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