Pantulu's brother returned from his domiciliary visit to the College filled with a deep and implacable wrath. He buried it under a cheerfulness he was far from feeling. Since the discovery in the early hours of the morning that Ananda had disappeared, the house had been in a ferment of unrest. Again and again had the premises been searched. Visits were paid by various members of the family to the town and to the houses of acquaintances. More than once had a call been made at Bopaul's and guarded questions put. The market people who had arrived that morning from the country were interrogated; clerks and porters at the railway station examined but with no better result. Help of some sort he must have had if he covered any length of distance. A few hundred yards might have been possible but progress would of necessity have been slow and painful.
Sooba was greeted on his return with a volley of questions from the men of the family. To all of them he was obliged to confess that he had failed signally.
"He is not there; of that I am positive," he repeated over and over again.
"If he is not there, where can he be?" asked one in puzzled curiosity.
"He has joined the English missionary," said another.
"How could that be when he was unable to walk or even to stand?" inquired a third.
"Some one has befriended him and he has escaped in a passing country cart."
"Is it possible that he could have crawled to the jungle unassisted?" asked another.
"A search in the forest with village dogs will soon settle that point."
"Why not send some one to the mission house. It will be easy to discover if he has arrived. Once on British territory he need not hide any longer as we cannot touch him there. He will be lost to us for ever, and we must give up all hope of catching him. It will save trouble to know for certain if he is out of our reach."