The housemaster, Mr. Trevor John, addressed all the boarders assembled on the school grounds of Daly College, the first residential school established for Englishmen in Indore. Well boys,” he said, “today is departure day.” All the older boys who wish to book can give their names to the housemaster. But remember, boys, be back at six o’clock in the evening; that’s the deadline”. Robin Singh, a student from Class X, looked up at the sky. He was bright and sunny. Oh! He thought about how much fun it would be to get out on his bike for a long ride across the country. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft tap on his shoulder. It was the deputy manager, Mr. Gopal Singh.
“Hey Robin, what’s your plan? Go for a ride on your bike?” she asked.
“Sir” replied Robin
The whole school knew that Robin was a great long-distance cyclist. Only at the last state level meet had he won the 10,000 meter race in record time. His sports teacher had high hopes that Robin would succeed on the international scene.
Robin rode on his bike a fancy Raleigh that was given to him after his last victory with the Raja of Dewas. He drove under a clear blue sky towards the nearby MHOW military cantonment or, as the British called it, Military War Headquarters. at breakneck speed as he tested the machine and his own endurance to the limit. He soon crossed the cantonment which was about twenty miles from his school. Within moments, Mhow was left behind. The road now became quite desolate with hardly a pedestrian and just the occasional truck to keep them company. He headed forward and soon saw a small road winding between the hills. He slowed down and turned into a side street. It was a lonely road lined with lush green trees. After a few minutes, he decided to take a break and parked his bike under the shade of a large Banyan tree. Retrieving his water bottle from the small bag on the back of his bike, he took a drink of cold water and thought about the upcoming state level meet. He intended to win it. At that moment he began to see the flight of birds from a tree some distance away. Obviously the birds had been spooked. Intrigued, he replaced the bottle and looked in the direction of the birds’ flight. A moment later he heard a scream. It was an eerie sound that overshadowed the tranquility of the area. He looked in the direction of the sound. Directly in front of him was a small hill that hid the horizon from his eyes. The spirit of adventure lit him as he headed up the small hill. He was sure the cry was that of a man, perhaps in grave danger. He quickly walked up the hill and took cover behind a clump of trees and looked down. An eerie sight met his eyes. A brown jeep was parked and four men were near it. It was apparent that one of the men was being held firmly by two of the men while a third man was standing in front. Robin noted that he was wearing dark glasses with a curved dagger in his right hand.
Instinctively he hit the ground and looked, fearful that he had stumbled upon a gigantic crime scene. The man in dark glasses hissed, “Karim Bhai, why do you want to die? Tell us where the opium is and I’ll set you free.” The man called Karim moaned, “Patel sahib, forgive me… I have no opium.”
“You mean you sold it?”
“Sahib”
“So where’s the cash? The opium was worth a fortune”
“I lose it… but I’ll pay for it…”
“Scoundrel…”
Robin saw the blade glisten in the sun as it came down with great force and entered the stomach of the man called Karim.”
“Die, you… your insect”
Robin saw Patel Bhai stab Karim repeatedly. The man slumped forward as Patel Sahib sheathed his blood-soaked dagger. The other two men laughed “Patel sahib, good thing you killed the bastard, it was a real snake”
“Yes” replied Patel sahib.
“It was a good plot to call him here” commented one of the men “Sahib you are a true genius, even the local police inspector is in your pay”
At this they all laughed. Startled, Robin held her breath as he took in the bloody scene. She thought it was best to leave and she slowly started to back away. Without knowing it, his hand dislodged a small stone that hurt down the slope.
“What is it?” shouted the man called Patel sahib and then his eagle eye caught sight of Robin walking away.
“There is a child” he yelled “By the grace of Krishna catch him and kill him; I don’t want witnesses to this”
“Huzoor” the two men answered in unison as they made their way towards Robin.
“Idiots,” shouted Patel sahib, “come with me in the jeep, we will soon catch the scoundrel.”
Robin quickly slides over to her bike. Her ears rang with what she had heard. She knew that she was alone, with these outlaws after him. She remembered reading Sherlock Holmes and the famous detective’s words to her friend Dr. Watson rang in her eyes “Watson the game is on…”
He quickly climbed into the chair, remembering that in this case he was the game.
Robin took stock of the situation. He realized that if he was cycling on the road, there was a good chance that thieves would catch him in his jeep. So he turned away from the metal driven path and headed for the overlooked clumps of trees and rocks that dotted the scene. A shout from behind alerted him to the jeep following him into the field. Patel sahib looked sternly at the other two men and said, “Smasher, cock your pistol and keep it ready; the moment you come within sight of the boy, shoot to kill.”
“Huzoor” replied the man called Shamsher as he took out a sinister looking revolver and pointed it at the fleeing boy. Robin, now obvious for the scenic beauty cycling through the life of him. He remembered that right next to the cantonment there was a small police station; so he headed in his general direction. Behind him he could hear the jeep following him, his engine chugging sinisterly. The jeep found it difficult to follow Robin, as the field was undulating and dotted with rocks and trees, allowing Robin to keep clear. He sucked in deep breaths as he pedaled forward, his heart pounding like a machine. Later he was encouraged by seeing a small forest and pedaled towards it with pleasure. Seeing Robin heading towards the clump of trees, Patel Sahib shouted, “Catch the Shamsher boy, otherwise we may lose him.” Shamsher took aim and fired. The silence of the camp was broken by a shot, but as the jeep moved, Shamsher’s aim was unsteady and he missed the knitting boy. Robin crossed the small wood and sighed with relief as she saw the main road ahead and the police station a little further on. She pedaled powerfully towards him. He entered the compound and headed towards the small office. He entered the door and saw a small office. He walked in the door and saw a little man sitting there. Robin could tell that he was the sub-inspector. Startled, the policeman looked at Robin and asked, “Boy, what are you doing here?”
Robin did not like the look on the man’s face, but replied anyway, “Sir, I just saw a murder, some distance from here and the murderers are following me in a jeep.”
“A brown Jeep?” asked the Inspector.
“Yes sir” Robin replied, but wondered how the inspector could have known the color of the jeep. The inspector told her to sit down.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll catch them soon, but stay here and don’t go anywhere.”
Robin looked out the door and her heart sank when she saw the same jeep pull into the compound. She could make out the three thugs sitting inside of it.
“Are these the men?” asked the inspector. Robin nodded with a slight trace of doubt in her mind. Motioning for Robin to remain seated, the inspector went out to the jeep. He reached the jeep as the occupants were getting out. Robin could see that the inspector knew them. She saw Patel Sahib grinning broadly as he shook the inspector’s hand. Robin, horrified, saw the inspector jerk his thumb toward the office. God! Robin thought, this man is in league with Patel sahib. It did not linger a moment, but he hastily climbed out of the window; landing with a soft thud outside. He wishes he had his bike with him, but realized it would be dangerous to try to get it since she was parked in the compound. Robin made good use of his athletic frame as he stalked onto the field. He ran parallel to the road, taking cover from time to time to hide his movement. He wondered at the reaction of the men when they entered the police station. They obviously wouldn’t be happy with his escape. As he ran, he kept his eyes on the road in the hope of seeing a police patrol vehicle to help him. He knew that the men in the jeep were inveterate criminals. Soon, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue gypsy and instinctively knew it was a police patrol vehicle. He stopped and waved his arms widely to get the attention of the occupants. They saw it and slowed down. Robin headed towards the gypsy patrol with alacrity. Panting, he pulled up beside him and looked at the cops with hope and anticipation. He calmed down when he saw them. There were two of them inside. One of them, a friendly-looking man with a large mustache, smiled at Robin.
What is yours?” he asked softly.
Robin quickly narrated the sequence of events. The man listened carefully. It was obvious that he believed Robin. Just as Robin finished, the brown jeep came up from behind. He saw Patel sahib and his henchmen sitting in the jeep. Gypsy police sped up and sped forward.
“They are the men” Robin panted “They are escaping”
The man smiled “They won’t get far son”
He tuned in the wireless device and spoke into the microphone.
“Inspector Tripathi calling. Runaway jeep with possible criminals fleeing down Mhow road. Intercept and arrest”
He turned off the set and smiled: “Let’s see how far they go. And your son better go home.”
Robin smiled, very relieved “But please take me back to the police station as my bike is parked there.”
Robin climbed into the Gypsy as it backed up. At that moment, the wireless connection was broken. The voice came clear and high pitched “Good show Tripathi. Jeep with notorious smuggler Patel sahib arrested along with sub-inspector Ramu”
The inspector smiled “That was the DSP”
Robin arrived at the school. She pedaled slowly through the vast enclosure. The roll call was over. Only the master of the house was standing with a record. Seeing Robin approach, he gave him a slightly stern look and said, “You’re fifteen minutes late, Robin; a deadline is a deadline.”
“Mister”
“Well, there’s no pass for you next Sunday,” said the master of the house with an air of finality.
Robin smiled weakly. She wondered if she should tell the Master of the House about the extraordinary events of the day, but she decided against it. Maybe she wouldn’t believe him. She went into the bedroom and fell into a deep sleep.
Two days later, Robin and his home teacher were called into the principal’s office. Robin entered the room and saw the headmaster sitting pompously. Sitting in front of the director was the master of the house together with sub-inspector Tripathi and another man who wore many ribbons on his chest. He was the Inspector General of Police. The principal smiled, “Robin, you have done the school proud. The IG tells me that you helped catch Patel Sahib, a notorious narcotics dealer.
The IG smiled “Way down son.”
