Mystery of the

Falling Mountains w a s

an

entry

in

the

C o m p e t i t i o n of W r i t e r s for C h i l d r e n ' s B o o k s .
Apart from

prizewinning

short stories

in various

c o l l e c t i o n s ; a p l a y ' H a p p i n e s s T w i c e O v e r ' in 6 Plays;

and

biography

on

Jayaprakash

Narayan

in

' R e m e m b e r i n g O u r L e a d e r s ' series, the o t h e r titles b y

a u t h o r p u b l i s h e d by C B T a r e The Yellow Butterfly,
So Can I,
The
Chandipur Jewels,
Vanishing Trick at
Chandipur,
S.O.S. from Munia, Adventure on the Golden
Lake a n d
Adventure Before Midnight.

the

Text typeset in 12/15 pt. Palatino-Roman

EDITED BY GEETA MENON
by CBT 2004
Reprinted 2008
ISBN 81-7011-960-X
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by Children's Book Trust, Nehru House,
4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002 and
printed at its Indraprastha Press. Ph: 23316970-74
Fax: 23721090 e-mail: cbtnd@cbtnd.com
Website: www.childrensbooktrust.com

The Long Wait

"Why hasn't Dipak come?" It was the fifth time that
Richa had repeated the question.
The boys did not answer. The children stood in
a forlorn little group, surrounded by their bags,
suitcases, holdalls, umbrellas and other holiday gear.
The crowd of passengers from the bus that had
brought them to the hill station soon vanished. The
air was now cold. Grey shadows crept closer as the
sun dipped behind the lofty snow-covered peaks in
the distance.
Richa shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around
her. "Did he get our letter?" she wondered.
"As per my calculation it should have reached
yesterday morning. That gives Dipak plenty of time
to arrange for our transport," said Richa's brother
Ajay. Ajay was an avid reader. He had acquired
a vocabulary of long words that he loved to use. Tall
and lanky, Ajay always managed to look slightly
untidy, mainly because of his hair which he could
never keep in place. And also because of his clothes,
which always seemed a bit too short for him. For he
grew too fast, his mother had explained.
Rustom, Ajay's friend and classmate, however, was
fair, with curly hair and a little on the chubby side.
Very immaculate and neat, in the maroon blazer with
3

the shining brass buttons down to the polished shoes

gleaming on his feet, Nawab Rustom Ali Khan was
ever the perfect model of elegance.
"Don't worry, friend. Inshah Allah, he will soon be
here," said Rustom.
The three friends, Ajay, Rustom and Dipak, were
studying at the same boarding school. This summer
Dipak had invited them to his home in the hills. His
mother had a farm and an orchard near a little village
in Himachal Pradesh. Dipak's father, now dead, had
been a good friend of Richa and Ajay Sahai's parents.
They had allowed Richa to go on the trip too.
"Chhote Nawab, please sit on this bench. I have
dusted it for you." The man who spoke was a short,
elderly man in khaki uniform. A crisply starched red
turban rested on his head. As Nawab Rustom Ali
Khan's assistant-cum-bodyguard, Ahmed always
remained close to his master and followed him
everywhere, providing great amusement to the
children and much embarrassment to Rustom.
"Your milk, Chhote Nawab," said the man, opening
a thermos and pouring out the steaming liquid.
"Oh, drink it yourself!" Rustom made such a face
that Richa burst into giggles.
"Your laughter is rather inopportune," admonished
Ajay sternly. "Dipak's non-arrival in addition to the
g a t h e r i n g d a r k n e s s , and the l o n e l i n e s s of the
surroundings, are causing us too much anxiety. How
can you laugh at such a m o m e n t ? " Ajay w a s
obviously worried. He peered into the gathering
darkness, nervously pulling at his jeans.
"How quiet and lonely it is. The mist makes it even
more ghostly," said Rustom, a shiver in his voice.
4

Richa noticed too. The place was a ghost town. The

single main street was empty, the shutters down in
the shops. The mist, creeping up the distant valleys,
had shrouded the hills and trees in a ghostly veil. She
shuddered. "We must do something. It is so dark. We
can't just hang around here."
Rustom pointed at the faint points of light that
glimmered high up above them on the peak of the
hill beside which they stood. The lights glowed
through the swirling mist. "Is that a hotel?" he asked.
"Looks like it! There is a signboard," pointed out
Ajay, "Palace Hotel, it says."
"Shall we try the hotel?" asked Rustom.
"I am sure we cannot afford it," said Richa. She bit
her lip as she realized that Rustom, at least, could.
His father was the head of a former princely state in
Uttar Pradesh. Because of good business investments,
his family had made a lot of money and lived in
a huge mansion in Delhi. The boy had travelled all
over the world with his parents and was quite at home
in expensive hotels.
"Ahmed, stay here and watch the luggage. We will
be back soon," ordered Rustom. Better to stay at the
hotel than to shiver here in the cold, he had decided.
"Yes, but first drink your milk. Or your mother, the
Begum Sahiba, will be most annoyed," said Ahmed.
"There is no Begum Sahiba here to scold us,"
laughed Rustom. "Come on, let us go to the hotel."
The evening had darkened into night already. Ajay
pulled out a torch and shone it on the stony path.
It led up, through the mist. The grey clouds swirled
around them, touching their hands and faces with
a cool and clammy dampness.
6

The Accident
The path took a turn, twisted, and rose steeply
upwards. Richa looked down into the mist at the
pale streetlights. Far away she caught a glimpse of
a moving shape. A little later she heard a sound.
"A jeep?" she asked excitedly.
It was. A voice floated out. "Where is everybody?"
Dipak Pant had arrived at last!
Ajay jerked his tight trousers loose and rushed
headlong down the slope, followed by Rustom. Richa
followed slowly, since Ajay had run off, torch in hand,
leaving her alone to stumble in the darkness. By the
time she reached the road, their luggage had already
been loaded into the jeep by Ahmed and the driver.
"Welcome, welcome, most honoured Dipak Sir,"
Rustom bowed low in an exaggerated show of
respect. "We are indeed grateful at your arrival,
My Lord."
"Sorry, everyone," Dipak looked sheepish, "sorry,
I am late."
"The delay in your arrival caused us great tension,"
accused Ajay. "We were forced to conclude that you
had not received our missive."
"Miss...? Oh, I got it all right. Come on, I said I am
sorry. A rather strange thing happened. In the middle
of the journey we realized there was something
7

wrong with the brake. Just think. Without proper

brakes on the mountain roads... It is so dangerous.
We had to get it repaired. That is why we are late."
"All right, forgiven," said Rustom, "shall we eat
something at the hotel before we start?"
"No, it is already dark. We have a long way to go,"
answered Dipak, "my mother must be waiting."
They all piled into the back of the jeep and munched
the s a n d w i c h e s which D i p a k ' s mother had so
thoughtfully packed for them. There was a cake, some
halwa, and a bagful of rosy apples. Ahmed handed
around mugs full of hot milk which now seemed
most welcome.
It was an eerie journey through mist and darkness.
The jeep moved at a snail's pace, for the winding road
was veiled in fog so thick that nothing was visible
beyond a few yards. The jeep laboured up the steep
slopes, screeching and groaning. The gravelled path
was very narrow. Richa was horrified to see the black
void that gaped just next to her. One mistake, one
wrong turn on the invisible road, and they would
plunge headlong into the khud (ditch).
Richa's heart thudded each time she heard the
horn of a vehicle approaching from the opposite
direction. Their jeep slowed to a halt, scraped the
mountainside or veered right to the edge.
The road soon became narrower. High walls of
rock, rising right above their heads, loomed close on
either side.
"Creepy, is it not?" muttered Rustom.
"Only because it is dark and foggy," explained
Dipak, "during the day everything looks harmless."
The jeep clattered over stones and pebbles that
8

littered the road. The driver slowed down. Suddenly

there was a loud, strange rumble. Before Richa could
ask what it was, she heard Ahmed's terrified scream,
"Be careful!"
Ajay lunged forward and pulled Richa down to the
floor of the jeep. Rustom and Dipak screamed. The
driver braked. With a loud screech the jeep swung to
one side. It scraped against the rocky hillside,
swerved, and careened madly across the road. Richa
closed her eyes as her head banged against the iron
seat. Before she could recover, she was crushed under
the weight of the two boys who fell on top of her.
"What...?" she cried, dazed.
There was more to come. " C r . . . r r . . . r . . . a s h ,
roa...rrr," she heard strange, unknown sounds she
could not understand. She was pinned under the seat,
her eyes shut tight in fear. The whole mountain
seemed to be crashing down on them. After a long
time the noises died down. At last she dared to open
her eyes.
"Chhote Nawab, are you all right?" came Ahmed's
voice. What a relief it was to hear it.
"Everyone okay?" That was Dipak.
"Allah be thanked, I am," whispered a dazed voice
from under the seat.
"Destiny has been kind indeed. But what was that
terrible noise? It sounded like doomsday," came
Ajay's voice out of the dark. "Richa, where are you?"
"Here," whispered the girl.
Dipak jumped out to investigate. "A landslide! Just
missed us by inches! Phew!" he shouted.
"Good that Ahmed screamed a warning. Just in
time," remarked Rustom.

"And the driver very skilfully escaped the falling

boulders," added Ajay. Rustom jumped out. Ahmed
rushed to him. He hovered over the boy, dusting
his clothes, patting back his hair and murmuring
anxious enquiries.
"Oh, I am all right, Ahmed. I do wish you would
not fuss so much!" Impatiently Rustom pushed him
aside and ran to join Ajay, who peeped into the black
space below.
"Look, if we had moved just one inch more this side
we would have plunged into that dark abyss!" Ajay's
voice was just a whisper but it reached Richa's ears.
"Abyss...what do you mean?" She ran to see. One
of the front wheels of the jeep teetered unsteadily at
the edge of a deep precipice. Her brother was right,
the jeep had pulled up just in time.
Dust and debris, small pebbles, bushes and
branches still rolled down the hillside. Silently the
passengers pushed the vehicle back to the road. They
had managed to steer clear of the rushing mass of
rock and earth.
The jeep had escaped with minor dents and
scratches, those inside were safe too. Relieved, they
crept back to their seats. Too dazed to talk the three
children remained silent as the jeep resumed its slow
and tortuous journey across the mountains.
"Why did it happen, Dipak?" asked Richa at last
after she had got over the shock.
"It had rained heavily yesterday the whole day. In
fact, there was a cloudburst. Perhaps that was the
reason," speculated Dipak.
"You mean there is a landslide every time it rains?"
Rustom could not believe it.
10

"No, I don't mean that. You see there is not enough

vegetation here. Landslides are more frequent in
areas where there are no plants to hold the soil
together. But I also wonder..."
"What?" prodded Richa.
"I...am not sure. Did someone deliberately...try
to harm...? No, no... How is it possible?" Dipak gave
a nervous little laugh and did not continue.
A brooding silence settled over the group. No one
spoke, and the jeep continued to speed through
the darkness.

12

Noises in the Night

The road dipped into a valley. Soon a cluster of
dim lights showed through the mist. They halted
before a little shop nestling at the foot of a slope.
"Have we reached?" asked Richa excitedly
"Almost. We must get down here. The jeep cannot
go any further. We will have to walk the rest of the
way," answered Dipak.
"Walk?" cried three shocked voices together.
Rustom straightened his tie and blazer. "Do not joke,
friend. Is there no proper road to your farm?" he
asked in dismay.
"No. It is nothing, just an hour's walk. It may look
difficult at night, but I do it all the time," Dipak tried
to reassure them.
"Nevertheless, I think we have had enough excitement for the day. I suggest we continue the journey
in the morning when we can at least see where we
are going. Let us spend the night in the jeep, Dipak,"
decided Ajay.
"Well, if you do not want to go now, we can sleep
in this shop. My mother knows the owner who
supplies us with our provisions. The driver can go
up with our luggage. He will tell Mummy that we
have stopped here for the night," said Dipak, jumping
down to make the arrangements.
13

The owner of the shop-cum-eating place, Motilal,

was an old man with a thousand wrinkles on his
sunburnt cheeks. He quickly dished up a spicy curry
of mushrooms and tomatoes, with chapatis baked
crisp on the wood fire. Everybody relished the
tasty meal.
Ahmed spread out their bedding on the floor. The
little room, crowded with pots and pans, sacks of
potatoes and flour, and tins of oil and spices was soon
transformed into a cosy bedroom. Snug under their
blankets they all fell asleep instantly.
It was the middle of the night. Richa woke up with
a start. What had disturbed her? The strangeness of
the new place frightened her, until she heard her
brother's gentle snores. All was hushed, the world
covered in a blanket of darkness.
Thuck-thuck, the sounds seemed to come from
a distance. Prr-grr...this sounded nearer. It was the
purring of a vehicle. What was it doing here so late
at night? Other sounds followed. Crunch, went
someone's footsteps. Shhhshhh...hushed whispers,
thump-crash, ghrr-whrrr, rrrrr...it was impossible to
muffle the mysterious noises. Dare she tiptoe to the
window to see what it was all about? No, it was none
of her business. It was warm and comfortable inside
the blanket anyway. She covered her ears and tried
to return to the world of dreams.
The gay chirping of birds was the next sound Richa
heard. Ajay tickled the soles of her feet. "Wake up,
sleepyhead. We must complete the next stage of the
great journey," he said.
"Will we ever reach, friend?" asked Rustom. He
was already dressed and ready, eager to continue.
14

"Oh, am I the last to wake up?" cried Richa. She

sprang out of bed. The sun was streaming in through
the tiny window. In the front room Motilal's plump,
red-cheeked wife bent over the smoky fire, above
which simmered a black kettle.
"Tea, dear?" the old lady flashed them a toothless smile.
"Chhote Nawab does not drink the nasty brew,"
Ahmed said scornfully. " D o n ' t you have some
fresh milk?"
"Come on, you will get everything up at the farm.
Let us go. Mummy is waiting," urged Dipak.
How beautiful and sunny everything looked in the
morning. The sky was a bright azure, flecked
delicately with fluffy clouds. It was such a change
from last night's mist and gloom, thought Richa. Then
she remembered. "What were those strange sounds
at night?" she asked Motilal.
The genial smile on the old man's face vanished.
"Sounds? I did not hear any. I slept in the front room
and would have surely heard," he said, nodding his
grey head.
Motilal's wife looked up from her cooking and
muttered, "You have been dreaming. It happens when
you sleep in a new place. There were no noises,
I assure you."
Richa was shocked. She had not blamed the old
people for the noises. Then why this rush to hide what
she had heard but not bothered much about? "But..."
she began, when Dipak hurried her out of the shop.
It was getting late, his mother was waiting, he urged.
Puzzled, she followed the others down the street.
Should she tell them about the strange incident? No,
15

they were sure to scoff at her suspicions. Richa

decided to keep her secret to herself and ran to join
the others.
The boys had reached the foot of a hill. Dipak
stopped and pointed at the hillside. "We have to climb
now. Richa, shall I help you?"
Three pairs of incredulous eyes blinked at him.
"What? Up this muddy slope? Are you out of your
mind? What about our clothes? They will get so
dirty!" cried Rustom brushing down his expensive
trousers.
Ahmed rushed to his side. "Chhote Nawab may
slip and break his leg. What face will I show to the
Begum Sahiba?"
Ajay gamely pulled up his jeans and placed one
foot carefully and hesitatingly on the slippery slope.
"Well, I do it almost everyday I am here!" laughed
Dipak. "It is not that difficult, not really. It is just
a little steep in the beginning. It is because the rain
has washed down the track. It will become better as
we climb on."
"Okay, here I go!" said Richa. She placed her feet
on a flat stone and then climbed onto a jutting root.
Carefully she took a few steps more. The next to try
was Rustom. Ajay had already climbed up.
Soon the group was walking, single file, along
a very narrow footpath that skirted the hillside.

16

The Trek
The track, cut along the sides of the hill, climbed
steeply upwards. At first the children were hesitant.
As they gained confidence, they started taking brisk
steps. The fragrant smell of the pines, the clear, fresh
air and the cloudless sky lifted their spirits. The boys
whistled, even Richa hummed under her breath. They
had begun to enjoy the difficult walk.
"Oh look, a sight fit for gods!" exclaimed Ajay,
stopping to admire the view, "snow shimmering on
distant peaks.. .range upon range of green hills.. .and
the ribbon of blue down below in the valley."
"Do not look down...it makes my head spin,"
complained Rustom, puzzled, a sick expression on
his face.
"Don't tell me you get vertigo!" exclaimed Dipak.
"Don't worry. Keep your eyes on the path and do not
look towards the valleys."
"I feel so funny," said Rustom.
Ahmed hurried close to help, but the path was not
wide enough for two. "Let me carry you, Chhote
Nawab," he held out his arms.
Richa and Ajay burst into laughter. Rustom's
chubby cheeks flushed a deep red. "No, no. I can walk,
for Allah' s sake! I am not an invalid, Ahmed. Just stay
behind. I will not be able to look around, that is all."
17

It was a long walk. Richa was soon tired. She leaned

against the hillside and wiped her face. Ajay, too, had
flopped down on a boulder to rest.
Dark fir trees, their trunks green with moss and
lichen, soared tall, trying to reach the skies. It felt cool
and pleasant under the shade of the trees. The pine
needles lay inches deep on the path. The slopes were
covered with mountain ferns, snake gourds and
rhododendron bushes. Violets peeked modestly from
between the rocks. Brilliantly coloured yellow, brown
and orange mushrooms raised their round heads here
and there above the damp leaves. Above them, the
leaves and branches were woven into a lacy canopy,
through which shafts of golden sunlight filtered
through to dapple the emerald foliage.
"Come on, we have rested too long! Let us go, we
are very close to my house," urged Dipak, trying to
make them hurry.
It was time to move on. Up they climbed. Soon they
left the thick forest behind and emerged on the top of
the hill. The mountain ranges were visible again. The
road that had brought them to the village could be
glimpsed far below, winding its way along the slopes
of the rugged mountains. There were no other signs
of civilization. It began to seem to the tired girl that
they would just continue to climb and climb, going
deeper and deeper into the strange wilderness.
"Are we ever going to reach?" Richa was quite
breathless by now and sounded desperate.
"What a place to stay, friend! How can anyone live
here?" wondered Rustom.
"Oh, but I love it!" cried Dipak. "It is so wild and
lonely and beautiful. I feel sometimes that I am the
18

only person left in the world. It is a wonderful feeling.

I have roamed so much in the wild woods that I know
every stone, every tree in the area."
"All right, travellers, let us carry on, however heavy
the burden. Ours is not to wonder why, ours is just to
do and die!" grinned Ajay, quoting a poem he had
learnt at school. Laughing, Rustom and Richa
followed the two others up the steep hill.
As they walked around the next bend, they came
across steps made of grey slate and a low wall.
"Civilization at last!" cried Ajay, running forward,
"have we reached?"
"Oh no, that is Ambar Bagh, Das Uncle's farm. He
is our nearest neighbour," informed Dipak.
"What about your farm, Dipak? When will we
reach? Phew, it is so hot," complained Rustom.
Ahmed rushed towards him to relieve him of his
blazer, which Rustom was happy to hand over. He
took a sip of water from the thermos carried by
Ahmed and handed it to the others too.
Dipak waved an arm vaguely towards the
mountains. "There it is. Not too far now. Come on!"
The track ran along the wall for about half a mile,
and then climbed up again. At last they seemed
to reach the top of a hill. Thickly wooded ranges and
lush green valleys stretched out below them.
Richa had expected the top to be a pointed peak
or flat like a table. How surprised she was when
she saw the rolling meadows before her! The
grass, thick and green, was sprinkled lavishly with
pale yellow daisies. "How pretty!" she gasped,
delighted.
"Isn't it?" Dipak looked proud, as if it was he who
19

was responsible for the beautiful sight. "Now you

see why I love my home? It is the most beautiful place
in the whole world!" He spun around on his heel,
danced a few steps and then ran, lightly and happily,
across the green meadows.
"A vast golf course, right on top of the mountain!
Wait till my father sees this! He will go crazy with
excitement!" shouted Rustom.
"See the flowers? Like golden stars sprinkled on
green velvet..." murmured the poetic Ajay.
There was a spring now in their feet as the children
raced happily up and down the meadows. Up another
rise and peach trees appeared on either side of
a narrow path. Through a broken gate into more
rolling meadows, past a pool circled by a stone wall,
then past a huge oak tree with its branches spread
wide, its leaves casting flickering shadows over the
water in the pool...and then, at last, they saw the long,
low building on top of the hill. It had sloping roofs
covered with grey slate, thick wooden beams and
white-washed walls. They had reached at last!
"We are home!" shouted Dipak. His shout caused
the front door to burst open. A white and brown dog
with long, shaggy hair leapt out, barking excitedly
A lady in a white sari followed him.
"There you are!" she looked relieved and happy.
"I was wondering.. .hey, down, Moti! Do not frighten
the children."
The dog leapt and sniffed at each in turn. Ahmed
rushed to protect his charge. Moti, who did not seem
to approve of strangers, jumped at Ahmed, sniping
and growling.
"Chhote Nawab, watch out!" the dutiful bodyguard
20

pulled Rustom out of harrrr's way. His action aroused

the dog's suspicions. He leapt at the visitors, teeth
bared, barking furiously. Richa screamed and raced
off to a safe distance. Ajay leapt onto a chair.
Dipak ran and grabbed the dog's collar but Moti
slipped out of his grasp and lunged towards Rustom.
Ahmed swept Rustom up in his arms. Embarrassed,
the boy hit out at him. "Ahmed, put me down, at
once!" he shouted. At the same time he kicked wildly
to fend off the dog.
The arrival of the guests had caused the wildest
confusion possible!
"Stand still, all of you, then he won't jump at you.
Moti, stop it, they are friends!" shouted Mrs. Pant at
the top of her voice. It had its effect. Moti, looking
sulky at being called off, withdrew from the game.
Dipak caught the dog's collar and there was peace
at last.
"Welcome to Srivatika!" Mrs. Pant smiled at the
children, "I am sorry for the chaotic welcome."
"Mummy, are you all right?" Richa caught the note
of anxiety in Dipak's voice.
She was relieved when his mother answered with
a cheerful smile. "Of course, I am. Moti and Hari
Singh take good care of me. You should not worry."
Dipak's face cleared, the frown on his forehead
vanished. "I am glad, Mummy," was all that he said.
But Richa had noticed with surprise that there was
such relief in his voice! Though he had not said
a word, obviously he had been terribly worried about
his mother. Why? Was she in some danger?

21

In the Garden
The children had a hearty breakfast of puri, potato
curry and glasses of fresh milk.
"Take your friends to the garden, Dipak. Show them
around the place," suggested Mrs. Pant after they
were all settled.
Dipak led his friends out. He showed them the
terraced fields that sloped down into the valley on
the southern side. "We grow potatoes and tomatoes
there. And that is Gopi, the gardener, who looks after
the crops." He pointed at the slim lad bending over
the tomatoes. "Hey Gopi...how are you?"
Gopi was too busy to answer. He nodded at the
guests and bent lower over the plants. Dipak led them
to the other side of the house. "Here are the apple
trees. We sell the apples," he pointed out.
Just then a boy in a Himachali cap jumped down in
front of Dipak. "Oh...Shibu! Where were you all this
while?" Dipak caught the boy's hand and shook it.
"Looking after my friends, of course," laughed
Shibu. He was a small, sprightly lad with a mop of
curly hair escaping his embroidered cap. Hari Singh,
the driver and odd-job man in the house, was his
father. Shibu had a job too. It was to guard the orchard
against thieves, animal as well as human!
"Meet my friends. I mean, my enemies!" grinned
22

the boy, pointing at the horde of monkeys that had

invaded the orchard. He charged at them with his
stick. Moti followed, barking angrily. He leapt
towards a fat simian, who turned around and made
faces at the dog. Shibu chased it away. The dog and
the boy soon rid the orchard of the unwanted guests.
"Let us climb trees. I love to watch the world sitting
high up on a branch. That tree is my favourite," said
Dipak. "You can choose branches too. Richa, I think
this one is just right for you. Want help?"
Richa shook her head. The trees were low, their
branches easy to reach. Ajay climbed up and perched
among the leaves, peering down at Rustom, who
hesitated. Should he dirty his clothes or not, he
seemed to wonder.
"Don't, Chhote Nawab!" they heard a shout. It was
Ahmed who looked alarmed. He ran towards the boy.
"You will break an arm or a leg. You will fall. What
will I tell Begum Sahiba then?" He caught Rustom's
arm. The boy quickly made up his mind. He flung off
the hand and shinned up the tree-trunk in a trice. Soon
he was safely out of reach on one of the higher
branches.
"Well done!" clapped the others. "Here is your
reward!" Dipak threw a green apple at the boy, which
Rustom deftly caught.
Richa swung gently on the branch, the rustling and
the murmuring of the leaves providing soft music in
the background. It was so pleasant there among the
trees. She began to hum her favourite tune and then
her eyes fell on Dipak. There was a frown on his face.
His gaze, fixed on his house in the distance, was
anxious and worried.
23

"Is something wrong, Dipak?" puzzled, Richa

asked, concern in her voice.
"Wh...what do you mean?" the boy stammered.
"Something is worrying you. Is it to do with your
mother?" asked Richa shrewdly.
"She is right. You are not your usual self. Is there
a problem? Is it serious?" asked Ajay.
"I don't know if there is any problem. It is like this,
you see, Papa once told me, that 1 should look after
mummy. I feel responsible for her safety. She stays
alone. I did not even want to go to the hostel. But my
mother insisted. Since there is no proper school here
and she wanted me to have a good education..."
explained Dipak.
"Naturally. You must attend school," agreed Ajay.
"Good you joined, friend. Or we may never have
met you," smiled Rustom.
"Let him finish, please!" Richa scolded the boys
for interrupting. "Well, what makes you so worried?"
"Our house is in a deserted place, far away from
everywhere. And of late many strange things have
happened."
"Like what?"
"Little incidents and accidents and now the failure
of the jeep's brake, the horrible landslide."
Ajay laughed heartily, "A landslide is a natural
phenomenon. You said so yourself. It may occur
where there are no trees and plants to hold the soil.
How can you blame it on human mischief?"
" S o m e t i m e s , a boulder or a rock pushed by
someone may roll down, gathering loose stuff on the
way. It may turn into a landslide," said Dipak.
"Just your feverish imagination! How can you base
24

suspicions on such vague ideas?" laughed Ajay.

"Besides, your mother was not even t h e r e ! "
pointed out Rustom.
"She could have been," insisted Dipak. "Mummy
was to use the jeep for going to Shimla. And then
your letter came. She sent me in the jeep to fetch you.
She stayed at home to make the place ready for
your arrival."
"Where is the jeep usually parked?" asked Ajay.
"Down in the village, near Motilal's shop. Hari
Singh, our driver, says it was perfectly all right the
last time he drove it. He too believes that someone
has tampered with the brakes," Dipak's face darkened
again with anxiety.
It made Richa wonder, were Dipak's fears justified?
Was his mother really in some kind of danger? The
pleasant orchard with its green apples suddenly
seemed like a sinister place where danger lurked for
its inhabitants. A sudden cold shiver ran down her
body. Meanwhile, Shibu, who had been away chasing
the monkeys from the tomato plants, returned. Richa
was glad to see his cheerful grin again.

25

Shibu's Secret
"Dipak! I want to show you something. Come with
me." Shibu called out.
"May I come too?" asked Richa, jumping down.
"Can we also come?" shouted the two boys.
Shibu looked at them suspiciously, "I want to show
it to you only," he told Dipak.
"They are my friends. You can trust them. Come,
we will all go," decided Dipak.
Ahmed, who sat under a tree at a distance, keeping
a watchful eye on Rustom, jumped to his feet.
"Not him!" Shibu hissed loudly in Dipak's ears.
Dipak winked slyly. "Ahmed, please help mummy
with the lunch. You know best what Rustom likes to
eat," he said tactfully.
"But, Chhote Nawab, where are you off to? The
Begum Sahiba told me to stay with you," Ahmed
appealed to Rustom.
"Did she not tell you to look after my meals too?
Please go to the kitchen and see to it," said Rustom.
"As you desire, sir," Ahmed obeyed but looked
utterly reluctant and miserable.
"Follow me!" shouted Shibu, racing across the
meadows, followed closely by Dipak. The others
struggled to keep pace with the children from the
mountains.
26

"Where have they disappeared?" asked Richa a few

moments later.
"Don't they know we are new? We don't know the
way/' and Rustom stood still. All they could see were
the pines and firs, and the snow-capped mountains
beyond. "D...i...i..pak! Shibu! Where are you?" Their
calls struck the mountains and returned in echoes,
"Are you? A...you?"
"Shibu! Shibu!"
"Boo! Boo!" came the echo.
Suddenly Dipak's face peeped out from behind
a tree. "Come on, you slowpokes! I climbed all the
way up again. You took so long!"
"Wait for us," Richa insisted, "we cannot go as fast
as you can. You belong here and are used to the
terrain. We are not!"
This time the boy went slowly down the slope,
taking care to see that the others followed. They trod
carefully on the slippery ground, passing tall ferns
and the red rhododendrons, placing their feet on
firm rocks. Rustom grumbled loudly every time he
slipped. Ajay found a stick to cling firmly on to.
Shibu appeared again. "You take too long. Come
on," he urged and then raced off again.
They soon reached a valley. Pine trees and the
bright blue flowers of the hydrangea adorned the
gently sloping banks. Round pebbles and big boulders
were scattered on the floor of the valley. Obviously
a stream had once meandered across. They followed
the path cut by the stream until they reached another
hill. After they had climbed up a few feet Shibu
suddenly halted. "We have reached," he announced.
A huge boulder lay before them. Shibu stretched
27

across it and peeped into a hole in the mountainside.

"Come and see," he invited the others.
All that Richa could see was pitch darkness.
"Nice hole, friend," Rustom patted Shibu's back,
"but is it really worth all the trouble?"
"He is just fooling us. There is something more
here than just a hole. Out with the secret, Shibu!"
laughed Dipak.
"You guessed right. I plugged the opening with the
boulder. We must roll it aside," said Shibu.
Everyone helped to move the heavy boulder
aside. Behind it was a large opening, leading into
a small cave.
"Can we enter the precincts?" asked Ajay.
"Precincts?" wondered Dipak.
"What I mean is, can we go in?" explained Ajay
with a laugh.
"No bats to fly into our faces, I suppose?" asked
Rustom worriedly.
Dipak did not answer. He rushed in through the
opening pushing everyone out of the way.
"Wow! Great!" came Dipak's astonished voice
from inside.
Everyone crowded around the opening. Richa
peeped in and was stunned at what she saw. The three
stepped hesitatingly into the cave and gasped at the
wondrous sight.
"God is great!" Rustom's awed sigh broke the
silence. Ajay, the one with the richest vocabulary,
stood dumbstruck.
There were no treasures there, nor were there heaps
of pearls or gems. No gold or silver-filled chests, yet
all agreed the cave was a marvellous find. The walls
28

glowed with a strange luminosity, sparkles twinkling

at spots that caught the sunlight that streamed in
through the opening.
"What? How? Why does it glow?" breathed Richa
at last.
"What do the walls consist of? Gems, precious
stones, gold or silver?" asked Ajay. He had found his
voice at last. He ran his fingers over the rocky wall.
"Smoo...oo...th. And, look, the stone is neither grey
nor brown, in fact, it is coloured."
Pale shades of pink, lemon, green and blue streaked
the walls of the cave.
"Wonder what makes up the structure of this rock.
Do scientists know about it? A geologist should do
some research here," said Ajay.
"No, no! No geologi&t must come here. This is my
secret. You are not to tell anyone," cried Shibu,
shaking his head so violently that his cap fell off.
Richa was surprised to see him so agitated. "But
surely you want everyone to hear of your great
discovery, Shibu. Just think, you will become famous
as the boy who found the wonder cave."
"No, no!" the great discoverer picked up his cap
and set it firmly on his head. "People will come here.
They will snoop and dig. They might even want to
take away my beautiful rocks."
"He is right. People will hack away at the cave
wall, may even want to sell the rocks. Shibu, I hope
you have not told anyone," asked Dipak anxiously.
"No...except...my father. He helped me roll the
boulder to hide the opening. But I do not think he
will tell anyone or will he?" wondered Shibu.
Ajay wandered off. His voice emerged from the far
30

end of the cave, "It does not end here. It narrows down
into a tunnel and then goes deeper into the
mountainside."
"Do not go in, Ajay!" shouted Richa.
"No question. Not without a torch or something.
The place certainly needs further exploration," Ajay
shouted back.
"We will come again. Armed with torches and
lights," promised Dipak. "Let us go back now.
Mummy must be wondering where we are. Let us
hurry back. Come!"

31

Visitors
It was getting late. The children raced back towards
the house. Loud voices reached their ears as they
walked in through the gates. Rustom's eyebrows shot
upwards in a puzzled question. "Who are they?" he
whispered, pointing at the people in the verandah.
"Mr. Hari Lall and his wife Pamela. They have
returned recently from America after several years.
Let us see what they want," explained Dipak in
a low voice.
Ajay pulled hard at his jeans, trying to stretch them
down. He put on his best face, with the polite
expression he reserved specially for strangers.
"Hi Dipak!" boomed a loud, hearty voice. A man,
dressed in a pink and blue striped T-shirt, waved at
them from the verandah.
"Hi kids, where were you?" asked the lady in the
dark glasses who stood behind the young man.
She had a weird hairdo, streaked a bright red, and
lots of makeup on her face. "Are these your friends?
A girlfriend too, I see!" she said, pointing at Richa.
Somehow Richa liked neither the smile the woman
gave her, nor the wink which accompanied it.
"Yes, this is my friend Ajay Sahai, Richa, his sister,
and this is Rustom," Dipak remembered his manners.
"India has turned modern, eh? Girls freely visit
32

their boyfriends. It certainly is a big step forward for

our country, eh!" said the lady with another wink at
the girl- Richa made up her mind. She definitely did
not like the Lalls, especially Mrs. Lall.
Ajay stepped forward. "My parents have allowed
my sister to accompany us here because they are well
acquainted with Pant Aunty. Our parents and the
Pants have been good friends for many years, and so
my people have complete trust in Aunty Pant," he
explained in a stiff voice.
"Ha, ha! What a strange lad!" laughed Mrs. Lall,
staring at Ajay, who fiddled with the sleeves of his
shirt in an embarrassed manner.
"Quite odd," agreed the husband.
Angry, Richa looked for Mrs. Pant, but she had
disappeared into the house.
"But kids, let me introduce ourselves. I am Harry.
Ha...a...rry Lall," he drawled. "And this is my
da...rrrling wife, Pamela. We have come back from
the United States. We wanted to do something for our
country. So we returned, ready to do our bit for dear
India!" He repeated the last sentence and smirked at
Dipak. "Your Mom did not like it, but I just gave her
a very good offer. You may ask her about it. We must
leave now. But don't worry. We will be back again.
Come on, Pamela. Goodbye kids; take care!"
Mrs. Pant reappeared as soon as the two vanished
beyond the distant trees. Her lips were set tight, and
her eyes were grim.
"What happened, Mummy? You do not look very
happy. Did they say something to you?" Dipak gave
her an anxious glance.
"They certainly did," answered his mother angrily,
33

"They wanted to buy my home. They offered a good

price too."
"I hope you refused," said Dipak anxiously.
"Of course I did!" Mrs. Pant's voice was emphatic.
She walked back into the house. Shaken, she sank
onto a sofa. Richa rushed to get her a glass of water.
Rustom and Ajay hung around, looking puzzled. Moti
wriggled close to his mistress, who patted him gently.
"Do sit down, all of you," she said at last. Dipak
rushed to sit close to his mother on the sofa. Mrs. Pant
stroked his shoulder as she sipped the water. "Thank
you, Richa. You must be wondering why I am so
upset. This land, you see, belonged to my husband's
family. He really loved it. He wanted to come and
live here after he retired from the Army, but he died
guarding our front. I take it as my sacred duty to
preserve this place in all its pristine beauty. I will
never sell it. Never!"
Dipak looked solemn. "We won't, Mummy."
"Why do they want to buy this place, Aunty?"
asked Rustom.
"They like its location. With the wonderful view of
the snowy peaks in the north, the gentle terraced
slopes to the south and the rolling meadows
around..." began the lady.
"Oh yes, the meadows make a perfect golf course!"
interrupted Rustom.
"But.. .were they not correct in their judgment? This
place will make an excellent tourist spot if properly
developed," said Ajay.
"Just what they plan to do," said Mrs. Pant. "That
is, develop the place. With motorable roads, a hotel
with all modern facilities including a swimming pool,
34

a gym, an amusement park, a water park and..."

"Isn't that a fantastic idea?" exclaimed Rustom.
"Exactly what the place needs. Roads, swimming
pool, golf club...TV and video games...it will be as
posh as any holiday resort abroad."
"I agree. Making the place accessible..." began Ajay.
"Axes?" interrupted Rustom.
"I mean, so that it is easy to reach. Walking all the
way yip here was really exhausting. Remember, Richa,
how tired you were?"
"Hmm," mumbled the girl doubtfully. Though
tired, she had actually enjoyed the long walk. If they
had whizzed past in a car they would surely have
missed the many fascinating sights they had seen.
"Somehow, I liked the walk," she ventured to say.
"I always enjoy it greatly," said Dipak. "I like
stepping on the crunchy pine needles. I love the cool
damp feeling you get when you walk under the shady
oaks. I can hunt for pine cones, pluck fat mushrooms,
discover new wild flowers. Sometimes, if I am lucky,
I can see a beautiful rare bird. It is fun to find new
shortcuts. There is always an exciting discovery to
be made, like..." Suddenly he stopped. He had
remembered the latest find, the cave.
"Exactly. Surely you do not want the enchanting,
fairy tale woods to sprout ugly modern structures all
over? Or the mysterious, secret pathways to vanish,
only to be replaced instead by sleek, tarred roads?"
asked Mrs. Pant.
"No, I like it as it issilent, mysterious, magical!"
Dipak nodded vehemently.
"You mean, it is more exciting and adventurous as
it is? Development will spoil it? Maybe you are right.
35

Perhaps we cannot appreciate this because we are

used to living in the city," said Ajay.
"Right, dear. This place is not just a legacy from
my husband. It is a gift from nature. The Lalls want
to turn it into a man-made horror. Hari Lall showed
me his plans. Ugh, hotels six storeys high, a network
of roads, a shopping mall, restaurants. So I turned
down the offer. He and Pamela did not want to take
no for an answer. Finally, I lost my temper. I pushed
that woman out of the room," confessed Mrs. Pant.
Richa giggled, pleased. But Rustom shook his head.
"I have seen some fabulous resorts. People live in
great style. Everything is available there. Life is fun
there for the tourists," he commented.
"Life is fun here too, though there is nothing like
what you mentioned," said Dipak.
The door opened and Ahmed came in, carrying a
tray. "Your juice, Chhote Nawab. I could not get any
other drink. No cokes, no cold drinks. Such a problem
it was to prepare this. The electricity went off. I had
to squeeze the fruit by hand. Now you must drink it!
Don't say 'go drink it yourself'."
Everyone laughed. "I won't. I need the juice. I hope
there is enough for all," said Rustom, reaching
gratefully for the glass.

36

An Intruder
Another night in a new bed, thought Richa as she
lay under the quilt. Rustom and Ajay slept in a guest
room downstairs while her bed was put up in the
upstairs study that overlooked the front garden. Tired
after the long day, she promptly fell asleep.
What was that? The unfamiliar sounds pulled her
out of her dreams. Thuck-thuck! She had heard it once
before too, she remembered vaguely. Oh yes, last
night, at Motilal's shop. She sat up and looked out of
the window near her bed. The moonlight shone over
the tall poplar trees far away across the patch of lawn.
The hedge and bushes were dark and ghostly, the
leaves and flowers were tipped with silver. The
garden was bathed in the silvery, magical moonlight.
Unfamiliar but sweet scents wafted in with the breeze.
She lifted up her nose to smell but froze as another
sound reached her.
Click! It was the garden gate. Who came at this time,
when everyone slept? Footsteps stole along the path,
then halted. Richa waited for the ring of the bell, the
knock at the door, but there were no such sounds.
Instead came cautious, hesitant footfalls, followed by
strange scratching sound and soft mysterious noises
she could not understand. Silence again. She waited.
Nothing more was heard for several minutes.
37

'I am dreaming,' thought Richa, pulling the quilt

over her head. She was drifting off to sleep when she
heard low, soft growls. Moti!
"Hush, Moti, go to sleep!" That was Dipak, who
slept in Mrs. Pant's bedroom. Then came a loud crash.
Richa flung off the quilt and ran to the door. Other
voices, other noises broke the silence of the night.
"What was that?" cried Mrs. Pant. Moti's barking
rose to a hysterical pitch.
Someone had broken into the house. Everyone was
awake. The boys sprang out of bed and rushed out of
their rooms. Richa heard footsteps crunch across the
bushes under her window and jumped to see the
person. A dark shadow slid out of a side door. The
figure raced down the lawn towards the hedge. One
wild leap and the figure had vanished. The lawn,
bathed in moonlight, was empty again.
"Let Moti catch him!" came Dipak's shout. "Let him
nab the thief."
Richa saw the dog chase the man, but it was too
late. The man managed to shake off the dog. Moti
returned, head low, looking most ashamed.
"Couldn't you catch him? Who was it?" asked
Dipak agitated.
"A thief. Who else?" said Rustom.
"What did he want to steal?" asked Ajay.
"Anyway, there is nothing of much value here," said
Mrs. Pant. "I never keep any jewellery. And everyone
knows I don't keep cash in the house."
Richa ran down to join the others. "I saw him!
I saw him!" she shouted excitedly. "I saw the man
through my window. He was short and slim. His
shoes flashed in the moonlight. They were white."
38

"Those clues are no help. White shoes may be worn

by anyone. Richa, you are the only witness. Think
hard. Did you notice anything else?" asked Ajay.
Richa closed her eyes, trying to remember. In the
darkness she had only seen the man's outline. His
back was towards her. She would not recognize him
if she ever came face to face with him. Yet, there had
been something. What was it, she just could not
remember.
"Pant Aunty, do you have any enemies?" asked
Rustom. "If it was not a thief after money or jewellery,
could it be someone trying to scare you for some
reason or other?"
"That is Dipak's apprehension," explained Ajay.
"He is dreadfully frightened. He feels someone is
attempting to deliberately frighten, if not harm you.
He is very worried for you."
Mrs. Pant gave her son a sharp look making him
squirm and go red.
"No, no! I never meant that. I never said so!" Dipak
protested.
"There is nothing to fear," said his mother gently.
"I told you, I am quite safe and secure, with Hari
Singh and other loyal staff to look after me, and Moti
to keep guard. Do you think Moti will allow anyone
to come anywhere near me? He will bark his head
off, as he did tonight."
"Nevertheless," persisted Ajay, "we must make
sure, if only to remove Dipak's suspicions and
to make him feel better. He lives under constant
fear imagining you to be in some terrible danger.
Do you consider it a possibility? Have you ever had
a fight with anyone?"
39

"I had no fights but a few arguments, certainly.

I had one with the Lalls as you well know. I have
scolded servants, fought with shopkeepers who tried
to cheat me, and battled traders who refused to give
the right price for my apples and other crops. Such
things have happened from time to time. Especially
since your father died, Dipak...I have faced many
unpleasant situations. But I have learnt to cope and
managed to hold my own," said Mrs. Pant.
Richa looked at the grey-haired lady with
admiration. It must be a difficult, lonely life in this
remote place, yet she remained cheerful.
"There is no need to worry, kids," Mrs. Pant said
firmly. "Back to sleep now. Everything is all right. The
thief has run away. I will just take a look at the doors
and windows."
"I will come with you, Mummy," said Dipak.
They found one of the doors ajar. Dipak examined
it only to discover that the lock had been forced open.
The boy's face turned pale. Even Mrs. Pant, though
she tried to hide it, looked shaken. Somehow, though
worried and anxious, the inmates of the house forced
themselves back into bed and a restless sleep.

40

Exploring the Cave

"Breakfast! Come, come, everybody!" announced
Dipak's mother the next morning.
"Breakfast?" screamed Rustom from his room.
"I am still in bed. Ahmed, where are you? Where is
my dressing gown? And my shoes?"
"Yes, Chhote Nawab, it is all here. I did not want
to wake you... Hari Singh said thieves broke into the
house last night. I should have been near you. But
you sent me away to the staff quarters. Now Begum
Sahiba will be so angry. What will she say?" Ahmed
grumbled.
"Don't scold, Ahmed... Where are the shoes?"
"Must you depend on him so much?" asked Ajay.
"You dislike his constant presence, yet you require
him for every little thing. First try and learn to be
independent. Look at me. I manage everything
myself. And so does Richa."
Rustom smiled. "I do observe you. I admire your
sleek hairstyle. You are so clean and neat that I feel
jealous of you. And your shoes are so well polished
I can see my face in them. Ha! ha!" Ji
Ajay was about to throw a slipper at him when
Ahmed entered, carrying a pair of gleaming black
shoes on a tray! "Here they are, Chhote Nawab, all
ready for you."
41

"Come on, everyone. We are going for a picnic

today!" Dipak shouted from the dining room.
"Picnic?" Richa was down in the dining room in
two seconds, followed the next moment by the two
boys. "Where are we going?"
"Wait and see," said Dipak. "Shibu is coming too.
We are taking torches. Does this give you a hint?"
"We are going to...!" began Richa, but stopped
hastily when she received a kick from under the table.
A picnic at the wonderful cave, followed by exciting
explorationsRicha was eager now to start. She
grabbed a few mouthfuls of the homemade cake and
pushed back her chair. "Let us go."
The four children were about to leave on their
exploration when they heard a voice, "Good morning,
Mrs. Pant. How are you? Heard there was a theft at
your place last night?" A tall man with grey hair stood
outside in the verandah.
"It is Mr. Das from Ambar Bagh, the neighbouring
farm. How did he get the news, so early in the
morning?" whispered Dipak.
Mr. Das noticed the picnic hamper in Dipak's
hands. "Where are the children off to?" he asked.
"Picnic," said the boy shortly. Mr. Das did not show
much curiosity. Instead he turned to Mrs. Pant, "Are
you also going, Madam?" he asked.
"No, I have work to do," she answered with a smile,
"and the kids have some dark secrets. Even I may
not share them. So I shall stay at home."
"We would have liked to take you along, Mummy,
but this is something really special," said Dipak.
"It is perfectly fine, son. Mr. Das is here to keep me
company. So run along, kids. Have a good time."
42

Richa was glad Mrs. Pant had company. She felt

sorry about leaving her all alone while they had fun.
It was good there was a visitor. Surprisingly Dipak
did not share her views. "I wish he had not come,"
he nervously muttered. "Now I shall worry all the
time I am away from house."
"Come on," laughed Ajay, "he seems like a nice old
gentleman. Surely you do not suspect him of harming
your mother."
"Who knows? Someone is after us. He tried to enter
our house. I wonder who it was. What did he want?"
asked Dipak.
"Your Mom has no enemies. She said so. Now do
stop worrying," said Rustom.
They set off for the cave. What a surprise they got
when they reached close. The boulder, which they had
pushed before the opening, had been rolled aside.
The opening of the cave was now exposed.
Shibu's mouth fell open in surprise. "My beautiful
secret... it has been discovered!" he cried.
The children rushed towards the cave. There was
no one there. But there was enough telltale evidence
to show that someone had been present. The loose
earth was disturbed. There were footprints that
definitely did not belong to the children. As if this
was not enough, cigarette stubs and used matchsticks
lay scattered on the dusty ground.
"Look, two different types of footprints," observed
Richa, staring closely at the marks. "See, this looks
like a pair of slippers. And these are shoes."
"How did they find the cave?" wailed poor Shibu.
"Never mind, let us begin exploring," said Rustom
impatiently.
43

"Here we go, into the unknown. No one knows

what lies beyond in the dark, where no human foot
has trod before." There was an explorer's gleam in
Ajay's brown eyes.
Richa found that it was pitch dark inside. She could
hear the thud-thud of her heart as she followed the
others. The tunnel was high enough for Ajay to stand
straight without bumping his head. She could feel the
cool surface on either side, the tunnel being just broad
enough for them to walk in comfortably. The floor
was rough. Dipak had to shine the torch to keep them
from stumbling on the uneven ground. They did not
have to go far though. The tunnel soon opened into
a bigger cave.
As Dipak shone the torch on the walls, points of
light blinked back at them. The rocks were as beautiful
as in the first cave.
The children walked around, exploring, examining,
touching the walls with probing fingers, and peeping
into dark caverns and holes. It was indeed exciting
to discover the several openings that led from the
cave. Some were blind, others led deeper into
unknown mysterious spaces.
"Enough, enough," said Dipak after a while, "it is
the same rock everywhere. There is nothing else.. .just
empty space."
"What a pityno treasures, buried or hidden!"
Rustom sounded disappointed.
"This is more than any treasure. Just imagine the
attention it will draw if the world comes to know
about it. Whoever owns this area can make millions,
just by selling the rocks," said Ajay.
"What do you mean, whoever owns it?" asked
44

Dipak. "Did I not tell you, this is part of our land?

It belongs to us. Our land stretches all the way, till
that tree over there. Mummy told me so once."
Richa stared at Dipak with wide, incredulous eyes,
"You are a rich boy then. Why, you are as rich as
Rustom."
Dipak merely shook his head. "Shall we return?
It is late and...!"
"I know. Mummy is alone. She must be worrying,"
grinned Rustom. "Isn't that what you were about
to say?"
"That is not a good joke, Rustom. He has the right
to care," scolded Richa as the four walked back the
way they had come. Dipak's anxiety led them to walk
fast and they were soon back at home.
Mrs. Pant had company again. It never failed to
amaze Richa. How did so many visitors turn up at
such a remote place? " W h o ? " she nudged Dipak,
curious as usual.
"Motilal, the shopkeeper. Don't you recognize him?
You spent the night at his place," whispered Dipak.
"And that tall fellow with the beard?" asked Richa.
"Chowdhari Shivnath, the contractor. He builds
houses, and has several other business to look after.
I wonder what the two want. Let me go and find out."
Dipak ran towards the house. The others, in no mood
to be polite to strangers, lingered at the gate.
Fortunately, the two men were about to leave. The
bearded fellow threw his cigarette into the flowerbed
and bid goodbye to Mrs. Pant. Motilal saw the
children standing at the gate and smiled as he
recognized them. "So? Do you like it here?" he asked.
Ajay gave his shy half smile and Richa inquired
45

politely after his wife. Rustom was about to say

something when the bearded man, Shivnath, pulled
the old man away. "Hurry up. We have a long way to
go. Let us not waste time talking to kids."
Richa was indignant. She scowled at the tall
bearded man, who strode impatiently past, without
taking the slightest notice of the children.
"What a rude chap! What did he want?" asked
Rustom after the two had gone.
"You will be surprised. He wanted to know if my
mother was interested in selling off a part of the land.
Just a small portion. Mummy refused, of course,"
answered Dipak.
"What, another buyer for Aunty's bit of heaven?
It seems to be in great demand!" grinned Ajay.
"That makes two who want to buy your place. And
look, here comes another!" laughed Rustom, pointing
towards the gate. The children spun around to see
who came. A familiar figure was walking up the path.
"Oh no, not again. Das Uncle was here only this
morning. Why does he visit day and night? Does he
not have anything to do?" muttered Dipak. Richa was
surprised to hear the dismay in his voice.
"He is your nearest neighbour after all. No need to
wonder if he walks up every now and then to meet
you. Must be leading a pretty lonely existence," Ajay
tried to explain.
Dipak continued to frown.
"All the same, I wish he was not here so often.
I find it most suspicious..." he grumbled.
Mr. Das did not just visit, he overstayed, according
to Dipak, because he lingered on till well after dinner
and went only after it was late night.
46

A Shock
Richa lay in bed. It was morning, the house was
waking up. She lay there listening to the early
morning sounds of the household. "Grr.. .bow-wow!"
she heard Moti growl.
Someone stirred in the next bedroom. "Yes, yes,
I know, you want to go out. Come!" It was Mrs. Pant.
The door clattered open. With a flurry of light footsteps the dog rushed out. Richa yawned and dug back
lazily into the quilt.
"Tap! Tap!" startled, Richa opened her eyes wide.
Somebody had tapped on the windowpane. Who
could it be?
A strange face peered at her through the window.
It was a small red face with round black eyes and
a row of white teeth. The mouth stretched into a grin
and Richa broke into laughter. It was a monkey! "Go
away. What are you doing here?" she cried.
The monkey made faces, and tapped again. Scared
that it may break the glass, Richa threw a pillow at
the window. The face vanished at once. Again she
snuggled back into the quilt. It was holidays after all.
The rest of the household, however, could not afford
the luxury of a late morning.
Ahmed was already up and about. She could hear
his voice downstairs. "Time for Chhote Nawab to
47

wake up... Oh no, the bath water is not hot yet! What
to do? Is this a place for anyone to live? I cannot
imagine why Begum Sahiba sent us all the way up
here!" he grumbled to no one in particular.
"Moti, drink your milk!" Richa heard Hari Singh's
voice next. "Where is this wretched dog? Why must
I run after him to give his feed, the spoilt creature!"
'Moti is out adventuring in the woods, no doubt.
Or chasing rabbits in the meadows, surely!' thought
Richa with a smile. By the time she went downstairs,
Rustom and Dipak were already sitting down for their
breakfast. Ajay arrived much later, hair uncombed,
shirt hanging out, face wet from his bath.
"Here comes our friend. Neat and clean as ever!"
mocked Rustom.
"Sorry, I overslept," mumbled Ajay defensively
"It is all right," smiled Mrs. Pant. "Enjoy your
holidays. What do you plan to do today?"
"No plans, I just want to laze," drawled Rustom.
"There is a beautiful waterfall nearby, worth
a visit," suggested Mrs. Pant. "How about going there?"
"Sounds great!" said Richa. Her eyes fell on the
monkey that had just walked in through the open
door. The naughty creature ignored the amused stares
and calmly headed for the milk that waited for Moti
in the corner. Dipak tried to shoo him away but
Mrs. Pant held him back. "Ssh. Let him drink. Poor
fellow, must be hungry. We will get more milk for the
dog," she whispered.
The monkey picked the bowl high up in both hands.
He drank with loud slurps, smacking his lips between
each long slurp. The milk was soon gone. Setting the
bowl down with a clatter the satisfied simian leapt
48

towards the open window without even a backward

glance at the children watching with such interest.
"Hey, hey, how about thanking us, you rude chap?"
shouted Rustom. But the brown head vanished out
of sight. "I certainly would not like to have him as
my guest," laughed Rustom.
The children set off for the picnic spot soon after
breakfast. The waterfall was quite some distance
away. Richa could hear the roar of the falling water
as they turned the bend. The broad stream of water
cascaded down a twenty feet high wall of rocks and
boulders. It splashed and hissed, sending showers
flying in all directions. The fall presented a majestic
sight. The tall ferns and the dense greenery that
surrounded the falling waters lent the area an air of
mysterious grandeur. Breathless and awestruck, they
gazed in wonder at Nature's handiwork.
Surprisingly, the stream turned serene once it had
gushed down the steep height. It flowed on, with just
a few tiny ripples to break its smooth surface. The
children wandered down the bank, curious to see
where the stream went. Ajay, who had walked ahead,
soon returned. "I saw a lot of logs down there. What
does it mean?" he asked.
The others ran to see. The water was chock-full of
huge logs of different sizes and thicknesses. "The logs
are being floated downstream," explained Dipak.
"Where do they come from? Are they allowed to
cut trees in these forests?" asked Ajay.
"Oh, no! They still get felled. It is very difficult to
prevent it because this place is so cut off and remote.
It is easy to steal," explained Dipak with a shrug of
his shoulders.
49

"You mean nobody knows about it? Nor complains?"

Rustom was surprised.
"Mummy gets very agitated to see the tree stumps.
She has reported the matter several times. Well, who
cares?" Dipak shrugged again. Richa remembered the
noises she had heard at night and wondered. Was it
someone axing trees in the dead of the night?
"Who chops them off?" asked Rustom indignantly.
"No idea. The felling of trees goes off and on,
sometimes in one area, then in another, but no one is
caught. I told you, nothing happens. The villagers
keep their mouths shut. Very likely they know who
the thief is. However, they are either too scared to
tell, or are given small bribes to keep their mouths
sealed," explained Dipak.
Ajay had been examining the sandy bank. "Look,
the logs have been dragged along the sand. Let us
follow these tracks to find out where they have been
dragged down from."
There was a little clearing deep inside the forest.
Bushes and branches of the trailing ivy that covered
the ground looked crushed and trampled upon. "They
probably dumped the trees here. Maybe the chopping
of branches and leaves was carried out here. Those
twigs and branches lying here give the game away,"
Ajay played the perfect sleuth.
"Who did it? Don't they know it is wrong to cut
trees?" Richa was quite agitated.
"This is nothing. Wait till you see some other areas.
They are quite bare. It is greener here because
Mummy creates a real scene if she catches anyone
cutting trees. They are really scared of her down
here!" Dipak informed them proudly
50

"We must tell her about our discovery. She will

know what to do," decided Richa. "Let us go back."
Something else awaited the sleuths when they
reached home. Ahmed met the four at the gate.
"Chhote Nawab, I don't want to stay here. There is
something wrong with this place. It is not safe for
you. Let us return home at once," he said in a panicstricken voice.
"Why?" laughed Rustom. "What happened?"
Ahmed spat in disgust. "This home is covered with
the evil eye. A dead monkey was found in the garden.
Ask Shibu, if you do not believe me."
Shibu entered the next moment. "He is right.
I can recognize the dead monkey. I have chased it
away several times. It had got used to stealing from
the kitchen. It even came into the dining room today/'
he said.
"You mean, it is the monkey which drank Moti's
milk this morning?" asked Ajay.
"The same. And I think the milk was poisoned.
Soon after I chased it out of the house the monkey
foamed at the mouth and fell unconscious. I tried to
help, because I had grown fond of the naughty
creature. But it was no use," Shibu's voice was grim
and his eyes dark with misery.
"Good, Moti did not touch the milk," said Hari
Singh from the kitchen. "It was certainly poisoned."
Richa felt faint with shock and nausea. Had
someone tried to kill the dog? Did an enemy lurk
somewhere close? So dangerously close that he could
sneak into the house any time and do the heinous
crime so easily? It was indeed a very scary thought.
It made her shudder with fear.
51

Dipak Takes a Walk

Dipak's usually red cheeks turned ashen. Shaken,
Rustom sat down on the sofa with a thump, while
Ajay tugged frantically at his trousers in a vain
attempt to make them cover his ankles.
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Pant, who had just entered,
asked in a sharp voice.
Shibu nodded grimly "I saw it jump out of the
dining room this morning and chased it into the
garden. It collapsed soon after."
The children had to believe Shibu. It was obvious
that the poison was meant for the dog. Moti barked
his head off the moment danger neared, so the first
step was to get rid of him. And the next step? Who
would be the next victim, Richa trembled as she
wondered, would it be Dipak's mother?
As soon as a worried Mrs. Pant had left the room,
Dipak burst out, "See, what did I tell you? Someone
is out to harm us. What does he want? What will he
do next? Whatever it is, I will not let him get away!"
he shouted in a furious voice.
Rustom thumped his shoulder. "You can count on
me, Dipak."
Ajay ran and joined palms with his friend. "I agree
now. There is something strange going on here. We
promise to catch the enemy and not rest until the ends
52

of justice are met. It is total war we declare, friends.

Be prepared, one and all, for the greatest challenge
ever faced by man," he declared.
"Who is the enemy? We do not even know whom
we must fight," said Richa, puzzled.
"That is exactly what we must work out. It is now
established that Dipak's suspicions are real and not
just a figment of his imagination. Today's incident
proves it. We must help Dipak who is in deep trouble.
Do you all agree?" Ajay asked, his voice serious.
Rustom and Richa nodded gravely. Ajay continued,
"Good. Now let me recount the events that took place
before the incident. Yesterday we went to the caves.
That evening Motilal and contractor Shivnath
Chowdhari came to the house. Then Uncle Das turned
up. These are the people who could have sneaked up
to the corner where Moti's bowl was kept and..."
"Stop, stop! He is our man!" interrupted Rustom.
"Who?" asked Richa.
"Mr. Das! He was here till late evening. He is
the only one, besides the staff, who could slip
something into the bowl!" exclaimed Rustom with
a triumphant air.
"You see, didn't I tell you? I always suspected the
man, I know he is playing a dangerous game against
my mother!" cried Dipak.
"What about the other two who were here? Could
they not do it too?" questioned Richa.
"You mean Motilal and Shivnath? They were
standing outside in the verandah. I don't think they
went into the dining room," said Rustom.
"The milk was drunk only in the morning," argued
Richa, "it did not remain there the whole night."
53

"No problem. Let us ask Hari Singh/' suggested

Dipak. He went into the kitchen where Hari Singh
was arranging glasses on a tray.
The man looked guilty when questioned. "I...left
the milk there all night. Moti did not drink it at night
and I forgot to empty the bowl," he confessed.
"It was not a good thing to do. The milk was stale
and Moti is quite fussy about food," said Dipak
sternly. "Anyway it does not matter now. I am glad
Moti did not touch the milk!"
"Maybe'he smelt the poison. Clever old Moti! I am
so glad you did not touch the dangerous stuff, you
dear fellow!" Richa ran over to hug the dog, who
wagged his tail as if he understood everything.
"Hello, what is happening?" asked a voice at the
door. Four heads turned towards the man in the
verandah, none other than Mr. Das once again.
Dipak turned his face away, not bothering to hide
his feelings. Richa explained politely about the dead
monkey, all the while closely watching the man's face.
Not a twitch broke his cool. "A shame indeed. I must
talk to your mother. She must be so worried," he said
calmly. Then he walked towards the little room used
by Mrs. Pant as an office.
"Oh, no, you don't!" shouted Dipak. He jumped
up and blocked the way. "I know quite well who
played the dirty trick! You come here a little too often,
mister. What do you want?" With flashing eyes and
flushed cheeks he accused Mr. Das. "I know now. You
tampered with the jeep. You caused the landslide! You
tried to sneak into our house, and when Moti barked,
you decided to silence him, so that you could play
your dirty trick in peace!"
54

The boy was really agitated. He did not seem to

care what he said. His three friends tried to stop him
but it was impossible to halt the rush of words.
Mr. Das stared at him in surprise and wonder but
did not try to stop the flow of accusations.
Richa was the only one to speak. "No, Dipak, how
can you say such a thing? We are not sure. Sorry,
Uncle!" she apologized on Dipak's behalf.
"It is okay. One says all kinds of things in anger.
I do not mind. May I tell you something? I was not
the only person present that evening. The Lalls were
in the house too. Your mother told me. She had
another argument with them. And now, I must leave,"
said Mr. Das. He changed his mind about talking to
Mrs. Pant and hurried towards the gate.
"Wait! I want to talk to you!" shouted Dipak,
running after Mr. Das, who, walking fast, had already
disappeared beyond the trees.
Moti wanted to follow but Dipak shouted back to
the others to hold the dog. "Let him stay with
Mummy. She needs to be safely guarded. I will be
back soon, I must try to talk to him!" He rushed out
to catch Mr. Das.
Richa held the dog's leash tightly. Moti barked
angrily and pulled at the leash. He dragged Richa out
as he tried to follow Dipak. Ajay rushed to his sister's
help and managed to pull back the dog at last.
Dipak, meanwhile, was racing towards the fast
vanishing Mr. Das in the distance, who hurried across
the meadows towards his home, Ambar Bagh.
To Dipak's surprise Mr. Das suddenly changed
track a little further on. Towards the right, a few steps
away was a grove of oaks. The man was headed
55

towards it. Soon he was lost to sight. Dipak waited,

watching. Ah, there he was, behind a thick trunk. The
man's broad brown back could be glimpsed now and
then as he made his way through the grove of trees.
Intrigued, Dipak hid behind a tree and watched.
Where was he headed? Why did he not walk home?
Soon Mr. Das had left the oak trees behind. He
walked down a slope into the valley, then around
a bend. Dipak paused once again. The figure seemed
to be lost again.
The sun dipped low behind the snowy ranges.
The shrill cries of the magpie, the mountain mynah,
the thrush, the harsh caw-caw of the crows rose to
a crescendo as they hurried to their nests. The deep,
eerie silence that settled over the forest was broken
by the crick-crick of the crickets. Dipak waited behind
a tree-trunk. When would the man appear again?
Still there were no signs of Mr. Das. Instead Dipak
heard strange rustling sounds behind him. An
animal? Suddenly a hand closed around his mouth.
Two strong arms caught him in a tight grip.
"Wh...who?" spluttered the boy. He kicked at the
man's knees.
"Quiet!" hissed an unfamiliar voice in his ears.
A handkerchief was slipped quickly over his eyes.
He kicked wildly, hitting out with both hands at the
person who held him.
"Stop it, I say!" The hold on his mouth and arms
tightened.
"Just come quietly with us, you will not be harmed.
But if you try your pranks...no one can save you!"
Half pushed, half dragged, the boy was forced to
follow his kidnappers.
56

Where is Dipak?
Slowly, shadows crept up the mountains. Srivatika
was soon wrapped in a veil of darkness. Inside the
house, in the boys' bedroom, the children exchanged
worried glances. Every now and then Ajay ran his
fingers through his hair until it stood out at all angles.
Rustom lay sprawled on the bed, not the least
bothered about the wrinkles gathering on his shirt.
Two long hours had dragged by. There was still no
sign of Dipak.
"Come on, let us do something!" cried Richa for
the umpteenth time.
"What?" said Rustom desperately. "We searched all
over, shouted till we were hoarse. There was no
answer. What can we do?"
"Fortunately, Aunty Pant is ensconced in her study.
She probably concludes that Dipak is here. What
answer shall we give when she discovers his absence?"
Ajay tugged anxiously at the sleeves of his shirt.
The door suddenly opened. "Dipak! He is back!"
screamed Richa excitedly. But it was not Dipak who
stood in the doorway. It was Shibu, holding a plastic
bucket in hand. "M...i...i...lk!" he sang out gaily,
"I have brought the evening milk!"
The three children pounced on him. "Have you seen
Dipak?" they cried in unison.
57

"Isn't he here?" Shibu ran to the kitchen to put the

pail of milk safely on the table. "What happened to
him? I thought he was with you!"
Three excited voices jabbered back. Moti's barks
and the fierce rattling of his chain told another tale.
It was a while before Shibu understood what it was
all about.
"Why have you tied up Moti? He would have led
you straight to Dipak," he asked, shaking his head.
The three tried to explain, but Shibu did not wait
to hear. "Come on, off you go!" He quickly unchained
the dog, "find Dipak. Go, good boy."
The dog shot out through the door like an arrow
released from the bow.
"Stop, Moti, not so fast, boy. We are coming too!"
Shibu shouted as he followed the dog.
Led by Moti, the children scampered out through
the gate. A big round moon hung over the mountains,
spreading its radiance over the sleeping trees. It was
enough to show the way.
Moti seemed to know where he was going. Nose
low, ears cocked, he followed a trail. It led straight
through the meadows towards the low walls of
Ambar Bagh.
"He is going towards Das uncle's home. Maybe
Dipak is there safe and sound, eating a fabulous
dinner!" Richa cheered up at the thought. Her hopes
were dashed the very next moment. Moti swung right
towards a forest of spreading oak trees. The moon's
rays could not penetrate the leafy canopy, which made
the place look dark and uninviting. Nervous, Richa
hung back.
Moti ran zigzag between trees. He paused several
58

times, especially near thicker tree-trunks. At times

he circled a tree, sniffing, giving short, sharp barks,
then running ahead again.
"Does he know where he is going?" asked Rustom.
"Of course he knows," said Shibu confidently.
"He is a good tracker."
"I wonder what Dipak is up to," commented Ajay.
"It was the most extraordinary behaviour on his part.
I am shocked."
Richa was quite bewildered. Why had Dipak
wandered off into the forest?
Moti bounded around in circles. He seemed
very puzzled.
"What is it, Moti? Go on, find him. Good dog!"
urged Shibu. The animal seemed to have turned crazy.
He raced off in one direction, barking loudly, then
off he ran in another direction, only to return to the
same spot.
"Can't you pick up the scent?" Shibu patted the dog
encouragingly.
Obviously the dog could not. He circled around,
then crawled low at Shibu's feet, a picture of defeat
and dejection.
"Oh, poor doggie!" Richa ran to pat his head.
"Never mind. Good dog," Shibu caressed Moti's
back. "Strange, he has lost the trail."
"You mean, no more smells?" questioned Rustom
in a worried voice.
"Surely he could not have vanished into thin air!
There has to be an explanation," Ajay was puzzled.
"Moti has made a mistake. Dipak has gone to Das
Uncle's home," said Richa hopefully.
Shibu took off his cap. He scratched his mop of
60

curly hair, then raised both hands to his mouth.

"Dipak, where are you?" he shouted. The call echoed
against the mountains. No answer came. Shibu gave
a shrill whistle, which sharply pierced the silence.
No response. "I just don't understand..." he said
scratching his hair again.
"Let us go to Ambar Bagh," suggested Richa.
"I will bring the petromax. The clouds are about to
hide the moon," said Shibu, racing back towards the
farm. He was back before they had crossed the still
moonlit meadows. The lantern swung in his hands.
Down they walked along the narrow path they had
trod on their way up just a few days ago. The high
stonewalls of the neighbouring farm soon appeared.
They found the gates open and walked in, a little
hesitatingly. Inside, a short, narrow path bordered by
a hedge led to the verandah of a small cottage. A light
glimmered at its window.
"Someone is inside. Could it be Dipak and Uncle
Das?" Richa crossed her fingers as hope surged anew.
Her heart beat a nervous tap-tap as they climbed the
steps to the verandah. Ajay stepped forward and
pressed the doorbell. Richa could hear it ring inside
but it evoked no reaction.
"Now what?" asked Ajay
"Let us ring again!" said Rustom loudly. He pressed
the bell hard. The children waited with baited breath.
Silence greeted them once again.
"This is strange," muttered Rustom. He knocked
loudly, and followed it up by a thump and a kick,
only to be disappointed. There was still no reply.
"Is anyone home?" Rustom gave one final kick to
the door.
61

"Obviously no one is there."It" "is the end of all

hopes," muttered Ajay.
"Maybe he is sleeping. Or...or helpless," said
Richa, her voice small. "Let us find out."
"How?" asked Rustom.
"By breaking in," answered the girl firmly.
"Come on, we cannot enter someone's house. It is
not right," protested Rustom.
"Richa, do you realize you want us to actually
steal into the house? Suppose we get caught?" asked
Ajay sternly.
The girl gave her brother a push. "It is not stealing
if we go in to help. Dipak or Mr. Das maybe in trouble.
Go on." she urged.
The others had to agree. Shibu went around,
petromax in hand, trying out the doors and windows.
At last, to his excitement he found that a skylight at
the back had been left open. "Come on, help me!
I have found a way in but it is too high for me to
climb," he rushed back to tell them. Ajay followed
him to the back of the house and lent him his shoulder
to climb. Shibu managed to crawl in through the
skylight.
Richa and Rustom waited on the front verandah.
A few seconds later, the front door was cautiously
opened and Shibu struck his head out through the
gap. "The house is all empty. Want to come in?" he
whispered.
"Yes, Shibu, we must search properly," said Richa,
stepping in. The others crept in nervously. Down
the hall they tiptoed, through the dining room
and then into the kitchen. Richa even dared to step
into the bedroom where the lantern burnt at the
62

window. There was no one. Their last hope was gone.

"Now what?" whispered Rustom.
Shibu raised a finger. "Shhh. Somebody is coming,"
he warned. He was right. They could hear the crunch
of footsteps that came closer and closer.
"Run. Let us hide!" hissed Rustom, panic stricken
at the thought of being caught invading someone's house.
"Why is the door open? Who is there?" The trespassers heard Mr. Das's voice.
"Thieves, I say. The house has been burgled,"
drawled a voice the children had heard before.
"Careful, the burglars may still be there. They might
bash you up!" warned a female voice.
Torches flashed into the room picking out the
figures of the four guilty ones. Richa stood transfixed,
one hand raised to shield her face from the glare. Ajay,
who had half-turned to run into the next room, was
caught with guilt-struck eyes.
"Surprise, surprise, the thieves are children.
Shocking, eh! Is this what our good old country has
come to? Even kids commit crimes now! Shame! I am
shocked, stunned!" cried Pamela Lall, throwing her
hands up in disgust.
"I knew they were strange kids. But never would
I have guessed that they are thieves as well!" Hari
Lall twisted his lips in contempt.
Richa felt her face grow hot with shame and anger.
"You have kidnapped Dipak!" she burst out, pointing
an accusing finger at Mr. Das. "We only came to search
for him. Where is he?"
"What? Why must you look for Dipak here?"
Mr. Das sounded quite amazed.
63

Ajay spoke up at last. "Sir, I am sorry we entered

your house in your absence. Dipak left Srivatika hours
ago. He followed you when you left his house. Since
he did not return we presumed he would be here."
"Lies. Don't believe him," shouted Pamela Lall.
"It is an excuse to fob us off. You kids came to steal.
When caught you made up the silly story. Looking
for Dipak indeed! Why should he come here, at this
time, when all good children should be in bed?"
"I bet he is at home," mocked Hari Lall.
Mr. Das spoke more gently. "Well, all right, let us
say I believe you, but I am afraid he never came here.
And now, you must return. He maybe safe at home.
Go, before it starts to rain." He held the door open
for the children, who walked stiffly into the night.

64

Letters
As the little procession wound its way back through
the meadows, Richa began to hope once more. She
pictured Dipak in the drawing room at Srivatika
happily chatting with his mother.
The lights in the house were on. The front door
was open and in the verandah, Mrs. Pant paced
up and down. Hari Singh stood at the gate, lantern
in hand.
"Where were you?" Mrs. Pant shouted the moment
the bobbing petromax swung into view. "I have been
so worried... You must inform me when you leave
the house... And where is Dipak?"
"We...thought he would be here, Aunty," Richa's
voice was shaky.
"He is not. Where is he?" asked Mrs. Pant sharply.
The next few moments passed in confusion.
Questions and answers flew back and forth. Dipak's
mother quickly took charge. " H a r i Singh, go
immediately to the Police Station. Ahmed, take
someone from the Staff Quarters and search the
woods. Shibu, you may accompany the search team.
Take torches and lanterns along."
Orders given, she sank onto the sofa with a deep
sigh. "Your dinner is on the table, children," she
pointed out. Nobody was in a mood to eat.
65

"Pant Aunty, are there wild animals in the jungle?"

asked Richa.
" D i p a k knows how to protect himself from
animals. He has lived here all his life. He may not
know how to tackle other beaststhe human ones,"
answered the lady grimly.
Richa and Rustom looked blank but Ajay
understood. "Do you have anyone in mind, Aunty?"
he asked.
There was a long pause. Mrs. Pant seemed to be in
deep thought. At last she spoke in a grave voice, "No.
I think it is time I told you...I have been receiving
threatening messages...letters...for a long time. I kept
it a secret from Dipak because I did not want him to
worry. Just a moment!" She disappeared into her
study and returned with a black wooden box in her
hand. Opening the tiny lock with a key hung around
her neck, she took out a bundle of papers. "I kept
these hidden from Dipak. This is the first one.
I received it about a year ago."
Ajay took the sheet and unfolded it. 'This is no place
for a lone woman. Go back home,' he read the words
out. They were scrawled across the page in large
letters in Hindi.
"I took it as a prank. Besides, this was my only
home. I had left my parents' house long ago, and
considered my husband's home as my own. Why
must I leave, I thought. So I just ignored it," Mrs. Pant
went on.
"Then?" asked Richa breathlessly.
"Another letter arrived a few months later," said
Dipak's mother showing them a postcard. "It had
neither date nor address. The writing was the same
66

s in the previous message. 'Life can be dangerous.

Leave, before it is too late/ it said."
"You stayed on. How very brave of you!" Richa's
eyes shone with admiration.
"I refused to take anonymous letters seriously,"
explained Mrs. Pant. "There were five more letters
with similar warnings. Besides, strange accidents took
place. All minor, of course, but enough to worry me.
For a while, I was undecided. Then I made up my
mind. I would not give in to vile threats. Trusting God
to help me, I decided to carry on, face challenges when
they came. Fortunately, I have honest and loyal staff
who can be trusted," Mrs. Pant ended her story.
"No wonder Dipak was so afraid," said Rustom,
"he must have sensed the danger."
"Though I kept reassuring him, he probably
guessed that there was something very wrong. Poor
boy. It must have caused him such great agony,"
admitted Dipak's mother.
"He was indeed very troubled. We felt sympathy
towards him, but did not know how to help. Can we
assist in any manner, Aunty?" asked Ajay.
"I don't know. Let us wait for the search party,"
said Mrs. Pant with a sigh.
The party soon returned, without any news to cheer
them. The men had searched everywhere, but had not
found a sign of the missing boy. Shibu had taken the
dog with him and roamed the favourite haunts of
Dipak, all to no avail. Tired and in despair, Mrs. Pant
was persuaded to retire to her room.
The children were too restless to sleep. They
gathered upstairs in Richa's room so that Mrs. Pant
would not be disturbed.
a

67

"Someone is trying to force her out of her home,"

sighed Ajay.
"Who? Why?" wondered Rustom.
"We must work it out. It calls for a lot of brainwork.
Let us all put our heads together and discuss it. The
adults call it a brainstorming session," said Ajay.
"First we must find Dipak," insisted Rustom.
"Of course, that remains the foremost task. Well,
other questions must also be tackled. For example,
who sent the letters? What is the motive? Is it because
the person wants her to vacate the premises? If so,
why? Finally, we must get the culprit(s) caught," Ajay
decided.
"Easier said than done. I can guess who sends the
letters," said Rustom.
"Go on. Let us have your theory first."
"Das Uncle. He lives close by in a small cottage.
Now he wants the bigger, better farm for himself. He
is close enough to carry out his dirty plans. It was
him whom Dipak followed. And now he pretends
ignorance. I bet you a hundred rupees he is behind it
all," Rustom made his guess.
"Hmm. Dipak's suspicions have rubbed off on you.
My theory is completely different. I suspect the Lalls.
They came here about a year ago. They covet the place
and want to acquire wealth by developing it into
a modern tourist spot. Aunty refuses to oblige.
Kidnapping Dipak is part of their pressure tactics,"
Ajay voiced his opinion.
"Pressure? What do you mean to say, Ajay? Speak
clearly," protested Rustom, irritated by Ajay's air of
superiority.
"I mean, by kidnapping Dipak, they wish to prove
68

that it is not safe to stay here. They want to force Aunty

to leave. Richa, what do you think?" asked Ajay.
"Umm, I am not sure. Another person who wants
land is that builderwhat is his nameShivnath.
Remember?" asked Richa with a thoughtful air.
"Oh, but he is not around that often. What can he
do?" laughed Rustom.
Richa had no reply. She felt sure it was not that
simple. There had to be some reason more important
than just greed for the land and for Srivatika.

69

Richa on the Trail

Richa awoke even before she had really gone to
sleep. It had been a troubled night for her. Thoughts
filled her mind. Faces appeared, and then vanished.
Only Dipak's disturbed features refused to go away.
Soon Richa had made up her mind. It was no use
lying there and worrying. She must act. She jumped
out of bed and tiptoed downstairs. Opening the front
door, she peeped out. Dawn had broken. She put on
her jacket and slipped out quietly. Someone brushed
past as she stepped onto the verandah. "Moti? Quiet!
Let us not wake everyone up," she warned.
Outside it was cold though the air was fresh and
invigorating. The trees sparkled clean after a rainy
night. Someone caught the girl's arm. It was Shibu.
"Oh! You are awake too?" asked Richa, happily.
"Has Dipak come?" asked the boy eagerly.
"No. Listen, let us go to the oak forest. It was dark
last night. Still we may discover some clues in the
daylight," suggested the girl.
The sun peeped through a gap in the mountains.
It made the drops of water on the broad oak leaves
glisten and shine. As they walked under the trees,
the breeze shook down showers of raindrops on
their heads.
Moti sniffed the ground as he followed the other
70

two. The familiar smell of his beloved master Dipak

was still there, though much fainter now. Nose to
ground, he ran ahead, sniffing, until he reached the
spot which had puzzled him last night. He went wild
again. Richa examined the area while Shibu prodded
and probed among the fallen leaves.
"Horse dung, quite fresh. Fallen last night. Who
rode the horse?" He ran a little further and bent down
again. "I was right. Look, hoof marks!" muttered
Shibu, as he examined the ground.
It made Richa wonder. "Did Dipak ride off on
a horse? No wonder, Moti could not pick up his scent!"
"You never know, it could be another horseman,"
commented Shibu.
Riding was the mode of travel in the hills, Richa
knew. She had seen mules carrying loads and people
on horseback quite often. "Look, a parallel set of hoof
marks. Two horses have passed this way," she noted.
Two rows of hoof marks, two of dung side by side
meant there were perhaps two horses," decided Richa.
"Let us follow them anyway. It is the only clue we
have," she mumbled.
The marks were clear and deep at times. Sometimes they were not visible at all. Doggedly the two
continued the search. The two horses had soon left
the oak forest and taken the beaten track towards the
valley. Suddenly, Shibu bent over something that
shone golden through the leaves.
"Isn't this Dipak's?" He picked up a pen that Richa
immediately recognized.
"Yes, it is! This is an important clue. It shows he
came here. We must be sure of the timing. Did he
drop it last night, or did it fall when we passed this
71

way on our way to the cave?" wondered Richa.

"I saw the pen in his hand last evening. He wrote
a letter for me." Shibu told her excitedly.
"Good. We can depend on this clue then!" Richa
was pleased. They were on the right track, after all.
Encouraged, they continued to follow the hoof marks.
Down into the valley, along the dried up stream, they
had come down from Srivatika taking the steep short
cut. The horses had taken the longer route along the
beaten track. Both led to the same valley, where
Shibu's cave was.
The trail passed the cave. There was a jumble of
marks on the wet ground next to the boulder. Not
just horses, human feet had trod there. Moti went into
a frenzy of joy and excitement that said it all. No more
proof was needed. Dipak had surely come here on
a horse, then jumped down here. The dog scraped
and scratched excitedly at the boulder.
"Dipak is in here. Why, I don't know. But I am quite
sure," Shibu sounded as ecstatic as the barking dog.
"Let us push it away then. Quick!" cried Richa.
The two struggled to remove the heavy boulder
while Moti jumped all over. They did not notice the
presence of strangers who appeared on the scene.
"Catch the dog first," suddenly someone shouted
just behind Richa. She swung around to see, but her
arms were caught in a tight grip. A hand clamped
around her mouth. Shibu sprang forward to help but
a second pair of arms closed around him.
Richa screamed. Her voice came out as a low,
muffled cry, which was ignored by her captors. The
two children were well and truly caught, with none
around to offer help.
72

The Warning
Back at home, Ahmed knocked loudly at the
door, waking Rustom up. "Chhote Nawab, let us
leave this wild jungle. It is not safe...!" he cried in an
agitated voice.
"What? Has Dipak come back?" Rustom shot up
in bed.
Ajay poked a tousled head out of his quilt. "What
is going on? Can't you let a fellow sleep in peace...?
Oh, where is Dipak?"
"Allah only knows!" Ahmed raised both hands,
palm upwards. "We searched, the whole night
through. Not a sign of the boy. That is why I say..."
"No need to say anything. We are already worried
and upset, Ahmed, don't add your voice to it. It will
only make everything sound worse!" Rustom scolded
the man.
At last the two boys were dressed and ready. They
went out to find Mrs. Pant pacing restlessly up and
down in the verandah. "Look at this," she held out
a piece of paper. "It was stuck on the gate post. Hari
Singh found it this morning."
Ajay read out the letter. "Now do you understand
the danger? Prepare to leave, if you want your son
back. If you do not leave by tomorrowBEWARE."
The note was in Hindi.
73

Furious, the boy rolled up the letter into a ball and

threw it away in a gesture of disgust. "The filthy
villains. What have they done to Dipak? What a vile,
mean, wicked, foul act. And how dare they issue such
a threat?" he muttered angrily.
Rustom picked up the ball again. He straightened
it out and examined the writing closely. "Do you
recognize the writing?" he asked Mrs. Pant.
Mrs. Pant shook her head. She folded the paper
properly and went to put it safely in her black box.
"Where is lazybones, my sister? Is she still asleep?
I must wake her up," said Ajay, still angry.
Rustom stopped him. "Let her laze. She will wake
up when she wants to."
The police turned up shortly after. The inspector
sat importantly on the drawing room sofa, a notebook
in hand. He questioned all those who were present.
"Hari Singh, call Shibu. He may have something
to say," said Mrs. Pant.
Hari Singh returned a little after fifteen minutes,
a perplexed expression on his face. "I can't find him.
He woke up early, said he could not sleep. Now he is
not to be seen anywhere. I looked all over, but could
not find Shibu."
At last it occurred to Ajay. Was Richa really asleep?
Rushing upstairs he kicked the door open. The room
was empty. At last they realized itnot only Richa
and Shibu, the dog too was missing.
The inspector gave a disgusted snort. "What kind
of a set-up is this, Madam? Your message said one
boy was missing. I trudge all the way up the hill,
leaving aside important tasks, only to learn that
a whole brood of kids is missing. Is this a police case?
74

Or a prank played by irresponsible children? Give

them a good spanking on my behalf. And now, allow
me to leave. What a waste of precious time!"
He walked off in a huff, refusing the tea offered by
Hari Singh.
Mrs. Pant, Ajay and Rustom were left staring at the
policeman's receding back. Instead of helping them
to find the missing children he had lost his temper
and walked off. How unfair! Now they were on their
own. What were they to do?
Before they could decide the next step, however, more visitors appeared. First came Mr. Das,
followed by the Lalls. "Hope your boy is safe and
sound at home. The children came searching for
him to my house. Ha, ha! What strange ideas kids
come up with!" laughed Mr. Das, as if everything was
a big joke.
Mrs. Pant did not reply. She turned towards Pamela
Lall, the lady with the red hair. "Where is my son?"
she demanded angrily.
"Why ask me? Am I supposed to keep track of all
errant kids?" asked Pamela tartly.
"You mean... Are you accusing us of hiding your
son?" Hari Lall was indignant.
"Indeed I am," Mrs. Pant's voice was cold.
"Control yourself, Madam," protested Mr. Das, "we
understand your pain, if the boy is really missing.
Why must you accuse them?"
Dipak's mother stalked off and returned with the
letter in her hand. "Because of this. Read and tell me,
who sent it?" She handed the paper to Hari Lall.
"It is in Hindi. I can't read it," said Hari Lall passing
it on to his wife.
75

"Neither can I , " Pamela handed the letter to

Mr. Das, who scrutinized it for a while before reading
the letter."
"Very threatening, indeed," he said, handing the
paper back to Mrs. Pant. "This does not prove that
the Lalls are the kidnappers. What makes you think
they are?"
Pamela stamped her high heels on the floor and
shook a finger at Dipak's mother. "How dare you?
H...how dare you accuse us?" she spluttered with
rage. "We will sue you for this."
"You noticed neither of us could read Hindi? What
makes you think it was our handiwork?" Hari Lall
attempted to be more polite.
"I don't care if you know the language or not. But
surely, you want my house and land. Since I refuse,
you choose to threaten me," Mrs. Pant shot back.
Hari Lall lost his temper once again. "Of all the
preposterous statements, this takes the cake. What
does she think I am? A petty criminal? Come, Pamela
darling, not a minute-more can we stay here!"
The two strode out angrily. Mr. Das lingered for
a while, then took his leave. Mrs. Pant collapsed on
the sofa. "Good riddance," she muttered.
"They had a point, Aunty," said Rustom. "If they
cannot read Hindi, how can they write those letters?"
"Don't believe Hari Lall. He is one of those who
pretend they don't know their own language. He
belongs to this village. Went off to America only after
he had left college. Of course, he knows Hindi and
very well too," she explained.
"We had better begin another search," Ajay
reminded everybody.
76

"Let us hurry! It is very scary. Where could they

be?" said Rustom.
"First Dipak, and now Shibu and Richa. Not to
forget Moti. Things are getting murkier and murkier.
Come on, let us go," Ajay caught Rustom's hand and
pulled him towards the gate. As he closed the gate
after them they heard Ahmed shout, "Don't you step
out, Chhote Nawab, three have already vanished, you
too will disappear. What will I tell Begum Sahiba?"
He rushed close and gripped Rustom's arm.
"You come along too. You too can help us search.
Please, Ahmed, we really need you," Rustom very
cleverly cajoled.
Ahmed melted. "All right, master. Let me bring my
bag." He was soon back, his bag clutched tightly in
hand. "I am ready. Let us go," he said, carefully
adjusting his turban at just the right angle.

77

The Two Horsemen

Every moment Ajay expected his sister to spring
out from somewhere. The hope remained a dream.
He kept his ears cocked for Moti's barks, Shibu's
shouts and whistles, but except for the rustling of the
wind and the chattering of birds he heard nothing.
"Its no use. The jungle has swallowed them up.
Chhote Nawab, this is no place for you," Ahmed's
grumbles and warnings irritated Ajay, but he
remained patient.
"Let us follow this track," suggested Rustom, "it
will be easier to walk." They took the path that led
them through the oak forest. It went around the
mountains and then gently sloped down into a valley.
A dried up stream ran through the middle of the
narrow valley.
"We are on familiar territory. Is this not the way to
Shibu's cave?" asked Ajay.
"It is, Shibu had brought us down a short cut
straight from Srivatika. This is the longer way,'but
certainly much more easy to walk down," laughed
Rustom. They passed the mouth of the cave. The
boulder was in place, they noticed. As they wandered
on they heard the trot of horses.
The next moment a big brown horse trotted up
towards the two boys. Behind it walked a smaller
78

horse. The boys stepped hastily aside to let the

animals pass. Ajay recognized both the riders. The
shorter man was Gopi, the gardener at Srivatika.
The tall rider was Shivnath, whom they had met
before. It had not been a pleasant experience, for the
man had been unnecessarily rude. Ajay looked the
other way, pretending not to notice him. But the man
was in a friendly mood.
"Are you not the children visiting Srivatika?" the
contractor Shivnath pulled back the horse's reins and
looked down at the boys.
Ajay nodded, lips set in a firm line, one hand
pulling at the trouser leg.
"I heard a boy is lost," probed the man.
"Dipak! Did you see him?" asked Rustom eagerly.
"No, no. Not at all. His mother must be in a state
of great shock. Poor lady," said Shivnath.
"She is. Now Shibu and Richa are missing too."
Rustom had no problem being friendly with the man.
"Tcha, tcha! No place for a lonely woman. She must
go and live in the city. Why does she stick on here?"
asked the man.
"What is it to you?" retorted Rustom, kicking
a stone that lay on the path.
"Nothing. Must go now," Shivnath slapped his
horse and then set off at a fast pace.
"Did you hear? Why did he say that?" asked Ajay
the moment they were alone.
"What?" Rustom was puzzled at Ajay's excitement.
"'It is no place for a woman'. The words are
familiar. The anonymous letters harp on the same
point," said Ajay animatedly.
"I don't suppose it means any thing... she does live
79

all alone.. .and her son is lost.. .so come on, let us find
the lost son!" Rustom laughed away Ajay's suspicions.
Ahmed was gazing at the receding backs of the two
horsemen.
"Chhote Nawab, where had Gopi gone? Did you
see the big axe he carried? Strange lad...vanishes at
night, lazes all day. I caught him napping in the
garden, when he should have been digging. You must
tell Madam. This gardener is no good. She must get
rid of him," complained Ahmed.
"Ahmed, stop spying on Aunty Pant's staff. It is
not a nice thing to do," Rustom scolded him.
"No, sir, I don't want to carry tales. Everyone talks
about Gopi and his strange doings," said Ahmed, but
his complaints were ignored by the boys.
The party of rescuers stopped every now and then
to call out for the missing children. Only echoes
answered their calls. They walked on. The path ran
parallel to the empty stream, then turned left and
climbed up a hill. It was a steep climb this time, and
as they went higher and higher Rustom began to feel
dizzy. He sat down to rest.
"Don't look down, Rustom. Remember what Dipak
advised?" Ajay told his friend.
"Let us return now. We have come too far from the
house. We will get lost," complained Rustom.
"Come on, do get up. How can we give up our
search? And there is no question of getting lost. All
we need to do is to follow the path and go back the
way we came. Seems to me people come here quite
often. The path is well-trodden," said Ajay.
"You are tiring him out, sir. Look at his face,
look at his clothes." Ahmed ran to the boy and
80

fanned his flushed face with the end of his turban.

It was enough to make Rustom jump up. "I am all
right. Don't fuss, Ahmed. Let us go."
Fortunately for the two boys, the path now led
downhill. They were astonished to find themselves
looking down into another, wider valley. The roar of
water falling and striking rocks came as a pleasant
surprise. "The waterfall!" they cried excitedly.
Down raced Ajay and Rustom. There was the
splendid sight again. The twenty feet tall sheets of
water rushed down the precipice, striking the wet
rocks, hissing and splattering, spraying drops into the
air. The vegetation around was a jumble of shining
green of all shades and hues.
"Time out!" cried Rustom. He threw himself on
a large flat rock. The two boys stretched out side by
side, and closed their eyes. The long walk up the hill
had left them exhausted.
"What have you got in your bag?" Rustom asked,
feeling hungry. The apples and the biscuits brought
back their energy.
"Come on, how can we rest when Dipak and Richa
are lost? Let us start again," said Ajay, jumping up.
They were off again. They raced along the banks of
the stream until they reached the spot they had seen
earlier with Dipak. A few logs still floated in the
waters of the stream. The sand around was disturbed,
with fresh twigs and leaves scattered where logs had
been dragged to the stream.
"Look, someone is still doing it. I mean, chopping
up trees and sending them floating down the stream.
Why doesn't anyone stop it?" asked Ajay.
"We should have told Aunty Pant last time. Maybe
81

she could have done something. Let us see what is

happening there!" Rustom ran towards the clearing
that they had visited last time with Dipak. There were
more logs here, some in a neat pile, others lying
around in a haphazard way.
"This is rather unfortunate..." began Ajay.
Rustom was not listening. One hand raised, he tried
to silence Ajay, "Shhh... Listen. Barks. Can you also
hear, Ajay?"
Ajay nodded, eyes lighting up.
"Could it be...Moti?"
"It is possible!" Ajay had perked up. The two were
off in a flash, trying to locate the barks. The sounds
were sometimes near, sometimes far. The barks ended
in a peculiar growl that made Rustom smile. "Yes!"
"But where?"
They cocked their ears and listened carefully. "Near
that fir tree. Over there. Behind that bush with the
blue flowers," Ajay pointed out.
The two boys raced to the spot, which was on
a slope facing the clearing. "The barks are coming
from behind the bush. Why can't we see him?" asked
a puzzled Rustom.
They soon knew the reason. Rustom pushed aside
the thick branches of the flowering hydrangea and
stared in amazement. Before them was a door. Rough,
made of thick wooden planks, it was set in the rocky
mountain wall. It had a big lock hanging in the centre.
The barking was very loud, and no wonder, because
the dog was right before them. Only he was on the
other side of the door.
"Moti!" the two boys yelled together.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" came the answer.
82

Captive
Meanwhile, inside the cave where Richa had been
dumped by her captors, it was dark. The girl sighed
and changed position. Her hands were tied behind
her back. The legs were bound too. Next to her Shibu
twisted and kicked, refusing to lie quietly. He thought
he could free himself. She knew it was impossible,
but she could not tell him so. For their mouths had
been tied up too.
Moti barked his head off! His chain rattled loudly
as he ran to and fro angrily, trying to escape.
All the three prisoners were nicely trussed up
and bound.
How did it happen?
Scenes flashed past in Richa's mindtwo masked
men gripping her arms, the struggle, Moti's snarls
and growls, Shibu's beautiful cave where she found
Dipak lying bound and helpless, the long walk
through dark tunnels, and finally the entry into the
cave where they now lay. She had just had a glimpse
of Dipak, as the men dragged her through the outer
cave. The men had taken her and Shibu there first.
She had been relieved to see Dipak. Then they brought
the threeMoti, Shibu and Richaall the way
through dark passagesdeep in the heart of the
mountain, to this place. Why, she did not know.
84

Poor Dipak. He was alone. At least Moti and Shibu

were with her, even if they could not talk.
Richa sighed and changed position again. As her
eyes got accustomed to darkness, she started looking
around. The walls here were ordinary, dull brown
in colour.
The furniture was lined up against the opposite
wall. A table, three stools, an earthern pot for water,
glasses and platesthe place looked used. Files and
registers were there on the table. Was it an office? An
office in a cavethe idea amused the girl. What was
that? She screwed her eyes, trying to pierce the
darkness. Wood. A pile of slim logs stacked neatly
along the wall. Was the cave a storing place for the
wood?
It probably was. Richa noticed the rough wooden
door set in the wall. The masked men used the cave
as an office-cum store, she guessed.
Who were the men? She had not recognized them
as their faces were covered. They had gone about
their job quietly, hardly speaking, mouths covered,
so she had not recognized them. Still they seemed
vaguely familiar. The tall man had a known smell
around him, and the shorter one? She closed her
eyes, trying to jostle her memory A moonlit night,
a shape that dashed across the lawn. Before that,
a figure that had limped around in the tomato beds.
The two were the same. So was the person who had
gripped her arm just outside Shibu's cave and
dragged her all the way to this cave. Who was it? She
shook her head, she just could not place the person,
nor give him a name.
Restless, Shibu would not stay still. He continued
85

to kick and twist, as if that could help. And then

Richa's eyes widened. She bent forward to see. Yes,
she was right. She could see that the rope around his
ankles had come loose. She watched, fascinated.
Would he be able to free his legs?
Shibu twisted both legs and pulled at the rope. The
next moment he leapt jubilantly to his feet. He had
made it! He had been able to free himself at last! With
a wild jump of joy he ran to the corner and kicked
something out to the center of the cave. Richa's eyes
widened with delight when she saw what it was. Trust
Shibu to search it. He must have done so while he lay
there kicking and squirming. "Ggh, guggle-guggle!"
He tried to tell her something. He kicked the object
closer to her.
Now Richa could see what it was. The object Shibu
had pushed towards her was a small hatchet, used
perhaps to hack the wood into smaller pieces. It was
careless of the two villains to have left it there and
certainly very clever of Shibu to find it. Richa plonked
down to the ground, back towards Shibu. While he
held the hatchet firmly between his feet, she rubbed
the string tying her wrists together against its blade.
The trick worked! The strings gave way and her
hands were free! Her first act was to pull down the
scarves that tied their mouths. Then she cut the knot
on the boy's wrists. With loud whoops of joy he
danced around the cave. Richa cut the string that
bound her legs. Now she too could whirl and dance
with Shibu.
"Woof! Woof!" Moti's barks were excited. She ran
to hug him. "Go on, continue to bark. Someone may
hear you," she told him. She did not know that the
86

barks had already been heard. Outside the cave, Ajay

and Rustom had their ears glued to the sounds.
"Woof! Woof!" barked the dog. Inside the cave,
Richa and Shibu were startled when they heard the
shout that came in reply to the dog's barks.
"Moti!" It sounded like Ajay's voice. Richa and
Shibu could not believe they had heard it right. They
jumped in joy.
"Did you hear?" shrieked Richa. "The boys! Ajay
and Rustom!"
"Yes! Are you there?" The two wild, incredulous
screams from the other side of the door answered
Richa's shouts.
"Yes. It is us! Richa! Shibu!" cried the two prisoners
at the top of their voices. Shouts and barks filled
the cave.
"Open the door! Quick!" Richa was impatient now.
"We can't. There is a big lock on the door!"
answered Ajay from the other side.
"Well, break it then!" shouted the girl.
Thumps, cracks, slam! Richa heard the boys bang
away at the door. However, the stout lock resisted
all attempts to break it open. Meanwhile, the thought
struck her. They had forgotten about Dipak! He
needed to be rescued too. "How far are you from
Shibu's cave?" she shouted through the door.
"Far!" shouted Rustom from the other side.
"Listen, Dipak is prisoner there. Rescue him first!"
Richa shouted.
"But what about you two?" asked Ajay, his voice
sounding worried.
"Go on, Shibu and I will manage. We have Moti
with us. Hurry. He has been there the whole night,"
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Richa ordered. There was silence for sometime as

the boys on the other side debated what they should
do. To her relief, Richa soon heard the footsteps
race away.
"What about us?" asked Shibu. "We must try to
escape too!"
"Of course! We will go back the way we came,
through the tunnels. Now that we have broken
free, there is nothing to stop us!" Richa remained
confident.
Shibu's eyes widened in fear. "Back into the
tunnels? It was too dark. We may get lost. There were
too many twists and turns."
"Moti will guide us. Can't you? Good dog, take us
to Dipak!"
"There are no Dipak smells to be picked up,"
protested Shibu, but Richa assured him it could be
done. "Back! Back, the way we came," she told the
dog who wagged his tail. He seemed to understand.
"Back, home, Moti, home!" Richa added.
Without any hesitation Moti shot off into the
darkness. Shibu ran to catch the leash. He managed
to do it before the dog disappeared into the tunnel.
As they entered the black corridor, the darkness
closed around her. Richa gasped in shock. As they
went in further, she began to feel suffocated. Her heart
beat a loud tattoo inside her chest.
Soon, however, the tunnel became wider and
a dim light shone down on them from some hole
overhead.
The tunnel took a twist and slipped into darkness
again. Nervous, not a bit scared, Richa clung to Shibu's
arm. More twists, some leading to dimly-lit caves,
88

others into pitch darkness, more long passages, until

at last they noticed some light ahead.
The tunnel had broadened again. A little later they
stepped into a more lighted areaShibu's cave!
It was the place where Dipak was held prisoner!
It was almost daylight in the cave. Richa and Shibu
were greeted with shouts of delight. Richa rubbed her
eyes in the glare of the brighter lights in the cave and
saw her brother standing and grinning at her. Ajay
had already reached the cave!
"Hey, you arrived before us!" shouted Richa.
Behind her brother was Rustom. The two had raced,
at double speed, all the way up the hill, along the
stream and its bank, and back towards the wondrous
cave. Ahmed, panting and gasping, had trailed the
two boys. With Ahmed's help they had succeeded in
pushing the boulder aside. In fact, the three had just
entered the cave.
"Where is Dipak?" Richa turned to the boy who
still lay on the floor. Relieved to see him there
she rushed excitedly towards her brother. "I told
Shibu we would be able to make our way through
the tunnel route! It was so dark and frightening. But
Moti led us through the maze of tunnels. We came
that way and you arrived from outside. What fun!
We both reached at the same time!" She flung her arms
around her brother and hugged him, much to Ajay's
embarrassment.

89

Fire!
In the midst of the noise and the happy talk Dipak
remained silent. He could not help it for his mouth
was gagged, his feet and hands tied up with scarves.
"Poor Dipak! He was caught and thrown inside the
cave," said Richa.
"No wonder we could not find him!"
"Who did it? Was it Mr. Das?" asked Rustom.
"The same man who caught us, I am sure..." began
Richa when Dipak made a muffled sound to attract
attention. Everyone rushed to his side.
"Hey, let us get him out of this first. Come on,
Ahmed, do something," said Rustom.
Ajay bent to remove the gagging from Dipak's
mouth. He untied the scarf that covered his lips.
"Hurry!" cried Dipak the moment he could speak.
"There may not be much time!" He tugged frantically
at the string around his feet while the others fumbled
with the knots.
"Here is some milk," offered Ahmed.
"Water. I feel thirsty." Dipak grabbed the glass and
emptied it in one second.
"Have the peanuts," Ahmed held out a packet.
Dipak ignored the eats. Instead he staggered
towards the opening. "Not a moment to lose. Hurry,
before it is too late."
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"No doubt Aunty Pant is waiting most anxiously,"

said Ajay.
"What is the hurry?" asked Rustom. "Why are you
so impatient?"
"They plan to set our house on fire! Yes, they are
desperate! I heard them talk about it. He gave them
instructions to burn our house," Dipak interrupted,
shrieking in desperation.
"What? Set the house on fire?" shouted Richa.
"Let us hasten then! What are we standing around
for?" Ajay raced to the mouth of the cave.
"Hurry, let us rush immediately!" shouted Rustom
pushing everyone out of the cave.
Led by Moti and Shibu they bounded up the slope
that was a short cut to their house on the hill. Though
it was not too far, the climb was steep making the
city children, not used to walking uphill, pant and
stop every now and then to catch their breath. It was
a full twenty minutes before they reached close to
Dipak's house. Richa saw the spiral of grey smoke
even before she reached the crest of the hill. The
smoke curled up towards the grey clouds that were
gathering in the sky.
"Too late! Oh no, it is all over! All over! Where is
Mummy?" moaned Dipak.
Richa gasped at the sight of the house on fire.
Somehow she had not really believed that it could
happen. Such things could only be seen in movies and
now it was actually unfolding before her shocked
eyes. But she had to comfort Dipak for whom the loss
would be indeed great. "Everything will be all right,
Dipak. I am sure your mother is okay. Do not worry,"
she tried to reassure him though her heart was
91

beating in panic. Somehow she scrambled up the rest

of the slope. Now she could see the house. Orange
flames were licking at the white-washed walls. Shiny
little sparks crackled and flew upwards to mingle
with the grey smoke.
Dipak had already reached the house while the
others still struggled to climb. At last Richa topped
the crest and raced towards the house. She found
that there were no firemen to douse the fire. Instead,
figures rushed around carrying buckets of water.
Someone had connected the garden hose to the pipe
from the overhead tank. A jet of water gushed out of
the hosepipe to hit the flames on the walls. It looked
too weak to quench the raging flames, thought the
girl. She closed her eyes expecting the fire to bring
down the house any moment. Only God and luck
could save it, she knew, and folded her hands
in prayer.
A drop of water fell on her hands. Richa looked up
in surprise. The clouds that had been gathering in the
sky since morning were opening up. Rain pattered
down in fat drops. A few moments later, the shower
turned into thick sheets of water. The fiery flames
were subdued, the thick smoke washed down by
Nature's mercy.
Richa opened her eyes to find that the flames no
longer leapt against the house. Instead she saw the
black marks on walls, the burnt wooden frames of
windows and the blackened beams. Though damaged
badly, the house still stood proud against the dark
sky. She felt relieved. "Did I not tell you, Dipak, that
everything would be okay?" Getting no reply, she
looked around. Where was he?
92

The boy had rushed into the house. "Mummy,

where are you? Are you all right?"
Mrs. Pant could not be found. Dipak ran headlong
into the house, shouting frantically for his mother.
Ajay and the others were still out in the garden,
running around with buckets in their hands. Moti
barked furiously, at anyone and everyone and kept
getting into people's way. Richa rushed to place
a comforting hand on his neck. "Hush, Moti, stay still.
Everything will be okay soon. Don't get so excited.
It is all right," she said soothingly. The dog quietened
under her gentle hand though she could feel him
tremble. Poor Moti!
Richa looked at the walls, still smouldering and hot,
though the flames had died out. She walked slowly
towards the verandah, wondering whether it was safe
to climb up. She had to find out. Was Dipak's mother
inside when the house was set aflame? If so, had she
been able to escape? "Where is Aunty Pant? Dipak,
did you find your mother?" she shouted and hurried
up the steps.
"Madam Pant is fine. She is safe and well!" said
a voice. Mr. Das stepped out from a room into the
verandah. His hair was a real mess, his shirt dusty
and blackened and his face streaked and dirty.
He straightened his spectacles and set them firmly
on his nose. Everyone stared at him in surprise
wondering what he had been up to. With a tired sigh
Mr. Das sank down on the cane chair in the verandah.
"She was inside, trying to collect old letters and
photos. I pulled out both mother and son, lest the
wooden beams fell on them," he explained to
everyone's surprise.
93

Dipak came out just then. He clutched a big

photograph of his father in Army uniform. Behind
him was Mrs. Pant. Her clothes were scorched and
burnt and there were black marks on her face and
cheeks. Her hair, coiled usually into a neat bun, was
dishevelled. She had a cheerful smile on her lips.
"Thanks for rescuing us, Mr. Das! You can all join us,
children. I am glad everything is all right. There is no
danger now."
Richa, Rustom and Ajay rushed to join the others.
They gathered under an apple tree not far from the
house. Ahmed ran in and carried out a few chairs
from the verandah. It was still raining, but the thick
foliage kept them sheltered. Mrs. Pant gestured to all
to sit down. She put a weary hand to her forehead.
Mr. Das handed her a glass of water. "Sit down
Madam. Yes, everything is fine now, at least as good
as it can be, under the circumstances. The threat held
out in the letter was actually carried out, however,
luck favoured us and all is well. You are safe, and the
house still stands," he said with a smile.
"Thank you. I am glad you chanced to be around.
It was a good idea to turn the pipe on as you did,"
said Mrs. Pant.
"It was not chance. I was very worried about you,
especially after I read the letter that you showed me
that day. Also, as your son was missing, I came over
to see if I could help. Imagine my horror when I found
that the house was on fire," explained Mr. Das.
"You are so kind. As usual. You are always such
a great help to us, Mr. Das! I shudder to think, if
you had not been around..." murmured Mrs. Pant
shaking her head with a look of helplessness.
94

Dipak gave an apologetic smile. "I am sorry I was

so rude to you, Uncle! I did not know you came to
help. I thought..." he stopped, confused, but the
others knew what he meant. Obviously his suspicions
were unfounded.
"I know quite well who the villain is. I recognize
him..." continued Dipak when Ajay interrupted
excitedly, "\ know who it is!"
"So do I!" cried Richa and Rustom together.
"You all seem to know, though it is still a mystery
to me. But wait, don't tell me. Let me guess," smiled
Mrs. Pant, "it is Hari and Pamela Lall, isn't it? They
tried to burn down the house to force me to leave,
because..."
The children burst into laughter. "You don't know
a thing, Mummy," laughed Dipak hugging his
mother. "Let me tell you who threw me into Shibu's
cave." His voice turned grave as he told his story.
He had been hiding behind a tree, waiting to follow
Mr. Das, when somebody had pounced on him from
behind. He was gagged, his hands were tied, and he
was carried to the cave on horseback.
The two men had discussed their plans on the way.
He knew both quite well. One was Shivnath, and the
other, to his surprise, was Gopi, the gardener who
worked at Srivatika.
"And what could be their motive? To grab Srivatika?"
asked Ajay.
"Certainly not. My guess is that they want those
beautiful rocks that Shibu discovered in the caves,"
said Dipak.
"Rocks?" asked Mrs. Pant, puzzled.
"You don't know, Mummy, Shibu discovered a cave
96

with the loveliest coloured rocks ever seen! With

his permission I will take you there some day. It is
a secret cave and only he knew about it," Dipak
explained. "Till it was found by those villains."
"It has an unusual rock which should be examined
by geologists," Ajay added. "Shivnath must have seen
it and understood its value. He wanted to sell the
stone as building material, I guess. It is more beautiful
than marble, granite or any other decorative stone."
"Oh no! That means blasting the mountains.
It should never be allowed! Never!" Mrs. Pant stood
up, alarmed at the very thought of anyone destroying
her beloved mountains just to reach some rocks,
however pretty or valuable they may be.
"You need not allow it. It is up to you, for the cave
is a part of your land," informed Rustom.
"Then let it remain a secret forever, as Shibu
wanted," said Mrs. Pant firmly
"And you know who was his accomplice? Gopi! He
worked here, so it was easy for him to carry out the
mischievous plans. He was the one who stuck the
letters to the gatepost from time to time! It was he
who poisoned Moti's milk. All the other mysterious
tasks were his job. He worked here and so could do it
easily," said Dipak.
Suddenly Richa, who had been holding back
something for a while burst out with her own ideas,
"You are all wrong about the motive. It is not because
of the rocks. Nor was it because of the greed and
desire to grab Srivatika. The reason is quite different."
"You mean there was some other motive? What?"
asked Rustom, surprised.
"You should see the cave where Shibu and I were
97

imprisoned," began Richa. She related her story to

which they all listened in great amazement. "The cave
is a store for stocking wood. Shivnath also uses it to
keep odds and ends, like files and stuff, besides the
wooden logs. He is the tree thiefthe one who chops
down the precious trees!"
Mr. Das sat up, eyes alive with interest. "Go on,"
he said tersely. "What else did you see? How do you
know it was Shivnath's store and office?"
"Who else, Uncle? I saw the cigarette stubs. What
an untidy man he is! Throws them around everywhere. Remember, we saw the stubs in the cave, when
we went there the second time. We wondered who
had visited the secret cave? Besides, he is the one
who threw us into the cave! I recognized the smell of
cigarette on him when Shibu and I were dragged
down the dark tunnels to the other cave. He thought
none would find us! He did not know we were clever
enough to escape and tell everyone about his office
in the cave forest! It is probably his secret headquarters! Its the place where he keeps his accounts..."
Richa related her experiences in an excited voice.
"Now I understand!" said Ajay at last, "I see the
links now. Remember the logs on the stream? The
trees are chopped, collected in the clearing we saw
and stored in the cave, then floated downstream.
It is all managed from the secret office in the cave!
By Shivnath!"
"Assisted by his friend Gopi, of course! He does
the cutting and chopping, being a gardener! But,
a gardener should be fond of trees, and look after
them, instead of helping to cut them down!" muttered
Rustom angrily.
98

"And you know who is the other person who

helped? Motilal! The sounds I heard down in the
village were those of trucks being loaded. Both he
and his wife refused to admit i t ! " said Richa
indignantly.
Dipak's mother was speechless as she listened,
astounded, to the unfolding of the mystery.
"Children, children, enough! It is more than I can
handle. You seem to know much more than I could
even imagine! But now, thanks to you, I am beginning
to understand. It is no wonder they did not want me
around. I did not allow anyone to hack down trees.
I kept reporting to the Police, scolding anyone I saw.
They, rather he, that is, friend Shivnath, knew I would
not allow him to operate here."
"Right. You were enemy number one. He kept
the mouths of the villagers shut, but he knew he
could never silence you," said Dipak. He hugged his
mother proudly.
"He suddenly discovered Shibu's cave. Must have
wandered in through the tunnels that led from his
store-cum-office. He understood that the stone was
extremely valuable. But it was on your land, Aunty.
All the more reason to get rid of you," said Ajay.
"How shocking! You mean he wanted the rocks
too!" exclaimed Mrs. Pant angrily. "First trees, then
the mountains itself? Is there no end to man's greed?"
It had stopped raining by now. They all walked
back to the house to see what needed to be done.
Though it was still hot, the smoke and the fire was
gone. They carried their chairs up and set them in
the verandah.
"Cool drinks for everyone?" asked Ahmed, who
99

went in to see if anything could be found. Meanwhile, somebody could be seen walking up to the
house. As the visitors reached closer, those on the
verandah recognized them. It was the Lall couple.
Pamela Lall removed her dark glasses and blinked
at Dipak in surprise. "Hey boy, you are back, eh? We
are so glad to see you. Your friends said you had
disappeared. We dropped in to say we are sorry we
were rude the other day. Your mother was already
upset because you had gone missing. Ha..a...rry and
I had no business losing our temper. Hey...what
happened to the house? Did it catch fire?"
Everything was explained to the newcomers.
"Clever children, aren't they?" said Hari Lall, after
listening to the long story. "Indians have the best
brains in the world, I always tell Pamela. In fact,
everything here is the best. That is why we returned.
Look at all the beauty spread around us, look at the
mountains, the trees, the people! Everything is just
super here!" He waved an arm to include the
snow-covered ranges, the stately oaks, the gracious
pines, and the green meadows.
"You won't spoil it by building the fabulous resort,
Uncle?" Ajay ventured to ask shyly, pulling his
trouser down to cover his ankles.
"No, my dear, no, not at all! Mrs. Pant's firm refusal
opened our eyes. It made us change our minds. There
is no sense in building luxury hotels here. To enjoy
the beauty of the mountains you must be prepared to
live close to nature. Indeed, it is more fun roughing it
out. We may organize adventure trekking instead,"
answered Hari.
"Hear, hear! I am glad I was able to drum some
100

sense into you! Adventure trekking is a much better

idea. But remember not to throw trash around!"
laughed Mrs. Pant.
Mr. Das, who been listening with rapt attention,
now got up. "If you want tourists to come here,
Hari, you must do something else. We must first
protect the beauty of the mountains. These kids have
just told me a shocking tale. There are people who
are out to destroy our beautiful mountains. The kids
have found out everything. They have worked it all
out. Every detail."
"What do you mean?" asked Hari Lall, puzzled.
"I will tell you as we go. Come on. It is up to us to
use the information given by the children to get the
criminals caught and put into jail. Enough damage
has already been done. Of course, we all knew that
our trees were being destroyed. But none knew who
the kingpin behind the forest mafia was. Now we
know about the hideout and have proof of his crimes.
Fortunately, I know just the person whom we must
approach, for not everyone would be interested
in catching the criminal. Believe me, there are many
who are probably involved. Each one of them should
be caught. Come, hurry, before the criminal removes
the evidence."
"You bet!" said Hari Lall. The three hastened away
to carry out their mission.
"One mystery still remains," mused Richa after the
others had left. "Did the men really cause the
landslide? Or was it a natural phenomenon?"
"Both," answered Ajay, "it is a natural calamity.
Human beings are responsible too. They remove the
vegetation and expose the soil. They blast the
101

mountains with dynamite, they make deep holes to

mine rocks. They disturb nature in so many different
ways and upset the ecological balance."
"No wonder mountains start to fall!" said Richa.
"Well, we did our bit to prevent this mountain from
falling!" laughed Rustom.
Just then Ahmed returned with a tray full of
goodies to eat. "No more talking, Chhote Nawab.
I managed to find this for you to eat. Now come and
have it. Look how thin you have become, with all the
walking you did in this godforsaken place! What will
Begum Sahiba say?"
"Woof! Woof!" Moti was the first to run towards
the table. Laughing, the others joined him.

102