At that moment, seeing the fearsome-looking Kalamukha Saivite in that place, Vandiyathevan was startled for a second. But then, his natural courage chased away his fear. “Where have I seen this man before? Where?” he wondered. Yes, yes; when he was lying under the tree by the banks of the Arichandra River, didn’t two men come and look at him closely before leaving? One of them was this very man! Was that all? Was it only that one time he had seen this face? Hadn’t he seen those sharp, piercing eyes somewhere else?

Meanwhile, the Kalamukha Saivite stared intently at him and burst out laughing, “Ha! Ha! Ha!” That voice—it sounded like a voice he had heard many times before.

“Ah, so it’s you! Was it for your sake that I struggled so much to come here at this midnight hour?” said the Kalamukha Saivite. It seemed as if he had deliberately changed his voice while speaking.

“Then, for whom did you come?” asked Vandiyathevan.

“I came searching for the prince!” replied the Kalamukhan.

“Which prince?”

“What does it matter to you? Why do you ask?”

“I too am a prince; that’s why I asked.”

“Look at the features of a prince’s face…!”

“What is lacking in my features, sir? If I wore a beard and moustache, matted locks, and a garland of bones like you, would my face not look princely?”

“Try wearing them! Then you’ll know.”

“How many days does it take for a beard, moustache, and matted locks to grow?”

“What’s the big deal? They can grow in a single day. If you wish, even in a single hour…”

“I thought it would be like that too…”

“What did you think?” “Nothing at all. Just untie these bonds that hold me. I will join your faction myself.”

“That’s enough, that’s enough! There are already spies like you in our midst. That’s why our great assembly ended the way it did today.”

“How did it end?”

“We were waiting for the prince to come to the great assembly; as soon as he ascended the throne, he was to promise to accept our great guru as the royal preceptor! But the prince never came.”

“Untie my bonds; I will tell you why the prince did not come.”

“Which prince?”

“Who else? Madurantaka, son of Kandaradithar!”

“So my guess was right!”

“What did you guess?”

“I guessed that you are a spy, that’s all.”

“What made you suspect that?”

“When I came searching for the prince, I saw some people leaving this forest. I know who they are. They must have tied you up because they suspected you to be a spy. But I do not understand why they left you alive.”

“I will tell you that; just untie me!”

“No need for you to say anything. I cannot untie you either. If you agree to do as I say…”

“What is it that you want me to do?”

“You must promise not to meddle in matters that do not concern you, and do a hundred and eight sit-ups as penance!”

“Is that so? Is that the news?” said Vandiyathevan.

All the while this conversation was going on, his hands had not been idle. Slowly, he had been loosening the knots that bound him.

“When he said, ‘We must perform the ritual of the Hundred and Eight Mango Groves,’ all the bindings came undone.

Vandiyathevan sprang forward and pushed the Kalamugan down. The torch that the Kalamugan was holding fell to the ground beside him; though it did not go out completely, it flickered, casting a faint light.

Vandiyathevan climbed atop the fallen Kalamugan, sat on his chest, grabbed his beard, and shook it. The beard came away in Vandiyathevan’s hand. At that very moment, the Kalamugan threw Vandiyathevan off and sprang to his feet.

Vandiyathevan snatched up the torch, which was burning low on the ground. The Kalamugan, now bereft of beard and matted locks, revealed a face that was unmistakably that of a devout Vaishnavite, a true Alvar’s disciple. For a moment, the two men looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Vaishnavar! You told me not to meddle in matters that do not concern me, did you not? But what have you done yourself?” Vandiyathevan asked.

“I did not get myself into danger as you did, my friend! If I had not come just now…”

“Do you think it was you who undid my bonds?”

“Even if you had managed to loosen your own bonds, you could not have escaped this forest without my help. The jackals would have made a meal of you.”

“Let the jackals be. If you had seen the magician who was here just a while ago with his pack of jackals… Escaping from them was the real feat!”

“I know those magicians as well. Was it only the magicians who came? Did anyone else come?”

“A small fish came too. A most extraordinary fish, one that longs to swallow a tiger!”

“Ah! Tell me! Tell me! Who all came? What happened? Tell me everything in detail!”

“Why did you don this disguise? Where did you go this evening? What happened at the place you went?—If you tell me all that, I will tell you what happened here!”

“I do not have much more to say. Earlier tonight, I learned that the great assembly of the Kalamukhas would gather on the banks of the Kollidam. It was to see what would transpire there that I donned this disguise and went. After witnessing it, I thought I would come and meet you at the Kollidam ferry landing. The great assembly did indeed convene; Periya Pazhuvetarayar was present. The chief guru of the Kalamukhas was there as well. But the one they were all eagerly expecting, the most important of all, did not arrive!”

“They were expecting Prince Madurantaka, weren’t they?”

“Yes; but how did you know that?”

“If Madurantaka ascended the throne of Thanjavur, the burden of the kingdom would surely be carried