Now, let us resume our tale from the point where, inside the fort of Rohtasgarh, Kishori, accompanied by Lali, entered that chamber of wonders through a secret passage. The lock of this chamber was always kept shut, and there was always a guard posted at its door. As we have written earlier, the moment Lali and Kishori entered this building, several men climbed onto the roof and began shouting, "Catch them! Seize them! Do not let them escape!" Lali and Kishori heard these cries. Kishori was frightened, but Lali at once reassured her, saying, "Do not be afraid. These people can do us no harm."

Descending from the roof, Lali and Kishori reached a small room that was completely empty. On three sides of this room, there were three doors. One was the main door, outside of which the guard was usually stationed. The second door was open, and seemed to lead to a corridor or another room. In haste, Lali only said that she had once gone through this way to fetch the key. On the third side, there was a small door, its lock embedded directly into the panel itself. Using the very key she had taken from this chamber of wonders, Lali unlocked the door, and both of them slipped inside. Lali then locked the sturdy door from the inside with the same key. The lock was set in such a way that the same key could be used from both outside and inside.¹ Lali performed this task with great speed, so much so that after they had entered, those who were pursuing them—coming down through the broken roof—could only then descend into the small room below. Locking the door from within, Lali said, "Now we are safe. The only fear is that someone might come by another route and trouble us, but—

1. Wherever in this building Lali unlocked a door, she did so with this very key and in this very manner.

As far as I know, and from all that I have heard, I am certain that there is no other way to enter this House of Wonders."

Lali and Kishori now reached a room whose ceiling was so low that one could touch it simply by raising a hand. The room was completely dark. Lali opened her bundle, took out some things, and lit a candle. It became clear that this was a small chamber, with walls of stone all around—very smooth and solid. Lali began searching to see if there was any passage or door leading from this place to another.

She found a door set into the floor, which she opened, and, candle in hand, descended. After going down some twenty or twenty-five steps, both of them entered a tunnel that stretched far into the distance. They had gone perhaps three hundred paces when a voice reached their ears—

"Ah! Kill me at once! Why torment me so?"

Hearing this, Kishori trembled and stopped, asking Lali, "Sister, what is this voice? It is thin, and seems to be that of a woman!"

Lali replied, "I do not know what this voice is, nor did old Manji ever tell me anything about it."

Kishori said, "It seems someone is tormenting a woman. What if that person torments us as well? We are both unarmed, not even a dagger between us."

Lali answered, "I have brought two daggers with me—one for myself, and one for you." (She drew a dagger from her waist and handed it to Kishori.) "Here, you keep one. I well remember that once you said you would rather die than stay here—so why be afraid? Look, I am ready to give my life with you."

Kishori said, "Indeed, I did say that, and I still mean it. Come, let us go on. There is no harm now; we have daggers in hand, and God is our protector."

They moved forward again. After another twenty or twenty-five steps, the tunnel ended and they found themselves in a hall. Here, a lamp was burning, containing at least a whole seer of oil, its light spreading all around so that every object was clearly visible. In the very center of this hall stood a pillar, and tied to it was a beautiful young woman, no more than twenty years old. Beside her, on a small stone stool, sat an old man in clean, light clothing, cutting something with a knife. His face was turned toward the direction where Lali and Kishori stood, observing the scene. There was also a lamp burning before the old man, by whose light his features were clearly visible. The old man must have been about seventy years old; his white beard reached down to his navel, and both his beard and mustache—

had covered most of his face.

Seeing the strange state of that veranda, both Kishori and Lali hesitated, and they wished to turn back. But where could they go if they turned around? This thought rooted their feet to the spot. The old man, too, heard the sound of their footsteps, raised his head, looked at them, and said, "Well, well! Lali and Kishori have come too! Come, come, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"