part0032

It was early morning as John and Ruth walked to the garage. Drops of dew glistened on the soaked grass like split diamonds scattered by some lavish hand.

John opened the lock with the key he took from his trouser pocket and swung both doors apart. Getting into the driver's seat of the jeep, he pressed the self-starter and allowed the engine to idle a few minutes to warm it up. Then he slowly backed the vehicle out and turned it around in a half-circle to face the front of the bungalow.

"Aren't you taking some things with you, Ruth, in case you stop over a day or two?" he inquired.

Ruth looked up sharply. She was certain she detected a note of sarcasm in his question. Then she decided her guilty conscience was making her unduly sensitive. Undoubtedly the query was prompted by feelings of solicitude.

"Oh yes, John", she replied quickly, "I kept them packed last night in my valise. I shall bring it now". Then she realised her mistake.

"You've not told me how your headache is", her husband remarked, "the fact that you packed last night makes me conclude it's no better, eh? How do you feel?"

Again, Ruth glanced at him overtly. She could kick herself! Yes, she had blundered badly by packing the night before. That would indicate to anybody even the densest nit-wit that she had already made up her mind to go to Nilambur whether her headache was better or not.

She tried to cover up by saying, "It was bad enough all yesterday, darling. I rather anticipated it might be worse this morning and took the precaution of packing in case the headache became too severe to let me think what I wanted to carry with me. As a matter of fact, it's pretty awful".

"I see, dear", her husband replied, adding, "I'm sorry to hear that and hope it won't prevent you from driving. Do be careful. There are some very nasty bends in the first ten miles of gradient. The road is not buttressed and there are deep ravines and nullahs on both sides."

Ruth hardly had the patience to listen to his advice. She turned and went inside the house.

John gazed thoughtfully at the jeep. He walked up to it, gripped the steering-wheel, and jerked it sharply to the right and left to test the mechanism. The front wheels appeared to respond quite normally. He moved it two or three times more, roughly, irritably.

Ruth returned, carrying the valise. John took it from her and put it on the floor at the rear of the jeep. He kissed her; and Ruth kissed him in return.

Then she got in and started the engine.

John called, "Goodbye darling; do be careful. And come back soon quite cured of your headache. I shall be waiting for you".

Ruth said something he could not catch due to the roar of the exhaust. He waved to her as the jeep moved forward in first gear, whining audibly till she changed it to second as she drove up the incline leading to the main road and over the hill.

John watched till it disappeared from sight among the trees. He could still hear the hum of the engine for some time after that. The planter looked worried as he turned to enter the bungalow, but soon that expression gave way to one of utter relief.

Chandra's eyes had followed the departing vehicle too, and there was hate and exultation in them.

Ruth put the jeep into top gear and pressed the accelerator further down. She knew it was only by maintaining a reasonably high speed that she could give the motor enough momentum to climb the gradient. Otherwise she would have to change down into second gear for most of the way.

She covered the first five miles that led to the lowest of the nine hair-pin bends that would take her to the top of the 'ghat '. Thereafter, the gradient would be slight for the remainder of the journey. Soon she would be at Nilambur and, she hoped, in Ted Baker's arms.

Ruth swung the steering-wheel sharply to the left to negotiate the first bend. The jeep took it nicely, but lost impetus and she was compelled to change down to second gear as she wrenched the steering in the opposite direction to take the next bend. Immediately after that turning she pressed the accelerator flat to the floor-board. The engine gradually picked up speed, allowing her to put the vehicle back into top gear.

Once again, she swung hard to the left for the third curve. The jeep took the turn with a slight skid While Ruth kept it in top gear as she approached the fourth bend. Swinging alternately to left and right she passed the seventh hairpin bend and came to a comparatively flat stretch of roadway that led for some distance till it rose steeply at the eighth bend. This was the sharpest of them all and the gradient the steepest. Here she had to make a close turn to the right.

The jeep approached the curve and Ruth kept her foot hard down on the accelerator pedal as she twirled the steering wheel. But this time the vehicle did not respond. Instead of turning to the right it continued going directly forward.

Suddenly the driver realised that something had gone radically wrong with the mechanism. Abruptly she removed her foot from the accelerator and jammed it down on the brake pedal.

But it was too late.

She had been driving far too, fast to be able to stop in the short distance provided by the narrow roadway. Before the brakes could perceptibly slow the vehicle down it shot across the road and burst through the bushes growing on the left bank.

Without warning Ruth suddenly saw empty space and trees far below when the engine, being the heaviest part of the jeep, dropped forward and downwards and the rear wheels spun ludicrously in the air as it dived to the bottom of the valley three hundred feet below.

She screamed loudly twice, and her third scream choked to abrupt silence when the vehicle struck the ground, bounced upwards, somersaulted and came to rest with another resounding crash.

Orange-coloured dust in a choking cloud enveloped everything, hiding the wreck from view. Crackling noises broke the brief silence that followed, growing momentarily louder as flames licked hungrily at the twisted metal. The petrol from the inverted tank had caught fire.

An hour later, maybe longer, came a faint jingling sound. Two bullock-carts came into view, the bells tinkling merrily on the necks of the oxen that hauled them. They were going downhill and in the opposite direction to which the jeep had been travelling.

Thus, it came about that the drivers noticed the spot where something large had broken through the hedging bordering the roadway.

The men got out and each of them placed stones in front of the wheels of his cart to ensure the bulls did not run away with it. Then they went to investigate. They saw tyre marks in the dust and knew it was a motorcar of some sort that had leaped to its doom. Pushing through the smashed bushes they stood on the edge of the ridge.

Far below in the valley smouldered the charred remains of the jeep. Quickly they scrambled down to the wreck. The metal was twisted from the heat of the fire that had by now completely burnt itself out, but they could still identify the vehicle as a jeep.

And that was when they found Ruth's body, contorted and broken and almost charred beyond recognition. She had dressed herself in jeans and shirt so that at first the cartmen thought they were gazing at the remains of a man. Most of her clothing and flesh had been burnt to cinders but the long hair still adhered to her skull. Part of the skin of the face and some on the torso and one thigh, although terribly blistered and raw, showed in patches.

Over all hung the stench of semi-cooked, toasted meat. The cart-men were regular travelers along that stretch of roadway. Many times, before had they seen the jeep with the planter and his wife.

One of them said to the other, "Greystone dorai has been killed".

But his companion replied, "It's his jeep alright but not his body. This is a woman's. Are you so stupid that you cannot recognise a female body when you see one? Look at the long hair. Does a white dorai grow such long hair? And look there. Although the skin has peeled off, cannot you recognise a woman's breast when you see one? Look at the thigh. A man does not have such a graceful, hairless thigh.

"No, it's not the dorai's body, my friend. It's the body of a doraisani (a lady). Probably his wife. She must have tried to drive the motorcar without properly understanding how to do so. That's why she went over the cliff. There's no other body here, so she must have been alone".

"You are right, Gopal", answered the first man, "now I can see it's a woman. Of course, you would be the one to spot that, being the womaniser that you are. I have no doubt if a body was buried for six months and thoroughly decomposed, you would still be able to tell if it had belonged to a woman. You're ahead of me in that way. Let's go and break the news to the dorai . We shall be passing near his bungalow. He may reward us with a baksheesh".

They clambered up the incline to the road, removed the stones from the wheels of their carts, and hastened to bring tidings of the gruesome discovery they had made.

Greystone was seated in the cane chair on his verandah when the cart-drivers presented themselves.

The elder of the two, the man named Gopal, said blandly, "The dorai's jeep has met with an accident and fallen down a khud . It has been burnt up, together with the doraisani ".

"Good God!" John exclaimed, springing to his feet, "What's that you say?"

The cart-man repeated himself, and this time the younger man joined in to explain how they had come to notice there had been an accident.

For a moment, John was at a loss for words. Then he almost shouted the question, "Are you certain the doraisani is dead? She may be only injured?"

"She's quite dead alright; there's hardly anything left of her".

John asked, "Where did this happen?"

“About seven miles away", answered the older man "at the second bend coming down the ghat ".

"Chandra!" yelled John urgently.

The bearer appeared.

"Come with me. These cart-men say the jeep has met with an accident and madam has been killed. We shall have to walk".

Greystone set off up the road, walking so fast that he all but ran while Chandra followed close behind. They were covered with perspiration when they arrived at the scene of the accident.

John scrambled down the slope with Chandra. Then he came to a halt as he gazed at what had been his wife a few hours earlier. He seemed too stunned to say anything and looked dumbly before him.

Not so Chandra, however. Without a second glance at the remains of his late mistress, he walked forward to examine what was left of the jeep. It rested at the bottom of the deep ravine, all four wheels in the air.

After some moments, he called softly to his master, speaking, in his excitement, in broken English instead of in Hindustani.

"Sahib , this iron pieces come off. Maybe madam not able to control". Then he added enigmatically, Perhaps this hand of God and Kismet or maybe hand of man".

“What the hell do you mean?" John practically yelled.

Chandra pointed with the index finger of his right hand to the loose tie-rods. He added, "Something gone wrong with turning bundobast , sahib . Should iron pieces always loose that way? They should fit tight, no?"

John stepped forward quickly to look at the tie-rods. The bolt and nut in the centre had come off!

The servant's words rushed through his mind. What had made Chandra notice this so soon?

“Good heavens!" was all he muttered.

The eyes of the two men met involuntarily. In that glance, each knew what the other was thinking. It was no accident.

Murder had been committed!

John broke the silence. "Stay here a moment, Chandra. I'll be back soon".

"I know where you are going, sahib ", the bearer returned blandly, "to look for missing things. I come with you. My eyes better than yours".

They climbed back to the road and started walking downhill together. John searched one side and Chandra; the other.

It was the servant who found the nut a little below the fatal hairpin bend. He did not touch it, but called urgently to his master, "Come sahib ; here nut".

John thought; why did Chandra not pick it up?

Perhaps he wanted me to see that the nut was indeed lying in the middle of the roadway!

Greystone took the nut in his right hand, studied it for a moment, and thrust it into the pocket of the khaki pants he was wearing.

Just then Chandra darted to the drain by the roadside and retrieved something else which he also handed to John. It was the missing bolt. The planter pill it into his pocket with the nut.

"Go down again and stay with madam's body", he said, "I'll walk the remaining four miles to where this road meets the other from the Forest Chowki. I'll catch the bus to Nilambur there and report this matter to the D.S.P. sahib ".

"I obey, sir", replied Chandra, this time in Hindustani, and turned abruptly to retrace his steps and slither down the loose gravel to the bottom of the valley.

About twenty-five yards short of the wreckage he stopped, climbed on to a low boulder and sat on it, his knees hunched before him with his chin resting on them.

In that position he stared placidly at what was left of the dead woman, and as he gazed the sun grew hotter and first one ant and a single fly, and then more ants and more flies, discovered the remains. The latter began to buzz around in swarms and settle on the body.

But Chandra did nothing.

What had at first been a speck overhead grew larger a king-vulture, spotting death from the great height at which he was flying, started to drop towards the feast. The vulture was followed by others. They settled on the ground in a circle, craned their grotesque, naked, fleshy necks and looked suspiciously at the half-burnt remains.

They had seen death before in many of its forms-from old age, sickness and violence. But they had never seen death where the dreaded flames had earlier played a part. So, they hesitated awhile.

Still Chandra did nothing about it.

Then the king-vulture, perhaps by virtue of being the first to discover this corpse, ungainly hopped a few paces forward and made a peck at the cadaver out of curiosity.

This time Chandra did something. He threw a small stone.

It bounced across the rock and alarmed the king vulture, which turned and hopped back to rejoin the other scavengers. The birds looked reproachfully at the stone thrower.

"Foul bird", Chandra muttered as if to himself, “foul as you are, do not partake of a repast that is far more foul than even you".

Deterred from picking at the dead body, the vultures did not fly away. They maintained their circle while looking alternately at Ruth's remains and at Chandra, if awaiting his permission to begin their gruesome feast.

But the ants and the flies covered the corpse and Chandra did nothing about them.

John waited half-an-hour at the crossroads before the bus turned up. It was an old Chevrolet, battered and held together by numerous welds and joints. The driver halted for him to clamber aboard. The already tightly-packed passengers huddled yet more closely together to make room and the vehicle continued its lumbering journey.

It took nearly two hours to cover those 34 miles to Nilambur.

Ted noticed John's haggard appearance and sweat-sodden clothes and guessed he brought some bad news.

"Glad to see you, John", he began, and then, "Any trouble? You look done in".

"Ruth's dead!" the planter announced, "killed in an accident to the jeep".

"O Christ!" ejaculated the D.S.P., his face draining to a deathly white while he swayed visibly. "Dead, did you say?" he repeated incredulously, "Dead! O Christ! It can't be"

There was not the slightest doubt that between Ruth and this man had been feelings of more than mere friendship.

John felt glad that she was dead.

"How did it happen?" Ted was asking.

The trace of a sardonic smile touched the corners of the planter's mouth. He said, "She complained of a headache for the last two days and asked me to let her use the jeep to come here to see a doctor. She left early this morning".

"Where did it happen?" interrupted the Superintendent.

"At the eighth hair-pin bend, nearly seven miles from the bungalow".

"What caused the accident?"

"I was coming to that", John replied, "While I was looking at Ruth's body Chandra, who had come with me to the spot, examined the wreck. The tie-bars were loose. The nut holding them had come off. As matter of fact we searched for the nut and Chandra found it, lying in the middle of the road a short distance before the spot where the jeep went over into a deep ravine. The bolt had rolled into the gutter".

"Here they are", he added, handing Ted the bolt nut from his pocket.”

"Good heavens!" Baker exclaimed, "Do you really think the accident was caused by this nut falling off?"

"Without a doubt", Greystone affirmed flatly, "but whether it just worked loose and fell off, or was deliberately made loose by someone with the intention that it should fall off, is for you to find out. As a matter of fact, Chandra said just that, together with pome remark about the accident being the will of Kismet or some such thing. Unfortunately, Ruth did not like him and often showed it, and I know he did not like her in return".

"Yes, I know that", Ted agreed.

"How did you know that?" John asked. The question was icily sharp.

“I…I just sort of noticed it", lied the D.S.P., lamely. Then he asked, "Where's the servant now?"

“I left him there while I came by bus to report the matter to you", Greystone explained.

The Superintendent appeared to regain control of himself and had become the police official in charge an inquiry into a possible murder. "I see", he returned, and raising his head towards the door shouted "Sentry! Call the Inspector Sahib quickly".

The Inspector came and Baker said, "Summon the ambulance and ask a doctor to come, too. There's an accident and Mrs. Greystone has been killed".

A little later, with John seated next to him, he headed the Buick towards the scene of the disaster. The ambulance with the doctor, the Inspector and two stretcher-bearers.

Neither Ted nor John spoke to one another, for; each was absorbed in his own thoughts.

When the Buick and the ambulance arrived at the; fateful curve their occupants looked down the bank and saw Chandra seated on a rock above the wreckage. But only when they descended did the king-vulture and his companions waddle a few steps before flapping heavily away in all directions.

Chandra rose to greet them.

Then they noticed the ants and the flies. John said to him bitterly, "What the devil does this mean? Could you not have driven off the flies at least?"

"It's against my caste to touch dead body, sahib ", answered Chandra stoically in English, apparently for Ted to hear.

The doctor and the stretcher-bearers lifted what remained of Ruth on to the stretcher and then struggled up the hill with their burden. Ted left the Inspector at the spot, promising to send policemen from Nilambur to relieve him soon.

When he got back to his office, the D.S.P. locked himself inside.

He was thinking. She told me she would come to Nilambur but expected it would take some days to get John's consent. I never thought for a moment he would agree at all. Strange he raised no objection! His attitude was queer when he spoke to me. Did Chandra overhear our plan? Did he tell?