CHAPTER 17

The current came at 7 in the night. Watching us run for the room, Indira said.

"Now wait until we have our dinner. This father and daughter have no patience. You're crazy."

"We have to check one more thing. We'll finish it off and come back. You get ready with the dinner."

We were virtually running. I held the lamp to the ceiling and started inspecting the ceiling. Suddenly my heart jumped out. There, in one corner, I saw the covered opening of the staircase. There was a separate frame where the opening was.

"Look, this is what I was telling you. There was a staircase in this room."

Vandana is more than satisfied.

"This must be that room. But you can't check it now. It will take time. In between we will go upstairs and check up the room from where this once upon a time stair would have descended."

We had navigated the numerous corridors and came out to the living room carrying the lamp unplugged with wire and ascended the staircase. Watching through the kitchen door Indira nodded her head.

It was easy finding out the room upstairs. That's the farthermost room. It is very dark inside. The evening glow that lingered outside has not reached that room. We plugged the wire in our bedroom upstairs, and started looking. As in the room downstairs, this room too has a soothrotta instead of the window. The room was empty and we could find that there was an opening to the attic that was closed as in the room downstairs. Why on earth has the Old Man made a staircase to the attic from this room? What purpose does it serve? And then why was it removed? Whatever the old man does is intriguing. There is no scope for hiding a treasure in this room. We went downstairs. Indira was waiting ready with the dinner.

"Did you get?" She asked.

"What?"

"The treasure you're looking for?"

"She is teasing us, dear. Let her tease."

"Just one question," Indira said. "What are you going to do with that treasure?"

"We will first bring a new good mother, isn't it Vandana?"

"Yes, yes, a brand new mother."

"So these are your intentions hiding in your mind, isn't it? Good that you spilled it. Now that the dinner is ready you can have it. From tomorrow onwards Vandana's brand new mother will cook for you."

"Are we a bit early to tell that, Dad?" Vandana said.

After washing hands, I sat in front of the dining table, and I said.

"Remember Vandana, one bird in hand is two in the bush."

"Okay, now tell me frankly. What will you do if you get the treasure?"

"We will give half of it to Kuttettan, since this property belongs to him as well. With our share, we will firstly repay all debts. We still have to pay back the mortgage on our house. And then there are some sundry debts, and if anything remains we will keep it for Vandana's marriage, okay?"

"Okay, okay. I just asked you, so that in case..... I should go and pack my suitcase."

Having settled the 'dispute' amicably we started our dinner.

The dinner looks good and I felt like having a good night's sleep. Cold breeze is blowing through the windows. It is raining somewhere. Now you can hear the sound of downpour coming slowly towards us until it splashes on the tiled roof with a splutter. Its monstrous sound makes your eyelids close and then sleep comes down uncontrollably. Today we should make either of it sure. Either yes, there is, or no it's all nonsense, and we should go back. How long has this madness been gripping us?

"Devi was telling....." Indira started a conversation. "Why, are you looking for any treasure?"

"How come she got such an idea?" I asked her. Devi might have smelt something.

"The hurry burry with which one Dad and his pet daughter are moving around scurrying, any fool can make out that you are looking for something. This being an old mansion, a hundred or two hundred years old, what else would you be looking for?"

I now feel that it is true.

"God, will she put this also in the public domain?"

"Who knows?"

One thing is sure. If you want to look for something, just do it fast and get lost. The dinner was good, but eating has come to be just a ritual. Even while eating the conversation is centered on the same subject. We gulped down our food and reached upstairs and started studying the sketch. I can't start work immediately after food. Not only that, I was thinking let all neighbors go to sleep before we start our exercises.

Indira closed the kitchen door and came up.

"How far has your search reached?" She enquired.

Without saying anything I turned the monitor to her. From our numerous talks and from occasionally watching us work on the computer she has grasped the essence of the problem.

"Now you are looking in this room, right?" She pointed to the room with soothrotta in the sketch.

"Yes?"

"How come you got such an idea?"

"That...... I told you that our compound is a square one like the chess board or rather the chess board is like our compound. So the piece elephant or Bishop represents Lord Ganapathy. Instead of horse, or Knight there is the horse on a pedestal, and in the middle the King himself or the Lord in our chess. That means the temple. Now we have drawn a line between the bishop and the knight. If you draw a perpendicular line from this base line it passes through three rooms. I got this idea because of my early habit of drawing triangles in my mind."

Indira watched the monitor for a few minutes, at the end of which she appeared to have got some clue. She stretched her hand and asked for the chess board.

"Let me see that chess board."

She looked at it for a minute and started laughing. We looked at her in surprise. She said.

"Why do you want to mix up these? Between the bishop and the knight there is the white king, alright? It was he who was checkmated, right?"

"Yes."

"It is Goddess Lakshmi that is shown as white God, and look on the opposite side. The black King stands just opposite to the white King. That is the idol of Lord Krishna in the pooja room. True, Kishna is black according to scriptures and legends. So draw a line connecting these two Kings, and that's a straight line. Look in the sketch, yes, it is a straight line. You should look in the Pooja room."

Both of us looked at Indira with visible admiration.

"I think she's right, Dad. There is such a possibility also."

I was dumbfounded at her intelligence.

"This is the second time you are exhibiting intelligence." I told Indira.

"How come…..?"

"First when you married me...."

"Oh, that ....?"

Vandana draw a line connecting the temple deity and the pooja room. It is a straight line; a highway from one King to the other.

"Let's go and check. There is nothing wrong in checking." I said.

I have studied the sketch once more. The Pooja room is a small one 15 ft. long and 6 ft. wide. As we reached the stairs Vandana called out.

"Dad, let me take the measuring tape, in case we need it?"

We waited until she took the measuring tape. While climbing down I asked her.

"Are you sure you have taken the measurements right?"

I don't know what made me tell her that. But it was good in a way. Now she is in doubt.

"I think so......" She said hesitatingly. "Any way we will measure it once more."

We went first to the Pooja room. The width is 6 ft. alright. But the length is 13ft. only instead of 15 mentioned in the sketch. So? There is a hidden room just like the Old Man's room and the next room. He might have thought this a safer place to hide. We stood there facing each other.

"How come this error crept in?" Indira asked Vandana who was standing with a guilty face.

"I'll tell you." Saving Vandana from a difficult situation I said. "Come...."

I took them to the room just opposite the pooja room. That was a store room. Since it was adjacent to the pooja room the kitchen utensils and other provisions are not stored there. Only the articles and vessels relating to pooja and other rites are stored there. Even that more or less fills the room. Brass lamps of various sizes, some very big, then huge copper vessels and spatulas meant for cooking in feasts, etc.

I took the tape from Vandana and started measuring. The width is 9 ft. as indicated in the sketch and length 15 ft. The dimensions given in the sketch matches those of this room. What happened was since both the pooja room and the store room opposite looked alike Vandana was fooled into believing that both are of same dimension and indicated accordingly in the sketch. That means she hasn't actually taken measurements in the pooja room! She should have taken the measurements of each and every room since finding the anomaly in the Old Man's room. Any way....

We went back to the pooja room. The 3 ft. lost is in the back of the idol of Lord Krishna. It is that wall that we have to break open.

Suddenly it started raining with sound of heavy rain drops lashing on the tiled roof, the whistle of wind blowing. But I didn't feel sleepy. I said to Indira.

"It is this wall behind Lord Krishna that we have to open." I told Indira.

"So what?" She said coolly. Get the pick axe."

I was really surprised. She is much stronger a believer than me. She goes to the temple for praying. As long as we stay here, she offers flowers, lights lamp and offers prayers to this deity. She will fast on all auspicious days. I do not do any of these things, but when I think about moving that idol from its place I feel jittery. Vandana is not saying anything. Now that Mom has taken over the whole thing, she felt relaxed, it seems.

"But, Indira, we'll have to remove the deity from its place?"

"So what, Nandetta? I will move Him to the other side and clean that place once in a while. You go and get the pick axe and spade and all. I will shift Him just now.

She bent down and took hold of the deity.

"Unnikrishnan, please you should sit on the other side for a while. Don't feel bad. We have got to look for something......"

I went out to get the things.