‘Godwin had developed a passion for gambling. When he was in Lucknow, he often put his money on cockfights, or even fights between partridges. He made a lot of money—but he lost as much. Now, in Calcutta, the same passion returned ... His daughter did not say much more in her article. As far as I can remember, it was published only a few months after he died. So, obviously, Charlotte Godwin could not write at length about her own father’s weaknesses, particularly at that age and time. Anyway, if you want to read that article, you will find it in the Asiatic Society. It will naturally give you many more details.’

Feluda and I both remained silent for a few moments after hearing such a fascinating story. It was Uncle Sidhu who broke the silence.

‘But why this sudden interest in Thomas Godwin?’ he asked.

‘I shall soon explain,’ Feluda replied. ‘Before that, I need to know something else. Have you heard of a Narendra Biswas, who writes on old Calcutta?’

‘Where does he write?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘If he writes for some little known magazine, I don’t think I’ll have seen his articles. I’ve virtually stopped reading magazines—I mean, other than all my usual stuff. But why do you ask?’

Feluda quickly described the previous day’s events. ‘What I want to know,’ he said, ‘is why a man’s wallet should be found at least twenty feet away, if that man is hit by a falling tree which makes him drop to the ground.’

‘Hmm.’

Uncle Sidhu remained thoughtful for a few seconds. Then he said, ‘Yesterday, the wind speed was ninety miles per hour. If that wallet was in the breast pocket of his shirt, it could well have dropped out of it when the man began running. The wind may have carried it further. That tree may have fallen on him even as he was running. Where’s the mystery in that?’

‘The man fell right next to Godwin’s grave.’

‘So what?’

‘There was a hole near the grave, as if someone had started digging the ground.’

This time, Uncle Sidhu’s eyes grew round. ‘What! Grave-digging? That’s grave news indeed. In fact, it’s incredible. I’ve heard of new corpses being dug up and sold to medical colleges. That may bring in a certain amount of money. But what would anyone do with a two-hundred-year-old corpse? They’d only find a few bones. It would have neither archaeological significance nor any resale value! Are you sure this place had been recently dug up?’

‘No, not entirely sure. The rain had wiped out any marks a spade would have left, but even so ... ‘