We returned to our hotel soon after our meeting with Maganlal. None of us had any idea that there was more in store. We found Harinath Chakravarty waiting for us in the lounge. This surprised us all. What was he doing here so late at night? It was past eleven. ‘Let’s go up to our room,’ Feluda said. Harinath Babu joined us without a word. He was clearly anxious about something. ‘What is the matter, Mr Chakravarty?’ asked Feluda when we were all seated in our room. Harinath Babu took a few seconds to collect his thoughts. Then he said slowly, ‘When Himadri left us so suddenly, I couldn’t think straight. Besides, it didn’t seem worthwhile to talk about such matters when nothing would bring him back.’ ‘What are you talking about? ‘About three years ago,’ Harinath Babu replied after a pause, ‘Himadri had exposed a gang who were smuggling things like ganja and charas. I told you, didn’t I, that he often took his helicopter both to the north and south of Nepal? He discovered the den of these smugglers in the north and informed the police. The whole gang was caught.’ ‘Are you telling us, that just before his death, he had come upon something involving another gang?’ ‘He didn’t tell me anything. But a few days before he died, I saw him discuss something rather animatedly with his friend. I told him not to meddle in these things. These criminals can be totally merciless. But he only laughed and told me not to worry.’ ‘I believe, Mr Mitter, my son would have died, anyway. If an attack of tetanus did not kill him, these crooks would have taken his life somehow.’ ‘Why are you saying this?’ Harinath Babu took out a piece of paper and handed it to Feluda. It had something scribbled on it in red ink. ‘We found this in his trouser pocket after he died.’ ‘Is it written in Nepali?’ ‘Yes. It says, “You have gone too far”.’ Feluda returned the piece of paper to Harinath Babu and smiled wryly. ‘The biggest irony is that one who was on the verge of exposing a drug racket had to die of a spurious drug himself.’ ‘Do you really believe the injection he was given wasn’t genuine?’ Harinath Babu asked. ‘Yes. Hopefully, by tomorrow, we shall know for sure. You see, I’ve asked Dr Divakar to have a sample analysed.’

‘I see. Well, that is all I came to tell you. I hope it helps in some way,’ said Harinath Babu and stood up. ‘It certainly does. I am now much clearer in my mind about what I’m looking for. Thank you, Mr Chakravarty.’ Harinath Babu left. Lalmohan Babu, too, said, ‘Good night’ and went to his room. I went straight to bed after this. What a day it had been! I must have fallen asleep immediately, but was woken a little later by the doorbell. A quick glance at my watch told me it was a quarter past twelve. Who on earth could it be at this hour? I got out of bed and opened the door. Then my mouth fell open. It was Lalmohan Babu. In his left hand he held a scrap of paper. In his right was the prayer wheel. His lips were parted in a smile that could only be described as beatific. ‘Hoom! Hoom! Hoom!’ he said, coming into the room, turning the prayer wheel. I took the piece of paper from his hand and saw what was written on it in English. ‘You have been warned,’ it said. It was written with the same red ink as the warning in Nepali we had just seen. Feluda was sitting up on his bed. I passed the paper on to him and asked Lalmohan Babu, ‘Where did you find it?’ He patted the right pocket of his jacket. He had been wearing the same jacket in the morning. I remembered him saying a monkey had pulled at his clothes. ‘Om-m-m-m!’ said Lalmohan Babu, sitting down on a chair. The smile hadn’t left his face. I looked at Feluda. He was staring at Lalmohan Babu, looking concerned. ‘LSD,’ he whispered as he caught my eye. That sugar cube! Maganlal had made tea for all of us. Since Feluda and I were still sane, he had obviously tampered only with Lalmohan Babu’s tea, just to make a fool of him. What a swine he was! Lalmohan Babu had stopped smiling. For some unknown reason, he was now looking decidedly displeased. ‘Take off your skull!’ he said sternly to Feluda. ‘I said take it off, you old scallywag!’ ‘Maganlal—you scoundrel!’ said Feluda under his breath. Lalmohan Babu turned his eyes to the glass of water on the bedside table, and frowned. Then, slowly, his eyes widened in amazement and he began smiling again. ‘Ooooh!’ he said appreciatively. ‘Just look at those colours! Vibgyor! Look, Tapesh, have you ever seen such shades, such hues? Vibgyor? Could he actually see a rainbow in that glass of water? ‘It’s vibrating! Have you ever seen colour vibrate?’ Then he fell silent. I began to feel sleepy again and nodded off. But I woke with a start almost instantly as I heard him shout, ‘Mice!’ He was sitting ramrod straight, staring at the floor. ‘Mice!’ he said again. ‘Terramyce, tetramyce, subamyce, chloromyce . . . compromise . . . there they are, wriggling on the floor . . . don’t play the fool with me, I tell you!’ He jumped up and began stamping his foot on the carpet, as if that was the only way he could get rid of the mice. Then he began hopping all over the room, still stamping his foot constantly. I hoped fervently the room below ours was empty.

‘Finished! Ah, at last! All ticks finished!’ He sat down again. How had the mice turned into ticks? ‘Antibioticks! Killed them all, I did. Ha!’ Now his eyes drooped. Perhaps the sudden burst of