At exactly ten o'clock, Jalpa and Devi Din reached the court. There was a large crowd of spectators. The upper gallery was packed with people. Many men were standing in the verandas and in the open ground in front. Jalpa went and sat in the upper gallery; Devi Din stood in the veranda.
On the bench, the ahlmad was standing on one side of the judge, and several police officers stood on the other. In front, outside the dock, the lawyers for both sides stood waiting for the case to be called. There were no fewer than fifteen accused men. They were all sitting on the ground beside the dock. All had handcuffs on their hands and fetters on their feet. Some were lying down, some were sitting, some were talking among themselves. Two were wrestling with their hands. Two were arguing about some subject. All were cheerful. There was not the slightest sign of anxiety, despair, or grief on any of their faces.
By eleven o'clock the case was called. First there was some discussion about the procedural matters, then the testimony of one or two policemen was heard. Finally, at about three o'clock, Ramanath was brought into the witness box. A stir ran through the spectators. Someone came running from a betel shop with a paan in his mouth; someone rolled up his newspaper and put it into his pocket, and everyone gathered inside the courtroom. Jalpa too stood carefully at the railing. She wished that, just once, Rama would raise his eyes and see her, but Rama stood with his head bowed, as though he were afraid to look around. His face was pale. He stood somewhat frightened and somewhat nervous, as though someone had tied him up and there were no way for him to escape. Jalpa's heart was pounding as if her own fate were being decided.
Rama's statement began. The very first sentence made Jalpa shudder; the second made her brows knit; the third drained the color from her face, and as soon as she heard the fourth, she drew a long breath and sank back into the chair behind her. But she could not bear to remain there. She leaned over the railing and listened again. It was the same testimony that the police had taught him, whose meaning she had already heard from Devi Din. Silence descended upon the courtroom. Jalpa coughed several times, hoping that even now Rama might raise his eyes, but Rama's head bent even lower. It was impossible to say whether he had recognized the sound of Jalpa's cough or whether a feeling of remorse had arisen in him. His voice, too, became somewhat quieter.
A woman who was sitting beside Jalpa wrinkled her nose and said, "I feel like shooting this wretch. There are such selfish people in this country who, for the sake of a job or a little money, do not hesitate to put a knife to the throats of innocent people!"
Jalpa gave no answer.
Another woman, wearing spectacles, said despairingly, "God alone is the master of this unfortunate country. It's not as if the fellow is going to become a governor! At most, he'll become a clerk somewhere. And for that he is killing his own soul. He must be some starving, vile man, a complete scoundrel and a frivolous fellow."
A third woman smiled at the woman with spectacles and asked, "The man is fashionable and seems educated too. Well, if you could have him, what would you do?"
The spectacled lady said defiantly, "I'd cut off his nose! I'd leave him a noseless man, that's all."
"And do you know what I would do?"
"No! Perhaps you'd shoot him!"
"No! I wouldn't shoot him. I'd make him stand in the middle of the marketplace and have five hundred shoes beaten against him. I'd shave his head completely!"
"Wouldn't you feel even a little pity for him?"
"Is that so little pity? His full punishment would be to throw him from some high mountain! If this gentleman were in America, he would be burned alive!"
An elderly woman, scorning these young women, said, "Why are you needlessly dirtying your mouths? He is not worthy of hatred; he is worthy of pity. Can't you see how pale his face has become, as though someone were strangling him? If he were to see his mother or sister, he would surely weep. The man is not bad at heart. The police have threatened him into submission. It seems as though every word is tearing his heart to pieces as it comes out."
The spectacled woman sneered, "When a thorn pricks one's own foot, then an 'ouch' comes out, does it?"
Jalpa could no longer remain there. Each word struck her heart like a shower of sparks. She felt like getting up that very moment and saying, "This gentleman is lying outright, he is telling a complete lie," and proving it then and there. She was suppressing this impulse with all her strength. Her heart reproached her for her cowardice. Why did she not tell the whole story that very moment? Let the police become her enemies—so be it. At least the court might take it into consideration. Who knew, perhaps the lives of these poor men might be saved! At least the public would learn that this was false testimony. The words almost escaped her lips. Fear of the consequences held her tongue. In the end, she thought it best to get up and leave.
Seeing her come down, Devi Din came into the veranda and said in a voice filled with sympathy, "Are you going home, daughter-in-law?"
Holding back the rush of tears, Jalpa said, "Yes, I can't sit here any longer."
Once they had come outside the compound, Devi Din tried to console Jalpa and said, "Once the police have made a man swallow their potion, nothing else can have any effect on him."
Jalpa said with disgust, "That is all for cowards."
For some distance the two walked on in silence. Suddenly Jalpa said, "Why, Dada, there won't be any further appeal anywhere, will there? The prisoners' fate will be decided here itself?"
Devi Din understood what she meant.
"No, there can be an appeal in the High Court."
Again they walked in silence for some distance. Jalpa stopped under the shade of a tree and said, "Dada, I feel like meeting the judge today and telling him everything. I will tell him the whole story, everything that happened from the beginning. I will give evidence myself. Then will they believe me?"
Devi Din stared at her.
"The judge?"
Jalpa met his eyes and said, "Yes!"
Devi Din, troubled and uncertain, said, "I cannot say anything about this, daughter-in-law! Who knows what will happen with the authorities—it may turn out one way or the other."
Jalpa said, "Can't I tell the police officers that they have made him their witness?"
"You can certainly say so."
"Then let me meet him today. Will they let me meet him?"
"Come, we can make an application, but the matter is risky."
"What is the risk? Tell me."
"What if they accuse your brother of giving false testimony and have him punished?"
"Then so be it. Let him suffer whatever he has brought upon himself."
Devi Din was astonished at Jalpa's mercilessness. "There is another danger. That is the greatest fear of all."
Jalpa asked eagerly, "What is it?"
Devi Din said, "The police are great cowards. Insulting someone is a game to them. The judge will certainly summon the police commissioner and tell him the whole story. The commissioner will think that this woman is ruining the whole game. 'Arrest her.' If the judge were an Englishman, he would fearlessly reprimand the police. Our own brothers are afraid to make even a sound in such cases, lest they themselves be accused of sedition. That is the trouble. The judge will certainly tell the police commissioner. It won't mean that the case will be withdrawn. It will simply mean that the truth must not be exposed. Who knows, they might arrest you yourself. Sometimes, when a witness begins to change his testimony, or becomes intent on exposing the truth, the police put pressure on his family. Their tricks are endless."
Jalpa was frightened. She was not afraid of being arrested herself, but she feared that the police might subject Rama to torture. That fear made her helpless. At that moment she felt such exhaustion as though she had traveled hundreds of miles. All her courage melted away like ice.
After walking some distance farther, she asked Devi Din, "So now I won't be able to meet him?"
Devi Din asked, "Your brother?"
"Yes."
"Not in any way. The guard will have been tightened. They may even have abandoned that bungalow. And even if you do manage to meet him, what good would it do? He cannot change his statement now in any way. He will get caught up in the case."
After walking a little farther, Jalpa said, "I think I should go home. What will I do by staying here now?"
Devi Din looked at her with compassionate eyes and said, "No, daughter, I won't let you go yet. Without you, we won't feel like staying here even for a moment now. The old woman will cry herself to death. Stay here for now and see what judgment is given. I never thought brother was such a weak-hearted man. All of you people from respectable families would give your lives for a government job. If someone offered me even a hundred rupees a month, I would not take a job. Running one's own business is an entirely different matter. In that, a man never gets tired. In a job, once five or six hours have passed, the body begins to break down and one starts yawning."
There was no further conversation on the way. Jalpa's heart simply refused to accept defeat. Even after being defeated, she could not be content to watch this drama like a spectator. She felt compelled to take part in the drama and play her own role. Would she not meet Rama one more time? A sea of burning words that she wanted to say to him was surging within her heart. She felt not the slightest pity for Rama, not an ounce of sympathy. She wanted to say to him:
"May your wealth and prosperity be yours; Jalpa kicks them aside with her feet. The touch of your bloodstained hands would raise blisters on my body. A man who has sold his soul for wealth and position is no human being in my eyes. You are not a human being; you are not even an animal—you are a coward! A coward!"
Jalpa's face shone with intensity. Her neck rose proudly. Perhaps he thought that when Jalpa saw him riding a horse in a splendid, tasselled turban, she would be beside herself with delight. Jalpa was not so low. You may not merely ride a horse but fly through the sky, and in my eyes you are a murderer, a complete murderer, one who put a knife to the throats of so many people simply to save his own life! I explained it all to you while we were walking, but it had no effect! Oh, you are so greedy for money, so avaricious! Never mind. Jalpa does not depend upon you for her sustenance or protection."
Immersed in these anguished thoughts, Jalpa reached home.