Taylor did not have to do any more than ignore Buta Singh and the strain became too much for the old man. He came unbidden a week later and assured the Deputy Commissioner that he would get the required information. Another week passed. Buta Singh’s resolve to speak to his son remained unfulfilled for the simple reason he never saw him. When he left for the law courts the boy was still in bed; when he came back, he was away. He had dinner with his daughter-in-law. Every time he asked her, ‘Where is Sher?’ she replied, ‘I do not know’—and nothing more. Night after night he whiled away the hours doing his files waiting for his son to return. Night after night, he nodded, dozed off to sleep, woke up again, switched off the light, and went to bed resolved to broach the subject next day. There were many questions he wanted to ask. When had Sher Singh decided to buy a rifle? Why didn’t he mentioned it to him? Why hadn’t he told him that he had asked Taylor for a licence? It did cross Buta Singh’s mind that the boy might be up to no good in wanting the weapon; it did not occur to him that he might already be owning one illegally. Buta Singh planned to utilize the situation to get round his son to try and get the required information. No, that was a horrid expression. To cooperate in keeping peace and order and save India from a Fascist invasion. Sher Singh might not see it that way unless it was put tactfully. It was worth waiting for. If Sher Singh did what he was asked, the New Year’s Honours list would certainly have something for his father.

Then came the first of the month. Buta Singh resolved that was to be the day. Three days before the date he told the servants and Champak that everyone was to be present at the Gurudwara in time. On the morning itself, he was up before anyone else and went to the servants’ quarters to get Shunno and Mundoo to sweep the room and put things ready. He knocked on his son’s bedroom door and told him not to be late. He had decided to bring up the subject casually at breakfast as a sort of follow up of the discussion on the morning’s news.