Each one of us sped upstairs without a word. We found Jayanta Babu lying just outside his mother’s room on the landing, about three feet away from the threshold. He had hurt the back of his head. Blood had oozed out on the floor, to form a small red pool. Dr Sarkar was the first to reach him. He sat down by Jayanta Babu and quickly took his pulse. Feluda joined him a second later. He was looking grave, and frowning deeply. ‘What do you think?’ asked Mr Chowdhury in a low voice. ‘His pulse is faster than it should be.’ ‘And that wound on his head?’ ‘He must have got it as he fell. I got tired of telling him to wear a cap when working in the sun.’ ‘Concussion—?’ ‘It’s impossible to tell without making a proper examination. The trouble is, I didn’t bring my medical kit today. I think he should be removed to a hospital right away.’ ‘That’s not a problem. I have a car.’ Feluda helped the others in carrying Jayanta Babu to the car. He remained unconscious. Kalinath Roy met us on the staircase. ‘I had stepped into my room just for a second to take some medicine—and this happened!’ he exclaimed. ‘Shall I come with you?’ asked Mr Chowdhury as Dr Sarkar got into the car. ‘No, there’s no need to do that. I’ll give you a ring from the hospital.’ The car left. I felt very sorry for Mr Chowdhury. What an awful thing to happen on one’s birthday. Besides, now his plan wouldn’t work, either. We went into the drawing room and sat down. But Feluda sprang to his feet almost immediately and went out of the room with a brief ‘I’ll be back in a minute’. He returned soon enough, but I couldn’t tell where he had gone. Mr Chowdhury continued to speak normally, even going so far as to tell his guests a few stories about his great-grandfather. But clearly it wasn’t easy for him to remain calm and cheerful, when he must have been feeling anxious about his cousin. Dr Sarkar rang an hour later. Jayanta Babu had regained consciousness and was feeling better. He would probably come back home the next day. This piece of news helped everyone relax, but the chief purpose of our visit seemed to have been defeated. Mr Chowdhury made no attempt to bring out any objects from the chest and, in fact, after declining his offer to show us films on video, we returned to our room soon after dinner. The magic show also got cancelled. As soon as we were back in our room, Lalmohan Babu asked the question I had been dying to ask for a long time.

‘Where did you disappear to when we were all in the drawing room?’ ‘I went to Mr Chowdhury’s aunt’s room.’ ‘Why? Just to see how she was doing?’ Lalmohan Babu sounded sceptical. ‘Yes, but I also pulled at the handle of that chest.’ ‘Oh? And was it open?’ ‘No. I don’t think Jayanta Babu got the chance to open it. He seemed to have fallen on the floor before he got to the room.’ ‘But where’s the key?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think Mr Chowdhury thought of looking for it. Everything happened so quickly.’ I opened my mouth to speak, but at this moment, Mr Chowdhury himself came into the room. ‘I am so sorry about everything,’ he said, ‘but thank goodness Jayanta is feeling better. This happened once before. Sometimes his blood pressure drops alarmingly.’ ‘What else did Dr Sarkar say?’ ‘That’s what I came to tell you. I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others. You see, I had forgotten all about the key. Now, the doctor tells me Jayanta hasn’t got it. Perhaps it slipped out of his pocket as he fell.’ ‘Did you look for it?’ ‘Oh yes, I looked everywhere on the landing, the stairs and even outside the front door. That key has vanished.’ ‘Never mind. You have a duplicate, don’t you?’ ‘Yes, but that’s not the point. The mystery hasn’t been solved, has it? That’s what’s worrying me. I couldn’t even give you the chance to exercise your brain!’ ‘So what? I wouldn’t consider this visit entirely fruitless. I’ve seen this beautiful house and enjoyed your wonderful hospitality. That’s good enough for me, Mr Chowdhury.’ Mr Chowdhury smiled. ‘It’s very kind of you to say so, Mr Mitter. Anyway, I shall now bid you good-night. Your bed tea will arrive at six-thirty, and breakfast will be served at eight.’ Lalmohan Babu spoke in a whisper when Mr Chowdhury had gone. ‘Could this be a case of attempted murder?’ he asked. ‘After all, both Mr Kanjilal and Mr Roy had gone into the house.’ ‘Surely murder was unnecessary to get what they wanted? All they had to do was make sure Jayanta Babu was unconscious.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Just that. How long would it take, do you think, to remove a key from the pocket of an unconscious man, unlock the chest, take what was needed and then slip the key back where it had been found?’ I hadn’t thought of this at all. ‘If that is the case,’ I said, ‘then we have two suspects instead of three—Kanjilal and Roy.’ ‘No,’ Feluda shook his head, ‘it’s not as simple as that. If someone else had struck him unconscious, Jayanta Babu would have said so the minute he opened his eyes in the hospital. He didn’t. Besides, his mother was in the room throughout. Surely she’d have said something if anyone other than a family member started to open the chest? I could pull at the handle only because her back was turned for a second.’

I didn’t know what to say. So I went to bed, though I couldn’t go to sleep. Feluda was still pacing in the room. What was keeping him awake, I wondered. After a few minutes, Lalmohan