Rama reached his bungalow before dawn. Not a soul learned of it. After breakfast, Rama cleaned up the letter, dressed, and went to the inspector. His brows were furrowed.
The inspector asked, "Is everything all right? Have the servants done anything mischievous?"
Standing there, Rama said, "Not the servants—you have done the mischief. You, your subordinates, the officers, all of you together have made a fool of me."
The inspector asked somewhat nervously, "What exactly is the matter? Tell me."
Ramanath—"The matter is that I will give no more testimony in this case. I have nothing to do with it. You deceived me and forced me to give evidence by threatening me with a warrant. Now I know that there is no charge against me. It was all a trick on your part. I do not want to give evidence for the police. I will tell the judge plainly today. I will not carry the blood of innocent people on my head."
The inspector said sharply, "You yourself admitted embezzlement."
Ramanath—"That was a mistake in the accounts. It was not embezzlement. The municipality did not bring any case against me."
"How did you come to know that?"
"That is none of your concern. I will not give evidence. I will say plainly that the police deceived me into giving testimony. On the dates when those incidents occurred, I was in Allahabad. My attendance is recorded in the municipal office."
The inspector tried to laugh away this objection and said, "All right, sir, suppose the police did deceive you. But we are also ready to give you a handsome reward for it. You will get a good position and ride around in a motorcar. If you get a position in the intelligence police, you will live in comfort. Your honor and influence in the government's eyes have increased so much! Otherwise you would have been wandering about looking for work. Perhaps you might have found a clerkship in some office, and even that with great difficulty. Here, without having to do anything, the door to advancement has opened for you. If you perform your duties well, one day you will become Rai Bahadur Munshi Ramanath, Deputy Superintendent. You should be grateful to us, and instead you are getting angry."
This temptation had no effect on Rama. He said, "I am willing to become a clerk. I do not want advancement of this kind. You may keep it for yourselves."
By then the Deputy and the Inspector had also arrived. Seeing Rama, the Inspector said heatedly, "Our Babu Sahib was already sitting ready for this. Everything depends on his performance."
Rama said in a tone that suggested he understood his own interests, "As though I do not understand my own profit and loss, sir. Yes, today I will settle the matter. Until now I have acted at your command; from now on I will act with my own eyes open."
The Inspector looked at the inspector in charge, the inspector in charge looked at the Deputy, and the Deputy looked at the Inspector. What was he saying? The Inspector said in astonishment, "What is the matter? I swear, you seem somewhat angry!"
Ramanath—"I have decided that today I will change my statement. I cannot shed the blood of innocent people."
The Inspector looked at him compassionately and said, "You are not shedding the blood of innocent people; you are building the structure of your own fortune. I swear, very few men get opportunities like this. What happened today that you have become so angry? Do you know anything, Daroga Sahib? The men haven't behaved insolently, have they? If anyone has done something against your wishes, shoot him, I swear!"
The inspector said, "I will go and find out at once."
Ramanath—"Don't trouble yourself. I have no complaint against anyone. I cannot sacrifice my conscience for a small benefit."
There was silence for a minute. No one knew what to say. The inspector in charge was thinking of another trick; the Inspector was thinking of another temptation. The Deputy had an entirely different concern. He said curtly, "Rama Babu, this will not be a good thing."
Rama, also heated now, said, "Perhaps not for you. For me it is the best thing."
The Deputy said, "No, for you there is nothing worse than this. We will not spare you. Even if our case is ruined, we will teach you such a lesson that you will never forget it as long as you live. You will have to give exactly the testimony you have already given. If you create any trouble, if you do anything improper, we will treat you differently. With one report, you will be finished."
As he said this, he glared at Rama as though he might devour him raw. Rama was frightened. These threatening words unsettled him. If they framed him in some false case, who would protect him? He had not expected the Deputy, who until now had presented himself as the very embodiment of courtesy and humility, suddenly to assume such a terrible form. But he was not so easily cowed. He said sharply, "Will you force me to give testimony?"
The Deputy stamped his foot. "Yes, we will force you!"
Ramanath—"This is quite a joke!"
The Deputy—"You think deceiving the police is a joke. I can produce two witnesses right now and prove that you were talking about rebellion against the government. You will be sent away for seven years. You will develop calluses on your hands from grinding flour. Those smooth cheeks of yours will not remain smooth."
Rama was afraid of prison. The very thought of prison life made his hair stand on end. It was the fear of prison that had made him agree to give this testimony. That same fear now began to make him helpless again. The Deputy was a student of human psychology. He had discovered his weak point. He said, "You will not get halwa and puri there. You will eat bread made from flour mixed with dust, gravy made from rotten cauliflower leaves, and watery arhar dal. Even if you spend four months in a dark cell, you will not survive; you will die there. At every turn the warder will abuse you and beat you with his shoes. What do you think?"
Rama's face began to turn pale. It seemed that his blood was drying up moment by moment. He felt such shame at his own weakness that he began to weep. In a trembling voice he said, "If this is what you people want, then so be it! Send me to prison. I will die, won't I? Then at least I will be free of you. If you are determined to ruin me to this extent, then I am ready to die too. Whatever has to happen will happen."
His mind had reached that state of weakness in which a little sympathy, a little human kindness, can be more effective than hundreds of threats. The Inspector saw his opportunity. Taking Rama's side, he said to the Deputy, "I swear, you people do not understand men; you seem intent only on throwing your weight around. Giving evidence in this manner would seem wrong to any sensible man. It is only natural. Anyone who has even the slightest regard for his honor would not want to become a puppet in the hands of the police. If I were in Babu Sahib's place, I would do the same. But that does not mean he will testify against us. You people do your work and remain free of worry about Babu Sahib, I swear."
He took Rama by the hand and said, "Come with me, Babuji! I will play some excellent records for you."
Like an offended child, Rama pulled his hand away and said, "Please do not trouble me, Inspector Sahib. Now I am destined to die in prison."
The Inspector placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Why do you speak like that, sir? May your enemies die in prison."
The Deputy did not even spare him this last courtesy. In a very hard voice, as though he had never known Rama, he said, "Sir, we are prepared to treat Babu Sahib in every possible way, but when he gives evidence against us, when he digs up the roots of our case, then we too will take action. We certainly will. We can never let him go."
Just then the government advocate and barrister got out of their motorcar.