Feluda was not in the bathroom. I learnt later that he had risen early that morning to make a trunk call to Bombay. When I came down for breakfast, I found him speaking to someone on the telephone. ‘I couldn’t get Mr Bose,’ he told me, putting the receiver down. ‘He left very early this morning. Perhaps he got my telegram.’ We ordered breakfast. ‘I’ll have to conduct an experiment today,’ Feluda revealed a few minutes later. ‘I think I made a mistake somewhere. I have to make sure.’ ‘Where will you carry out this experiment?’ ‘I need a quiet spot.’ ‘You mean an empty room?’ ‘No, no, you idiot. I could use our hotel room if that’s what I needed. I have to be out on the road, but I must not be seen. If anyone saw me, they’d definitely think I was mad. Let’s go towards Nathula Road after breakfast.’ We hadn’t yet seen any of the other large streets of Gangtok. The prospect of doing a little more exploration on foot was quite exciting. We ran into Dr Vaidya as we came out of the hotel. He was wearing sunglasses today. ‘Where are you off to?’ he asked. ‘Just for a walk. We haven’t really seen much of the city. We were thinking of going towards the palace.’ ‘I see. I am going to look for a jeep. It’s a good day to make that trip to Pemiangchi. If you don’t go there, you really will miss a lot.’ ‘We do intend going there one day.’ ‘Try to make it while I’m there. Gangtok isn’t a very safe place, particularly for you.’ Dr Vaidya left with a smile and a friendly wave. ‘Why did he say that?’ he asked. ‘He’s a very clever man. He wanted to startle us, that’s all. Clearly he’s seen I am involved in a complex matter, so he decided to say something odd for more effect.’ ‘But you really have been threatened, haven’t you? I saw that piece of paper.’ ‘That’s nothing new, is it?’ ‘No, but—’ ‘But nothing. If you think I’ll give up now simply because someone wrote a Tibetan word on a piece of paper, you don’t know me at all.’ I didn’t say anything, but thought to myself how well I did know him. Hadn’t I seen him work wonders in the case of the Emperor’s ring in Lucknow, despite being showered with threats and warnings?

We had been walking uphill and had now reached a point where the road spread out, almost like the Mall in Darjeeling. There was a small roundabout with yellow roadsigns. The one pointing right said ‘Palace’. There was a large, heavily decorated gate at the end of this road, which was obviously the gate of the palace. The sign on the left said ‘Nathula Road’. It seemed a quiet enough road. The few people we could see all appeared to be tourists, heading for the palace. ‘Let’s take this left turn. Quick!’ Feluda said. We turned left and took the road that led to the Chinese border. There was no one in sight. Feluda kept looking up at the hills through which the road had been built. We had now come to the eastern side of Gangtok. Kanchenjunga was on the west. I couldn’t see any of the snow-capped peaks from here, but what I could see was a ropeway. It seemed so interesting that I stopped and stared at it, losing all track of time. I had to look up with a start a few minutes later, when I heard Feluda calling out to me. While I had been gazing at the busy ropeway, Feluda had climbed up the side of a hill, and was shouting from several feet above the road. ‘Hey, Topshe, come here!’ I left the road and joined him. Feluda was standing near a rock, nearly as large as a football. ‘I’m going down,’ he said. ‘I’ll come walking past the hill. Push this stone down when I tell you to. Just a little push will make it roll off the hill. Is that clear?’ ‘Yes, sir. No problem!’ Feluda climbed down and disappeared in the direction from which I had come. · Then I heard him call, ‘Ready?’ ‘Ready!’ I replied. Feluda started walking. I couldn’t see him, but I heard his footsteps. A few moments later, he came vaguely within my line of vision, but before I could see him properly, I heard him shout, ‘Go!’ I pushed the rock, and it began to roll down. Feluda did not stop walking. By the time the rock landed on the road, he had crossed that area and gone ahead by at least ten steps. ‘Wait right there!’ he shouted again. He then came back with the rock in his hand. It was still intact. ‘Now you go down, and walk past this hill exactly as you saw me do. I will throw this stone at you, but you must continue walking. If you can see it rolling down at enormous speed and feel that it might hit you, you’ll have to jump aside: Can you do that?’ ‘Sure.’ I scrambled down, and started walking, keeping an eye on Feluda. I saw him standing still, waiting for the right moment. Then he kicked the stone. I kept on walking. The stone hit the ground a few seconds before I could reach the spot. Then it rolled down the slope on the left and disappeared. Feluda sat down, slapping his forehead. I didn’t want to stand around like a fool, so I climbed up again. ‘What an ass I’ve been, Topshe! What a perfect idiot. This simple—’ ‘Feluda!’ I screamed, quickly pulling him to one side. In the same instant, a huge boulder came crashing from the top of the hill and went down, missing us by inches and crushing a large flowering bush on the way. By the time it struck the road and vanished from sight,