"It was more through me," returned Chandra proudly. "I swam out to the ship, carrying the tape in this." He produced a watertight bag on a neck chain. "I looked for the cabin with the tape recorder. I put on the tape, the way Mr. Chand showed me. Then I heard you coming, so I went out through porthole quick, and dropped straight down."
"A neat trick," complimented Biff. "I'd like to see you do it some time.
Tell me, Chandra, did you ever meet my father?"
"Yes, I see Sahib Brewster twice, when I was there at Chand and
Brothers, with Jinnah Jad."
"And did you meet his friend, Barma Shah?"
"No, never. He came only to see Mr. Chand in secret. He is what you call undercover. He stayed away on purpose, when others began to find out that the ruby was there. Like thugs I speak about."
They were trudging along the road again, and now Biff recalled that it was Chandra's mention of thugs, or stranglers, that had caused him to stop and make sure that he still had the priceless ruby safely tucked away.
"These thugs," questioned Biff, "do they want the ruby because of its value?"
"They want it because of the goddess Kali," replied Chandra. "That is why they started riot outside of Chand and Brothers. They would have strangled Mr. Chand, but they found the ruby gone—"
"So they were looking for me because I had it, and they would have killed me for it!" Biff explained.
"That is right. But thugs will strangle almost anybody if they find suitable time and place, because they believe in Kali."