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