Feluda got up early to meet Aniruddha before he left for school. The little boy told us in great detail how he had chased the thief away. He certainly had a lively imagination. Had he perhaps imagined the whole thing, I wondered. ‘You haven’t shown me the gun you were going to attack the thief with,’ Feluda said to him. ‘I mean the one you showed your uncle Achintya.’ Aniruddha found his machine-gun and gave it to Feluda. ‘It breathes fire,’ he said solemnly. The gun was made of red plastic. It made a noise like a real machine-gun when the trigger was pulled, and bright sparks came out of the barrel. Feluda examined it carefully, then returned it to Anu. ‘A beautiful weapon,’ he said. ‘Now let’s see if something can be done, so your sleep doesn’t get disturbed.’ ‘You mean you’ll catch the thief?’ ‘Catching thieves is a detective’s business, isn’t it?’ ‘I guess. What about my chandana? Will you catch whoever took it?’ ‘I’m trying very hard to catch him, but it’s not easy.’ ‘Is it most terribly difficult?’ ‘Yes, most terribly difficult.’ ‘A huge, big mystery?’ ‘You’re right. It is a huge, big mystery.’ ‘But you found blood on its cage!’ ‘Yes, that is my only clue.’ ‘What is a clue?’ ‘It’s something that helps a detective to catch thieves.’ Lalmohan Babu suddenly interrupted this conversation. ‘Tell me, Anu,’ he said, ‘did you hear this bird talk?’ ‘Yes, I did. I was in my room, and the bird was in its cage. I heard it say something.’ ‘What did it say?’ ‘It said, “deck chair, dadu”, “deck chair, dadu”. It said it twice. I ran out of my room, but it didn’t speak at all after that.’ Lalmohan Babu grinned. I had to admit ‘deck chair, dadu’ didn’t sound very different from ‘fake hair, babu’, especially if it was said quickly. ‘Is there anyone in your house who might be able to catch a bird?’ Feluda asked Amitabh Haldar. ‘Yes, our mali’s son Shankar has caught a couple of birds in the past. He’s very quick on his feet.’ ‘Tell him to watch out for your chandana. I’m now pretty sure it’s still somewhere in your garden at the back.’

We left for home soon after this. I had already seen in the local daily that Feluda’s advertisement had come out. But none of us could anticipate how quickly we’d get a result. Around twelve the same day, a young man of about twenty-five turned up at our house. Judging by his hairstyle and the jeans he was wearing, he was a man keen on following the current fashion. Feluda asked him to sit down, but he shook his head. ‘No, I haven’t got time to sit down. I am on my way to an interview,’ he said. ‘I came only because I saw your advertisement about a bird.’ ‘I see, was it yours?’ ‘No. It used to belong to my grandfather. He died last month. He was very fond of this bird, and used to look after it himself. Since my mother’s not very well and my father’s far too busy, and I couldn’t be bothered at all, we decided to sell it.’ ‘How long did it stay with your family?’ ‘Nearly ten years.’ ‘Did it talk?’ ‘Yes, my grandfather had taught it a few words. He had a rather weird sense of humour. The bird learnt to say some strange words.’ ‘How do you mean?’ ‘I mean, what it used to say was very different from the usual “Radhe Shyam” or ‘“Hare Krishna”. My grandfather used to play chess every day. He taught the bird to say “checkmate”. He also played bridge. If he could figure out that his opponent had got a good hand, he used to warn his partner. The words he spoke were a kind of code that his partner understood. The bird had picked it up, because he used to say it so often. Then the bird began to say it, too.’ ‘What were these words?’ ‘Take care, Sadhu.’ ‘What? Why Sadhu?’ ‘I don’t know. I told you, it was a code between him and his partner.’ ‘I see. Very well. Thank you very much indeed. You’ve been extremely helpful.’ ‘Would there be anything else—?’ ‘No, nothing else, thank you.’ ‘OK. Er . . . I didn’t realize from the address it was your house.’ ‘That isn’t surprising.’ ‘I’m very glad to have met you. I mean, it isn’t every day that one meets someone famous . . . ha ha!’ After the young man had gone, Feluda told me he was not to be disturbed and disappeared into his room. He emerged five hours later to have a cup of tea. Then he rang Inspector Hajra. ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’ he asked. ‘Nothing special. Why?’ ‘Could you reach Mr Haldar’s house by nine o’clock tomorrow morning? I think I’ve managed to solve the mystery. You must come fully prepared.’ Lalmohan Babu was given more or less the same message. We would take a taxi to reach his house by eight-thirty. Then we’d go to Barasat in his car.

‘Why, what’s the matter? More mysteries?’ he asked. ‘No, Lalmohan Babu. Every mystery’s cleared up!’ Amitabh Haldar was the last one to be informed. ‘I’m planning to hold a meeting in your house tomorrow morning,’ Feluda told him. ‘A meeting?’ ‘Yes. I want all male members of your household to attend it. Inspector Hajra will also be present.’ ‘What time did you have in mind?’ ‘Nine. This may delay your other work, but believe me, it’s urgent.’ ‘All right. But when you say male members, do you mean Anu should be included?’ ‘Oh, no, no. He, in fact, should not be present. I meant only the adults.’ We reached Mr Haldar’s house to find that the inspector and his men had already arrived. Lalmohan Babu and I were both feeling very excited. Heaven knew what Feluda was going to reveal,