News from Bombay:

Dhurtalal’s Machinations Dear reader, we must now turn our attention to Bombay to acquaint ourselves of the developments after Chandrakant’s departure in search of Sarasvatichandra. Old Sheth Laxminandan had realised that he was the cause of his son’s disappearance and he was the reason why Sarasvatichandra had left home. This hurt him. He now longed for his son to return. A man in his youth feels passionately for his wife and sons. A youthful mind also has greater flexibility and suppleness to deal with separation from wife or son. The wounds heal faster. But as old age approaches, the mind grows feeble and one can hear the approaching steps of the God of Death. The possibility of final separation becomes vivid in imagination. Old age looms large not just over the ageing man but also over his sons; they need the assurance of their joys and of support in their sorrows. Laxminandan pined for his learned and intelligent son Sarasvatichandra and withered with every passing day. He was prepared to spend his inexhaustible wealth to search him out. He spent money everywhere, among the Bombay police, among the officials and businessmen, and gave money to his servants to further their efforts. He left no stone unturned. He sought advice from all quarters. He handed over the reins of the business to his wife’s brother Dhurtalal and focused all his energies in looking for Sarasvatichandra. Food became tasteless, sleep deserted him. He would lie awake till the early hours of the morning preoccupied with only one thought—his lost son. Laxminandan became a wreck. He cried incessantly when he was alone. He even stopped bothering to wipe his tears. Sarasvatichandra’s visage was etched on his mind’s eye and Sarasvatichandra’s voice haunted his ears. He could think of nothing else, speak of nothing else. In a few months the Sheth had withered and aged greatly; his eyes had become lustreless and protruded from their sockets. Everyone said that he would either go mad or die. Almost everyone took pity on him. But his brother-in-law Dhurtalal was filled with a new zeal. He did not want Laxminandan to come out of his debilitating sorrow. Dhurtalal was quick to grasp that the Sheth had no affection left for his sister Guman; Laxminandan no longer had anything to do with her. Dhurtalal therefore no longer mentioned Guman to him. He tried to secure the Sheth’s confidence by making a display of excessive humility, impeccable honesty, and a big show of doing everything within his powers to find Sarasvatichandra. He gained the old man’s confidence and established control over all aspects of the business. The clerks working in Laxminandan’s office accepted Dhurtalal’s authority. He obtained the keys to the safe, the cash and all documents. He became the sole controller and master of the factory, and made sure that no complaint regarding his conduct ever reached Laxminandan. Mired in sorrow, old and feeble, Laxminandan was deceived. Dhurtalal’s treachery was played out behind the curtain