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!’