‘Mr Biswas. Naren Biswas. The day before yesterday ...’

‘But he’s left. Only a couple of hours ago. His brother came in his car to collect him. They’ve gone.’

‘Really? But the papers said ... ‘

‘What did they say? That he was seriously wounded? Press reporters often exaggerate. If a whole tree fell on someone, naturally he wouldn’t survive. What hit Mr Biswas was a relatively small branch. He needed treatment more for shock than actual physical injury. His right wrist was injured, and he needed a few stitches in his head, that’s all.’

‘Could you tell me something? Was it the same Naren Biswas who writes on old Calcutta?’

‘Yes, the very same. Obviously, I was curious to know why he was in the cemetery, in the first place. So he said he was doing some research on old Calcutta. I told him he had found a good subject. The more one stays away from today’s Calcutta, the better.’

‘Did his injuries seem normal to you?’

‘Ah. Now you’re talking! That was a question worthy of a detective.’

Feluda failed to hide his embarrassment. ‘No, I mean ... did he say himself that a tree fell and ...?’

‘Look, a large part of a tree did come crashing down, didn’t it? Surely there’s no doubt about that? And the fellow was in the vicinity. Is there any reason to question that?’

‘Did he think there was anything suspicious?’

‘No, of course not. He said he actually saw and heard the tree cracking and coming down ... naturally, it was not possible to guess exactly how far its branches were spread. But ... yes, when he regained consciousness, he uttered the word “will” two or three times. I don’t know if there’s anything mysterious in that. I wouldn’t have thought so, as that was the only time he mentioned a will. He said nothing about it afterwards.’

‘Do you happen to know his full name?’

‘Didn’t that newspaper report mention it? Narendra Nath Biswas.’

‘I have another question—please forgive me, I am taking up a lot of your time—do you remember what clothes he was wearing?’

‘Certainly. A shirt and trousers. I even remember what colour they were—the shirt was white and the trousers were biscuit coloured. Not Glaxo biscuits, mind you, but cream crackers ... ha ha ha!’

After that, Feluda took Mr Biswas’s address from Dr Shikdar and we left the hospital. Mr Biswas lived in New Alipore. We went there straightaway. Usually, it is not easy to find a house in New Alipore unless one knows its exact location, but it turned out that Lalmohan Babu’s driver knew the streets of Calcutta very well. We did not have to spend more than three minutes looking for Mr Biswas’s house.