Now let us turn our attention to Rohtasgarh, and see what has become of poor Kishori, helpless in the underground chamber, as well as Kunwar Anand Singh and the others.

When Kunwar Anand Singh, Bhairon Singh, and Tara Singh were captured in the underground vault and brought before Raja Digvijay Singh, the king's men introduced the three of them, and upon hearing this, the king was astonished and began to wonder how they had managed to arrive there. Kishori was also standing in that place. When she heard who they were, she became anxious. She was convinced that now their lives could not be saved. At that moment, she silently prayed to God, wishing that somehow their lives might be spared—even if it meant her own life in exchange, she would not mind. But she could not bear to see them die before her eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that they had come solely to rescue her; otherwise, why would they have endured such hardship?

All those present in the underground chamber knew that at this moment, Kunwar Anand Singh had no one to help him. But our esteemed readers know that Pandit Jagannath Jyotishi, who was now present there in the guise of a daroga, would surely aid Kunwar Virendra Singh. Yet, what can one man accomplish in such a situation? Nevertheless, Jyotishi did not lose courage and began conversing with the king. Jyotishi knew that he alone could do little at such a critical time, and the situation there...

By reading the book, he had also come to know that, according to the rules of this underground chamber, they were certain to be killed. Yet, Jyotishiji still held some faint hope for their survival, for Pandit Badrinath had said, "Today, Kunwar Anand Singh will come into this chamber, and shortly after, we too shall arrive with some men." Now, Jyotishiji could do nothing except delay the king with conversation, hoping that Pandit Badrinath and the others would arrive in time. And so he did exactly that.

Jyotishiji, that is, the Daroga Sahib, went before the king and said—

Daroga: I am very pleased that Kunwar Anand Singh has come into our hands of his own accord.

King: (Looking Jyotishiji up and down, from head to toe) It is astonishing that you say such a thing! It seems your wits have wandered off to graze on grass today! Shame! Shame!

Daroga: (Startled, folding his hands) Why so, Your Majesty?

King: (With displeasure) And yet you ask, "Why so?" Tell me yourself, Anand Singh has fallen into our trap of his own accord—why should that make you happy?

Daroga: I am pleased because, when Raja Virendra Singh hears of Anand Singh's capture, he will surely send word, "Release Anand Singh, and in exchange, we will release Kunwar Kalyan Singh."

King: Now I see that your wits truly have gone grazing, or else you are not the real Daroga, but someone else in disguise.

Daroga: (Trembling) Perhaps you say so because what I have just submitted is against the rules of this chamber.

King: Yes, now you are on the right path! Indeed, that is so. I am grieved that he has fallen into this trap. Now I have lost hope for my own life and that of my son. Surely, Rohtasgarh is now ruined. I cannot, under any circumstance, act against the rules, no matter what happens—Anand Singh must be killed. And Anand Singh is not the first to come here; several of his ayyars must have come before him and seen everything. The strange happenings in this place for the past several days are all a result of that. The truth is, hearing your words now, I even suspect you. The real Daroga of this chamber would never say he was pleased at Anand Singh's capture. He would know that, according to the rules, Anand Singh must be killed, and in exchange, Kalyan Singh would also die. Moreover, Virendra Singh's ayyars, abandoning the code of ayyari, would resort to poison instead of mere sleeping draughts, and within a week, Rohtasgarh would be destroyed. The real Daroga of this chamber would surely be distressed by all this.

Hearing the king's words, Jyotishiji's eyes were opened. In his heart, he...

They bowed their heads in acceptance of their mistake and began to ponder with downcast eyes. At that very moment, the king called out to his men and said, "Arrest this fake Daroga as well, and thoroughly investigate whether he is truly the Daroga here or one of Virendra Singh's spies in disguise!"

In the blink of an eye, the Daroga Sahib was bound, and the king ordered two men to bring hot water. The servants, thinking that it would take time to heat water here and that hot water was always available in the audience hall above, sought the king's permission to fetch it from there. The king approved this and ordered them to bring water from the audience hall above.

Two servants rushed to fetch the hot water, but soon returned and said, "The way upstairs is blocked."

King: "Why is that? How can the way be blocked?"

Servant: "We do not know, sir, why this has happened."

King: "That is impossible! (Showing the key) Look, I have the key right here—without this key, how could anyone lock those doors?"

Servant: "Whatever the case, I cannot say, Your Majesty. You may see for yourself."

The king went himself and found that the way upstairs, that is, the door, was indeed locked. He was astonished and began to wonder who could have locked the door, for he had the key with him! At last, he tried to open the door with the key, but the lock would not yield. Until now, this very key had always opened the way in and out of this underground chamber, but at this moment, the key would not work at all. This strange occurrence, which had never before entered King Digvijay