One heavy night in August of that year, five men emerged from a keekar grove not far from Mano Majra, and moved silently toward the river. They were dacoits, or professional robbers, and all but one of them were armed. Two of the armed men carried spears. The others had carbines slung over their shoulders. The fifth man carried a chromium-plated electric torch. When they came to the embankment, he flicked the torch alight. Then he grunted and snapped it off.

‘We will wait here,’ he said.

He dropped down on the sand. The others crouched around him, leaning on their weapons. The man with the torch looked at one of the spearmen.

‘You have the bangles for Jugga?’

‘Yes. A dozen of red and blue glass. They would please any village wench.’

‘They will not please Jugga,’ one of the gunmen said.

The leader laughed. He tossed the torch in the air and caught it. He laughed again and raised the torch to his mouth and touched the switch. His cheeks glowed pink from the light inside.

‘Jugga could give the bangles to that weaver’s daughter of his,’ the other spearman said. ‘They would look well with those large gazelle eyes and the little mango breasts. What is her name?’

The leader turned off the torch and took it from his mouth. ‘Nooran,’ he said.

‘Aho,’ the spearman said. ‘Nooran. Did you see her at the spring fair? Did you see that tight shirt showing off her breasts and the bells tinkling in her plaits and the swish-swish of silk? Hai!’

‘Hai!’ the spearman with the bangles cried. ‘Hai! Hai!’

‘She must give Jugga a good time,’ said the gunman who had not yet spoken. ‘During the day, she looks so innocent you would think she had not shed her milk teeth.’ He sighed. ‘But at night, she puts black antimony in her eyes.’

‘Antimony is good for the eyes,’ one of the others said. ‘It is cooling.’

‘It is good for other people’s eyes as well,’ the gunman said.

‘And cooling to their passions, too.’

‘Jugga?’ the leader said.

The others laughed. One of them suddenly sat erect.

‘Listen!’ he said. ‘There is the goods train.’

The others stopped laughing. They all listened in silence to the approaching train. It came to a halt with a rumble, and the wagons groaned and creaked. After a time, the engine could be heard moving up and down, releasing wagons. There were loud explosions as the released wagons collided with the ones on the sidings. The engine chuffed back to the train.

‘It is time to call on Ram Lal,’ the leader said, and got to his feet.