"Because they won't let him go?"
"No, no." It was Judge Arista who replied to Biff's anxious question. "I am sure that he could leave at any time, but his mission would not have been completed."
"He wants to deliver the ruby, too," explained Colonel Gorak, "and he was sure that Barma Shah would be able to locate it, because they had been working on it together, your father and Barma Shah."
That calmed Biff immediately. His mind flashed back to the tiger hunt, when Barma Shah had delivered that perfect shot while the shikaris were wondering what to do. Then he thought of the dak bungalow and the way Barma Shah had rescued him there. Chandra must have realized what was in Biff's mind.
"It is all right, Biff," Chandra said encouragingly. "Your father and
Barma Shah—they are a team."
Biff brightened as he turned to Judge Arista.
"You mean that I'm to go with Barma Shah?" the boy asked. "That he will be there, too, when we deliver the ruby?"
"Exactly that," acknowledged Judge Arista. "We are counting on both of you. Your father said that he had arranged for you to receive the ruby and that Barma Shah would do the rest."
"I have arranged for our trip to Chonsi," added Colonel Gorak. "We can notify Barma Shah to meet us in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. From there, we will fly to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, where our equipment has been ordered and is waiting for us."
Two thoughts swam through Biff's mind. In flying anywhere, he would like to be in a plane piloted by his uncle, Charles Keene, who—to Biff's thinking—was the greatest pilot ever. Next to his father, Uncle Charlie was the man he would most like to see right now. The other thought was—what was happening in Darjeeling? He felt concerned about his mother and the twins. And he was worried about Li, who by now probably was worried about him.