‘UK!’ Lalmohan Babu stared, his eyes round with surprise. Feluda had just finished telling him of the latest developments. He was clearly not prepared for a visit to the UK. ‘You will have to bear your own expenses, Lalmohan Babu. Mr Majumdar is paying for Topshe and myself.’ ‘I know that. I can afford the trip, I assure you. You may be a busy and famous detective, but don’t forget I earn much more than you. Just tell me what I have to do.’ ‘Take enough warm clothes to last you a week. I hope you haven’t lost your passport?’ ‘No, sir. It’s kept carefully in my almirah.’ ‘In that case, you have to do nothing else except pay Mr Majumdar whatever is required in Indian rupees. He will make your bookings and arrange foreign exchange. His travel agent is handling all the arrangements.’ ‘Where are we going to stay in London?’ ‘Probably in a three-star hotel.’ ‘Why only three star?’ ‘Because if he tried to climb any higher, Mr Majumdar might well go bankrupt. Do you have any idea how expensive London hotels are?’ ‘No. Tell you what, I’ve just thought of something. One of my neighbours is a businessman. He goes abroad every year. He might be able to give me a few extra dollars. What do you say?’ ‘It would be going against the law.’ ‘Please, Felu Babu, you don’t always have to act like a saint. Everyone tries to take extra foreign exchange. That doesn’t make them all criminals, does it?’ ‘Very well, Mr Jatayu. I agree, much against my better judgement, mind you.’ We were booked to travel by Air-India on a Tuesday. The plane would leave Calcutta soon after midnight and go to Bombay, where we would catch a connecting flight to London. The hotel we were booked at was called the Regent Palace, in Piccadilly Circus. Feluda said it was a very good place to be in, right in the heart of the city. He had been reading a lot of guide books on London, and studying various maps. He rang Mr Majumdar the day before we left. I heard him speak for a couple of minutes, then he said goodbye and rang off. ‘I asked him if his father had been attached to a hospital, but he said he did not know; nor could he remember where they used to live. Never mind, one of my friends is a doctor in London. Let’s see if he can help.’ Feluda’s work had taken us to so many different places, but I never thought we’d go to London. When Lalmohan Babu arrived to pick us up on his way to the airport, he said, ‘I was trying to tell myself to stay calm for, after all, every Tom, Dick and Harry goes to London these days. But I just

couldn’t help getting excited. Do you know what my pulse rate was this morning.’ One hundred and ten. Normally it never goes beyond eighty.’ It wasn’t just the thought of going to London that made him feel pleased. I knew he had managed to get quite a few extra dollars from his neighbour. Feluda said nothing in reply. He was doing everything that needed to be done, but was speaking very little. Perhaps he had not yet worked out how he’d proceed. I certainly didn’t have a clue. There was virtually nothing to go on. Lalmohan Babu noticed his silence and remarked, ‘Frankly, Felu Babu, I can’t imagine why you took this case. Have you ever handled anything like this before, with so little information?’ ‘No, but if I hadn’t taken the case, how could you have gone to London. ‘Yes, there is that, of course.’ Our plane took off on time and we soon reached Bombay. When it was announced that our connecting flight was ready for departure, I looked at my watch. Normally, at this time I would be in bed, fast asleep. But today, I wasn’t feeling sleepy at all. ‘I feel wide awake too,’ Lalmohan Babu told me, fastening his seat belt. ‘I slept for a couple of hours this afternoon, you see. I say, doesn’t this remind you of the story of Pinocchio? He got swallowed by a whale, didn’t he? This jumbo jet seems like a whale to me. I could be sitting right inside its tummy! How will it climb into the air with so many people inside it? Amazing stuff!’ The amazing stuff happened soon enough. When the plane began to rush down the runway, making an ear-splitting noise, Lalmohan Babu kept his eyes closed. As the bright lights of Bombay grew smaller, I saw Lalmohan Babu’s lips move, possibly in a prayer for a safe journey. Then the noise grew less and the hostess announced that we could unfasten our seat belts. We were sitting in the non- smoking section of the plane. Feluda usually smoked frequently, but could go without doing so for several hours, if he had to. ‘Aren’t they going to show a film?’ Lalmohan Babu asked. They did, but it was such a’ boring film that I put my headphones away and went to sleep. When I woke, bright sunlight was streaming in through the windows. Feluda said he too had slept for two hours. Only Lalmohan Babu had been awake throughout. ‘I will make up for it when we get to our hotel,’ he said. I looked out of the window, but there was nothing to see except the snow-covered Alps. On learning the name of the range, Lalmohan Babu asked, ‘Shall we get to see Mont Blanc?’ He pronounced the ‘t’ and the ‘c’. ‘Yes,’ Feluda replied, ‘but if you are going to visit Europe, you had better learn the correct pronunciations of European names. It’s “Maw Bleau”.’ ‘You mean several letters are silent?’ ‘Yes, that’s natural enough in French.’ Lalmohan Babu muttered ‘Maw Bleau, Maw Bleau’ a few times. Finally, we landed at Heathrow half an hour later than