T he manager of Nirupama Hotel, Harishchandra Hore, looked at his watch — six thirty! He quickly sat up in bed. It was very late today. He called, "Gunadhar!"

The uniformed bearer appeared at his door. He was a thin man, very alert and efficient. Harish asked him, "Have you given the guests their bed-tea?"

Gunadhar said, "Yes. Everyone in the second floor has taken bed-tea, but Room Number Two of the first floor did not respond even when I knocked."

Harishchandra said, "Room number two of the first floor? ... Rajkumarbabu. Knock again after fifteen minutes.... Who has gone to the market?"

"Sarkar, Sir, has gone with General."

"All right, please bring me my tea." Harishchandra went into the adjoining bathroom.

Nirupama Hotel was situated on Rashbehari Avenue, a little further away from the Gariahat Square. The hotel was a little westernised. The servants wore smart uniforms. A doorman, also smartly dressed like a General, would stand at the gateway, and salute the right people.

It was a three storeyed house, and each storey had eight rooms. The manager occupied two rooms in the ground floor — one was his bedroom, the other, his office. On the ground floor was a large dining hall, furnished with tables and chairs, together with kitchen, servants' quarters, storeroom etc. Both Indian and western dishes were available there. The charges were quite high. No wonder the hotel was frequented by upper-middle class guests.

Half an hour later, Harishchandra came out of his room, smartly dressed in a suit. He was a good-looking man of about forty-six, very alert and intelligent.

He had his breakfast in the dining room. His breakfast over, Harishchandra asked Gunadhar, "Did you go to Rajkumarbabu's room again?"

Gunadhar said, "Yes, ... but this time too, he did not respond."

Harishchandra frowned. Then he went to his office. He took out his bunch of keys from the cupboard, came back, and said, "Let's go."

It was about seven in the morning. There was a great deal of hustle and bustle in the kitchen and the dining room. At eight, breakfast would have to be served to the guests.

While climbing the steps, Harishchandra asked Gunadhar, "Was Rajkumarbabu in his room last night?"

Gunadhar said, "Yes Sir, he was. I myself served him dinner in his room last night."

"When was the main door closed?"

"You came back at eleven last night, and then I shut the door."

By that time they had reached the first floor. There were eight rooms in a row on the first floor, and in front of these was a long verandah. All the doors were closed. Harishchandra stood in front of Room Number 2 and knocked peremptorily.

No one responded. He called out. "Rajkumarbabu!"

Still there was no response. Harishchandra tried the door, but the door did not open. This time Harishchandra raised his voice and called out loudly, "Rajkumarbabu!" The echo of his voice slowly gave way to an empty silence.

Harishchandra took out