Lalmohan Babu’s car arrived the following morning just as we were planning to go out after breakfast. His driver told us he had got held up in Balasore for nearly four hours because of torrential rain, othewise he’d have reached Puri much sooner. The Neelachal being full, we had booked a room for the driver at the New Hotel, which was not far. He left the car in the car park of our hotel, and went off to find his own room. We told him we might go to Bhubaneshwar later, weather permitting. Feluda wanted to go to the station to buy a copy of the Statesman. He wasn’t satisfied with the Bengali newspaper the hotel provided. Walking to the station took us about half an hour. By the time we got there, it was eight forty-five. The Jagannath Express from Calcutta had arrived at seven. The Puri Express was late by an hour, but it was expected any minute. I love going to railway stations, and to watch how a quiet and peaceful place can come to life and hum with activity when a train arrives. Lalmohan Babu found a bookstall. ‘Do you have books by the famous writer, Jatayu?’ he asked. There was, in fact, no need to do this since I could see at least three of his books displayed quite prominently. Feluda bought his newspaper and began leafing through some of the books. At this moment, we heard a voice. ‘Has the latest Mystery Magazine arrived yet?’ it asked. I turned to find Nishith Bose. He hadn’t seen us at first, but when he did, he grinned from ear to ear. ‘Just imagine, here I am buying the Mystery Magazine, when a detective is standing right next to me!’ he exclaimed. ‘How is your boss?’ Feluda asked. ‘Under great stress. People turn up without making an appointment, and then beg me to arrange a meeting. Who knew so many people were interested in old manuscripts?’ ‘Why, who else came visiting?’ ‘I don’t know his name. He had a beard and he wore dark glasses. He said there was no point in giving his name, since Mr Sen wouldn’t recognize it, but he knew someone who had some manuscripts to sell. So I went and informed Mr Sen, and he said all right, bring him up to the terrace. I showed him in, then went to my room to type a few letters. In less than three minutes, I heard Mr Sen calling my name. I ran to see what the matter was, and found him looking pale and greatly distressed, almost as though he was about to have a heart attack. All he could say to me was, “Take this man away, at once!” So I took him down the stairs immediately. He had the nerve to say before going, “I think you employer’s heart isn’t all that strong. Get him to see a doctor.” Imagine!’ ‘How is he now?’ ‘Better, much better.’ Mr Bose glanced