bikash said, "When you were talking to the lady— I peeped into all the

windowsofthehouse.""Whatelsedidyousee?""Isawanironsafeinthebedroom—theservantwastryingtoopenit.""Areyousureyousawtheservant?""Yes,thesamemanwhoopenedthedoorforyou.Thereisnoothermaleinthehouse."Wereachedhomequite late.Bikashhas just left.NowIamsittingdown to

writetoyou."

Yoursaffectionately,Ajit.

I am Ajit Banerjee— writing the rest of the story. My letter was posted toByomkesh in Mahabaleshwar on the 9th of January. At about three in theafternoonofthe12th,ByomkesharrivedinCalcutta.Iwassurprised,"Whatisthis?Didyougetmyletter?""AssoonasIgotyourletter,Itookaplane.Getreadyfast,wehavetogoout

immediately."Hewentintohisoffice.Withinhalfanhourwewentoutofthehouseandfoundapolicevanwaiting

foruswithaninspectorandafewconstables.Wegotintothevan.After some time, we reached Haimabati's house. But now no one came to

openthedoorforus—itwasalreadyopen.Weenteredthehouseandfoundit

completelyempty, except for the furniture.Thedoorof the safewasopenbuttherewasnothinginside.Byomkeshsmiledhelplessly,"Thebirdshaveflown."Afterdinnerthatnight,wewererelaxinginoursittingroom.Althoughallthe

doorsandwindowswereshut—thecold,winterwindwasmakingitswayintotheroom.I said, "I think you have brought some of the cold fromMahabaleshwar. I

hopeyouhaven'tbroughtBijoyBiswas'sghost,aswell."Byomkeshlookedatmesmilingly,"Yourwrongideaabout theghost isstill

there."Isaid,"Naturally,Ihaveneverseenaghost—sohowwillIhavearightidea

aboutone?TellmeByomkesh, is itpossible thatyouhavestartedbelieving inghosts?""DoyoubelieveintheexistenceofByomkeshBakshi?""Ofcourse,Icanseehimsittinginfrontofme.""IfIsaythatIfeltthepresenceofthespirit—whatwillyousaytothat?'I was quiet. Then I said, "We won't argue. But tell me, in spite of all the

effortsofyourghost—themysteryremainsunsolved.""Whotoldyouthatthemysteryhasremainedunsolved?Thespiritwantedus

toseethroughagreatdeception—itwassuccessfulindoingso.""Whatdoesthatmean?""Haveyounotunderstoodanything?""Of course, I understood.At first ImisunderstoodHaimabati. Now I know

thatHaimabati andManekMehtawere in love and together they killedBijoyBiswas.Sheisaterriblewoman."Byomkesh laughed.He said, "Iwant to askyoua fewquestions,Ajit.Why

didManekMehta takeBijoyBiswas near the gorge tomurder him?Why didBijoyBiswasgowithhim?"Ithoughtforsometimeandsaid,"Idon'tknow.""Mysecondquestiontoyouis—whydidBijoyBiswaswithdrawnearlyall

hismoneyfromhisaccountinthebankinMahabaleshwar?"Ishookmyhead."Mythirdquestionis—whenyouwenttomeetHaimabati—itwasacold,

winterevening.Buttheservanttoldyouthatshewashavingabath—didyounotfinditstrange?""Itdidnotstrikemeasstrange.""Myfourthquestion,didyounotsuspecttheservant?""Whyshould I—hewasemployedonlyamonthback.Butofcourse ifhe

wasstealingfromtheironsafeinthebedroom..."

"Ajit,yoursimplicityisreallytouching!True,theservantwastryingtoopenthe safe — but not to steal. In Mahabaleshwar two people plotted to kill aperson.OnewasHaimabati—whowastheotherone?""WhoelsebutManekMehta?"Byomkesh said with a meaningful smile, "That is the great deception.

Haimabati plotted the murder with her husband, Bijoy Biswas and not withManekMehta."Iwasstunned,"Whatareyousaying?"Byomkeshsaid,"WhenHomjitoldmethestory—Iwasnotveryimpressed.

ButIfoundonethingabitstrange.WhyshouldManekMehtatakeBijoynearthegorgetokillhim?Thenmy phantom client began pesteringme. I had to start investigating. I

foundanaddresswritteninBengali,inaslipofbrownpaperinthewardrobe—thingswerebecomingslightlycleartomethen.Iwrotealonglettertoyou.WhenIreceivedyourreply,IwasquitesurethatI

hadcometotherightconclusion.ItoldApteeverything.HerangupthepoliceinCalcuttaandarrangedformetoreturnbyplane.Althoughwecouldn'tcatchHaimabatiandBijoyBiswas—thespirit'swish

was fulfilled.Wegot toknowwho the true culprits are.Whoknows,onedaytheymay be caught, now that the police are on the right track. ItwasManekMehta'sinsistentspiritwhichmademetakeupthecase.""Whatreallyhappenedthatnight?"Byomkesh said, "No one knows what really happened except Bijoy and

Haimabati.Ihaveonlycometoaconclusionthroughassumptions.ManekMehtawasaterriblecrookbutBijoywasahypocrite.Onedaythetwo

met and opened a hotel.Mehta gave themoney and theBiswas couple put intheirhardwork.The hotel was doing well. The yearly turnout was good. Mehta came

sometimes to collect his share.BijoyBiswasdidnotkeepmuchmoney inhisaccountinMahabaleshwar—probablyhekeptitinhiswife'snameinabankinCalcutta.Everythingwas all right, suddenlyMehta got into trouble— his smuggled

goldwasconfiscated.Heescapedbutbecamebankrupt.Theonlyasset,whichhehad,wasthehotel.Hedecidedtosellthehotel.Heneededcash.Nowthequestionwas,whowouldgetthemoneyoutofthesaleofthehotel?

ItismyassumptionthatsinceManekMehtagavethemoneyforsettingupthehotel,itwaslikelythathewouldclaimthewholeamount.Ithinkthatiswhathedid.ButBiswasandhiswifedecidedthattheywouldtakeallthemoney.Wedon't

knowthehistoryofthecouplebutIamsuretheytoohadacriminalbackground.It was easy to put all the blame onMehta as he was a known criminal. Thecoupleplannedthemurdertoitsminutestdetail.TheyhadrentedthehouseinCalcuttathroughsomeagent—Haimabatiwrote

theaddressandputitintoherwardrobe.Butbythetimesheleft,sheknewtheaddressbyheartsosheforgottotaketheslipofpaper.Thatwasagravemistakeshemade.Anyway,Mehtaarrivedthatnightasquietlyasheusuallycame.Therewere

noguestsinthehotel.Themaidwentofftosleep.TheonlypeopleinthehotelwereBiswasandHaimabati.IthinktheykilledManekMehtaintheofficeitself—insuchawaythatthere

wouldbenobloodshed.ThenBijoyBiswasdressedManekinhisowncoatandmuffler.Theycarriedthebodytothebackgardenandpusheditintothegorge.Thetigercouple,whichhadbeenlivinginthegorge,devouredthebodyandleftthe blood-stained clothes and a few bones for the police to investigate andidentify.BijoyBiswasescapedwithallthemoney,noonesawhiminthedeadofthe

night.Haimabatistayedback.Everyoneknowswhathappenedafterthat.ManekMehtawasblamedforthemurder,ashewasknownforhiscriminalactivities.SoHaimabati came to live in thehouse inCalcutta,Bijoyaccompaniedher

there. But they were very careful. You were made to wait until Haimabatidressedlikeawidow—whyelseshouldshewashherhair in thatcoldwinterevening,obviouslytowashoffthevermilioninthepartingofherhair.Anyway,whenHaimabatientered the room—Ajit,youwerestruckbyher

freshlybathed,innocentbeauty.Youmentionedmynametoher.MydearAjit,don'tthinkthatIamnotasfamousasIassume.Assoonassheheardmyname,she became alert. Bikash had seen two beds in the bedroom and the servanttrying the lock of the safe. These two pieces of information cleared all mydoubts.Icamerushingback.Butunfortunatelytheculpritscouldnotbecaught.AsIsaidearlier,nowthatthepoliceareontherighttrack,thankstotheeffortsofmydisembodiedclient,theymaybecaughtoneday."Isaid,"ButByomkesh,whydidn'tBijoyBiswasstayinthathouse?Wheredid

hestay?Didn'ttheservantsuspectthemfortheirstrangebehaviour?"Byomkesh sighed exasperatedly, "Dear God, Ajit, did you understand

nothing?ThatservantwasBijoyBiswas."

Quicksand(Chorabali)

We, that isByomkesh and I,Ajit, could not ignore any longer the repeatedrequestsofKumarTridibtovisithisestate.SoonecoldDecembermorningweleft Calcutta for a break of seven or eight days. Our intention was to relaxcompletely for those days, and return bright and fresh for work again, toCalcutta.Therewasnodearthofhospitality.Wespentthefirstdayjustsnackingevery

hourandchattingnon-stopwithKumarTridib.Themaintopicofourdiscussionwas, of course,KumarTridib's uncle, SirDigindra,mentioned in the story—HiddenHeirloom.After dinner, Tridib ushered us to our bedroom and said, "We will go out

earlytomorrowmorningforhunting.Ihavemadeallthearrangements."Byomkeshaskedenthusiastically,"Whatkindofgamedoyoufind?"Tridibsaid, 'Not tigersbut rabbits,wildboar,deer,peacocks,wildducks—

there is a large jungle at the border of my estate. The jungle belongs toHimangshu Roy — the zaminder of the adjoining estate called Chorabali,quicksand.Himangshu is a good friend ofmine. I informed him thismorningabout our visit, and also asked his permission to hunt in his area. I hope youdon'tmind?'Webothsaidtogether,"Mind?"Byomkeshadded,"Onlytherearenotigers—that'sdisappointing."Tridib said, "I can't say thereareno tigers.Everyyearoneor two tigersdo

visit this area, but don't dependon it.Besides, even if a tiger is available,myfriend Himangshu will bag it — he won't allow us to hunt it." He beganlaughing."Hehasnotimetolookafterhisestate—heissoaddictedtohunting.Hespendsmostofhistimeeitherintheroomwherehekeepshisguns,—orheis roaming around in the forest. He is crazy about hunting. His aim is alsoremarkable.Hecanshootatigerstandingontheground."Byomkeshsaidcuriously, "Whatdidyousaywas thenameof theestate—

Chorabali'?Strangename!""Yes, we have heard that there is a patch of quick sand somewhere in the

jungle.Butnooneknowswhereexactlyitis.Thatiswhythisstrangenamewas

given,"helookedathiswatchandsaid,"You'dbettergotobed—oryou'llnotbeabletogetupearly."Hesmotheredayawnandleft.We were given one large room with two beds. We snuggled under

comfortable,softandwarmquilts,andpreparedforagoodnight'ssleep.Soonwewere fast asleep.Suddenly I foundmyselfdrowning inquicksand.

Byomkeshwasstandingattheedgeofthequicksand,watchingmeandlaughing.Soon I was neck-deep in sand, and was gradually getting suffocated. For amomentIgotthetasteofaterribledeath.Iwokeupsweatingprofusely—thequilthadcoveredmynose—hence thefeelingofsuffocation! Isatuponmybedforsometimethinkingamusedly,howourthoughtprocesscouldstrangelyfilterintooursleep....Veryearlyinthemorningtherewasabigrushtogooutforhunting.Wewore

shortsandwarmhoses—breakfastedonhotscaldingteaandcakesandclimbedintothevehicles.Thecarwasloadedwiththreeshot-guns,lotsofbulletsandahugebasketoffoodstuff.Tridib,ByomkeshandIpiledontothebackseatofthecar and the car started at once.We sped through a cold,misty dawn. Kumarmumbledthroughhisraisedovercoatcollar,"Ifwedon'treachbeforesunrise,itwill be difficult to get peacocks andwoodcocks.At this time, they sit on thebranchesoftrees—andareverygoodtargets."Soondawnbroke.Therewere rice fieldsoneithersideof the road—some

cornsheafswerestanding,whileothershadbeencutandkept inbunches.Wecould see a dark green shadow in the horizon. Kumar pointed to it and said,"Thatiswherewearegoingtohunt."After about twentyminutes, our car reached the edge of the forest.We got

down enthusiastically with loaded guns. Kumar Tridib went to one side.Byomkeshand Iwalked to theother sideof the forest.Thiswas the first timethatIwasgoingtouseagun,soIwasnervoustoventureoutalone.Tridibandwedecidedbeforeparting thatwewouldmeetatanopenspaceon theeasternedgeoftheforestatabout9a.m.,whenwewouldhaveourbreakfast.It was a huge forest. A variety of tall trees covered the sky. The sunlight

filtered through their leaves. There was a huge amount of game available—deer,rabbits,birdsofmanykinds.Icannotexpressthegreatexcitementwhichwefeltwhenwepulledthetriggerandfoundbirdsdroppingdeadatourfeet—Icouldwrite an epicon it, but I don'twant to be the laughing stockof veterantigerhunters!IconsideredmyselftobeequaltothelegendaryArjuninaim.ButByomkesh

hadonlyusedhisguntwiceandkilledarabbitandapeacock—hewaslookingforlargergame—likedeer,boarorevenatiger.But as the sun rose, the fresh forest air stoked our appetites. So we began

walkingtowardstheeasternedgeoftheforest.WefoundthatKumarTridibwasalsowalkingtowardstheopenspace.Wereachedtheclearspace.Infrontofitwasalargesandypatch—shaped

like a half-moon. Itwas about a quarter of amile inwidth, butwe could notmakeouthowlong itwas—itbordered the forest.Thesunlightshoneon thesand—itwasabeautifulsight.Thisareapreventedtheforestfromexpandingeastwards.Maybemany years ago it had been a huge river, nowwith naturalcalamitiesandchangesithadbecomeadrysandyarea.Wesatattheedgeofthishugestretchofsand,andlitourcigarettes.SoonKumarTridibjoinedus."Iamfeelingveryhungry—thereDuryodhan

haslaidoutourbreakfast—let'sgo."Wenoticed thatTridib's cookwas laying the foodonawhite sheetundera

tree.Wereachedthespotquickly.Webegantalkingaboutourhuntingspree.IwaschastenedtofindthatKumarTridibhadwonhandsdown!Wehadourfillandgulpeddownhotteafromaflask.Sated,welitcigarettes

andbegansmoking.Tridibrelaxedagainstatreeandsaid,"Thisstretchofsandisresponsibleforthenameofthisestate.ThissideofthesandyareabelongstoHimangshu.Myareabeginsfromtheoppositeedge."Byomkeshsaid,"Howlongisthisstretchofsand?Doesitencirclethewhole

forest?""No. It is about three miles long — then my fields start. In between this

stretch,isanareaofquicksand—butnooneknowsexactlywhereitis.Noonewalksoverthesandforfearthattheymaybesuckedin.Strangely,evencows,foxesanddogsavoidwalkingonthesandystretch."Byomkeshasked,"Isthereanywaterinthissandyarea?"Kumar shookhisheaduncertainly. "Idon'tknow. Ihaveheard that there is

wateroversomeareaonthatside—butitisnotalwaysavailable."Hepointedtowardsthesouthernstretchwhichcurvedandvanishedintotheforest.Justatthattimetherewasagunshotveryclosetousintheforest.Wesatup,

startled.All three of uswere therewith our guns— thenwhowas shooting?Suddenly,apersonwithaguninonehandandadeadrabbitintheother,cameoutof theforest.Hewaswearing jodhpurisandaboyscoutcap,anda lineofbulletshungfromthebroadbeltofhisbreeches.KumarTridiblaughedaloud,"Hello,Himangshu,pleasejoinus."Himangshubabujoinedus.Hesaid,"Ishouldhavebeentheonetowelcome

you— especially these new guests of yours." Tridib introduced us and thengently mocked him. "So you could not resist the temptation of a huntingexpedition,couldyou?Orwereyouafraidthatwemightbagallyourtigers?"Himangshubabu said, "I am in great trouble. I was supposed to leave for

Tripura today on an invitation for a hunting expedition. But I could not go.Dewanji stoppedme from going.He belongs to the time ofmy father. So hestopsmefromgoinghuntingonanyexcuse. Ican'tevendisregardhiswishes.So,Igotoutearlythismorningtoshowmyire—Icanhuntawildboarortwoatleast!"Tridibteasedhim,"Pooryou—whatafall!—awildboarortwoinplaceof

tigersofTripura!Butwhycouldn'tyougo?"Himangshupulled thebasketof food towardshimself, and tookout a cutlet

andacoupleofboiledeggsandbitintothefoodhappily.Ibeganobservinghim.Hewasaboutourage—andstronglybuilt.Aferociousmoustachehadmadehisgentlefaceunnecessarilyhard.Hehadthesharpandalerteyesofahunter.Atafirstglance,helookedcruelandhard,butseeinghimnow,athisrelaxedbest,Ifelthisexternalappearancewasnottheonlycluetohisnature.Hewasasimple,unsophisticated person, uncomplicated, and a little disinterested and absent-mindedaboutmaterialisticthings,liketherunningofanestate.Whilesippingacupoftea,Himangshusaid,"Whatdidyousay?Whycouldn't

IgotoTripura?Forauselessreason.ButDewanjiisveryworried,andeventhepolicehavebeeninformed.SoIhavetobestuckhereforwhoknowshowmanydaysnow!"Hisvoicewasfullofimpatientirritation."Whathashappened?""Whatelse?Youknowthataftermyfather'sdeaththerehavebeencourtcases

withthetenantsofmyestateforthelastfiveyears.Thetenantswerenotpayingtheir rents regularly — so there is constant unrest in the estate, constantconsultation with lawyers — you know all that. In the meantime anotherproblemhascroppedup.AfewmonthsbackIhadappointedahousetutorformy daughter, Baby. He vanished day before yesterday. It seems he has eventaken a few account bookswith him.That iswhy there is great uproar inmyhouse.Dewanjifeelsthatitisagreatplothatchedbythetroublesometenantsoftheestate."Byomkeshsaid,"Hasthetutornotbeenfound?"Sadly,Himangshushookhishead,"No,anduntilheisfound..."Suddenlyhis

facelitup—helookedatByomkeshandsaid,"GreatGod,Ihadforgottenthatyouareafamousdetective,(here,interruptinghimsoftly,Byomkeshsaid,'TruthSeeker!') It isyour job tocatch thievesand robbers.Pleasehelpus to find thetutor within two or three days, then I can still join the hunting expedition inTripura.IfIcangobytomorroworthedayafter..."We laughed aloud. Kumar Tridib said, "Can you think of nothing but

hunting?"Byomkeshsaid,"Idon'thave todoanything, thepolicewillcatchhim.It is

difficulttovanishtotallyfromasmallplacelikethis—itisnotabigcitylikeCalcutta."Himangshushookhishead,"No, thepolicecandonothing.Theyhave tried

theirbestintheselastthreedays.Theyhaveappointedpeopletowatchoutinallthe railway stations nearby. But nothing has come out of their efforts so far.PleaseByomkeshbabu,Irequestyoutotakeupthecase.Itisasmallmatter—youwon'teventaketwohourstosolveit."Byomkeshsmiledathiseagernessandsaid,"Relatethewholeincidenttome

indetail."Himangshusaid,"DoyouthinkIknowthedetails?Ihadn'tevenmethimfor

threedaysbeforehevanished.Anyway,IamtellingyouthelittleIknow.Afewdays back—maybe about twomonths ago, an eccentric youngman came tomeetmeonemorning.I'hadneverseenhimbefore.Hewasnotfromthisarea.Hewaswearingatomkurtaandatornpairofslippers.Hewasthinandshort,andlookedasifhehadnoteatenforafewdays.Butwhenhespoke,Irealisedthathewaseducated.Heaskedmetogivehimajob—hewasindirestraitsofpoverty. I asked him, 'What job can you do?' He pulled out his B.Sc. degreecertificatefromhispocketandsaid, 'I'lldowhateveryouaskmetodo.'Ifeltabit sorry for the young chap. What work could I give him— there was novacancy in the office ofmy estate. Suddenly I remembered thatmywife hadaskedme for aprivate tutor forBaby.She is sevenyearsold—sowewouldhavetopayalittlemoreattentiontoherstudies."Thushewasappointedasa tutor forBaby. I foundout that thoughhewas

poor,hewaseducated,andcamefromagoodbackground.Imadearrangementsforhimtostayinaroomintheouthouse.Thefellowweptwithgratitude.Whowouldhavethoughtat that time...name?AsfarasIremember,hisnamewasHarinathChoudhary."Anyway,hestayed in thehouse.ButIhardlymethim.Iheard thathewas

teaching Baby in the morning and in the evening. Suddenly, the other day, Iheard that the boy had vanished without telling anyone. I didn't mind hisvanishing at all— but then I heard that he had vanishedwith a few accountbooks.But because he took themwith him, allmyplans have been shattered.NowIwon'tbereleasedfromthisplaceuntilheisfound."Himangshu stopped speaking. Byomkesh was lying on the grass while

listening.Heasked,"Wheredidhehavehismeals?"Himangshu said, "He used to eat in the house. My wife used to give him

specialattentionashewasBaby'stutor."Suddenlyweheardaflappingsoundonthetrees.Welookeduptoseeahuge

woodcockflyingfromonebranchofatreetoanother.Thegapbetweenthetwo

treeswasaboutthirtyfeet.Inaminute,Himangshufiredfromhisgun;thebirdcouldnotreachtheothertree,butdroppeddeadmidwayinitsflight.Iexclaimed,"Whatacrackshotyouare!"Byomkeshalsosaid,"Reallyremarkable!"Kumar Tridib said, "This is nothing. He can do much more than this.

Himangshu—showthemyourgreat trickofhittingthetargetonlybyhearingthesound.""No,no.Let'sgointotheforestagainforanotherhuntingspree.""No,youhavetoshowusyourspecialtalent...tieahankyoveryoureyes."Himangshuwasembarrassed,"justlookathim—it'sasillytrick—youmust

haveseenitsomanytimes."Wetoobeganinsisting,"Youhavetoshowus.""Allright,All right... It isnothingbuthittinga targetmerelyby listening to

thesound.Byomkeshbabu,tiemyeyessothatIamunabletosee,butkeepmyearsfree—sothatIcanhear."Byomkesh tiedhis eyes securely.ThenKumarTridib took a cup and tied a

stringtoitshandle.Hetiptoedtoatreetwenty-fivefeetawayandtiedthecuptoabranch.Byomkeshsaid,"Nowlisten,Himangshubabu."Tridib made a small sound with a spoon on the hanging cup. Himangshu

turned the way from which the sound had come and said, "Please make thesoundoncemore."KumarTridibrepeatedthesoundandquicklywalkedaway.Before the echo of the sound could die down completely,we heard the bulletbeing fired. We looked around to find that only the handle of the cup washangingfromthetree—thepiecesoftherestofthecupwerelyingaround.Wewereastounded.Himangshuuntiedthehankyandsaid,"Areyouhappy?"

Hewasalittleembarrassedwithallourpraises.Indeeditseemedlikemagictous.Hesaid,"Pleasestop—Iamblushing...

getup,letusgointotheforestagain."Ataboutonethirtyintheafternoon,wereturnedtowhereourcarwasparked.

In the meantime, the incident of Harinath's theft of the account books wasforgotten.HimangshudidnotshowmuchinterestnowaboutByomkeshtakingup the case.Maybe he thought that the policewould be able to solve such asimplecase.ButitwasByomkeshwhobroachedthesubjectagain."Wecouldn'theartheentirestoryaboutyourHarinathtutor."Himangshu said, "I have told you everything I know, I don't think there is

muchmoretotellyou."Byomkeshdidnotsayanythingmore.Tridibsaid,"Himangshu,get intoour

car — we'll drop you home. You must have walked to the forest in the

morning?""Yes, Icrossed the field. It ismuch longer if Iwalkalong the road,"Tridib

said,"Itisabouttwomilesalongtheroad.Come,wewilldropyouhome,andifyouaskustostayforlunchwewillbeveryhappy,"heteased.Wedidnotmindgoinganywheresincewehadcomeforaholiday;wewere

readytohumourourhost.Himangshu said, "Of course!Of course!You aremy guests. I should have

thoughtaboutitearlier.Iamsorryformyomission.Anyway,youcanrestinmyhouseafterlunchandthenreturnhomeafterteaintheevening."Byomkesh said, "And if possible, try to find out where your tutor has run

away!""Yes, that's a good idea. My Dewan may be able to give you much more

informationabouthim."We got into the car.AlthoughHimangshu had invited us to his house very

cordially—Idon'tknowwhyIfeltthathewasnottoohappytotakeusalltohishouse.After about tenminutes, our car entered the huge compound of his palatial

house.At the soundof thecar, anelderlypersoncameoutonto theverandah,andassoonashesawHimangshu,hesaidinadistressedtone,"Himangshu,myworstfearshavecometrue!Harinathnotonlystoletheaccountbooks,butalsosixthousandrupeesfromthecash-box."

Itwasthreeintheafternoon—themildwintersunwasgivingwaytoevening."Iwould like to hear everything from yourDewan,—Bhattacharjeebabu,"

Byomkeshsaidwhilerecliningonsomecushions.We were relaxing together after a heavy lunch. Sitting next to Byomkesh,

littleBabywasdressingupherdoll.Thetwohadbecomeverygoodfriendsinthesetwohours.DewanKaligatiBhattacharjeesatstraightinayogicasana—itlookedasifhewouldstartmeditatingifhegottheslightestchance.OnecouldassociateonlyprayersandmeditationwithamanlikeKaligati.In

fact, Imistookhimat first for the familypriest.He looked likeanascetic.Hewasleanandthinandveryfair.Hehadared tikaonhisforehead,andworeastringofRudraksharoundhisneck.Butitwashewhowasmanagingthehugepropertyofthishunting-obsessed,impracticalzamindar.Kaligatiwasmanagingeverylittledetailofthishousehold—fromentertaininggueststomoneymattersoftheestate.Everythingwasrunningwithclockworkprecisionbecauseofhim.HestirredwhenByomkeshspoke.Heclosedhiseyesforsometime,thensaid

slowly,"Harinathwassuchanordinaryandinsignificanthumanbeingthatwhenone starts talking about him, it seems that there is nothing to say. He looked

simple, but that hewas sowicked seems unimaginable. I am a good judge ofcharacter—butthisboyhoodwinkedevenme.Ineversuspectedthatthiswashisdisguise—hehadcomeherewithotherintentions."Thefirstdayhecameherehelookedsopoverty-strickenthatIgavehimtwo

dhotis,twovests,twokurtasandtwoblanketsfromthestore-room.Himangshuhadalreadygivenhima room to stay— therewereoldaccountbookson theshelves of that room—otherwise itwas not used.Wemoved a bed into thatroom. It was decided that Babywould study there in themorning and in theafternoon.Ihaddecidedthathewouldhavehisfoodwithsomeotherworkers,likeAnadiSarkar,intheirhouse—Iwasabouttomakethesearrangements—whenBaby'smother requestedme tomakearrangements forhim in thehouseitself.Sothatwasdone."Then he began teaching Baby regularly. I noticed that he taught well. He

used to sit with me some times and listen to the scriptures. In this way twomonthswentby."Last Saturday, I went home just after evening— youmust have seen the

houseIstayin—theyellowhouseontherightsideasyouenterthegate.Ihadsentmywife tomyvillageafewmonthsback.SoIstayaloneandIcookmyownfood—Idon'tminditatall.IdoaspecialpujaonSaturdaynight—soIwenthomequicklytoprepareforit.ItwasverylateinthenightwhenIfinishedmypuja."The next morning I heard that Harinath could not be found. Soon it was

twelvenoon—still therewasnosignoftheman.Ibecamesuspicious.Iwentintohisroomandfoundthathehadnotsleptonhisbedthepreviousnight.ThenIopenedthecupboardwheretheaccountbooksarekept—thebooksofthelastfouryearsweremissing."For the last fouryearswehavebeenfightingcourtcaseswithmanyofour

importanttenants.Ifeltthatitmustbetheirplot.Harinathmusthavebeentheirspy.Hecamedisguisedasatutortostealtheseaccountbooks."Iinformedthepolice.Ididnotknowtillthenthatsixthousandrupeeswere

missingfromthelocker."Dewanjistoppedforsometimeandthensaidhesitantly,"Forvariousreasons

therewasadearthofmoneyinourestateforthepastfewyears.Thereweretheexpensesforthecourtcasestoo.Sowehadborrowedsixthousandrupeesfromthemoneylenderstotideovertheseproblems.Ihadkeptthemoneyinthelockertied in a piece of cloth— itwas in one corner of the locker— I have oftenopenedthelocker,butneverthoughtofopeningthebundleofclothtocheckthemoney.Today,thelawyeraskedformoney,sowhenIunfoldedtheclothIgotsomeoldnewspapersinsteadofthemoney."

TheDewanwassilent.Byomkeshwaslyingonhisback,staringattheceiling.Hesaid,"Wasthelockontheboxsecure—whohasthekeystothelocker?"Dewansaid,"Thelockerhastwokeys.Oneiswithmeandtheotheriswith

Himangshu.IhavemykeybutHimangshuhasmisplacedhis,anditcouldnotbetracedforthelastfewdays."Himangshusaidwithaguiltyexpression,"Itismyfault.Icanneverlookafter

mykeys.IalwaysforgetwhereIhavekeptthem.Thistimetoo,Icouldnotfindthekeysforthelastfewdays.Iwasnottooworried,IthoughtIwouldgetthemsomewhere,someday,asalways."ByomkeshsatupandpulledBabyonhislap,"OurBaby'steacherwasagreat

one!Butitisstrangethathecan'tbefound.Areeffortsbeingmadetofindhim?"DewanKaligati said, "We are trying our best. Police are doing their work;

moreover,I,too,haveappointedsomepeople.Butwehaveyetgotnonewsofthemanasyet."Baby threw away her doll and hugged Byomkesh, "When will my teacher

comeback?"Byomkeshshookhishead,"Idon'tknow,dear,maybenever."Babybegancrying.Byomkeshasked,"Didyoulikeyourteacher?"Babynoddedherhead,"Yes,Ilovehimverymuch.Hetaughtmearithmetic

—tellme—ninesevensarehowmuch?"Byomkeshsaid,"Idon'tknow—sixty-four?"Babylaughed,"Youdon'tknowanything—sixty-three.Doyouknowhowto

chantthehymntogoddessKali?"Byomkeshsaidhelplessly,"No,mydear,Idon'tevenknowthat."Baby began chanting the hymn—whenKaligati stopped herwith a smile,

andsentheroutsidetoplay.Aftershelefthesaid,"Hewasagoodteacher."Byomkeshstoodup."Let'sgoandseetheroominwhichhestayed."Theroomwasattheendofalongverandah.Thedoorwaslocked.Dewanji

opened the lockwith a key froma bunch tucked in hiswaist.We entered theroom.The room was small in size. There were two wooden cupboards, a table,

chairsandabedinside,whichlefthardlyanyspacetomove.Oppositethedoorwasasmallwindow,—Byomkeshpusheditopen.Thenhelookedaroundtheroom.Thebedclothesonthebedwereneatlyfolded.Thetablewascoveredwithafinelayerofdust.Inonecorneroftheroom,someclotheswerehangingfromaclothes line.Thedoorofacupboardwasajar.TherewasapictureofgoddessKalionthewall—showingtheteacher'sspecialreverenceforthisdeity.Byomkeshbentdownandpulledoutapairofshoesfromunderthebedand

said,"Thisshoeisanewone.Youmusthaveboughtitforhim?"

Kaligatisaid,"Yes.""Strange, strange,"Byomkesh kept the shoes andwent upto the clothes.He

liftedthewashedandtheunwashedclothesandsaid,"Strange,verystrange."Himangshuaskedcuriously, "Whathashappened?"Byomkeshwasabout to

reply,thenhiseyesfellonasmallshelfontheoppositeside.Hewenttowardsitquickly and pulling out something, asked in surprise, "Did the tutor wearspectacles?"Kaligatisaid,"Iforgettotellyouthat—yes.Hashelefthisglassesbehind?"Byomkesh looked through theglasses,handed themtomeandsaid,"Isn't it

strange?"Kaligatifrownedthoughtfully,"Itisreallystrange,becauseapersonwhohas

bad eyesight would never leave his glasses behind.What do you think is thereason...?"Byomkeshsaid,"Theremaybemanyreasons—hemayhavebeencheating

you—hemaynothavehadpooreyesightatall."InthemeantimeKumarTridibandIweretryingtolookthroughtheglasses.

Theglasseswereheavy,setona rickety frame.Wecouldseenothing throughthespectacles.KumarTridibsaid,"Byomkeshbabu,Idon'tthinkyourassumptioniscorrect.

Thespectaclesareworn-outwithuse,andtheyarepowerfulglasses."Byomkeshsaid, "Imaybewrong.But the tutormayhavebrought someone

else's old spectacles to deceive everyone — that may also be a possibility.Anyway,letuslookatthecupboard."Wefoundrowsofaccountbooksontheshelves—therewereaboutfiftyto

sixtysuchbooks.Byomkeshtookoneoutandsaid,"Itisquiteheavy—atleastsixkilos.Does

eachbookhaveayear'saccount?"Kaligatisaid,"Yes."Byomkesh turned thepagesand saw that itwasanaccountof thepastyear

whichwas the fifth—themost recentonesof the last fouryearswerestolen.Byomkeshpulledoutafewmoreandglancedthroughthesystemofaccounting.Eachbookwasdivided into twoparts—oneportionwas the roughaccounts,andtheotherportionwasthefair,permanentone.Ononeside,thedailyincomeand expenditure had been noted, on the other side there was the total dailyexpense.Thiswas not theway accountswere kept in estates.But this systemwasconvenientbecauseonecouldmakeouttheexpenseandincome,roughandfairaccounts,atoneglance.Byomkeshhadtakenthematterverylightlyinthebeginning,heconsideredit

tobeanusualcaseoftheft.Butafterexaminingtheroom,Inoticed,therecame

that strange, sharp look in his eyes. I knew that look.He had stumbled on tosomething serious— it was not a matter to be taken lightly. I, too, becameexcited.Whilecomingoutof the room,ByomkeshaskedHimangshu,"Doyouwant

metoinvestigatethecase?"Himangshuhesitatedforamoment,thensaid,"Ofcourse,somuchofmoney

isinvolved—themysteryhastobesolved."Byomkeshsaid,"Thenthetwoofusmuststayhere."Himangshusaid,"Ofcourse,ofcourse—thatisnoproblematall."ByomkeshlookedatKumarTridib,"IfonlyKumargiveshisconsent—can

westayhere,becausewearehisguests."Kumarwas in twominds.Hemust have thought thatByomkeshwanted to

earn some money by solving the case. So he said, "If it helps my friendHimangshu,tohaveyouherethen..."Byomkesh shook his head, "I can't promise that. I may not be able to do

anything.Himangshubabu,ifyouarenotinterestedthentellusfrankly.WehavecomeheretohaveaholidayinKumar'sestate,andleftourprofessionbehindinCalcutta—soifyoudon'trequireourhelp,wewon'tbeunhappy."KumarTridibrealisedthatByomkeshhadbeenabletoreadhismind.Sohe

insisted,"No,no,youstayhereandsolvethecase—I'llcomeeverydaytovisityou."Himangshu nodded in agreement. Sowe decided to stay back in Chorabali

Estate.Wewentback to the sitting roomandhadourafternoon tea in silence.The

Kumar said, "It is four thirty,Himangshu, I'll leave now. I'll come some timetomorrow."Hestooduptoleave.WesawKumarofftohiscar.Hehadmadeplansforus—fishing,boat-rides,

andsoon.Sohewasalittledisappointed.Heaskedus,"Howlongdoyouthinkthiscasewilltakeyou?"Byomkeshsaid,"Ireallycan'tsay.YoumustbethinkinghowungratefulIam.

But,Kumar,thematterhereisserious—Ishouldnotneglectit."Kumar looked startled, "Really? I had thought it was not so serious ... of

coursealotofmoneyhasbeenstolen—.""Thetheftofthemoneyisofsecondaryimportance.""Then?"Byomkeshwas quiet for some time, then he said in a grave voice, "I think

Harinathisnotalive."Wewerebothstartled.Kumarsaid,"Whatareyousaying?"Byomkeshsaid,"Ithinkso.Ihopeyouwillforgivemeafterhearingthis."

Kumar saidanxiously, "There isnoquestionof forgivingyou. If amanhasbeenmurdered—itourdutytofindouttheculprit."Byomkesh said, "I am not saying that he has beenmurdered.But he is not

alive.Anyway,wecannot talkabout itunlesswegetmoreproof.Pleasecometomorrow,andbringoursuitcaseswithyou.Youhadbettergo—youwillbelatereachinghome."We startedwalking towards the house after Kumar had left. It was quite a

distancebetweenthegateandthehouse.Thereweremanyplantsinthebeautifulgarden.Therewerebenchestositandrelax.We left the small house belonging to the Dewan to the right, and walked

ahead.Itwasadarkwinterevening,onlyaredstreakofsunlightcouldbeseeninthewestabovetheheadsofthetreesintheforest.Byomkeshwaswalkingslowlywithaworriedexpression.Icouldnotfathom

his thoughts.Whatdidhesee in theroomthatmadehimsosureofHarinath'sdeath?Iwasabitabsent-mindedwhilethinkingofallthis.Averyseriouseventhadoccurredinthissmall,quietplacetoupsetthecalmlifeofthepeoplehere.One can never understand the existence of a whirlpool by seeing its calmsurface.HavingbeenpresentwithByomkeshinmanyofhiscases,Ihadrealisedthatitwasdifficulttomakeoutaperson'scharacterbylookingathisexterior,soalsoitwasdifficulttogaugeasituationbymerelyjudgingitsuperficially.Byomkesh lit a cigarette standingunder an eucalyptus tree.Thenhe said to

himself,"TheonlyreasonforHarinathnottowearhisshoescouldbethatshoesmakeanoise.Butwhyshouldhenotwearhiskurta?Whyshouldheleavehisspectaclesbehind?"Isaid,"But,howdoyouknowabouthiskurta?"Byomkesh said, "At theDewan's order, hewas given twokurtas, twovests

fromthestore.Hehimselfhadbroughtatornkameej.Allofthemwerehungontheline."Iwasquietforsometime,thenIsaid,"Soyousurmisethat...."Byomkeshwaslookingatthesky—asmall,curvedmooncouldbeseenon

thewesternsky.Hepointedto itandsaid,"Ajit,havea look, themoonisstillverysmall—whatwasitlikethatnight?"Ishookmyheadtoexpressmyignorance.Byomkeshsaid,"Itmusthavebeen

anewmoonnight—averydarknight—let'sconsultthealmanac."Iheardanewexcitementinhisvoice.Ihadalwaysthoughtthatpoetsandromanticswereexcitedbythemoon;soI

was a bit surprised at Byomkesh's enthusiasm— as I knew him to be mostunromantic and unpoetic. But by now Iwas getting used to his unpredictablebehaviour;soIfollowedhimtothehousesilently.

Thepartofthegardenwhichwehadreachedwasaboutfiftyyardsfromthehouse.Ifwewalkedstraightwewouldhavetocrossasmallgroveofpinetrees;thegroveseparatedthispartofthegardenfromtherestofit.We walked silently on the grass and reached this grove, when we heard

someone sobbing. We slowed down our pace automatically. I looked atByomkesh—hehadputafingeronhislips,toaskmetobequiet.We heard a voice through the sobs, "Babu, thisAnadi Sarkar has seen you

growupfroma littlechild.Havemercyonyouroldservant.Themistresshasmisunderstood.Mydaughterhasmadeamistake—butIcanvowthatwedidnotcommitthatterriblesin."Therewasnosoundforsometime—thenweheardHimangshu'sharsh,low

voice."Areyoutellingthetruth...youhaven'tkilled?""Master,Ipromiseyou,wedidnot.IfIamlyingtoyou,myemployer,then

letGodneverforgiveme."Againtherewasnoresponseforsometime.ThenHimangshusaid,"Butyou

can't keep Radha here any more. You send her away tomorrow—make thearrangements.Ifpeoplegettoknowaboutthisincident,thenIwillnotbeabletoshowyouanymercy....Asitis,therearealotofproblemsinthehouse."Anadisaidanxiously,"IwillsendhertoBenarestomorrow—anauntofher

staysthere.""Allright,ifyoucan'tbeartheexpenses..."Byomkeshpulledmebythehand.Wetiptoedawayfromtheplace.Afteraboutfifteenminutes,wereachedthehousebyadifferent,roundabout

way. Kaligati was standing on the verandah, talking to a servant. Baby waspullingathishand,andaskinghim todosomething forher.Weheardpartofwhatshewassaying,"Whydon'tyoucalloutonlyonce...."Kaligatisaidinanembarrassedmanner,"Youcrazygirl!Notnow."Baby pleaded, "Please, Dewandada, they will also hear" — she pointed

towardsus.Kaligaticameforwardtomeetus.Hedismissedtheservant,andaskedusina

serenevoice,"Wereyoustrollinginthegarden?"Byomkesh said, "Yes ...what isBaby saying—whodoes shewantyou to

call?"Kaligati saidwith a helpless smile, "This girl is the limit! Shewantsme to

imitatethecallofafoxnow!"Surprised,Isaid,"Whatisthat?"Kaligati turned toBaby and said, "I am busy now, don't disturbme.Go to

yourmotherandsitdowntostudy."ButBabywasinsistent,sheheldontohisfingerandsaid,"Onlyonce,Dada."

Kaligatiwhisperedsomethingintoherears,andthensaidloudly,"Justbeforeyougotosleep,Iwillcallforyou—allright.Now,mydear,pleasegoaway.""Allright."After Baby left, Kaligati told us, "Myman has come back from the police

station.ThereisnotraceofHarinath."Byomkeshsaid,"Oh!Tellme,isthereanyservantcalledAnadi?""Yes,Anadiistheheadservantoftheestate,"Kaligatilookedcurious.Byomkeshthoughtforsometime,"Idon'tthinkIhaveseenhim.Doeshestay

intheservants'quarters?"Kaligatisaid,"No,heisaveryoldservant.Behindthehouse,nearthestables,

thereareafewrooms—hestaysthere.""Ishealone?""No,hehashiswife,andawidoweddaughter.Hisdaughterhasbeenillfor

the last few days. I had asked him to take her to the doctor— but he is notagreeing—hesaysshewillbeallright.Whyareyouaskingallthis?""No—nothinginparticular.Iwantedtoknowwhichemployeesstaynearby.

Dotheotherservantsstayoutsidethecompound?""Yes,therearesevenoreightlivingquartersforthem.Ittakeslongforthem

tocome towork fromthe town,so,mymaster,Himangshu's father,made thisarrangement.""Howfaristhetownfromhere?""Aboutfivemiles.Theroadinfrontgoesstraighteasttothetown."Just then,Himangshucameoutof thehouse.Hesaid,smilingatus,"Come,

ByomkeshandAjitbabu,letmeshowyoumyarmoury!"We followed him eagerly. It was evening— Dewanji went off quickly to

prepareforhiseveningprayers.Himangshu took us to amiddle-sized room.On a table at the centre of the

room, a light shone.We noticed that the floorwas coveredwith the skins oftigers, bears and deer. There were some almirahs on the wall. Himangshuopened them one by one, and showed us different types of guns, pistols,revolversandrifles.Wewerea littlesurprisedtoseethisman'sgreataffectionfor all those terrible weapons. He described the quality of each, and evenrecalled which was used to kill what animal. He said that he never allowedanyonetotouchthese;hecleanedandoiledthemhimself.After seeing the arms, we sat there in the room, and started chatting. We

talkedaboutmanysubjects.Peoplereveal theircharacters indifferentways, indifferentenvironments.TherelaxedatmosphereoftheroomhelpedHimangshutounravelhimself. Iwasquite certain that thismanwas a simpleperson, andthathismindwentinastraightdirectionlikethebulletofhisgun.

We unwittingly began talking about estates, and the problems inmanagingthese.Himangshutoldusalotabouthimselfandabouttheestateheran.Hetoldus frankly that he was bitter about the constant clash with his subjects. Theearningswerevirtuallynil—courtcaseswerecostly.Sointheselastfewyearsthe debtswere running into lakhs. I noticed that this bitterness hadmade himturnawayfrompropertymatters.Hewasnotverysureoftheimpendingdangersbecausehewasinexperiencedaboutmoneymatters,buthewasvaguelyawareof someunknowncatastrophe in the near future.Todivert hismind from thisfear, he plunged himself into his favourite sport — hunting. Such was thepresentsituation.Itwas eight thirty in the evening;wewere called for dinner.Nowwe saw

Anadi Sarkar. He had come to call us. His eyes had a restive and anxiousexpression—asifhewasafraidofbeingcaughtforamisdeed.Byomkeshobservedhimwithsharpeyes.Thenwefollowedhimtothedining

room.Afterdinner,wewereescorted toour roombyBhuban—Himangshu'spersonal bearer. We relaxed on chairs and lit cigarettes. Bhuban put up themosquito curtains, placed a jugofwater on the table, andwas about to leave,whenByomkeshasked,"YouhadseenHarinathforthelastsixmonths,didhealwayswearhisspectacles?"Bhubanprobablyknewthatwehadcometoinvestigatethetheft—sohewas

veryeagertospeak."Yes,sir,heworeitallthetime.Onedayhewasgoingforhisbathwithoutit

andhetrippedandfell.Hecouldnotwalkastepwithouthisglasses."Byomkeshsaid,"Howmanypairsofshoesdidhehave?"Bhubansmiledandsaid,"Howmany—onlyone,Sir—thatalsothemaster

hadgivenhim.Theonewhichhehadworntothishousewassotornthatevenadogwouldnotchewit.Wethrewawaythatpairintothedustbin,thatveryday.""Really?DidhebringthepictureofgoddessKaliwithhim?""No, Sir,— he did not bring even a toothpick with him. He brought that

picturefromDewanji,andhungitonhiswall."Byomkeshsaid,"Allright,thankyou."Bhubansaid,"Doyouwantanythingelse,Sir?""No,butcanyoubringmeanalmanac?"Bhubanwassurprised,'Doyouwantitnow,Sir?'"Yes—ifitispossible.""Iwillbringone,Sir."WeweresmokingsilentlywhilewaitingforBhubantoreturn,whensuddenly,

verycloseby,foxesbeganhowlingcontinuously.Probablyfiveorsixfoxeshadcollectedtogethernearby.Wegotoverourinitialshock.

Bhuban returned with the almanac. I said, "Are foxes allowed to come soclosetothehouse?"Bhubancontrolledhissmileandsaid,"Thosearenotrealfoxes.Babydidiwas

insistingthatDewanjishouldimitatethecalloffoxes.Heismakingthatsound."I remembered, "Yes, yes, Babywas askingDewanji this evening. This is a

greattalent—itisdifficulttomakeoutthatitisfalse."Bhubansaid,"Yes,Sir,Dewanjicanimitatethecallsofall theanimalsvery

well." He kept the almanac on the table, next to Byomkesh. I glanced atByomkeshandfoundhimsittingmotionlesslikeastatue.Hiseyeswerestaringfixedly,hismusclesweretaut—Iaskedinsurprise"What'sthematter?"Byomkesh woke up from his trance and said, "Nothing — so this is the

almanac.AlrightBhuban—youmaygonow."ThenByomkeshbeganturningthepagesofthebookandstoppedatacertain

page;hepushedthebooktowardsmeandsaid,"Lookatthis"—hisvoicewastrembling with excitement. I looked at the page to find out that the nightHarinathvanishedhadbeenanewmoonnight.

Wegotupatseventhenextmorningandfoundthatthewholehousewasasleep.We learnt froma servantwhowas sweeping the verandah, that noone stirredbeforeeightthirtyonawintermorning.Howwerewetospendthishourandahalf?Thesunwasnotoutproperly—

therewasahintofamist.Iwasrestless.ItoldByomkesh,"Let'sgooutintotheforest,andshootafewbirds—wehavenothingtodonow—we'llcomebackbythetimethesepeoplegetup."Ihadjustlearnttoshoot,soIwasveryenthusiastic.Moreover,Kumarhadleft

thetwogunswehadusedyesterday,inthishouse—somebulletswerealsoleftinthepocketsofourcoats.Byomkeshthoughtforsometimeandsaid,"Letusgo."Westartedoutwith thegunsonour shoulders.Weasked theservantwhich

roadweshouldfollow.Hesaid that ifwefollowedthestraightroad,wecouldwalkbythesideofthestretchofsand,andentertheforest.Webeganwalking.Afterwalkingforsometime,wecouldseethetreesoftheforestaboutamile

away.Bythesideoftheforestwasthestretchofsand.Fromfaritlookedlikeacanalborderingtheendoftheforest.Thedirectioninwhichwewerewalkingwasthesouthernpartofthestretchof

sand. Ithad taperedoffat the southern tip tomeet the forest.So therewasnomoresandinthesoutherndirection.Afterwalking for almost fifteenminutes,we reached that southern tip.We

found that therewaskindofembankment there.Thiswasabout fifteen feet inwidth.Ononesideoftheembankmentwasthestretchofsand,andontheotherwasthegreenfield.Weclimbedonto the embankment and lookeddown to see that therewas a

faintlineofgrass,afterwhichbegantheseaofsand.Iwonderedwhereinthisseawouldbethatterribleareaofquicksand.The first thing we noticed when we climbed on to the embankment was a

small, dilapidated hut. Itwas situated at the extreme limit of the embankmentfromwheretheareaofsandbegan.Theroofwaslow, thewallsweremadeofburntmud,butmuchofthewallhadbrokenoffinportions.Thethatchedroof,too,wasbroken.Probablynoonehadlivedthereforthelastfourorfiveyears.Wewere surprised to find that hut in such a lonely place so far from humanhabitation,andsoneartheforest.Byomkeshsaid,"Let'sexploretheinsideofthehut."I was just getting ready to follow Byomkesh, when I saw a flight of wild

dovesinthesky.Byomkeshquicklyfiredashot,andonebirdfellonthesandystretch just below us. I was getting ready to climb down the embankment toretrieveit,whenByomkeshsaidlaughingly,"Whyareyousoimpatient?Adeadbirdwon'tflyaway—let'sfirstexplorethehut."Weenteredthehutandfoundthatithadtwoentrances,theonethroughwhich

weenteredhadnodoor,butthedooratthebackofthehut,whichopenedonthestretchofsand,wasstill—intact.Therewasnothingusableintheroom.Therewasanovergrowthofgrasson

themud floor, somepartsof thebroken roof also crowded the room. Itwas alongishroom,butthewidthwasaboutsixfeet.Byomkesh keenly observed the floor and said, "Someone had come here

recently — see, Ajit, the grass and the broken thatch is pressed down here.Someonehaspulledsomethingacrossthefloorhere.Peoplefrequentthishut,Iamsure."I did not think it was impossible. Shepherd boys would definitely come in

hereforarest,whentheycamewiththeirflock.SoIsaidabsently,"Maybe,"mymindwasonthedeadbirdonthesand.Iopenedthebackdoorofthehuttolookoutforthebird,butsawnothing.I

wassureithadfallenthere.IcalledByomkesh,"Whereisthebird—yourdeadbirdhasreallyflownaway!"Byomkeshtoocameoutofthebackdoorandsaid,"Strange!""Maybeithasfallenjustalittleahead—wecan'tseeitfromhere.Letmeget

downfromthisembankment."Igotreadytoclimbdownandstepontothesand,whenByomkeshpulledmebackbythecollarofmycoat."Stopit!"

"Whathappened?"Isaid,surprisedbytheexpressiononhisface."Don'tstepontothesand."Hethrewtheemptycoverofthebulletabouttwentyfeetoutintothesand.My

hairstoodonandendwithfrightatwhatIsawnext!Thecoverstooduponitsedge,andwassuckedintothesanduntiltherewasnotraceofitanywhere.Sothiswasthequicksand!Iwasabouttostepintoit!Istartedtremblingwith

nervousreaction.IlookedatByomkeshwithgratitudeandsaid,"Ifitwasnotforyou, brother..." But Byomkesh was not listening to me at all — he kept onsayinginawhisper,"Howterrible,howterrible!"Thenhebrokeafewpiecesofwoodfromthe roofand threwthemon thesand—eachof thesedisappeared.Wecouldnotmakeouttheareaofthequicksand;howeverfarwemightthrow,thepieceskeptdisappearing.Wecameintothehutagainthroughthebackdoor.Byomkeshsaid,"Ajit,don'ttellanyonethatwehavefoundtheareaofthequicksand.Doyouunderstand?"WecameoutofthefrontdoorofthehutandByomkeshturnedroundtohave

alookatit."Have you observed the position of the hut? Behind it is the quicksand, in

frontofitistheforest,oneithersideistheembankment.Iwouldliketoknowwhohaditmade."Themisthadcleared.Ilookedinfronttoseeapersoninshortswithagunon

his shoulder stridingout of the forest towardsus. ItwasHimangshu.He said,"Wherewereyou,Iwaslookingforyouinsidetheforest?"Byomkesh said to me in an undertone, "Ajit, don't say a word about the

quicksand." Raising his voice he said, "Ajit forced me to come out to shootbirds,butthebirdsaresafe.Ajithasbecomecrazy,hewillsoonbearrestedbythepoliceundertheArmsact."Himangshucametousandasked,"Sodidyougetsomething?""Nothing,butwhyhaveyoucomeoutearlyinthemorningwithyourrifle?"

Byomkeshasked.Himangshusaid,"Iheardthismorningthatatiger'sroarhasbeenheardinthe

forest.SoIquicklycameout.Theservantsaidthatyoualsohadgonetowardsthe forest— so Iwasworried. If you are confrontedwith a tiger, your smallgunswouldbeuseless."Byomkeshasked,"Whotoldyouthattherewasatigerintheforest?""Noone iscertain.Butmymilkmanwas saying that thecowswere restless

thewholenight—probablytheyhavesmeltatiger.ThenDewanjitoldmethathehadheardsomethinglikeatigerroarfromtheforest.Anyway,let'sgobackandhavetea."Byomkesh looked at his watch and said, "Eight thirty, let's go. Tell me to

whomdoesthissmallhutbelong?Andwhywasitbuiltinthislonelyspot?Doyouknow?"Himangshusaid,aswewalkedtowards thehouse."Aboutfourorfiveyears

back,aftermyfather'sdeath—asadhuwhowasaworshipperofgoddessKaliappeared in my house. He looked terrible. He was tall and big, his face wascovered with a big beard, he had a head full of long hair, his eyes werebloodshot.Helookedatmeandtoldmethathewantedtobemyguest."Idon't likeall this,andhavenorespectfor this typeofsadhus—soIwas

readytoturnhimout.ButDewanjipreventedmefromdoingso.HehimselfisaworshipperofKali—soprobablyhisheartflowedwithreverenceforthisman.Hebeganpleadingwithmetokeepthatmanasmyguest,toavoidbeingcursed.But I refused.Finallywecame toanagreement.Hewouldstay somewhere intheestateinahutwhichwouldbemadeforhim,whilehisfoodwouldbesentregularly from the house. I had to agree to this, because Dewanji was soenthusiastic.'Thatsadhuchosethisspot,andhishutwasmadehere.Hewashereforabout

six months. I did not meet him any more. But Dewanji used to visit himregularly. He was even initiated by the sadhu. Dewanji was always a Kaliworshipper,butnowhebecameverydevout."Anyway,thesadhuvanishedonedayassuddenlyashehadcome—butthe

hutremained."Bythistimewehadreachedthehouse.Wehadourbreakfastinthelargeopen

verandah. Aswewere enjoying a sumptuous breakfast, Kumar Tridib arrivedwithoursuitcases.HeaskedByomkesh,"Howfar?"Byomkeshshookhisheaduncertainly,"Notveryfar—butIamexpectingto

findasolutioninafewdays' time.Iwanttogotothetowntodaytogetsomeinformationfromthepolice."Tridib said, "Very well, I'll take you in my car and come back by twelve

noon."Byomkeshshookhishead,"No,Iwill takesometime.Itwillbeeveningby

thetimeIreturn.I'llhavemylunchandgoout."Kumarsaid,"All right, that'salsookaywithme.Himangshu,whydon'tyou

comewithus—wehaven'tbeentothetownforalongtime!"Himangshusaidhesitantly, "No, Ihavesomework—Iwon'tbeable togo

today."Byomkeshsaid, "No,youdon'thave togo.Ajitcanstayback too.Weboth

willgo."He lookedatTridib—theremusthavebeensomesignal inhiseyesbecausethelatterstoppedhimselffromsayingsomething.Atabout elevenByomkeshwentoutwithKumarTridib.He toldmebefore

going,—"Keepyoureyesopen.Noticeeverythingthathappensinmyabsence."Afterthecarwentoutofthegate,IfeltthatonHimangshu'sfacetherewasan

expressionofthesheerjoyoffreedom.Theoldsuspicion,thathesomehowwasnothappyatourarrivalandstayinhishouse,beganhauntingmeagain.DewanKaligatiwasnearby.Hewasanextremelyshrewdman.Hemighthave

guessedthetensionbetweenus,becausehecalledmetotheverandahandbeganconversing easily about various subjects. Himangshu joined us too. ThemaintopicofourconversationwasByomkesh.Ialwayslovedadvertisingthetalentsofmyfriend—soIdidthatnowquotingmanyexamples.Ialsohintedthatthishouseholdwas lucky to get his help.Then I said, "ThatHarinath is not alive,couldbediscoveredsoquicklyonlybyapersonlikeByomkesh."Bothwerestartled,"Notalive!"Iwasinafix—IdidnotknowwhetherIshouldhaverevealedthefact.But

Byomkeshhadnotaskedme tokeep thisa secret.Still I felt that I shouldnothaveblabbered.Icontrolledmyselfandknowinglyshookmyhead,"Everythingwillberevealedtoyouintime."Itwastwelvenoon,sowegotup.Butthoughneitherofthemaskedanymore

questions, I could realise that both were disturbed by the news of Harinath'sdeath.IwasthinkingofspendingthewholeafternoonaloneasHimangshusaidthat

hehadsomeimportantwork.ButBabykeptmecompany.SheaskedmewhereByomkeshwas,andapologisedfornotcomingearlierashercathadgivenbirthto kittens. Then she began letting out many secrets of her family by talkingcontinuously.Shesuddenlysaid,"Mymotherhasn'teatenforthreedays."Iasked,"Isshesick?"Sheshookherheadgravely,"No,shehadaquarrelwithmyfather."Iwasconsideringwhether itwascivilenoughtoaskanymorequestionson

thissubject,whenInoticedagreensedansilentlygoingoutof thegate—thedriverwasHimangshuhimself.Icouldnotseewhethertherewasanyoneinsidethecar.Babysaid,"Thatisournewcar."IfeltthatHimangshu'sactionsweresurreptitious.Wheredidhego?Wasthere

any one with him? He was trying to hide something from us right from thebeginning.Ourarrivalhadputaspokeinhiswheel.Sohewasveryanxiousandimpatient, but could not express it. Did he know anything then about thedisappearance of Harinath? Or was he shielding some one? Why was AnadiSarkarcryingyesterday?Hesaidthathehadnotcommittedanycrime—whatcrime?TodayBabysaidthatherparentswerehavingaquarrel.Whatweretheyquarrellingabout?WasHarinathresponsibleforthisquarrel?

"Canyoudrawpictures?"Babyasked—Icamebacktothepresent."Yes,"Isaidabsent-mindedly.Babyranoutoftheroomandcamebackwithanexercisebookandapencil.

"Pleasedrawanicepictureforme."TheexercisebookwasBaby's arithmeticbook.Hernamewaswritten inan

adulthandwritingonthefirstpage.Iasked."Isthisyourteacher'shandwriting?""Yes."IwasamazedasIturnedthepages.Thebookwasfilledwithdifficultsums.

Therewasvery little in thechild'shandwriting. I askedagain, "Whohasdonethesesums?"Babysaid,"Myteacher,healwaysdidsumsinmybook."Itwastrue.Icouldnotunderstandwhythosedifficultmathematicalproblems

wereworkedoutinalittlechild'sexercisebook.While turning the pages, I noticed that a part of a page was torn.When I

observedclosely, I found that somethinghadbeenwrittenon it and then torn.Because in thenextpage the impressionofwhathadbeenwrittenon topwasstillthere.Itriedtoreadtheimpression,butcouldnot.Babywasgettingrestless,"Whyareyounotdrawingpicturesforme?"Suddenly I remembered a trick which was very popular when we were in

school.IaskedBaby,"Doyouwanttoseemagic?"Babywasveryexcited,"Yes,yes!"Itoreasmallpieceofpaperandblackeneditwiththepencil.ThenIrubbedit

on the impression— just as the negatives of photographs become clear afterbeingwashedinchemicals,sotoo,someofthewordsontheimpressionbecameclearer."Om,Hring,Kling.""Newmoonphasestartsateleven...five..."Thewordswereillegibleandincomplete.Thefirstseemedtobesomekindof

mantra.ButthehandwritingsurelybelongedtoHarinath.Babywasnotatallsatisfiedwhenshesawthismagic.SoIhadtosatisfyher

by drawing pictures of different kinds of animals. I tore the paper with theunintelligiblewritings,andkeptitwithme.Himangshureturnedataboutthreethirty.Thecarreturnedsilentlyandentered

thegarageatthebackofthehouse.AftersometimeIheardHimangshu'svoiceaskingthebearertoservetea.Byomkeshreturnedintheevening.Kumardidnotgetdownfromthecarashe

wasfeelingfeverish.WehadanotherroundofteawithByomkesh.Dewanjialso

joinedus.HeaskedByomkesh,"Whathappened?"Byomkesh sippedhis teaand said, "Notmuch.Police think thatHarinath is

beingshelteredintheirhousesbysometenants."Dewanjisaid,"Youdon'tthinkso?"Byomkeshanswered,"No,Ithinkotherwise.""YouthinkHarinathisnotalive."Byomkeshwassurprised,"Howdidyouknow?Oh,Ajitmusthavetoldyou.

Yes,that'swhatIthink,butImaybewrong."No one said anything for some time. I felt very uneasy.Byomkesh did not

seemannoyedwithme,butonecannevermakeouthisfeelingsfromhisface.Maybehewouldtakemetotaskwhenwearealone.Kaligatisaidsuddenly,"Ithinkyouarewrong—Harinathisalive."Byomkeshlookedathimandsaid,"Didyougettoknowanything?"Kaligatisaid,"Notexactly,butIamsureheishidinginthatforest."Byomkeshsaidstartled,"Inthiscold?Intheforest?""Yes,thereisalittlehutintheforestcalledthesadhu'shut—hehidesthere

atnighttosavehimselffromwildanimals."Byomkeshasked,"Didyougotanypositiveproof?""No,butIamnearlysureheisthere."Byomkeshsaidnothing.While getting ready for bed, Byomkesh asked me, "Have you announced

aboutourdiscoveryofthequicksandtotheworldalso?""No,no—aboutHarinathIjustmentionedthat...""Yes,yes,"hesatonachair.Isaiddefensively."Youdidn'ttellmenottotellanyoneaboutyoursuspicion

aboutHarinathnotbeingalive...""Soyouregardeditasyoursolemndutytobroadcastittotheworld.Anyway,

whatdidyoudothisafternoon?"I was relieved to find that he was not so angry. I told him all that had

happenedintheafternoon.IshowedhimthatpieceofpaperwhichI torefromBaby's exercise book.Byomkesh looked at the paper, but did not showmuchinterest."Iknowallthis—Icanevencompletethesecondlineinthispaper—The

newmoonphasewillbeginat11.45p.m.EvenHarinathhadseenthealmanac."ByomkeshonlysmiledwhenheheardaboutHimangshu'sfurtiveactivitiesin

theafternoon—Isaid,"Ithinkheistryingtohidesomethingfromus.Ifeelhewasn'tveryhappytohaveusasguestseither."Byomkesh thumped my back and said, "You are quite right. You can't

imaginewhataperfectgentlemanhe is.He is really incomparable.That'swhy

weshouldsolvethiscase."Iwasastounded.Byomkeshcontinuedsaying,"AnadiSarkarhasadaughter

calledRadha.Isawhertoday."I looked at Byomkesh foolishly. Byomkesh said, "She is a pretty girl of

twenty,butawidowWepunishpeopleiftheygiveintothevagariesofyouth—sometimesthepunishmentistoosevere—especiallyinthecaseofwomen.Wedon'tconsiderthatfactthathumanbeingsaresusceptibletotemptations—butwepassajudgement.Evenacourtoflawhasathingcalled 'graveandsuddenprovocation'—butsocietymakesnoexcusesforasinner.But thepersonwhofindsachinkinthestonewallofharshrulesofthesocietytoshow—isreallyagreatman."I had never heardByomkesh giving a lecture on the laws of the society—

howAnadiSarkar'sdaughterhadunpluggedhisfountainofemotionswasindeedamysterytome;Istaredathiminsurprise.Byomkeshwas quiet for some time and then heaved a great sigh, "Another

strangethingwhichIhavenoticedisthatinthesecases,womenarethebitterestenemiesoftheirownsex."Neitherofusspokeforsometime.Byomkeshthensaid,"It'slate.Letusgoto

sleep. I can'tunderstandhow thiscasewill end. Ihaveunderstoodeverything,butitisdifficulttocatchtheculprit.Wemustsetatrap,Ajit,doyouunderstand—wemustsetatrap."Iwasirritated,"Ifyouwanttosaysomething,pleasespeakclearly—ordon't

speakatall!""Youdidn'tunderstandanything?""No.""Strange,whateverdoubtsIhad,vanishedafterIwenttothetowntoday.Ican

seeitasclearlyasafilm.""So,whatdidyoudointhetown?"Byomkesh said, "Only two things— I saw Anadi Sarkar's daughter at the

station—Iwashidingthereforthat.ThenIgotsomedocumentsintheRegistryOffice.""Wereyousolatebecauseofthat?""Yes, it took a lot of time tohave a look at thedocuments in theoffice—

manypermissionshadtobetaken.""Then?""Thenwecameback."Byomkeshslippedinsidehisquilt.Iknewthathewas

notgoingtotellmeanythingmore.Veryannoyed,Itootriedtogotosleep.AsIwasdozingoff,weheardasoftknockonourdoor.Byomkeshopenedthe

door,andtooursurprisewefoundKaligatistandingatourdoor,wrappedina

black blanket. He said, "Come with me, I want to show you something.Ajitbabu,youalsocomealongwithus."Byomkesh wore his coat and I wrapped a heavy shawl around myself and

followedhim.WewentoutofthehousetowardsthegateandthenintoKaligati'shouse.Theredidnotseemtobeanyoneinthehouse,weclimbedontotheterraceby

astaircaseconnectingthegroundfloorwiththefirstfloor.Hetookustoonesideof the terrace and pointed towards the direction of the forest, "Can you seeanything?"Welooked through thedarknessof thenightandnoticeda lightburningfar

away.Byomkesh said, "A light is burning — could be a fire also. Where is it

burning?"Kaligatisaid,"Itisburninginthehutintheforest.""Oh, the hut in which the sadhu stayed? Has he come back?" Byomkesh

mocked."No,IthinkitisHarinath.""Oh!"Byomkeshseemedstartled,"Yes,youdidmentionitthisevening.But

whatishedoingthere?""Probablyheisunabletobearthecold—sohehaslitafire.""Maybe...maybe,"Byomkeshsaidaftermuchthought,"Ifheisalive—itis

possiblethatheisthere."Kaligatisaid,"Byomkesh,heisalive.Heishidingfromthepolice.Whowill

gointothathutatthistimeofthenightbuthim?""That's true,'Byomkesh seemed thoughtful, then he said, 'Whoever it iswe

mustfindout.Ajit,areyoureadytogothere?"Ishivered,"Now?"Kaligatisaid,"Pleaseconsidereverythingcarefully.Ifyoucancatchhim,then

youmustgonow.Itisverydark,butyoucannotgowithalight—hewillrunawayifheseesalight.Again...itisimpossibletoreachtherewithoutmakinganoise.Thinkwellbeforeyoudecideanything."Wetalkedaboutwhattodo.Thenwedecidedthatitwasnotsafetogothere

that night because if he became suspicious, he would never come to that hutagain.Byomkeshsaid,"Dewanjiiscorrect.Weshouldnotgotonight.Ihaveaplan.

If the culprit is not alerted—hewill come there again tomorrow.TomorrowAjitandIwillgoandhideinthathut.Thenassoonashecomes...."Kaligati said, "That's not a badplan.Wewill think about it.Thismuch for

today."

We came back to our own room. Dewanji saw us to our room. He askedByomkesh,"Youdon'tbelieveinsadhus?'Byomkeshsaidvehemently,"Ithinktheyarealllicentiouscheats—that'smy

experience."Kaligati'seyesdimmedwithunexpressedanger.Hegaveafaint,forcedsmile

andsaid,"Allright,gotobed.Don'ttellHimangshuaboutallthisnow."Byomkeshsaid,"Yes,itisbestnottotellhimanythingnow."Kaligati left the room. We again went to bed. Byomkesh said, "The old

Brahminisfuriouswithme."Isaid,"Yes,thewayheglaredatyoubeforeleaving—Ithinksotoo.Why

didyouhavetosayanythingagainstsadhuswhenyouknowhisbeliefinthem?"Byomkeshsaid,"Ibadlywanthimtobeangrywithme."I could not understand what he meant by that. It was unlike Byomkesh to

speakagainstsomeone'sreligiousbelief—butwhydidhedothistoday?Isaid,"Whatdoyoumean?Whatwasthepointinhurtingtheoldman?""Youwillunderstandtomorrow,gotosleepnow,"heturnedonhisside.Byomkeshwhiled awayhis time till noon thenext day,Himangshu seemed

happyand relieved for some reason.Hechatted andentertaineduswithmanystoriesabouthishuntingexperiences.Heseemedtohaveforgottenthatwewerehisgueststosolvesomeseriousmystery—hedidnotbringupthattopicevenonce.Afterourafternoontea,ByomkeshtookKaligatiasideandwhisperedtohim,

"Wewillproceedaccordingtolastnight'splan—allright?"Kaligatilookedworried,"Haveyougivenitaseriousthought?"Byomkeshsaid,"Ithinkweshouldgotothehuttonight.Wehavetosolvethis

mysteryonceandforall.Themoonwillsetatabouttenatnight.AjitandIwillgotherebeforethatandwaitfortheculprittocome,andcatchhimassoonashewalksin!"Kaligatisaid,"Butifhedoesnotcome?"Byomkesh said, "Then I'll assume that my earlier guess was correct —

Harinathisdead."Kaligati thought for some time and said, "But I think you should go once

beforetothehutnowtoseewhereitis—let'sgo!"Byomkeshsaid,"Allright,ifwedon'tseeitindaylight,itwillbedifficultfor

ustolocateitinthedark."HedidnotrevealtoKaligatithatwehadalreadyseenthe hut. The three of us reached the hut. Kaligati walked ahead, and took usinside.We saw that there was a heap of ashes in themiddle of the room—otherwisetherewasnochange.Kaligati opened the back door overlooking the stretch of sand. Byomkesh

said,"Whatalovelyopenspace!"Irepeated,"Yes,yes!"Kaligatisaid,"Youwillstayinthisroomtonight....butIamalittlenervous

aboutit.Ihaveheardpeoplesaythatatigerhascometotheforest."Isaid,"Sowhat,—wewillbringourguns!"Kaligatismiled,"Itwillbesodarkthatyouwillnotbeabletoseeyourtarget.

Yourgunswillbeofnouse.Anyway,Ihopetherumouraboutthetigerisfalse.Thereisnoneedtobringagun.Butwecan'tbetoocareful—sopleasebeonthealert.Incaseyouheartheroarofatiger—don'tstayinsidethisroom.Comeoutof thisbackdoor, close it, godownon to the sandyarea, and stand there.Evenifthetigerentersthehut,itwillnotbeabletoclimbdownontothesand."Byomkesh saidhappily, "That's agood idea.We shouldnotbother tobring

guns.BesidesAjithasnewly learnt touseagun—hewillneedlesslymakeanoise,andalloureffortswillgotowaste."Wereturnedhome.Butmymindwascoveredbyamist.In theevening,we

were sitting together in Himangshu's armoury, when Byomkesh asked,"Himangshubabu, suppose that a person had killed a simple, harmless,dependentmanforhisownselfishends.Howshouldthatmanbepunished?"Himangshu saidwith a smile, "Death— a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an

eye."Byomkeshturnedtome,"Ajit,whatisyouropinion?""IagreewithHimangshubabu."Byomkeshwassilentforsometime.Thenhewenttothedoorandshutit.He

camebackandsaidsoftly,'TonightAjitandIaregoingtohideinthesmallhutneartheforest.'Surprised,Himangshusaid,"Butwhy?"Byomkeshgavehimthereasoninbriefandsaid,"Butwearefeelingnervous

togoalone.Youhavetocomealongwithus."Himangshusaidwithgreatenthusiasm,"Ofcourse,Iwillcomewithyou."Byomkeshsaid,"Butnotasoulmustknowthatyouarecoming.Thenallour

planswillgohaywire.Listen,wewillgoout at aboutnine thirty in thenight.Youwillstartoutofthehouseatten—butnoonemustknow.Youmustnotletanyoneknowthatyouareevenawareofourplans.That isalso important forthesuccessofourexpedition.Andyoumust takeyourbestriflewithyou.Wewillgowithoutanyarms."Wegotreadytogoafterthedinner,andleftthehouseatexactlyninethirty.Assoonaswewentoutofthegate,weheardavoicecallingussoftly.Itwas

DewanKaligati. Hewaswaiting for us.He came near us and said, "Are yougoing now? I can see that you have not taken any gunswith you.Remember

whatyoumustdoifyoushouldheartheroarofatiger—goandstandonthestretchofsandbehindthehut.""Yes,wewillrememberyourinstructions.""Goodluck—mayGodbewithyou."Webeganwalking.Oncewe reached the hut,Byomkesh took out his torch

andlookedaroundtheroom.Thenhesatontheground,andtoldmetodothesame.Isatdownandasked,"MayIlightacigarette?""Yes,butthelightofthematchstickmustnotbeseenfromoutside."So we sat smoking silently. We heard a noise outside after half an hour.

Byomkeshsaid,"Himangshubabu,comein."Himangshucameinwitha rifle.The threeofusbeganour longvigil inside

thehut.Atabout12.25a.m.weheardaterriblesoundverycloseby.Allthethreeof

us stood up. I had not heard the roar of a hungry wild tiger before— so Itrembledwith fear. Himangshu said in an undertone, "Tiger!" A slight soundfromhisdirectiontoldusthathewasgettingready.Theroarhadcomefromthesideoftheforest—soHimangshuquietlywent

tothedoorlesssideofthehut.Westoodmotionless.Himangshuwhisperedtous,"Ican'tseeathing;itisverydark."Byomkeshwhisperedback,'Shootatthesound—youareanexpertatit.'Himangshuwentafewstepsoutofthehut.Justatthattime,theearthtrembledwithawildroar—itwasverynearus—

maybe within fifty yards from where we stood. Before the echo of the roarreceded,Himangshufiredfromhisrifle.Weheardthethudofsomethingheavyfallingatadistance.Himangshusaid,

"Ithasfallen,Byomkeshbabu,takeoutyourtorch!"Byomkeshwalkedaheadofuswithhistorch.Himangshusaid,"Don'tgotoo

nearit—ifitisonlywounded—itwillbedangerous!"Butwherewas the tiger!At the edgeof the forest, somethingwrapped in a

blackblanketwaslyingontheground.Byomkesh shone the torch on it. Himangshu gave a shocked cry, "What is

this?It'sDewanji!"DewanKaligatiwaslyingdeadontheground—hislastexpressionrevealing

alltheuglinesswhichhehadsocarefullyhiddenwhenhewasalive.Byomkeshexaminedhimandsaidwithoutatraceofremorse,"Dead.Ifthere

is something called the next world, then he must have met the man he hadmurdered—HarinathChoudhury—thetutor."

ByomkeshpushedtheaccountbookstowardsHimangshu,"Ifyouexaminethesecarefully,youwillrealisewhyyouarerunningintodebtsoflakhsofrupees."Weweresittinginthedrawingroom.Twodayshadpassedafterthedeathof

Kaligati.We had retrieved the stolen account books of the last four years bybreaking open the cupboard in his house. Many other documents were alsofoundthere.Himangshu had still not recovered fully from the trauma of the recent

incidents. He sat quietly on one side. He said softly, "I still can't understandanythingclearly."Byomkesh said sympathetically, "That's understandable. I will unravel the

mysteryofthisstoryfromthebitsandpiecesofevidencewhichIhavecollectedoverthepastfewdays.Butbeforethat,taketheseregistereddeeds.""Whatarethese?"saidabewilderedHimangshu.Byomkeshsaid,"Theseare

the registered papers of the deeds of mortgage which you had given to themoneylender toborrowmoney.Themoneylender sold thesedeeds toKaligati,whobought themwithyourmoney inhisownname.These are the registeredpapersforthose,andherearethereceiptsofthemoneywhichthemoneylenderreceived from Kaligati. All the land you were mortgaging was becomingKaligati's own in thisway.Hewas buying your landwithmoney stolen fromyou."Himangshushookhisheadhelplessly."Kaligatiwasgoingtobuyyourwholeestatefromyouattheend—thatwas

hisplan.Hewouldhavedoneitinabouttwoyears....ButtheMaths-crazytutorspoiledeverythingforhim."Isaid,"Pleasestartattheverybeginning."Byomkesh said, "After Himangshubabu's father died, Kaligati saw that the

new zaminder was quite disinterested in the running of the estate. He got agoldenopportunity.Hewastheonewhowrotetheaccountbooks—therewasnooneelsewhocheckedthem.Sohestartedembezzlingmoneywithimpunity.Thiswentonforsometime.Hisgreedbegantoincrease.But,then,therewasalimit to the income and expenditure of an estate. So his theft was becominglimited.Nowhebegancourtcaseswithsomeof the rich tenants.Theexpenseincurred in thesewasunlimited—thishelped tomakehis theftunlimited too.He became ambitious — he began to dream of becoming the zaminder ofChorabaliEstate.Butyouwerenotawareofanything."Thingsweregoinghisway,whensuddenlyHarinathappearedonthescene.

Hewasasimplepersonwhohadgreatrespectforyou.KaligatibegantoinitiatehimintotheworshipofgoddessKali."But the problemwas that hewas not satisfied onlywith religion. Hewas

crazy about Maths. He worked out huge mathematical problems in Baby'sexercisebooks."One day his eyes fell on the huge account books in the cupboards of his

room.Hebeganexamining theaccounts, andwasamazedat thediscrepanciesthere. He was disturbed, but who was he going to talk to about all this? Hehardlyusedtomeetyou,andhewasabitfrightenedofyoutoo.Sohedidthemostnormalthing—heconfidedinKaligatiaboutallthelapsesintheaccountbooks."Kaligatiwasveryworried.HedecidedthatHarinathhadtoberemoved,and

alsothefourmostrecentaccountbooksofthelastfouryears."Nowbeginsthemostterribleandcruelpartofmystory.Harinathhadtodie,

butonecouldnotuseweaponsagainsthim.SowhatwasKaligatitodo?"Kaligati knew the area of the quicksand. Most probably, he too had

discovered it as accidentally as we did, because he used to frequent the hutwherehisGuru,thesadhu,hadbeenlivingforsomemonths.Thisquicksandwasjustbehindthehut."Kaligatithoughtoutanovelwaytogetridofthetutor.Hewoulddie,butno

onewouldevenknow thathewasdead!Kaligatiwouldalsobeable togiveaplausible excuse for the disappearance of the account books,while he himselfwouldbebeyondsuspicion."OnthelastnewmoonnighthetoldHarinaththat ifhewantedtoattainthe

ultimate spiritual goal, hewould have to go to the hut atmidnight and chantprayers to goddess Kali. The tutor wrote the prayer down on Baby's exercisebook,andkeptthepagewithhim."Wheneveryonewasasleep,Harinathwentoutofhisroom.Hewasgoingfor

prayers,sotherewasnoneedforhimtotakehisshoesorwearhiskurta,infactitwassodarkthathehadtovirtuallyfeelhiswaytothehut—sotherewasnoneedtotakehisspectacleseither.Besides,Kaligatimusthavetakenhimtothehut.BeforecomingawayhetoldHarinath,'Ifyouheartheroarofthetiger—godownbythebackdoorofthehutandstandonthestretchofsand.'"Harinathstartedpraying,soonheheardtheroarofthetiger—soauthentic

that even a veteran hunter like Himangshubabu could not make out thedifference.This roarmust have been heard by the villagers— so therewas arumour that a tiger was around. Kaligati was a talented person — he couldimitiatethecallsofanimalssowell thatnoonecouldmakeoutthedifference.WehadheardhimimitatingafoxforBaby."Hearing a tiger roar, poor Harinath ran down, and stood on the stretch of

sand, only to be sucked in by the quicksand!A shiver runs down one's spinewhenonethinksofhisterriblehelplessdeath!"

Byomkeshcontinuedafterasilence,"NowKaligati returnedhome,removedtheaccountbooks,andputtheminhisowncupboardinhishouse.ThenextdayheproclaimedthatHarinathhadrunawaywiththeaccountbooksatthebehestofsometroublesometenants."Still,toleavenodoubtinanyone'smind,heevenstolesixthousandrupees,

borrowedfromthemoneylendertocoverthecostofcourtcases.Himangshuwasalways careless with his keys, and misplaced them— so this gave a goldenopportunity toKaligati to say thatHarinath had stolen the keys of the locker.ThenAjitandIcameonthescene.Atthistimesomethingelsewashappeninginthe house which had no connection with Harinath's disappearance. It was aneternal tragedy of our critical society — a widow falling into the trap oftemptation...AnadiSarkar'swidoweddaughterRadhahadgivenbirthtoastill-born baby. This came to the ears ofHimangshubabu'swife,who thought thatRadha had committed the sin of killing a foetus. She came and toldHimangshubabuthatthiscouldnotbeallowedorpardonedinherhouse—theymustbethrownout.Isn'titso,Himangshubabu?"Surprised,Himangshunoddedhishead."But a kind person like you was reluctant to do that. You even had an

argumentwithyourwife.ThenquietlyyouputthegirlinatrainandsenthertoherauntinBenares.Youdrovehertothestationyourselftoavoidgossip.Youevenofferedtohelpheroutwithmoney.AnadiSarkaris luckytohavesuchagenerousmasterinyou."ThisincidentgotsoentangledwiththeincidentofHarinath'sdisappearance,

thatatonetimethewholethingbecameverycomplicated.Ittookmesometimetounwindthewholemess.IhidinthestationtoseeRadha,andrealisedthatshehadnothingtodowiththismystery.IknewthenthatKaligatiwasthemurderer.IgotaburningproofofthewickednessoftheunscrupulousvillainwhenIwentthrough the documents in the Registry Office. There was no way in which IcouldcatchhimalthoughIwassureofhiscrime."Kaligatiwasnotworriedinthebeginning.ButwhenheheardfromAjitthatI

had suspected that Harinath was dead— he became uneasy. He first tried toconvincemethatHarinathwasalive,andtookustohisterracetoshowthefirein the hut, which he himself had lighted. I began to pretend that he could becorrectandexpressedawishtocatchtheculpritred-handedbylyinginwaitforhiminthehut.IwaslayingatrapforKaligatibuthethoughtthathewaslayingatrapforus.HeknewthatifHarinathdidnotcometothehut—whichKaligatiknew more than anyone else that he would not — I would again start myinvestigations.Sohe decided to sendus to the same fate asHarinath's. I, too,was waiting for this chance. He was a fanatic— he hatedmy jeering words

aboutsadhusandhisdeterminationtokillmegrewstrongerinhismind.Hetookus to the hut that evening and gave us the same advice which he had givenHarinath.Therestyouknow."Noonespokeforsometime.ThenHimangshusaid,"Whydidyouaskmeto

goto thehutwithmyrifle?YouknewIwouldaimat theunseentiger justbyhearingtheroar."Byomkeshsmiledslightly,"Don'taskmethatquestion.Don'theupset.Death

was his only punishment. Instead of hanging in the gallows, he died in yourhands—heislucky,remember,youhadsaidthatnight—aneyeforaneye,atoothforatooth—youwereonlyaninstrumenttometeoutjustice."A car stopped at the porch of the house. Kumar Tridib got down with an

anxiousfaceandanewspaperinhishand.Heenteredtheroomandsaid,"What'sallthis?Kaligatiwasshotdead?Iwasdownwithinfluenza,soIcouldnotcomehere the last fewdays. I saw this in thepapers,andcamehashing.Byomkesh,whathashappened?"Byomkeshreadaloudthenewsiteminthepaper:"ThezaminderofChorabali

Estate inNorthBengalhadgoneout tohuntwitha fewfriends.Hefiredafterhearingtheroarsofatiger.ButunfortunatelytheshothithisolddewanKaligatiBhattacharjee.Itisanyone'sguesswhattheolddewanwasdoingintheforestsolateatnight.Himangshubabu,thezaminder,isheartbrokenatthisaccident.ThepolicehavecompletelyexoneratedHimangshubabuastheinvestigationshowedthat he had taken ample care andwas totally in his senseswhen this accidentoccurred."ByomkeshgotupandtoldKumar,"Let'sgobacktoyourestatenow.Wehave

finishedtheworkhere.IwillrelatetoyouthestoryofthesaddemiseofKaligatiwhiledrivingtoyourhouse."

RoomNumberTwo(RoomNumberTwo)

ThemanagerofNirupamaHotel,HarishchandraHore,lookedathiswatch—six thirty! He quickly sat up in bed. It was very late today. He called,"Gunadhar!"Theuniformedbearerappearedathisdoor.Hewasathinman,veryalertand

efficient.Harishaskedhim,"Haveyougiventhegueststheirbed-tea?"Gunadhar said, "Yes. Everyone in the second floor has taken bed-tea, but

RoomNumberTwoofthefirstfloordidnotrespondevenwhenIknocked."Harishchandrasaid,"Roomnumber twoof thefirst floor? ...Rajkumarbabu.

Knockagainafterfifteenminutes....Whohasgonetothemarket?""Sarkar,Sir,hasgonewithGeneral.""All right, please bringmemy tea."Harishchandrawent into the adjoining

bathroom.Nirupama Hotel was situated on Rashbehari Avenue, a little further away

fromtheGariahatSquare.Thehotelwasalittlewesternised.Theservantsworesmartuniforms.Adoorman,alsosmartlydressedlikeaGeneral,wouldstandatthegateway,andsalutetherightpeople.Itwasathreestoreyedhouse,andeachstoreyhadeightrooms.Themanager

occupiedtworoomsinthegroundfloor—onewashisbedroom,theother,hisoffice.On the ground floorwas a large dining hall, furnishedwith tables andchairs,togetherwithkitchen,servants'quarters,storeroometc.BothIndianandwesterndisheswereavailablethere.Thechargeswerequitehigh.Nowonderthehotelwasfrequentedbyupper-middleclassguests.Halfanhourlater,Harishchandracameoutofhisroom,smartlydressedina

suit.Hewasagood-lookingmanofaboutforty-six,veryalertandintelligent.He had his breakfast in the dining room.His breakfast over,Harishchandra

askedGunadhar,"DidyougotoRajkumarbabu'sroomagain?"Gunadharsaid,"Yes,...butthistimetoo,hedidnotrespond."Harishchandrafrowned.Thenhewenttohisoffice.Hetookouthisbunchof

keysfromthecupboard,cameback,andsaid,"Let'sgo."

Itwasaboutseveninthemorning.Therewasagreatdealofhustleandbustleinthekitchenandthediningroom.Ateight,breakfastwouldhavetobeservedtotheguests.While climbing the steps, Harishchandra asked Gunadhar, "Was

Rajkumarbabuinhisroomlastnight?"Gunadharsaid,"YesSir,hewas.Imyselfservedhimdinnerinhisroomlast

night.""Whenwasthemaindoorclosed?""Youcamebackatelevenlastnight,andthenIshutthedoor."Bythattimetheyhadreachedthefirstfloor.Therewereeightroomsinarow

onthefirstfloor,andinfrontofthesewasalongverandah.Allthedoorswereclosed. Harishchandra stood in front of Room Number 2 and knockedperemptorily.Nooneresponded.Hecalledout."Rajkumarbabu!"Stilltherewasnoresponse.Harishchandratriedthedoor,butthedoordidnot

open. This time Harishchandra raised his voice and called out loudly,"Rajkumarbabu!"Theechoofhisvoiceslowlygavewaytoanemptysilence.Harishchandra tookout theduplicatekeyfromhisbunch.Bynowthedoors

oneithersideofRoomNumberTwohadopened.Twoheadswerestickingoutofthem.AnelderlyladyfromRoomNumberOneasked,"What'sthematter?"Amiddle-aged man from Room Number Three said, "Manager, please call adoctor....Iamrunningatemperature."The lady came out of her room. "I am a doctor." She walked past

Harishchandra and went to Room Number Three. The boarder, ShachitoshSanyal, lookedatherwithbloodshot eyes, stoodaside and said, "Please comein."In themeantime,Harishchandra had opened the lockwith his keys, pushed

open thedoor a little. ... and stood stock still; thenhequicklypulled thedoorshut.Therewasnooneontheverandah.Helookedthissideandthat,loweredhis

voiceandsaid,"Gunadhar,stayhere,don'tmove ... I'llcomebackrightnow."Hisvoicewasfulloffearandexcitement.Hetiptoeddownstairs ... InRoomNumberThree, the ladydoctoraskedMr.

Sanyal to lie down, took his temperature, felt his pulse, then said, "Nothingmuch,youmusthavecaughtacold.Havetwoaspirinsandgotobed.'Shachitoshsaid,'Isthefeververyhigh?""No,onlyninety-ninedegrees.""Butmywholebodyisaching.""That'snothing.Thisoftenhappensduringthechangeofseason.Iamsending

youtheaspirintablets.""Whatareyourfees?""Youdon'thavetopayme."ShecameoutofRoomNumberThree,andfoundGunadharwaitinginfront

ofRoomNumberTwo.Sheasked,"Whathashappenedinthisroom?"Gunadharshookhishead,indicatingthathedidnotknow.Dr.ShobhonaRoy

didnotaskanymorequestions,butenteredherownroom.Harishchandra in the meantime was ringing up the police from the office

room,"Pleasecomefast,...therehasbeenamurderinmyhotel!"

Byomkesh Bakshi, the Truth Seeker, had been invited the previous night todinner in the house of the police inspector, Rakhal Sarkar. The latter was inchargeof apolice station in the southernpart ofCalcutta.ByomkeshhadmetSarkar in connection with various cases. Sarkar was an amiable and friendlyman.Although hewasmuch younger thanByomkesh, they had become goodfriends.Sarkar,infact,wasveryrespectfultowardshimtoo.It was quite late by the time dinner was over. Rakhal began repeatedly to

requestByomkeshtospendthenightwithhim.Finally,Byomkeshagreed.Thetwochattedlateintothenight.ThenextdayByomkeshwasgettingreadytoreturnhomeatquartertoeight,

after breakfast, when the telephone rang. Rakhal picked up the phone andlistenedattentively forsome time, thenspokea fewwordsandkept thephonedown.HeturnedtoByomkeshandsaid,"Itwasaphonefrommypolicestation.Therehasbeenamurderinahotelinmyarea.Itseemsamysteriousaffair—doyouwanttocomewithme?"Byomkeshsaid,"Mysteriousdeath?OfcourseIwillcome!"When Rakhal Sarkar arrived at Nirupama Hotel with Byomkesh, a sub-

inspector had already reached there with a few constables. One of them wasstandingat thedoorway.Noonewasbeingallowed to leaveor come into thehotel.Rakhal enteredHarishchandra's office and found the police doctor with his

customaryblackbag,waiting there.Rakhalgreeted thedoctor; then turning toHarishchandraliesaid,"Areyouthemanagerofthishotel?""Yes,Sir.""And,youdiscoveredthedeadbody?""Yes."Inspector Sarkar and Byomkesh sat down on two chairs. The former said,

"Tellusbrieflywhateveryouknow."

Harishchandra repeated everything that hadhappened thatmorning.Rakhal,Byomkesh and the doctor got up to examine the room and the dead body.Harishchandrawentaheadtoshowtheway.InsteadofGunadhar,aconstablewasstandinginfrontofRoomNumberTwo

now.Harishchandraopenedthedoorwithhiskeys.Insidetheroom,aman—wearingalungiandvest—waslyingonthefloor,

on his right side, right in front of the door. Itwas startling to see his face. Itseemedasifhisfacehadbeencutinstripsandthenstitchedtogetherverybadly.Butneitherthecuts,northestitches,wereveryrecent.Theoldwoundsmadehisfacelookugly.Thecauseof thedeath, though,wasquitedifferent.Therewassomeclotted

bloodonhisvest.RakhalSarkarobservedthebodyfromoutsidethedoor,thenturned to the doctor, "Doctor, please examine the body.After you finish yourwork,we'llgoinside."Thedoctorwent in,while the restof themstoodoutside.Byomkesh looked

unobtrusivelyatthemanager—onwhosefacetherewasstillanexpressionofsheerfear."Whatisthis?Ihavetogooutjustnow,butthepoliceisnotallowinguseven

tostepoutofthisplace!What'sthemeaningofallthis?"Thetrioturnedroundwhentheyheardtheirritatedvoiceofaladybehindthem.Rakhalaskedtheangrylady,"But,whoareyou?"Harishchandra explained, "She is staying in Room Number One, Dr. Mrs.

ShobhonaRoy."Rakhal said politely, "Agentleman has beenmurdered in this room.Sowe

cannotallowanyboardertoleavewithoutbeingquestioned.ButIpromiseyouthatIwilltakeyourtestimonyfirstofall,andletyougo."The lady looked frightened, "Murder, in the room next to mine! Who?

When?"Rakhal said, "We don't know anything as yet. Please go and wait in your

room.Wearecomingjustnow."Theladyhesitated,triedtopeepintoRoomNumberTwo,thenwentbackto

herroom.Two sub-inspectors had arrived in themeantime.Rakhal told them, 'Oneof

yougo to thesecond floorand theother to the first, ... andget thenamesandaddressesofalltheguests.Findoutwhereeachonewaslastnight.Don'tgotoRoomNumberOneandThree,Iwillquestiontheboardersinthesetworooms.'Thesub-inspectorswentoff.ThedoctorcameoutofRoomNumberTwoafter

aboutfiveminutes,andsaid,"Nowyoucanremovethebody."Rakhalsaid,"Whatdidyousee?"

The doctor said, "He was killed with a knife, either with a knife ... orsomethingsharplikethat.Itpiercedtheribsandwentright intotheheart.It istheworkofaprofessionalmurderer.Therewasnootherwoundexceptthatone;theweaponpiercedtherightspotinoneattempt."'Timeofdeath?""Can't say anything for certainwithout an autopsy.Most probably between

nineo'clocklastnighttotwelvemid-night."Byomkeshsaid,"Howoldarethescarsonhisface?'"Tentotwelveyearsold.""HowoldwasRajkumarhimself?""Ah ... around fortyyears, tomymind ...Well, I am leavingnow; send the

body.I'llsendyouthereporttomorrowafterthepost-mortem."Thedoctorleft.RakhalSarkarsaidtoHarishchandra,"Goanddoyourworknow.Givemethe

keytothisroom.Beintheofficeplease."About half an hour later, after transferring the body, Rakhal looked at

Byomkeshandasked,"Whatnext?"ByomkeshpointedtoRoomNumberOne,"Youbetterfinishquestioningthe

lady.Sheisawomanandadoctor.Soshegetsthefirstpreferences.""Allright.Afterwefinishwithher,wewillhaveagoodlookinthisroom."

HelockedthedoorofRoomNumberTwo,andthenknockedatRoomNumberOne.The door opened at once.The lady looked displaced. Shewas stout andshort—butherbodyseemedtobeburstingwithimpatience.Shesaid,"Pleaseletmegoquickly.Inspector,myworkissuffering.""I'll let you go, Madam, after asking you just a few absolutely necessary

questions!"Rakhalstartedwritinginhisnotebook,evenashespoke."Yourfullname?""Mrs.ShobhonaRoy.""Age?""Forty-nine,""Husband'sname?""LateRamratanRoy.""Wheredoyoupractice?""InBeharampur.""WhyhaveyoucometoCalcutta?""Iamagynaecologist—IhaveacontractwiththeSevaSadan—soIhaveto

cometoCalcuttasometimes.""DoyounothaveanyrelativesinCalcutta?""Ihavenooneanywhere.""Children?"

"Ihadadaughter.Shediedmanyyearsback."Herfacehardenedforaminute,then became normal again. She was not beautiful — but with that harshexpression—shelookedpositivelyuglyforawhile."DoyoustayherewhenyoucometoCalcutta?""Yes.Thishotelisconvenientforme.""Whendidyoucomethistime?""Daybeforeyesterday.""Lastnight,amancalledRajkumarBasuwasmurderedinthenextroom.Did

youknowhim?""No,Ihaveneverheardofhim.""Didyounevermeethimbefore?Yourroomswerenexttoeachother,hence

thequestion.""No,Iwouldhaverememberedafacelikethat.""Wherewereyouateightthirtyintheeveningyesterday?""I came back after eight from the Seva Sadan; then Iwashed, changed and

wentdowntohavedinnerinthediningroombelow.Icametomyroomagainbeforenine,aftermydinner—anddidnotgooutagain.""Didyouhearanythingatnight?""Igotintobedataboutquarterpartnine—butIcouldnotsleepproperlyfor

thedisturbanceinthenextroom.""Wasthereanynoiseinthenextroom?""No — but the door was continuously opening and closing — that was

disturbingme.""Whattimewasit?""Ididnotseethewatch—musthavebeenbetweenhalfpastnineandten.""Didyoudoanythingaboutit?""WhatcouldIdo?Manyinconsideratepeoplecometothehotel—theydon't

botheraboutothers.""Whendidyougettoknowaboutthemurder?""Iknewaboutthemurderfromyou.Afterbed-tea,Iwasreadytogodownfor

breakfast,whenIheardknockingandpushingnextdoor.Icameoutofmyroomand found the manager. When I asked him what was wrong, he did not sayanything.ThenIwenttoRoomNumberThree.""Why?""Thegentlemantherewasunwell,andlookingforadoctor.SoIwenttosee

him.""Didyouknowhimearlier?""Ihadseenhimearlier,butIdidnotknowhim.Idon'tevenknowhisname.""Whatwaswrongwithhim?"

"Hehadjustcaughtacold—nothingmuch."Therewasnothingmoretoask.InspectorRakhalSarkarsaid,"Youmayleave

foryourwork.But,please,don'tleaveCalcuttawithoutlettingthepoliceknow."ShobhonaRoylookedveryirritated.Shedidnotreply,butgotupwiththebag

inherhand.WhileopeningthedoorofRoomNumberTwo,Rakhalsaid,"Sheisabitill-

tempered.Shewasnot frightened at all. Probably she is used to thepolice—after all she is a doctor. Now let's see if the murderer has left any clue....ConstableHajra,godown to theofficebelowandring theheadoffice tosendfinger-printexpertsatonce."RakhalandByomkeshwentintotheroom,andshutthedoorfrominside.The roomwas ten feet by twelve feet. There was a bed, a small table and

chair,amirrorhungfromthewall,next to itwasarackforclothes;afanwashangingfromtheceiling.Boththemenlookedroundtheroom.Rakhalsaid,"Haveyouseenthebed?""Yes—boththebedandtherack.""From the bed it was obvious that Rajkumar Basu had slept there, after

changingintoalungiandvestfromadhotiandkurta.Therehadbeenaknockonthedoor.Whenheopenedthedoor,themurdererstabbedhimwithaknife.He fell, and did not get up again. The murderer pulled the door shut fromoutside,andleft.Ifeelthemurdererdidnotevenentertheroom.Sothefinger-print expert will find no finger-prints other than Rajkumar's. The murderer'sfingerprintscouldhavebeenfoundon thehandleof thedoor,perhaps,butbynowitwouldhavegotrubbedoffsincesomanypeoplehadtouchedit."Rakhalsaid,"That'strue;butstill,letussearchtheroom."Byomkeshsaid, 'Youdo it—Idon'twant to touchany thing—thefinger-

printexpertswillbemoreconfusedthen.'Rakhalstartedhisjobsystematically.Hebeganwiththedrawersofthetable,

pocketsofthekurta,thenhelookedunderthemattress.Hesearchedeverywhere,butgotnothing.Thenhepulledoutasuitcasefromunderthebed.Thiswastheonlyluggageofthedeadmanintheroom.The suitcase was unlocked. Rakhal opened the lid. There were two sets of

clothesinthesuitcase.Beneaththeclotheswereabundleoftenrupeenotes,andasmalldiary.Rakhalcountedthenotes,whichamountedtorupeestwelvehundred.He said, "Thepersonwhohadmurderedhimwasnot interested inmoney."

Onthefirstpageofthediarywaswritten—SukantoSom.RakhalshowedittoByomkeshwhoreplied."SoRajkumarisafalsename.ButSukantoSom—thenameringsabell...haveyouheard?"

Rakhal said, "No, I can't rememberhavingheard it ever."Hebegan turningthepagesofthediary.Everypagehadthenameofacityortownwrittenontop— for example—Varanasi,Calcutta,Cuttak.Below the names of towns andcities, were the names of some individuals with their addresses and phonenumbers.OnthepageforCalcutta,therewerefournamesandaddresses—andnexttothemwasacertainsumofmoney.Forexample:

Rakhalsaid,"Canyoumakeheadortailofthese?"Byomkeshexaminedthebookandsaid,"Isuspectthattheprofessionofthis

manwasblackmailing.""Why?Hecouldhavebeenaninsuranceagent!""Maybe.Butaninsuranceagentisnotatargetformurdernordotheymove

aroundwithfalsenames.""So you feel that one of those whom Rajkumar was blackmailing, has

murderedhim?""We could question these peoplewhose names are in his diary on the page

markedforCalcutta.Thenwemaygetsomeclue.LetusnowmeetthemaninRoomNumberThree.""Let's."ShachitoshSanyalwas lying flatonhisbed.Hearing footsteps,he liftedhis

headandasked,"Whoisthat?"Rakhalsaidbriefly,"Police."Shachitoshsatupinbedwithroundedeyes."Police?Whatdoyouwant?"Rakhalsaid,"Wewanttoaskyouafewquestions.Ithinkyouhaveheardthat

theboarderinRoomNumberTwohasbeenmurdered?"Shachitoshwasquietforamoment,thenhesaid,"Murdered?Whohasbeen

murdered?"RoomNumberThreewas similar in sizeandshapeas theother two rooms.

Rakhalsatonthebed,Byomkeshonachair.Rakhal said, "The gentleman who was staying in RoomNumber Two was

murderedlastnight.HisnamewasRajkumarBasu.Didyouknowhim?""RajkumarBasu?No,Ididn'tknowhim.Whohasmurderedhim?"

"Wedon'tknowthatasyet...Whatisyourname?""ShachitoshSanyal.""Wheredoyoustay?""Bhagalpur.Iamill.Thedoctorhasaskedmetoliedown.""Whichdoctor?""Theladydoctor.Ihavecaughtacold,shehasaskedmetotakeaspirintablets

andliedown.Tellme,arewomendoctorsgood?""Maybe.Howdidyoucatchacold?""Iwentoutlasteveningwithoutwearingwarmgarments—IthinkIcaughta

coldthen.""Youdidnotgooutatnight?""No,Ihadmydinneratnineinthediningroom,andthencamebacktomy

ownroom.Ididnotgooutafterthat.""WhendidyoucometoCalcutta?""Threedaysback—Iwassupposedtogobacktoday,but...""WhyhaveyoucometoCalcutta?""Idobusinessinghee—IamaregularsuppliertoGanguram—thefamous

chainofsweetshopsinCalcutta.SoIhavetocomeheresometimes.Tellme,doyouthinkmycoldwilltakeabadturnforpneumonia?""Idon'tthinkso—youlookveryhealthytome.Howoldareyou?""Forty-two. Maybe I look healthy but I am actually veiy frail. I catch

infectionsvery fast. Iamfeelingveryhungry.Tellme, if Ieatanythingwill Ifeelworse?""Havesomehotmilkandbread....SoyoudidnotknowRajkumarBasu?""No,Ihaveneverheardofhim."Byomkeshsaid,"HaveyouheardthenameSukanto?"Shachitosh said, "Sukanto? No. The name of my brother-in-law is

SrikantokumarLahiri—heisdead."Rakhalasked,"Didyouhearanynoisefromthenextroomlastnight?""Noise?No. I lay inbed rightaftermydinner.Mywife says that if Igo to

sleepevenabandofrobberscannotwakemeup.Wasthemanmurderedwithagun?""No, with a knife." Rakhal stood up to leave, "Don't go out of Calcutta

withoutinformingthepolice.Let'sgo,Byomkesh."Harishchandrawassittinginhisofficeroom;heaskedByomkeshandRakhal

inanervousvoice."Whathappened?"Rakhaldidnotanswerhisquestion,butsaid,"Iwillnowtakethetestimonyof

thehotelstaff.Wewillstartwithyou.Sitdown.What'syourfullname?""HarishchandraHore."

"Doyoustayhere?""Yes.""Forhowlonghaveyoubeenhere?""Eightyearsnow.""WhatdoyouknowaboutRajkumarBasu?"Harishchandraopenedathicklogbook."RajkumarBasu's home address isAdampur, Patna,Bihar. For the last five

yearshehasbeencomingherefortwoorthreedays,twiceayear.Heneverwentoutofthehotel.Herangupafewfriendsfromthisofficeandtheyusedtocomeandmeethiminthelateevenings.Idon'tknowanythingmorethanthat.""Whendidhecomethistime?""Thedaybeforeyesterday.""Didheringup?""Yes,herangupyesterdaymorning.""DidRajkumaralwaysstayinRoomNo.2?""No,hestayedinwhicheverroomwasvacant.Buthetookgreatcare tosee

that he did not bump into any other person or boarder; probably he had acomplexabouthisface.""Didyouknowwhatprofessionhebelongedto?""No,Sir.""Wereyouinthehotellastnight?""Sir...."hehesitated,"Iwentoutforabouttwohours.Istayinthehotel,but

myfamily lives ina rentedaccommodation,soIgoandsee themsome times.Yesterday Iwentout after theguestshad sat down fordinner. I camebackataboutelevenatnight.""Whotakeschargeofthehotelinyourabsence?""GunadharDas,thechiefbearer.""Pleasecallhim."Gunadhararrived."WhatdoyouknowaboutRajkumarBasu,themanwhowasmurdered?""Sir,Idon'tknowanythingabouthim.Hecameheresometimesandstayed

fortwoorthreedays—that'sall.""Didhenotspeaktoyou?""Verylittle,heaskedmetodoafewoddjobs,that'saboutall.""Wholookedafterhim?""I did, I gave him bed-tea in themorning, and brought all hismeals to his

room.Ilookaftereveryguestonthefirstfloor.""SoRajkumarneverwenttothediningroom.""No,sir."

"Whendidyoulastseehimyesterday?""Iwentintohisroomtoservehisdinneratquarter tonine.ThenIcollected

theemptydishesataboutnine.Hewasverymuchalivethen.""Whydoyouthinkheneverwenttothediningroom?""Idon'tknow—probablybecauseofhisface—hedidnotliketocomeout

whenpeoplewerearound.""Butpeopleusedtocometohim?""Yessir.""Whovisitedhimlastnight?""Idon'tknow,GeneralSinghwillknow."'GeneralSingh!'"He is our gatekeeper.His name isRampirit Singh, but everyone calls him

GeneralSingh.""Callhim."The Bhojpuri gate keeper saluted them. He was tall and strongly built. He

sportedahugemoustacheandworeakhakiuniform.Rakhallookedhimupanddown,"Soyoukeepawatchatthegateofthehotel?""Yessir,mydutyisfromninetotwelveinthemorningandfivetoteninthe

afternoon.""Doyouwritedownthenamesofthevisitorswhocometothehoteltomeet

theguests?""No sir, I havenot beenordered to do that. I allow thosewho are decently

dressedtogoinafteraskingthemwhomtheywishtomeet.""Youdon'tstopanyone?""No,sir,iftheyarewell-dressed—Idon't.""Iftheyarenotwell-dressed,then?""ThenIglareatthemandaskthemahundredquestionsbeforeIletthemgo.""Allright,nowtellme,werethereanyvisitorsforRoomNo.2lastnight?""Yes,sir.Twogentlemenandonelady.Theyladycameatabout9:15p.m.—

askedmetheroomnumberofRajkumarbabu,wentupthestairs.Shewentoutofthehotelafteraboutfiveortenminutes.""Howoldwasshe?""Abouttwentyortwentyfive—fair,slimandtall,sheworedarkglasses.""Then?""Thenabout9:30cameagentleman.He, too, tookthenumber,wentupand

returnedafterfiveortenminutes.""Then?""Ataboutaquartertotenanothermancame.Hewasquitestout.Hetoowent

up and returned after five minutes. After that no one came during my duty

hours."Rakhal was happy with Rampirit General Singh's sharp memory. The

gatekeepersalutedandleft.Byomkesh sat in the office with a frown. In the meantime the two sub-

inspectorscamedownafterquestioningtheotherguests.Rakhalasked,"Whathappened?"Oneofthemsaid,"Iwenttothesecondfloor.Ihavewrittendowntheirnames

andaddresses.Allaresayingthattheydidnotgooutoftheirroomafterdinner.""Aretheytellingthetruth?""Thatisdifficulttoverify.Butaservantsleepsatnightonthelandingofthe

secondfloor.Itisdifficulttoclimboverhimandgodownthesteps.Iaskedtheservant—hesaidthathehadgonetosleepattenthirtyandnoonewentdownafterthat.""Whataboutyou?"Rakhalturnedtotheothersub-inspector."Itisthesamestory.Ihavetakenthenamesandaddressesofalltheguestson

the first floor.Hereanother servant sleepson the landing.Hesaid thathehadgonetosleepataboutquartertoelevenandnoonewentdownafterthat."Rakhal asked the manager, "Why do you make the servants sleep on the

landing?"Themanagersaid,"Wehavemadethisarrangementincaseanyguestneeds

anythingatnight."Itwas twelvenoonby then.Rakhal toldByomkesh, "Letus leavenow.We

willeatsomewhereoutside,andthengoandmeetthefourpeoplementionedinRajkumar'sdiary."Harishchandra said, "Sir,why shouldyouhave lunchoutside—wewill be

gratefulifyouhaveitinourhotel."Afteragood lunchByomkesh,Rakhaland theotherpolicemencameoutof

thehotel.Rakhal toldoneof the sub-inspectors, "Dutta,you stayhere.This isthekeyofRoomNumberTwo.Thefinger-printexpertswillcomeanytimenow.IamgoingoutwithByomkeshandGhose."They came out on the street. Rakhal said, "Goodness knows ifwewill get

anyoneathomeat this time.First letusmeet JagabandhuPatra—he is fromOrissa,Ithink."Byomkeshsaid,"Yes.""Whyareyouquiettoday,Byomkeshbabu?""Iamwatchingandlistening—thetimehasn'tcomefortalkingyet."SoontheyreachedthehouseofMr.Patra.Hestayedinthegroundfloorofa

three storeyedhouse.Themanwhocameout in response to thedoorbell,wasbentandthin,agedaboutforty.Rakhalsaid,"AreyouJagabandhuPatra?"

"Yes,"heseemedabitnervousatseeingpolicemenathisdoorstep,"Whatdoyouwant?""RajkumarBasuhasbeenmurderedinNirupamahotel."Jagabandhuwasgenuinelysurprised,"Rajkumarhasbeenmurdered?""Yes,wewanttoaskyouafewquestions.""Pleasecomein,"Jagabandhutookthemtoaroomandaskedthemtosit,"Sit

down,Iamcominginaminute."He went to the next room. The sitting room was small. There were a few

chairs and a table, a telephone and a cupboard. Byomkesh lit a cigarette andlookedhereand there—butnothing toldhimanythingabout thecharacterofJagabandhu.Fiveminuteswentby, then ten—therewasnosightof theman.Rakhalraisedhisvoiceandcalledhim,"Jagabandhu!"Therewasnoanswer.Byomkeshsmiled,"IthinkJagabandhubabuhasleftthehouse!"Rakhalsaid

excitedly,"Leftthehouse!Comelet'sgoin."Itwasfoundthatthebackdoorwaswideopen.Rakhalcamebackandsaid,"Thebirdhasflown."Byomkesh in themeantimewasgoing throughsomebooks in thecupboard.

Hesaid,"ThemanwasatoutintheRaceCourse.""Butwhydidherunaway?"saidRakhal."Theremustbesomegraveproblem—hewouldnothaverunawayifitwas

onlyamatterofracing."Rakhal immediatelyrangup thepolicestationandaskedformoreforce.He

toldthesubinspector,"Ghose,youremainhere,theotherswillbeherejustnow.Searchtheplacethoroughly.Takefingerprints.InformtheHeadOffice—themanmustbeaseasonedcriminal.Wearegoingoutonsomebusiness."After coming out of the house Rakhal asked Byomkesh, "Do you think

Jagabandhuistheculprit?"Byomkeshsaid,"Can'tsay.Helookedverysurprisedwhenheheardthenews

ofRajkumar'sdeath—butitcouldhavebeenapretence."Theywent toMohanlalKumar's house next and found that he had gone to

Benareswithhiswifeandnooneknewwhenhewouldreturn.ThentheywenttoShyamakantaLahiri'shouse.Buthewasnotathomeeither

—he had gone to office—heworked in thePortCommissioner's office.Hewouldnotbebackbeforeevening.Rakhalheaveda sigh, "NowwehaveonlyLatikaChoudhury tovisit.Since she's a lady, shewillprobablybeathomeatthistimeoftheday."MrsChoudhurylivedinasmall,neat,independenthousewithasmallgarden

infront.Assoonastheyrangthebellaladycameoutandsaid,"MrChoudhuryisnotathome."Thenhereyes fellonRakhal'spoliceuniformandshe looked

nervous. She fittedwhatever descriptionGeneral Singh had given, except thatshewasolder,aboutthirtyorthirtytwo,butstillslimandgood-looking.Rakhalasked,"AreyouLatikaChoudhury?"Theladysaidalmostinawhisper,"Yes,whatdoyouwant?"Rakhal said, "I want to ask you a few questions. I am from the police

department."The lady asked us in with a frightened expression. The sitting room was

tastefullyarranged.Therewasahalf-bustphotographofagentleman.Helookedsternandhisglanceseemedtobefollowingeveryoneallovertheroom.ByomkeshandRakhalsatonthesamesofa.MrsChoudhurysatnervouslyat

theedgeofachairandlookedatthem."Whatisyourhusband'sname?""TarakumarChoudhury.""Hisprofession?""Engineer....railwayengineer.""Yourchildren?""Wearechildless.""YouwenttoNirupamahotelat9-15lastnight."Mrs.Choudhurystaredatthemwithwide,frightenedeyes,"No,no,Iwentto

seeafilm.""Thegatemanofthehotelsawyou,andwillbeabletoidentifyyou."Mrs.Choudhurystill insisted,"But Iwent toseea film—Icanevenshow

youthecounterfoil.""But you came out of the hall before the filmwas over, then you went to

NirupamaHotelandmetRajkumarBasu."She shookherheadand said in a frightenedvoice, "Idon't knowRajkumar

Basu.Ihaveneverheardofanysuchperson."Byomkeshshothisfirstquestionather,"DidyouknowSukantoSam?"Mrs.Choudhurycoveredherfaceandbeganweepingbitterly.Byomkesh said gently, "Weknow thatRajkumarBasu andSukantoSom is

oneandthesameperson.Youhadgonetogivehimmoneyataboutaquartertonine.Nowyoutelluseverything.Thereisnothingtobeafraidof."Mrs.Choudhurykeptonsobbingforsometime,thenwipedhereyesandsaid

inabrokenvoice,"Ican'tunderstandwhyyouwanttoknowallthis,butIwilltellyoueverything....Butpleaseseetoitthatmyhusbanddoesnotgettoknowanything."Byomkeshpointedtothephotograph,"That'syourhusband—heseemsstrict

—no,wewon'tlethimknowanything."The substance of what Mrs. Choudhury told them shamefacedly, was this:

About twelve or thirteen years ago when she was a young girl, she was adifferent person. She regarded herself to be very modern, and free fromprejudices.Herfatherhadalotofmoney,andthedisciplineathomewasslack.SoLatikaChoudhury spenther time inunbridled fun iii picnics, films,partiesandtheatre.AtthattimetherewasafilmstarcalledSukantoSom.Hewasnotonlyavery

goodactor,butalsoverymodern.LatikaChoudhuryfellmadlyinlovewithhim.Itwas not just an ordinary romance of a young girlwith a filmstar— itwasmuchmore than that. They were physically andmentally involved with eachother. She used towrite torrid love letters to himwhenever hewas away forshootings.Shewasdesperate tomarryhim.Butoneday shegot toknow thatSukanto had awife. Shewas heart-broken.Her father probably guessedwhatwashappening;sohequicklyarrangedhermarriage.Twoyearswentby.Herhusbandwasgood,butstrict.Hewouldnottolerate

the fact that his wife had a love affair before her marriage. Latika graduallyrealisedwhatagemofapersonherhusbandwas,andcametoloveandrespecthimdeeply.Thoughtheyhadnochildren,nowtheywereverymuchinlovewitheachotherandwerehappy.Onedayshesawaterriblenewsinthepapers.Sukantohadthrottledhiswife

to death.The casewent to court.But the culpritwas released because he hadkilledhiswifeinself-defence,whenhiswifeattackedhimwithaknifeandtorehisfaceandpartsofhisbodyintoshreds.Allthroughthecase,Latikawasverynervousincasehernamecameupinthecourtinanyway.Butneithertheculpritnorthewitnessestookhername.Sheheavedasighofrelief.Thenagaintwoyearswentby.Sukantowasnaturallynotable togoback to filmswitha face like that.He

justseemedtohavedisappeared.Suddenly,oneday,hemetherwiththatterriblefaceofhis,inherhouse,intheabsenceofherhusband.Hesaid,"Ineedmoney.Youhavetogivemeat least threethousandrupees

everysixmonths—Iknowthatitisnotmuchforyou.Incaseyoudon't,Iwillsendallthoseloveletterswhichyouwrotetome,toyourhusband."Fromthattime,LatikahadbeengivingSukantothatamounteverysixmonths.

Shewasalwaysfrightenedthatherhusbandwouldgettoknowhersecret.Last night she had gone to Nirupama Hotel, she had given the money to

Sukanto evenwithout stepping intoRoomNumber Two, and had come awayquickly.Shedidnotknowanythingelse.After she finished her story, Byomkesh and Rakhal stood up to leave.

Byomkeshsaid,"Weareleaving.Butbeforewegowewillgiveyougoodnews—SukantoSomneeRajkumarBasuwasmurderedlastnightbetween9-15and

11p.m."AftercomingoutRakhalsaid,"Weheardherstory,butithasnotthrownany

lightonthemurder."Byomkeshsaid,"Wecan'tsaythatthewholedayhasbeenunsuccessful.We

haveheard the testimoniesof somanypeople—oneperson among themhasdisclosedsomething,butIjustcan'trememberwhosaiditorwhatheorshehadsaid.""Can'tyourememberanything?""No,ithasjustsunkintomysubconscious."Rakhal lookedathiswatch. Itwasnearly three in theafternoon.Hesaid,"I

amgoingtothepolicestationnow.Whataboutyou?""Iwillreturnhome.Iwillmeetyouinthemorningtomorrow.Butifyouget

toknowanythinginthemeantime—doringmeup."Byomkesh returnedhomeatabout five in theevening.Hehadacupof tea,

andthensatdownandlitacigarette.At about half past six, he sat up with a jerk! He smiled to himself and

whispered,"Ihaveremembered!"Hegotreadytogoout.Hewenttotheofficeofthenewspaper'Kalketu'and

wentthroughthefilesofthelasttenyears.Thenextmorning,ByomkeshrangupRakhal—"Didyougetanynews?"Rakhal said, "Nothing special.Wedidn'tget anynew informationabout the

body after the post-mortem. He died about one and half hours after dinner.Finger-printsofbothRajkumarandGunadharwerefoundintheroom.Wewentagain toShyamakantaLahiri'shouse,hedeniedgoing toNirupamaHotel, thatnight. ButGeneral Singh has identified him.We have not arrested him, but Ihaveappointedaspytokeepawatchonhim.""Then?""WegottoknowthatJagabandhuPatra'srealnameisBhagabanMohanti.He

isahardenedcriminal.HehadkilledawomaninMidnaporeandhadservedasentenceoffourteenyearsinprison.Thenheescapedfromjail,andwasworkingasatoutherewithafalsename.""Anythingelse?""LatikaChoudhury'shusbandreturnedhomethatnightaftereleven—butwe

couldnotfindoutwherehewasasyet.""Thereisnoneedtoknowthat.""Really?""Whataboutthehotel?""Theguestsarebecomingveryrestlessandimpatient.Iamthinkingofletting

themgothisafternoon.Didyoufindoutanything?"

"Yes.IamgoingtoNirupamaHoteljustnow.Youalsocomethere."

ByomkeshandRakhalstoodinfrontofRoomNumberOneandlookedateachother.Thentheyknockedgentlyonthedoor.The door opened and Dr. Shobhona Roy glared at Rakhal— "Look here,

Inspector, how long are you going to keep me here? Do you know that it isagainstlawtokeepadoctorlikemeconfinedlikethis?"Rakhalsaid,"Ifyouhaveanycomplaintagainstme,thereisthecourtforthat.

ButrightnowIhaveafewquestionsforyou."Boththemenenteredtheroom,andByomkeshsatonachair.Hesaid,"Dr.Roy,Iwanttotellyouastory."ShobhonaRoywasfurious,"Whoareyou?Youhavethenervetojokewith

me?"Rakhal said, "He isByomkeshBakshi, the famousTruth Seeker.Youmust

haveheardofhim."Byomkeshsaid,"Iamnotjokingatall.Pleasesitdown."Dr.Roy sat at the edgeof the bed, and said a little quietly, "Please tellme

quicklywhatyouhaveto...IamsurelygoingbacktoBeharampurtoday!"Byomkeshsaid,"Wewillseeaboutthat....Ireadthisstoryinthenewspaper

—Iamnarratingittoyoubriefly...SukantoSomwasafilmartist."Mrs.Roy'sbodystiffened.ShestaredunblinkinglyatByomkesh.Byomkeshsaiddrily,"Soyoudoknowhim.Naturally—youknowhim—

hewas your son-in-law.Sukanto hadmadequite a name for himself in films.YouwerethenpractisinginBurdwan.Youwereawidow,andlivedwithyouronlydaughter.SukantousedtovisitBurdwan.Onedayheluredyourdaughtertoelopewithhim.Hehad temptedheroutof thehousebypromising tomakeheraheroineinhisfilms.YoudislikedSukanto.Sothetwohadtoelope."Afterlivingtogetherforafewmonthseachgotatasteoftheother'snature.

Theywerehorriblyill-tempered.Sukantowasamanwithaloosecharactertoo.Moreover,yourdaughterwasfuriouswithhimfornotgivingheraheroine'sroleinanyofhisfilms."Oneday,theirfightreachedaclimax—andyourdaughterattackedhimwith

a knife, and cut the skin and flesh of his face into shreds. To save himselfSukantothrottledyourdaughter."Hewasarrested,buthad to remain in thepolicehospital for threemonths.

Whenhewastakenfromtheretothecourt—eventhejudgewasshockedtoseetheterribleconditionofhisface.Therewasnoarrangementforplasticsurgeryinthepolicehospital,sothedoctorsstitcheduphisfaceasbestastheycould.Butthatwastheendofhisfilmcareer.

"Theverdictwasgiven.YougavewitnessagainstSukanto—buttryasyoudid—youcouldnotgethimhanged.Hehadnoweaponsinhishands—yourdaughterdid.Sohewasreleasedongroundsofself-defence."Dr.Roy said angrilywith hatred in her eyes. "Lies.He killedmy daughter

first,andthenhecuthisfacetoescapethepunishment."Byomkesh shookhis head, "That's not possible—aman can't hurt himself

like that.Besides, hewas as actor—his facewas very important to him.Hewould never have done that to himself. Anyway, he escaped from beingconvicted in amurder case, but his film life had come to an end.He did notknowofanyhonestwaytoearnaliving.HeescapedfromCalcuttaandsettledinPatnaandstartedhisbusinessofblackmailingpeople. In the last tenyears,hehad collected many clients all over India. He was getting a regular flow ofmoney.Thisbecamehisprofession—tofindoutsecretsinthelivesofpeople,andthentoblackmailthem.Hewasneveragoodman."WhenSukantocametoCalcutta,hestayedinthishotel.Inthemeantime,you

went off to Beharampur from Burdwan and settled there. You too came toCalcuttaonyourownbusinessandstayedin thishotel.But till lately,youhadnevermet.Sukanto,usually,kepttohisroom."Thistime,accidentally,yousawhim.Hewasintheroomjustnexttoyours.

But he did not see you—or hewould have been careful.Youhated him forwhathehaddone toyourdaughter.Youweredetermined that ifyouevermethimyouwouldkillhim.Thisnurtureddesiregotthebetterofyouwhenyousawhimthistime.Youweredeterminedthathehadtodie...Yourdaughterprobablyinheritedyourviolentandwildnature."Thatnightyouwaited inyour roomafterdinner.Youknewhowyouwere

goingtokillhim.Youkeptwaitingfortherightmoment."Fromaquarterpastnine,peoplebegancomingtoSukanto.Youkeptwaiting.

Atten,peoplestoppedcomingtohim.Youcameoutwithyourweapon."Otherguestshadalreadygonetobedintheirrooms.Theservantwhoslept

onthelandinghadnotyetcome.Thiswasyourchance.Youknockedathisdoorand—assoonasheopenedit—youstabbedhisheart...Youareadoctor—soyoudidnothavetohesitatetofindoutthepositionofhisheart.Thenyoupulledhisdoorshut,cametoyourownroom,andgotreadyforbed.Nooneknewthatyou had any connectionwithRajkumarBasu: In fact the police suspected thepeoplewhohadvisitedhimthatnight—especiallyasmostofthemhadcriminalrecordsinthepast."Butyouhadmadeasmallmistake.WhentheInspectorwasquestioningyou

—yousaidthatyouhadneverseenRajkumar,butinthesamebreathyoutoldhim too that you would have never forgotten such a face if you had seen it

before!So,whendidyouseetheface?Youdidtrytopeepinonce—butallthethreeofuswerestandingatthedoor,andyoucouldnothaveseenthefaceofaprostratebodythen.Hadyounotmadethatfatalslipoftongue,Iwouldnothavethoughtofgoingthroughthenewsrecordsofthelasttenyears."BythetimeByomkeshstoppedspeaking,Dr.Roywaspantinglikethebellow

ofanironsmith.Shewasburningwithfury.She said through her clenched teeth, "Lies, all lies — Sukanto killed my

daughter—butIdidnotkillhim.HowWillIkillhim?DoIhaveaknife?"Byomkeshpointedtoherbagofsurgicalkit,"Yourweaponisinsidethat.""No!havealook!"—Sheopenedthebagandpulledoutaseparatedpartofa

pairofthin,sharpsurgicalscissors!Shequicklytriedtostabherselfwithit,butRakhal proved to be faster than her, and snatched away her weapon. Theconstablescaughtholdofthedoctorwhowasscreaminglikeamadwoman,"Letmego!Letmedie!"Byomkeshheavedasighofrelief,"ThankGod!We'vegottheinstrumentwith

whichthemurderwascommitted,otherwisethecrimewouldhavebeendifficulttoproveinthecourt!"