"In that message, my father said I would meet a man that he and I could both trust. I am sure he meant you, Mr. Chand."
If the merchant had beamed at the compliment, Biff might have been suspicious, for he still felt the odd sensation of some impending danger. But Mr. Chand was modest.
"You can trust me," he said simply, "but your father meant another man, Barma Shah. He was the contact who brought us together. I had hoped that he would be here to meet you and go with you now, but he is probably being watched."
"By the same spies you mentioned, Mr. Chand?" Biff inquired.
"Yes. Barma Shah told me he would stay away if danger threatened here. That was a month ago and shortly afterward, new riots broke out in Calcutta. Some were rather close by, the nearest that they have been. Naturally, Barma Shah did not come that day. He has stayed away since—and wisely—so I sent word to you myself, as was arranged for such a situation."
Above Mr. Chand's quiet voice, Biff thought he heard a rising murmur, much like the approach of the tidal bore along the Hooghly. Whether or not it was his imagination, he felt more closed in than ever.
"The day of the riots," Mr. Chand went on, "I looked at the Light of the
Lama and saw it had clouded. I was afraid, not for myself, but for Barma
Shah. I was glad when he did not come here—"
The murmur was louder now, no longer like wave beats, but more a human babble, with occasional muffled shouts. Mr. Chand heard them, too, for he raised his hand and exclaimed: "Listen!" Timed to the action came a sudden pounding at the office door and the excited voice of Nathu, the watchman:
"Master! There is danger! Another riot has started, outside our very gate!"
As Chand unlocked the office door and opened it, the babble rose to a bedlam of howls, shrieks, and the clang of metal as the mob battered at the big gate. At Chand's mention of the ruby, Biff had thrust his hand into his pocket to see if he still had the chamois bag that he had placed there. It was safe, and as Biff clenched it tensely, his palm seemed to burn as though the gem were actually glowing through its wrappings.