Devidin had closed his tea shop from that very day and spent the whole day wandering around the court where the dacoity case was being heard and Ramanath was giving evidence. For three days, Rama's testimony continued, and for all three days Devidin neither ate nor slept. Even today, as soon as he came home, he took off his kurta and began fanning himself with a hand fan. Phagun had begun and the weather had started to grow somewhat warm, but it was not so hot that sweat would pour or a fan would be necessary. The officers were still wearing winter clothes, but Devidin was drenched in sweat. His face, upon which an innocent old age usually smiled, looked embarrassed and weary, as though he had returned from forced labor. Jaggo brought a lota of water and set it down, saying, "Shall I put out the chillum?"
For the past three days, Devidin had been receiving this sort of attention from her. Before this, the old woman had never asked whether she should prepare his chillum. Devidin understood what it meant. Looking at the old woman with compassion, he said, "No, leave it. I will not smoke the chillum."
"Then at least wash your face and hands. You are covered in dust."
"I'll wash them. What's the hurry?"
The old woman was eager to hear what had happened that day, but she was afraid that Devidin might become irritated. She wanted to ease his fatigue so that, pleased with her, he would tell the whole story of his own accord.
"Then at least have something to eat. You didn't eat anything at noon either. Shall I bring some sweets? Here, give me the fan."
Devidin handed her the fan. The old woman began fanning him. After sitting with his eyes closed for two or three minutes, Devidin said, "Today Bhaiya's testimony is over!"
The old woman's hand stopped. She said, "Then will he come home tomorrow?"
Devidin—"Not yet. He has not been released; he will still have to give this statement in the civil court. And why would he come here now! He will find some good position and ride around on horseback. But he is a thoroughly selfish fellow. He has implicated fifteen innocent men. Five or six of them will be hanged. The others have been given sentences of ten or twelve years. The entire case has been proved by his testimony. No matter how much anyone cross-examines him, there is no question of his hesitating even a little. Now not one of them will be spared. Who committed the crime and who did not, God knows, but they will all be killed. He had also run away from home after taking government money. We were greatly deceived."
Jaggo looked at him with gentle reproach and said, "His good and bad deeds are his own to answer for. The world is selfish; who dies for whom?"
Devidin said sharply, "To cut another person's throat for one's own interest is such a crime that even giving such a man poison would not be a sin."
Suddenly two men came and stood there. One was a fair, handsome boy, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. The other was middle-aged and looked like a peon. Devidin asked, "Whom are you looking for?"
The peon said, "Your name is Devidin, isn't it? I have come from the Praja-Mitra office. This gentleman is the brother of the same Ramanath who received the chess prize. He had gone to the office looking for him. The editor sent him to you. Shall I go now?" Saying this, he left.
Devidin looked Gopi up and down. His features resembled Rama's. He said, "Come, son, sit down. When did you come from home?"
Gopi considered it beneath his dignity to sit in a butcher's shop, so he remained standing and said, "I arrived only today. Bhabhi is with me too. We are staying at a dharamshala."
Devidin stood up and said, "Then go and bring Bahu here. Rama Babu's room is upstairs anyway; stay here comfortably. Why remain in the dharamshala? No, come, I will go with you too."
He told Jaggo the news and, asking her to sweep upstairs, left with Gopi for the dharamshala. The old woman immediately went upstairs and swept the room. She hurried to the confectioner's shop and brought sweets and curd, filled a surahi with water, and set it down. Then she washed her hands and face, took out a colorful sari, put on her jewelry, dressed herself up, and waited eagerly for her daughter-in-law.
Meanwhile, the carriage also arrived. The old woman went to help Jalpa down. At first Jalpa hesitated a little on seeing the modest butcher's shop, but the old woman's affectionate welcome dispelled her hesitation. She went upstairs with her and found everything in its proper place, as though it were her own home.
Jaggo placed a lota of water before her and said, "Bhaiya used to live in this very house, daughter! The house has been deserted for fifteen days now. Wash your hands and face and have some curd and sugar, daughter! You probably have not yet heard what happened to Bhaiya."
Jalpa shook her head and said, "I have not learned anything definite. I learned from that paper that gets published there that the police had arrested him."
Devidin had also come upstairs. He said, "They did arrest him, but now he has become a government witness in a case. No case will be brought against him in Allahabad now, and perhaps he may even get a job."
Jalpa said proudly, "Is that why he became a government witness out of fear? There is no case against him there at all. Why would a case be brought?"
Devidin said hesitantly, "There was some matter concerning money, wasn't there?"
As though hurt, Jalpa said, "That was nothing. As soon as we learned that some government money had been spent by him, we sent it at once. He came away in a needless panic and then became so silent that he did not even let us know where he was."
Devidin's face lit up, as though he had found relief from some pain. He said, "Then how were we to know? I kept telling him again and again to send letters home, that people must be worried, but out of shame he simply would not write. We remained under the mistaken impression that a case must have been brought against him in Allahabad. If we had known otherwise, why would he have become a government witness?"
The meaning of "government witness" was not hidden from Jalpa. Nor was the condemnation and disgrace that would fall upon him in society hidden from her. She knew why government witnesses were made, how they were tempted, and how they became puppets of the police and strangled their own friends. Yet if a man, ashamed of his wrongdoing, reveals the truth and tears away the veil of deceit and fraud, he is a gentleman; however much his courage is praised, it is not enough. But there is one condition: he must be prepared to suffer the consequences of what he has done to his companions. If he goes smiling and laughing to the gallows, he is a true hero. But if, in order to save his own life, out of the meanest selfishness and fear of severe punishment, he betrays his companions and becomes the snake in their sleeve, then he is a coward, fallen and shameless. Betrayal is just as contemptible among dacoits and enemies of society as it is in any other group. Society never forgives such a person, never.
Jalpa understood this very well. Here the problem had become even more complicated. Rama had not revealed the veil covering his own sins out of fear of punishment. At least there would have been some truth in that. Even if he were condemned, there would still have been the virtue of partial truth. But here he had exposed sins of which she had not even had the slightest knowledge. Jalpa could not suddenly believe it. Surely something or other must have happened that had forced Rama to become a government witness.
She said anxiously, "Did something—something happen here too?"
Sensing her anguish, Devidin said, "Nothing happened. He came here from Allahabad with me. Since he arrived, he had not gone anywhere. He would not even go outside. Then one day he went out, and that very day the police caught him. He saw a constable coming and thought he was coming to arrest him, so he ran away. The constable became suspicious and arrested him on suspicion. I too reached the police station after him. At first the inspector was asking for a bribe, but when I went home and brought money, an entirely different story had already developed there. God knows what conversation had taken place among the officers. They made him a government witness. Bhaiya told me that in this matter he would not have to tell any lies at all. The police case is true. What harm is there in telling the truth? I kept quiet. What could I do?"
Jaggo—"Who knows what potion they made everyone drink. Bhaiya was not like that. He kept saying 'Amma, Amma' all day long. All kinds of people come to the shop, men and women alike; did anyone ever dare to say that he had even raised his eyes toward anyone?"
Devidin—"There was no fault in him. I have never seen such a boy. We were deceived by that very innocence."
After thinking for a minute, Jalpa asked, "Has his testimony been given?"
"Yes, it continued for three days. It ended today."
Jalpa said anxiously, "Then nothing can be done now? Can I meet him?"
At this question, Devidin smiled. He said, "Yes, of course—so that you can go there and ruin everything, upsetting the whole game! The police are not such fools. These days no one is allowed to meet him. There is strict security."
No further conversation could take place on this question at that moment. The knot was not easy to untangle. Jalpa called Gopi. He was standing on the veranda watching the spectacle of the street. He was behaving shyly, as though he had come to his in-laws' home. He came slowly and stood there. Jalpa said, "Wash your hands and face and eat something. You like curd very much."
Embarrassed, Gopi went outside again.
Devidin said with a smile, "He won't eat in front of us. We will both leave. Tell us if you need anything, Bahuji! This is your home."
"We considered Bhaiya one of our own. And who else do we have?" Jaggo said proudly. "He used to eat whatever I cooked with my own hands."
Jalpa said with a smile, "Now you won't have to cook, Maaji. I will cook."
Jaggo objected, "In our community, eating food cooked by someone else is forbidden, daughter. What kind of person would I become in the community if I did that for four days?"
Jalpa—"In our community too, eating food prepared by others is forbidden."
Jaggo—"No one comes here to see you. Besides, educated people do not even bother about such things. Our community is made up of ignorant people."
Jalpa—"It does not feel right that you should cook and I should eat. The one whom you have made your daughter-in-law must eat food from her hands. If you did not want to eat it, why did you make me your daughter-in-law?"
Devidin looked at Jaggo approvingly and said, "The daughter-in-law has made a point. Think of an answer to that. Come, let us go for now. Let these people rest a little."
When the two of them went downstairs, Gopi came and said, "Did Bhaiya really live with this butcher? He certainly looks like a butcher."
Jalpa rebuked him, "Whether they are butchers or chamars, they are a hundred times better than you and me. They kept a stranger in their home for six months, fed him and gave him shelter. Do we have that much courage? Here, whenever a guest arrives, even he becomes a burden. If they are beneath us, then we are far beneath them."
Gopi had washed his hands and face. While eating sweets, he said, "A person does not become superior merely by giving someone shelter. However much charity a chamar may perform, he will remain a chamar."
Jalpa—"I would consider that chamar better than the pandit who is always living off other people's wealth."
After eating, Gopi went downstairs. He was very eager to see the city. Jalpa did not feel like eating anything. A complicated problem stood before her: how to get Rama out of this quagmire. The very thought of the condemnation and ridicule that awaited him wounded her pride. He would be lost forever in everyone's eyes and would not be able to show his face to anyone. And then, whose neck would bear the blood of the innocent? Among the accused, who knew who was guilty and who was innocent, how many were victims of enmity, how many of greed? All of them would be punished. Perhaps two or four might even be hanged. Upon whom would this murder fall?
Then she thought again: suppose the blame for murder fell on no one. Who knows whether it would or would not? But for the sake of one's own interest—oh! What a terrible baseness! How could he have agreed to this? Even if he had feared that the municipality would prosecute him, what could have happened beyond two or three years in prison? To escape that, he had descended to such dreadful baseness! And now, even if it became known that the municipality could do nothing to him, what could be done? His testimony had already been given.
Suddenly, a thought pierced her heart like a heavy nail.
Why should he not change his testimony? If he could be made to understand that the municipality could do nothing to him, perhaps he himself would change his statement. How could this be conveyed to him? Somehow it might be possible.
She came downstairs impatiently and beckoned Devidin to her. "Dada, can no letter reach him either? Perhaps a letter could get through if we gave the guards ten or five rupees."
Devidin shook his head and said, "Difficult. Very experienced men have been posted on guard. I went twice. They would not even let me stand in front of the gate."
"What is around that bungalow?"
"On one side there is another bungalow. On one side there is a grafted mango orchard, and the road is in front."
"Yes, they must go out for a walk in the evening?"
"Yes, they sit outside on a carpet. One or two police officers are with them as well."
"What if someone hid in that orchard? When he saw him alone, he could throw the letter to him. He would certainly pick it up."
Devidin said in amazement, "Yes, it might work, but only if he happens to be alone!"
When it grew a little darker, Jalpa took Devidin with her and went to see Ramanath's bungalow. She had written a letter and put it in her pocket. Again and again she asked Devidin, "How much farther is it? Oh! Only this much farther?"
There would surely be lights in the compound. Waves began rising in her heart. If she found Rama walking alone, what would she have to ask? She would tie the letter to a stone and throw it before him. His appearance must have changed. Suddenly she became doubtful: what if he did not change his testimony even after reading the letter? Then what would happen? Who knew whether he even remembered me now? What if he turned his face away upon seeing me?
This thought made her tremble. She asked Devidin, "Dada, did he ever talk about home?"
Devidin shook his head and said, "Never. He never did with me. He remained very sad."
These words made Jalpa's doubt even more vivid. They had now moved far away from the densely populated part of the city. There was silence all around. After moving with great force throughout the day, even the wind was resting at this hour. The trees and fields beside the road looked dispirited and lifeless in the dim moonlight.
Jalpa began to feel that her effort would bear no fruit, that her journey had no destination. On this endless road, she felt like an orphan who goes from door to door begging for a handful of grain. He knows that at the next door he will not receive grain, only abuse, yet he still stretches out his hand and pleads. She had no support in hope; despair itself was her only support.
Suddenly, electric light appeared on the right side of the road. Devidin pointed toward a bungalow and said, "That is his bungalow."
Jalpa looked there fearfully, but complete silence prevailed. There was no one. The gate was locked.
Jalpa said, "There is no one here."
Devidin peered through the gate and said, "Yes, perhaps they have left this bungalow."
"Could they have gone out for a walk?"
"If they had gone out for a walk, there would be guards at the door. They have left this bungalow."
"Then let us go back."
"No, we should find out where they have gone."
Light could be seen in the mango orchard to the right of the bungalow. Perhaps the butcher was guarding the orchard. Devidin came into the orchard and called out, "Who is here? Who has taken this orchard?"
A man emerged from among the mango trees. Recognizing him, Devidin said, "Oh! It's you, Jangli? You have taken this orchard?"
Jangli was a short, sturdy man. He said, "Yes, I have, but there isn't much here. I'll only have to work hard with the stick. How did you come here?"
"Nothing, I just happened to come this way. What happened to the man in this bungalow?"
Jangli looked around and whispered, "That informant was staying here. They all left today. I hear they will come back in fifteen or twenty days, when the case is presented again in the High Court. Educated people can be such traitors too, Dada! He gave completely false testimony. Who knows whether he has children or not; he did not even fear God!"
Jalpa was standing there. Devidin did not give Jangli an opportunity to pour out more venom. He said, "So they will come in fifteen or twenty days, are you sure?"
Jangli—"Yes, that is what the guards were saying."
"Did you learn where they have gone?"
"They have gone to see the place where the incident took place."
Devidin began smoking his chillum, and Jalpa came out onto the road and began walking. Hearing Rama being condemned like this tore her heart to pieces. She felt neither anger nor disgust toward Rama; instead, her heart became restless to help him out of this quagmire. No matter whether Rama cursed her or rejected her, she would not let him wander again into the dark pit of disgrace.
When the two of them left, Jalpa asked, "You told this man to let us know when they return, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."