Mr Boral came to our house at around twelve o’clock and told us what Maganlal had said. ‘What do you want to do with the pearl now?’ he asked. ‘Should I take it back with me?’ ‘Maganlal knows I have got it here. He’s an extremely cunning man. I shouldn’t be surprised if he actually came here himself. I realize you are anxious to take the pearl back to your house, but believe me, it will be safer here. If you keep it, Maganlal will take it from you, by hook or by crook. We can’t let that happen.’ ‘Very well. Let’s wait until Maganlal leaves Calcutta. Once he’s out of the way, I can come back and collect it from you.’ ‘Yes, that would be far better. Are you going back to Sonahati today?’ ‘Yes, by the evening train.’ ‘All right. Don’t forget to let me know if anything untoward happens.’ The next morning, Someshwar Saha rang us from Sonahati. Mr Boral, he said, was attacked on his way back from Calcutta. He was struck on the head and he lost consciousness. When he came to, he found his belongings strewn all over. Someone had clearly gone through everything looking for a specific object. ‘Maganlal did this!’ I exclaimed when Feluda told me what Mr Saha had said. ‘Of course. He obviously decided not to take chances. Thank God the pearl was not with Mr Boral.’ Lalmohan Babu dropped by in the evening, and was told of the latest development. ‘This can mean only one thing, Felu Babu,’ he declared. ‘Maganlal will now try speaking to you. He must know for sure that you have got Boral’s pearl.’ Barely five minutes later, a car stopped outside our house and then the doorbell rang. I opened it to find the object of our discussion standing there, beaming at me. ‘May I come in, Tapesh Babu?’ asked Maganlal. ‘Certainly.’ Maganlal stepped in. Still dressed in a black sherwani and a white dhoti, he didn’t seem to have changed at all. ‘I have often wanted to visit your house, Mr Mitter. After all, we’re such old friends, aren’t we?’ he remarked jovially. ‘Hello Uncle, how are you?’ Lalmohan Babu stiffened. Maganlal had treated him so awfully on two previous occasions that he was clearly finding it difficult to relax in his presence. ‘Fine, thank you,’ he croaked after a while. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Feluda asked politely. ‘No, sir. I am not going to take much time, Mr Mitter. Perhaps you can guess why I am here?’ ‘Yes, perhaps I can.’

‘Then let’s not beat about the bush. Where is that pearl?’ ‘Mr Boral doesn’t have it. At least that much you ought to know, since the men you sent to attack him did not find it.’ ‘My men?’ ‘Yes, who else would do such a thing?’ ‘Please don’t talk like that, Mr Mitter. There is no evidence that those men were mine.’ ‘I don’t even have to look