At this point, it is necessary to relate a little about this kingdom and, along with it, about Madhavi herself.

Kishori's mother, that is, Shivdutt's queen, had a sister. One, whose name was Kalavati, was married to Shivdutt, and the other, Mayavati, was married to Chandraddatt, the king of Gaya. The girl we have written about above, Madhavi, was the daughter of this very Mayavati.

When Madhavi was only two years old, her mother died, but her father, Chandraddatt, being a shrewd man, left the throne to Madhavi before he died. Now you must have understood that Madhavi and Kishori were cousins, daughters of two sisters.

Madhavi's father, Chandraddatt, was a great lover of pleasure and indulgence. He valued his queen more than his own life. He would often leave the main capital, Gaya, and stay in Rajgriha, a famous pilgrimage site two stages from Gaya. This delightful and charming hill pleased him so much that he spent ten months of the year there. He even had a grand mansion built. This beautiful and fascinating land, where Kumar Indrajit Singh now lies helpless, was naturally formed long ago, but it was Chandraddatt who had the road made and the mansion built.

Both of Madhavi's parents were fond of pleasure. They paid no attention whatsoever to giving Madhavi a good education. She was raised day and night with nothing but pampering and affection, and instead of learning good things, she was happy to pick up mannerisms from the lap of a beautiful and lively nurse. Because of this, her temperament was spoiled from childhood. If parents cannot pay attention to their children's education, it is better to entrust them to the care of an elderly and virtuous nurse. But Madhavi's parents never considered this, and in the end, the result was very unfortunate.

In Madhavi's time, there were three chief men in this kingdom; rather, it should be said that the real power of the state was in the hands of these three, who were united in heart and close friends. One was the minister, Agnidatt; the second, the commander, Kuver Singh; and the third, Dharam Singh, who was the city's chief constable.

Now let us return to our tale and reach that pond where the yogini and vanchari had jumped in to catch a young woman. Today, at this pond, we see several of our spies, who are consulting and plotting together to create some great upheaval.

Pandit Badrinath, Bhairon Singh, and Tara Singh were sitting on the stone platform above the pond, conversing thus—

Bhairon Singh: "It's no great matter to get the prince out of here."

Tara: "But those who are responsible for the prince's suffering all these days should also be punished."

Bhairon Singh: "Of course! How can one be satisfied without punishing them?"

Badrinath: "As far as I see, yesterday's suggestion was very good."

Bhairosingh: "There could be no better suggestion than that. What would these people say otherwise, that when they needed something, they couldn't manage it?"

Badrinath: "Here, it seems, Lalita and Tilottama are the root of all mischief. I hear their skills in ayyari are quite advanced as well."

Tara: "First, we should deal with those two."

Bhairosingh: "No, no, there's no need for that. We can manage our work without arresting them; there's no point in wasting several days for nothing."

Tara: "Yes, that's true. We don't need them so much, and who knows, by the time we finish our work, they might fall into Chachi's trap themselves."

Bhairosingh: "Undoubtedly, that's what will happen, because she did say, "You all handle this task, and meanwhile, if possible, I'll ensnare Lalita and Tilottama as well."

Badrinath: "Well, whatever happens, we'll see. Why are we delaying our own work now?"

Bhairosingh: "There's no need to delay. Let's get up. But first, let's divide our targets."

Badrinath: "Leave Diwan Sahib to me."

Bhairosingh: "Yes, you and he are evenly matched. Very well, I'll take care of the Senapati."

Tara: "So that wretched Kotwal falls to my share! Well, so be it."

Bhairosingh: "Alright, let's move from here now."

The three ayyaars had just risen to leave when a sneeze was heard from the right side.

Badrinath: "Confound it! Was there no other time for you to sneeze?"

Tara: "Are you afraid of a sneeze?"

Badrinath: "I'm not afraid of the sneeze, but I'm wary of the one who sneezed."

Bhairosingh: "It seems an obstacle is about to arise in our work."

Badrinath: "We should catch this wretch; surely he's been secretly listening to our conversation."

Tara: "That wasn't a sneeze, it was mischief!"

Badrinath searched all around, but could not find the one who had sneezed.

Helpless, the three set off from there, still preoccupied with their preparations.

Second Part