Gulmarg was totally different from Srinagar. There were no lakes, or rivers or gardens. What it had was soft, smooth, velvety grass on meadows and slopes, spread over a range of mountains, like rippling green waves. Then there were pine forests and a handful of wooden houses dotted over the valley. It looked as pretty as a picture. In the summer, golfers arrived to play golf in Gulmarg. In the winter, the same slopes, covered with snow, offered skiing. We had taken a taxi up to Tangmarg, which was twenty-eight miles from Srinagar. The last four miles to Gulmarg had to be covered on horseback. Lalmohan Babu had been duly warned before leaving Calcutta about the possibility of riding a horse. ‘Don’t worry, it’s easier than riding a camel,’ Feluda had told him. None of us could ever forget his plight in Rajasthan when he had been forced to ride a camel, many years ago. Thus reassured, Lalmohan Babu had gone to the extent of bringing proper riding breeches. Now, as he dismounted, he declared there was nothing to riding a horse, it was a piece of cake. As planned, Mr Mallik and the others had travelled with us. We were all going to spend the night here, then go to Khilanmarg in the morning. Khilanmarg was another three miles away and two thousand feet above Gulmarg. Then we would return to Srinagar. We had been given two adjoining cabins to stay the night. Ours was smaller than Mr Mallik’s. Three members of his team turned up to see us in the evening, as we were sitting out on our balcony, sipping tea. We recognized two of them—they were Sushant Som and Mr Mallik’s son, Vijay. But the third man was a total stranger. A good-looking man, he must have been in his early thirties. All three appeared to be in the same age group. ‘Allow me to introduce him,’ Mr Som said. ‘This is Arun Sarkar. He is a businessman from Calcutta, but we got to know him in Srinagar. He is one of the gamblers. That should make it easier to place him!’ Everyone laughed. ‘Perhaps you can guess why we are here,’ Mr Som went on. ‘Both these men were eager to meet a real-life private investigator. Mr Ganguli here is a famous writer, too, isn’t he?’ Lalmohan Babu tried to smile modestly. ‘Tell us about some of your cases,’ Vijay Mallik said to Feluda. ‘We’re really interested.’ Feluda had to oblige. When he had finished describing a couple of his best-known cases, Arun Sarkar asked, ‘Is this your first visit to Kashmir?’ ‘Yes. When I saw you, Mr Sarkar, I thought you were a Kashmiri yourself. Have you visited Kashmir many times?’ ‘Yes. As a matter of fact, I spent a few years of my childhood in Srinagar. My father was the manager of a hotel. Then we left Srinagar and went to Calcutta more than twenty years ago.’ ‘Can you speak the local language?’

‘A little.’ Feluda now turned to Vijay Mallik. ‘Aren’t you interested in your father’s work? I mean, the seances—?’ Vijay shook his head emphatically. ‘My father has become senile,’ he said. ‘He keeps talking about withdrawing the death penalty. Can you imagine allowing a murderer to get away with his crime? What could be more unfair?’ ‘Is your father aware of your views?’ ‘I don’t know. You see, I am not very close to my father. We usually leave each other alone.’ ‘I see.’ ‘But if what he’s doing is bringing him peace of mind, I see no reason to object.’ ‘What about your mother?’ ‘My mother’s no more. She died four years ago.’ ‘Do you have siblings?’ ‘I had a brother. He was much older than me. He went to America and was working there as an engineer, but he died last year. His American wife never came to India. I have a sister, too. She’s married and lives in Bhopal.’ ‘You are not very interested in Kashmir and its scenic beauty, are you?’ ‘No, I am not. But how did you guess?’ ‘It’s pretty obvious from the way you spend most of your time indoors, playing cards.’ ‘You’re right. I am a rather prosaic sort of a person. Mountains and rivers mean very little to me. A few friends and a pack of cards are enough to keep me happy.’ Arun Sarkar smiled at this. ‘I am different,’ he said. ‘I like cards and I enjoy the scenery. Perhaps that’s because of my early years in Kashmir.’ ‘Anyway,’ Vijay Mallik rose to his feet. ‘It’s time we went. I managed to rope in Sushant today. Are either of you interested in cards?’ ‘We were planning to go for a walk right now,’ Feluda replied. ‘You’ll play all evening, won’t you?’ ‘Yes, certainly until eleven.’ ‘Very well, I’ll drop by when we get back.’ ‘OK, see you then.’ All three left with a friendly wave. ‘Why don’t we save the walk until after dinner?’ Lalmohan Babu suggested. ‘So be it!’ said Feluda. We had told the cook to make rice and chicken curry for dinner. The meal he produced at half past eight was really delicious. We finished it quickly, then set out for our walk, eager to see the town of Gulmarg at night. It was a quiet place, although its streets were not totally deserted. The people we saw were chiefly tourists, foreigners outnumbering Indian visitors. Lalmohan Babu was still trying to sing a ghazal, his voice trembling occasionally because of the cold. ‘You’re feeling cold and uncomfortable, aren’t you?’ Feluda asked him after a while.

‘Ye-es, but I am not complaining, Felu Babu. Cold it might be, but the air’s so clean and pure. Most refreshing, isn’t it?’ ‘So it is. However, I don’t think we should stay out late. Come on Topshe, let’s get back.’ We made an about turn, passed the main street and made our way through a stretch that had no houses or