owe a bill
of costs. The manager referred to his books and declared that Rs. 33
8. 0. were still due. Karim planked down the money without further
ado and asked for a receipt, which Santi reluctantly gave him. Then
he again demanded the immediate release of his property. On receiving
an evasive answer, he remarked that Chandra Babu would hear from him
shortly and left the office.

About a month later, Chandra Babu was aroused from sleep in the
dead of night by shouts coming from his inner courtyard. He jumped
up and popped his head out of the window, but withdrew it hastily
on seeing twenty or thirty men running about his premises, with
lighted torches, and shouting--"Loot! loot!" Paralysed by fear, he
crawled under the bed and lay in breathless expectation of further
developments. Presently the door was forced open, and a crowd poured
into the room. Chandra Babu's hiding place was soon discovered by
the dacoits (gang robbers), who dragged him out by the legs and
demanded his keys on pain of instant death. Seeing a rusty talwar
(sword) flourished within an inch of his throat, the unhappy man at
once produced them, whereon the dacoits opened his safe and took out
several bags of rupees. Then at a signal from their sardar (leader),
they bound Chandra Babu hand and foot and squatted round him in a
circle. The sardar thus addressed him:--

"Babuji, do you know us?"

"How can I know you?" groaned their victim. "Your faces are blackened
and concealed by your turbans. Gentlemen, I implore you to spare my
life! I never injured any of you."

"Indeed!" replied the sardar sarcastically; "you have been the ruin
of us all. Look you, Chandra Babu, we are all Khataks (customers)
of yours whom you have fleeced by levying exorbitant interest on
loans and falsifying our accounts. It's no use going to law for our
rights; you are hand in glove with the civil court amla (clerks) and
peons (menials) and can get them to do whatever you wish. So we have
determined to take the law into our own hands. We have made up our
accounts and find that you have extorted from us Rs. 5,000, over and
above advances of rice and cash with reasonable interest. Now we're
going to help ourselves to that sum, besides damages at four annas
in the rupee (twenty-five per cent.). This makes just Rs. 6,250 you
owe us."

Thereon the dacoits counted out cash to that amount and no more,
which was placed in bags containing Rs. 1,000 each, ready for
removal. Chand