Read Online A Killer in Kailash: Adventures of Feluda by Satyajit Ray - Free Book Online
Authors: Satyajit Ray
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vanished from sight. We resumed walking. Only a few moments later, however, we had to stop again. There was a strange noise—something like a cross between a scrape and a rustle. Where was it coming from?
Feluda sat down. So did we. A large cactus bush hid us from view. The noise continued for sometime, then stopped abruptly.
We emerged cautiously. Huge, dark clouds had now spread all over the sky. We could hardly see our way. Nevertheless, Feluda kept going. Soon, we could vaguely see the temple again. Its spire was before us. Several feet below the spire, on the roof, stood four lions, facing east, west, north, and south. Far below them were the two elephants that stood at the entrance.
We kept walking. The noise had come from this direction, but I couldn't see anything suspicious. Feluda had a torch, but I knew he wouldn't switch it on, in case it was seen by whoever happened to be in the vicinity.
We passed the temple and came to a cave. It was cave number fifteen. We moved on to the next. Feluda stopped again. I could see that his whole body was tense. ‘Torch,’ he whispered. ‘Someone in number fifteen has switched on a torch. Look at the courtyard in front of it. Doesn't it seem brighter than the others?’
It was true. Neither Lalmohan Babu nor I had noticed it. Only Feluda's sharp eyes had picked it up. We stood holding our breath for a couple of minutes. Then Feluda did something entirely unexpected. He picked up a small pebble and threw it in the direction of the courtyard. I heard it fall with a soft thud. A second later, the faint light coming from the cave went out. The torch was switched off. Then a man came out and slipped away, moving stealthily like a thief. ‘Could that be Raxit?’ Lalmohan Babu said softly. I couldn't recognize the man, but could see that he was not wearing a raincoat.
What followed next took my breath away. Without a word of warning, Feluda began climbing down. He leapt, crawled, scraped himself on the ground, then swinging from a branch like a monkey, disappeared from sight. I stared speechlessly. Lalmohan Babu said, after a moment's silence, ‘He'll do very well in a circus!’
Cave number fifteen was at a lower level. That was where Feluda had gone. Three minutes later (it felt like three hours), he climbed up again, more or less in a similar fashion. How he could do it with a torch in one hand, a bag hanging from his shoulder, and a revolver tucked into his waist, I do not know.
‘That one's the Das Avatar cave,’ he told us, panting. ‘It has two storeys, and some exquisite statues.’
‘Did you … did you see who it was?’ I asked breathlessly.
Feluda did not reply immediately. Then he said, ‘It's not as simple as I had thought. It’ll take me a while to unravel this tangled mess.’
We found the main path again and climbed down to the bottom of the temple. But Feluda had not finished. He found one of the chowkidars and asked him if he had seen anyone going up.
‘No, sir,’ the chowkidar replied.
‘Did you hear any noise? Anything suspicious at all?’
‘No, sir. There's been a lot of thunder. I didn't hear anything else.’
‘Can we go into the temple?’
I knew the man would refuse, and he did.
‘No, sir. I have orders not to let anyone in at this time of night.’
We made our way back to the bungalow. As we got closer, we saw something extremely strange. Two windows on the eastern side of the building overlooked the street. We could see these from outside. One of them was Feluda's, the other was Mr Raxit's. Feluda's room was in darkness, but a light flashed in Mr Raxit's room. It was the light from a torch, but it did not stay still. In fact, whoever was holding it seemed to have gone mad. The light danced all over the room, then came to the window, shone once in the direction of the guest house, fell and moved on the bushes by the road before going back to the room. We could not see who it was. ‘Highly interesting!’ Feluda
Feluda sat down. So did we. A large cactus bush hid us from view. The noise continued for sometime, then stopped abruptly.
We emerged cautiously. Huge, dark clouds had now spread all over the sky. We could hardly see our way. Nevertheless, Feluda kept going. Soon, we could vaguely see the temple again. Its spire was before us. Several feet below the spire, on the roof, stood four lions, facing east, west, north, and south. Far below them were the two elephants that stood at the entrance.
We kept walking. The noise had come from this direction, but I couldn't see anything suspicious. Feluda had a torch, but I knew he wouldn't switch it on, in case it was seen by whoever happened to be in the vicinity.
We passed the temple and came to a cave. It was cave number fifteen. We moved on to the next. Feluda stopped again. I could see that his whole body was tense. ‘Torch,’ he whispered. ‘Someone in number fifteen has switched on a torch. Look at the courtyard in front of it. Doesn't it seem brighter than the others?’
It was true. Neither Lalmohan Babu nor I had noticed it. Only Feluda's sharp eyes had picked it up. We stood holding our breath for a couple of minutes. Then Feluda did something entirely unexpected. He picked up a small pebble and threw it in the direction of the courtyard. I heard it fall with a soft thud. A second later, the faint light coming from the cave went out. The torch was switched off. Then a man came out and slipped away, moving stealthily like a thief. ‘Could that be Raxit?’ Lalmohan Babu said softly. I couldn't recognize the man, but could see that he was not wearing a raincoat.
What followed next took my breath away. Without a word of warning, Feluda began climbing down. He leapt, crawled, scraped himself on the ground, then swinging from a branch like a monkey, disappeared from sight. I stared speechlessly. Lalmohan Babu said, after a moment's silence, ‘He'll do very well in a circus!’
Cave number fifteen was at a lower level. That was where Feluda had gone. Three minutes later (it felt like three hours), he climbed up again, more or less in a similar fashion. How he could do it with a torch in one hand, a bag hanging from his shoulder, and a revolver tucked into his waist, I do not know.
‘That one's the Das Avatar cave,’ he told us, panting. ‘It has two storeys, and some exquisite statues.’
‘Did you … did you see who it was?’ I asked breathlessly.
Feluda did not reply immediately. Then he said, ‘It's not as simple as I had thought. It’ll take me a while to unravel this tangled mess.’
We found the main path again and climbed down to the bottom of the temple. But Feluda had not finished. He found one of the chowkidars and asked him if he had seen anyone going up.
‘No, sir,’ the chowkidar replied.
‘Did you hear any noise? Anything suspicious at all?’
‘No, sir. There's been a lot of thunder. I didn't hear anything else.’
‘Can we go into the temple?’
I knew the man would refuse, and he did.
‘No, sir. I have orders not to let anyone in at this time of night.’
We made our way back to the bungalow. As we got closer, we saw something extremely strange. Two windows on the eastern side of the building overlooked the street. We could see these from outside. One of them was Feluda's, the other was Mr Raxit's. Feluda's room was in darkness, but a light flashed in Mr Raxit's room. It was the light from a torch, but it did not stay still. In fact, whoever was holding it seemed to have gone mad. The light danced all over the room, then came to the window, shone once in the direction of the guest house, fell and moved on the bushes by the road before going back to the room. We could not see who it was. ‘Highly interesting!’ Feluda
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