The killing of Kanchan Singh and the disappearance of Kunwar Indrajit Singh caused great commotion in the camp. Spies were sent out in all directions to gather information. The ayyaars also spread out here and there, striving with all their might to quell the unrest. With the permission of Raja Virendra Singh, Tej Singh too set out, and, changing his disguise, entered the fort of Rohtasgarh.

There was strict security at the main gate of the fort, but no one suspected Tej Singh in his fakir's guise. Disguised as a sadhu, Tej Singh wandered inside Rohtasgarh fort for seven days. In this time, he thoroughly observed and understood every neighborhood, market, alley, road, temple, and dharamshala. Several times, he even attended the court, paying close attention to Raja Digvijay Singh, his ministers, and the ayyaars—their ways and conversations. He also discovered whom Raja Digvijay Singh favored, whom he honored, and whom he considered trustworthy. During these seven days, Tej Singh also had to disguise himself as a chobdar and as a woman several times, entering fine houses to observe and listen to their conditions and affairs.

Once, Tej Singh even went to that very Shiva temple where Bhairon Singh and Badrinath had performed their ayyari, or from where Kunwar Kalyan Singh had been captured. Tej Singh found the residents and priests of that Shiva temple in a peculiar state. Ever since Kunwar Kalyan Singh had been arrested, such fear had taken hold of their hearts that they startled and trembled at every little thing. At night, even the rustling of a leaf made them suspect the arrival of an ayyaar. They had grown to detest the appearance of any sadhu or Brahmin; at the mere sight of a sanyasi, Brahmin, or sadhu, they would immediately declare, "He is an ayyaar!" Even if a laborer was found standing before the temple, they would at once take him for an ayyaar, and would not rest until they had seized him by the neck and thrown him out of the gate.

By chance, today Tej Singh too, in the guise of a sadhu, entered the Shiva temple. The priests, upon seeing him, immediately began to shout, "Ayyaar! Ayyaar! Catch him, don't let him escape!" Poor Tej Singh was greatly alarmed and astonished.

They began to wonder how these people had found out that they were ayyars, for Tejsingh had not even the slightest suspicion that even the dogs and cats of this place would recognize them as ayyars. However, he did not think it wise to suddenly flee from there, so he stayed and said—

Tejsingh: "How do you know that we are ayyars?"

A priest replied, "Oh, we know very well! No one except an ayyar could stand before us! It was you people who captured our Kunwar Sahib, wasn't it? Or was it someone else? Enough, enough—leave this place at once, or we'll grab you by the ears and eat you alive!"

Upon hearing "Enough, enough—leave this place," and so on, Tejsingh understood that these people were fools. If they were truly convinced that he was an ayyar, they would never have simply told him to leave; instead, they would have tried to arrest him. Clearly, Bhaironsingh and Badrinath had frightened them, nothing more.

Tejsingh was still standing there, deep in thought, when suddenly a lame beggar arrived, leaning on a stick and carrying a broken clay bowl, loudly singing the priests' praises. At the sight of him, one of the priests cried out, "Look, another ayyar has arrived! This time the devil has come disguised as a cripple! Don't you know we can see right through you? Get lost, or I'll break your head!"

Now Tejsingh was completely certain that these people had lost their wits. Whoever they saw, they immediately took for an ayyar. Tejsingh turned away from there and, pondering as he went, slipped through a window in the wall and made his way into the jungle, thinking that now he should meet the ayyars of this place and see what kind of men they were, and how skilled they were in the art of ayyari.

Inside this fort, there were several shops selling hemp drinks, which the locals called "addas." As soon as the lamps were lit in the evening, the ganja-smokers would gather there, and the owner of the adda would prepare and serve the ganja, collecting payment in return. There, all sorts of wild tales were spun, mixing truth and falsehood, so that people would learn all the news of the city.

Before evening fell, Tejsingh returned from the jungle. Disguised as a hermit, he entered the fort alongside some woodcutters and went straight to the adda, where the ganja-smokers were taking puff after puff, filling the air with clouds of smoke. Here, Tejsingh found much useful information. He learned that the Maharaj had only two ayyars: one named Ramanand, the other Govindsingh. Govindsingh had gone to Chunar to rescue Kambar Kalyansingh, while Ramanand was still here. The next day, Tejsingh—

[1. All around the great outer wall of the Rohtasgarh fort were many small windows, each fitted with strong iron doors, guarded at all times by two soldiers. Fakirs, beggars, and poor townsfolk would often use these windows (small doors) to go out into the jungle to gather dry wood, pick wild fruits, or attend to necessary business. But as soon as the lamps were lit in the evening, these windows would be closed.]

In the court, Tejsingh observed Ramanand closely and made up his mind: tonight, he would perform ayyari with Ramanand, for Ramanand's build greatly resembled his own. It was also well known that the Maharaj trusted Ramanand above all others and considered him his most loyal confidant.

At midnight, when all was silent, Tejsingh scaled the wall of Ramanand's house with a rope. He saw that on the topmost floor, Ramanand lay snoring atop a mosquito net. Instead of a curtain, a mesh hung at the door, adorned with tiny bells.