On the third day after the above incident, the jailor was sitting on his seat, reviewing the daily register, and reading the old records of that underground chamber with amazement, when suddenly a noise came from the back room. Startled, he stood up and looked toward the rear. Again, the sound came. Jyotishiji opened the door and went inside, only to find that someone was fleeing through the second door of that room. The room was completely dark; Jyotishiji had barely advanced a few steps when, lying on the ground, a corpse—

She collided with their feet, causing them to stumble and fall, but they quickly regained their balance and pressed on. Yet they wondered in surprise, whose corpse was this? It seemed clear that a murder had taken place here, and it would be no surprise if the fleeing man was the murderer himself!

The man was running ahead through the tunnel, and behind him, Jyotishiji chased with a dagger in hand, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not catch him. Suddenly, a light appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. Jyotishiji thought, "Now he has escaped outside." In a moment, he too reached there and, stepping out of the tunnel, looked around in all directions.

The first person Jyotishiji's eyes fell upon was Pandit Badrinath. He saw Badrinath standing there, holding a woman captive, and less than half a ghadi of the day remained.

Badrinath said, "Daroga Sahib, look! Thieves have entered your place and you didn't even know!"

Jyotishiji replied, "If I hadn't known, why would I have chased all the way here?"

Badrinath said, "Still, the thief slipped right through your hands. Had I not arrived at this moment, you would not have caught her."

Jyotishiji admitted, "Yes, I concede this. Do you recognize who she is? I feel as though I have seen this woman somewhere before."

Badrinath replied, "You must have seen her. Now let's take her to the dungeon, then we shall see. It surprises me that she came out of the dungeon empty-handed."

Jyotishiji said, "She is not empty-handed, rather, she has come after cleaning out someone. While following her, a corpse struck my feet, but in my eagerness to pursue, I could not stop to investigate."

Pandit Badrinath and Jyotishiji, having arrested the woman, brought her into the dungeon and reached the hall or verandah where Daroga Sahib's seat was usually placed. They tied the woman to a pillar and, taking a lantern in hand, went to examine the corpse that had blocked Jyotishiji's path. At a glance, Badrinath recognized the body and exclaimed, "This is Madhavi!"

Jyotishiji asked, "How did she come here?" (Placing his hand on Madhavi's nose) "She is still breathing, not dead yet. Look, there's a wound on her stomach. The wound is not severe, she can be saved."

Badrinath, feeling her pulse, said, "Yes, she can be saved. For now, bind her wound and leave her as she is. We'll question her later. Yes, a little elixir should be poured into her mouth."

Badrinath bandaged Madhavi's wound and poured a little elixir into her mouth, then carried her to another room. In this dungeon, light and air entered from several places; the craftsmen had devised clever means for this.

Badrinath and Jyotishiji carried Madhavi to a chamber where cool air from the passageway was drifting in, and left her there. Then they returned to the barahdari, where the woman who had wounded Madhavi was tied to a pillar.

Badrinath quietly said to Jyotishiji, "Today, Kunwar Anand Singh will come here, and shortly after, I will arrive with twenty or twenty-five men. I must go now—there is much to do. I only came to tell you this. After I leave, you should interrogate this woman and find out who she is. But there is one thing I fear."

Jyotishiji: "What is that?"

Badrinath: "This woman has recognized us. Suppose you call His Majesty, and he comes, she might blurt out that the daroga sahib is actually an ayyār of Raja Virendra Singh!"

Jyotishiji: "That is bound to happen. We must make arrangements for that as well."

Badrinath: "No matter, it's not a problem. I have the remedy ready. (He took a small vial from his pouch and handed it to Jyotishiji.) Keep this with you. When the time comes, forcibly rub a little of this medicine on her tongue. In an instant, her tongue will stiffen. Then she won't be able to say anything clearly. After that, you may explain whatever you wish to His Majesty."

Badrinath departed. After he left, Jyotishiji tried to frighten and beat the woman into revealing her story, but to no avail. Hours of effort were wasted. At last, the woman said to Jyotishiji, "Jyotishiji, I know you very well. Do not think that I am the one who harmed Madhavi. Someone else wounded her. Anyway, none of this matters, for Madhavi is no longer in your custody."

Jyotishiji: "How could Madhavi escape from my custody?"

Woman: "She has gone where she could. Go and see for yourself the place where you left her—see if she is there."

Hearing this, Jyotishiji became very anxious and stood up. He went to the place where he had left Madhavi. The woman's words proved true—there was no trace of Madhavi. Lantern in hand, Jyotishiji searched everywhere for hours, but it was of no use. At last, he returned to the woman and said, "You spoke the truth, but now I will not rest until I have your life. However, if you tell me your story truthfully, I will let you go."

Jyotishiji pleaded with her a thousand times, but the woman said nothing. It was the sound of this woman's cries and voice that Kishori and Lali heard when they entered the underground chamber, as described in the earlier part of this volume, for at that very moment, Lali and Kishori had also arrived there.

Jyotishiji recognized Kishori, and even called out