ello can I speak to Mr Mitter, please?’ ‘Speaking.’ ‘Namaskar. My name is Shankarprasad Chowdhury. I live in Panihati. You don’t know me, but I am calling you to make a special request.’ ‘Yes?’ ‘I’d like you to visit my house here in Panihati. It is by the Ganges. It’s about a hundred years old and is called Amaravati. Locally it’s quite well-known. I’m aware of the kind of work you do, and that you’re normally accompanied by your cousin and your friend, so I’m inviting all three of you. Do you think you could come next Saturday, say around ten in the morning? You could stay the night and go back the following morning.’ ‘Are you in trouble of some kind? I mean, you said you knew about my profession, so I wonder . . . ?’ ‘Yes, why else would I need to seek your help? But I’m not going to talk about it on the phone. I think you’ll enjoy staying in my house. You’ll be well looked after—I can guarantee that—and you’ll get a chance to exercise your brain.’ ‘Well, I must confess I am free this weekend.’ ‘In that case, please say yes. But I must mention something else.’ ‘What is it?’ ‘There will be a few other people here. I don’t want them to know who you are—at least, not right away. There’s a special reason for this.’ ‘You mean we should come in disguise?’ ‘No, no, that will not be necessary. After all, you’re not a film star, so I don’t think the others are familiar with your appearance. All you need to do is choose yourselves three different roles. I can even suggest what roles you might play.’ ‘Yes?’ ‘My great-grandfather Banwarilal Chowdhury was a strange man. I’ll tell you about him when we meet, but you could pretend you have come to collect information about him to write his biography. In fact, I really think it’s time his biography was written.’ ‘Very well. What about my friend, Mr Ganguli?’ ‘Do you have a pair of binoculars?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Then why don’t you turn him into a bird-watcher? I get plenty of birds in my garden. That’ll give him something to do.’ ‘All right; and my cousin could be the bird-watcher’s nephew.’

‘Good idea. So I’ll see you on Saturday, at around ten?’ ‘Yes, I’ll look forward to that. Thank you and goodbye!’ Feluda put the phone down and repeated the whole conversation to me. He ended by saying, ‘Some people speak with such genuine warmth and sincerity that it becomes impossible to turn down their request. This Mr Chowdhury is such a man.’ ‘But why should you even think of turning him down? From what he told you, there’s a case waiting in Panihati for you. Surely you have to think of earning some money, at least occasionally?’ Over the last couple of months, Feluda had refused to accept a single case. He did this often after a spate of great activity,