Kunwar Indrajit Singh had already become hopelessly enamored of Kishori. Even in his illness, thoughts of her tormented him, and he was restless to know what had befallen her, in what state and where she was, and when and how he might be fortunate enough to see her face again. Until he fully recovered, he could neither ask for permission to go anywhere himself, nor could he send his beloved companion, the ayyār Bhairon Singh, on any errand under any pretext. During his illness, however, he had managed to learn all the news from Bhairon Singh. On hearing that Kishori had been abducted by Diwan Agnidatt, he was deeply troubled, but the thought that Chapla, Champa, and Pandit Badrinath were striving to rescue her, and that Raja Virendra Singh himself was determined to humble Shivdatt by marrying Shivdatt's daughter Kishori to his own son, brought him some measure of comfort.

Kunwar Anand Singh too had now set foot in the field of love, but his condition was one of strange confusion. Whenever he thought of that woman, his heart grew restless; but when he remembered Devisingh's words—that she was the leader of a band of dacoits—a peculiar pain arose in his breast, and for a while, his mood would change. Yet he would also reflect that if she were truly their enemy, she would never have smiled at him with such affection, nor, when she came into that room to arrange bouquets and garlands of flowers, would she have spared their lives upon finding them asleep and defenseless. But then, if she was not their enemy, what was she doing among the dacoits?

Such thoughts and doubts had left him in a wretched state. Kunwar Indrajit—

Singh, Bhaironsingh, and Tarasingh had already gathered some idea about the woman's temperament, but until they learned of her honor, reputation, caste, and—most importantly—whether she was a friend or a foe, they deemed it unwise to speak, question, or draw any conclusions.

Now, Raja Virendra Singh was troubled by the thought that just as this woman had managed to enter the house, perhaps the bandits might also find their way in, harm the boys, or cause some disturbance. He made thorough arrangements for guards and security, and, considering that Kunwar Indrajit Singh was still not fully recovered—his weakness persisted and he was in no condition to fight—Virendra Singh decided it would not be wise to leave him alone. He arranged to sleep in the same room and, in doing so, witnessed a new and strange spectacle.

As we have mentioned before, there were two small chambers on either side of this room: one contained the items for evening worship, and the other was that peculiar chamber from which the woman had appeared. The chamber for evening worship was locked from the outside, while the other chamber's latch and fittings were repaired and left as they were before, without locking it from the outside. In fact, Raja Virendra Singh had his own bed placed right at that door and stayed awake the entire night.

Half the night passed without incident. Then, Virendra Singh rose from his bed and began to pace the room. An hour later, a faint rattling sound came from the chamber. Virendra Singh immediately picked up his sword and went to rouse Tarasingh, but Tarasingh, having heard the noise, was already alert. Now, with a dagger in hand, he joined Virendra Singh in pacing the room.

After about half an hour, the sound of a chain rattling came from that very spot, making it clear that someone had locked the chamber door from within. Soon after, the thumping of feet could be heard from inside, as if four or five people were leaping and running about within. Virendra Singh approached the chamber door and tried to push it open, but it would not budge, being locked from the inside. Helpless, he stood there, intently listening for any further sounds.

The thumping of feet grew louder and louder, until at last it was so intense that Kunwar Indrajit Singh and Anand Singh also awoke and came to stand by the chamber door. Again, they tried to open the door, but it would not open. From the hurried footsteps and the sound of feet striking the floor, everyone became certain that a fight was taking place inside. Soon, the clashing of swords could also be heard. Now, there was no doubt that a battle was raging within. Anand Singh wanted to break the latch on the door, but seeing that Virendra Singh did not approve, everyone remained silent, listening intently.

Suddenly, the tumult of footsteps grew even louder, and then, all at once, there was silence. For a long while, they stood outside, but nothing more could be heard, nor did any further sound arise.

That same sound was heard. Only two hours of the night remained, perhaps even less. Tarasingh went outside to check whether the guards were patrolling properly and found everyone alert at their posts, then returned. Just then, the door to the room opened, and Devsingh entered, accompanied by Bhaironsingh.

Both ayyaars saluted and sat down beside Virendra Singh, but seeing that everyone was still awake at this hour, they were surprised.

Devsingh: "You are all still awake at this hour?"

Virendra Singh: "Yes, something happened here that made it impossible to rest easy."

Devsingh: "What happened?"

Virendra Singh: "Well, you will find out soon enough. But first, tell us about yourselves." (Turning to Bhaironsingh) "Did you recognize that woman?"

Bhaironsingh: "Yes, certainly it was the same woman who came here. In fact, I saw another woman there as well."

Virendra Singh: "After leaving here, what did you do and what did you see? Tell us everything in detail."

After Bhaironsingh recounted all he had seen, he inquired about what had happened here. Virendra Singh described everything that had transpired and said, "We were just waiting for dawn and for you to return, so that we could open this chamber