With the break of dawn, the kotwal, who had gone along with the two brothers who were fighting each other, saw Madhavi's face and, thinking that the Maharani now wished to favor him instead of the Diwan Sahib, was greatly pleased. The kotwal had not the slightest suspicion that he had fallen into the snare of the ayyars. He had no knowledge of Indrajit Singh's capture or that Virendra Singh's ayyars had arrived there. As always, he had set out alone from his house, accompanied only by two orderly soldiers, to investigate, and thus had fallen into the trap set by these two ayyars.

When the kotwal recognized Madhavi, he thought it best not to bring his soldiers before her and approached Madhavi alone. He saw that, in truth, Madhavi was sitting before his own portrait, looking forlorn.

As soon as Madhavi saw the kotwal, she rose to her feet and, casting a look full of affection at him, said—

"See, how restless I am for you, yet you pay me no heed at all!"

Kotwal: "Had I known that my fortune would awaken so suddenly in this manner, would I have sat idly by? Never! Day and night, I have been wasting away in hope of meeting you."

Madhavi (gesturing with her hand): "Look, these two men are very wicked. Tell them to leave, then you and I can talk in peace."

No sooner had she said this than the kotwal cast a stern glance at the two brothers—who were, in truth, Bhairon Singh and Tara Singh—and said, "Both of you, leave this place at once, or I'll have you cut to pieces!"

Bhairon Singh and Tara Singh left at once. Meanwhile, Chapla, who had taken on Madhavi's appearance, kept the kotwal engaged in conversation and led him far away, toward the mouth of a cave.

They sat down and began to converse.

Chapla had managed to take on Madhavi's appearance, but there was a considerable difference in age between her and Madhavi. The Kotwal was a shrewd and cunning man. In the bright sunlight, when he looked closely at Madhavi's face and noticed some discrepancies in her speech as well, suspicion immediately arose in his mind. He began to scrutinize her from head to toe, weighing and examining her carefully with the scales of his gaze. Chapla realized that the Kotwal had grown suspicious; seeing that it was unwise to delay any further, she blew her whistle. At that very moment, from inside the cave, Devisingh emerged and ordered the Kotwal to lay down his sword.

But the Kotwal, who was a brave soldier, was not one to surrender himself without a fight. Drawing his sword from its scabbard, he attacked Devisingh. In a short while, Devisingh wounded him with his dagger, threw him to the ground, and bound him tightly.

Having received the Kotwal's orders, Bhaironsingh and Tarasingh had left his presence and arrived at the spot where the Kotwal's two companions, both soldiers, stood waiting for their master's return. The two ayyaars told the soldiers to allow themselves to be tied up, but the soldiers, thinking them ordinary men, refused and prepared to fight. Their fate had already been sealed; in the end, they were killed by Bhaironsingh and Tarasingh. But just then, in a thin voice, someone called out to the two ayyaars, "Bhaironsingh and Tarasingh, if I live, I will not rest until I have avenged this!"

Bhaironsingh looked in the direction from which the voice had come. He saw a boy running away. Both of them chased after him, but could not catch him, for in the small caves and crevices of the hill, he hid himself so cleverly that he escaped their grasp.

Readers will have understood that the one who called out to warn the two ayyaars was none other than Tilottama, who, while speaking with Madhavi, had informed her of the Kotwal's capture by these two ayyaars.