can bring a blanket, money for Ghosh, and a dish like the one he is carrying. He tells them to go home.

Marion goes to get Almaz, who has not left her position all day, but she resolutely refuses to leave. They leave her reluctantly and only after giving her some warmer clothing to add to her voluminous robes. At home the phones are now working and Matron is able to get assurances that an envoy from the British and Indian embassies will visit the prison tomorrow. None of the royals who had been treated at Missing Hospital will speak to her. Matron hears that the only thing that saved the Emperor was the intense jealousy and rivalry between the Imperial Bodyguard senior officers and the senior army, and the Emperor is eager to maintain that discontent. That night the twins sleep with Hema in her bed, in a room filled with the scent and possessions of Ghosh. Marion now understands one of Ghosh’s philosophies, that “an uneventful day is a precious gift.” Matron has decided to sleep in their home and settles into the bed the twins share. She tells them all not to worry and to say their prayers; Marion prays to every deity in the room, from pagan to Christian.

Almaz returns in the early morning. She did not see the doctor, but every time a car passed she stood, for if Doctor Ghosh were in the car she wanted him to see her there. Matron and Hema plan to be at the appointed spot with food, blankets, and money; then they plan to make the rounds of the embassies and royals. The women convince the boys to stay home (in case Ghosh calls) with Rosina and Genet; Almaz insists on going back to her station at Kerchele. None of them are back by noon.

Koochooloo never barks, so when he barks that afternoon Marion pays attention. He sees a scruffy man in a green army jacket stroll up the driveway and disappear behind the house. Marion runs to the kitchen, where the others are gathered at the window. Koochooloo continues barking until the man opens his jacket to pull out a heavy revolver, then she runs. Rosina knows the man. She has seen him with Zemui; he was always flattering the more senior officer. Now the intruder looks at Zemui’s motorcycle and caresses the seat. Suddenly he looks their way and tells them to come out; he can see them. Rosina prepares to go out but insists the children go out the front door and run to the hospital. They are to lock the door behind her and wait at the hospital until she comes to get them. Instead, they all simply follow her out the door.

Marion says later that it was not an act of bravery; perhaps it just felt safer for them to stay with the only adult left in their world rather than be alone. The soldier is young, too young for his uniform. Rosina approaches with her head covered and her eyes lowered, and he tells her the motorcycle now belongs to the army. She tells him that is probably true, so perhaps the army should come and get it. While her tone is deferential, her words are argumentative. They argue and Rosina continues to incense the young rebel; he insults Zemui, Rosina, and their “bastard child.” In a quick move, the soldier backhands Rosina in a mighty blow. Rosina’s face is bleeding and she has lost a tooth, and the soldier has a gash on his knuckle. Genet flies at him but is easily repulsed. The soldier pulls out his gun and aims it at Rosina. He threatens to kill her if Genet tries it again and promises he would get a medal if he killed all of them right now.

The man takes a key out of his pocket. It is the only key to the motorcycle; he has obviously taken it from Zemui himself. The bike is unfamiliar and unwieldy for the inexperienced man, and he struggles with it for a long time. Marion is ashamed that they are not fighting to the death, as Zemui had done. The young soldier is soon frustrated and humiliated, which makes him even more dangerous. Shiva offers to push him down the hill since the engine is flooded and will not start. Marion adds that he can put it into first gear at the bottom of the hill and it will start right away. The soldier is startled that they speak, but he agrees to their suggestion.

The plan works, but the entire process is a struggle because the rider is so inexperienced on the motorcycle. The bike finally roars to life—just as bike and rider reach the precipice of the hill. The man panics, the bike hits the ledge, and the soldier flies over the ledge. He hits the ground with a thud and rolls another ten feet, where his face smashes into a tree. The heavy motorcycle stayed safely at the top of the hill. Marion gets to him first. He had wanted this to happen, but now he feels terrible that his plan worked. The soldier is alive but is a “grotesque sight.” His foot is twisted and his face is a bloody mess, but the man is moaning about his belly and asks them to get it out. Marion looks and sees the butt of the pistol has been jammed well into the man’s rib cage. Despite Rosina’s warning that this is a ruse for the soldier to get his gun, Marion pulls at the weapon with all his strength. It does not budge. Marion readjusts his grip and tries again; he feels a kick before he hears the shot. The gun is free but there is a gaping hole in the man’s chest. Marion feels his pulse. It is one Ghosh has never shown him: “the absent pulse.”

Rosina sends Genet to get Gebrew and says they must hurry before any of this is seen. First they move the motorcycle back to the shed and stack things around it to keep it hidden. Next they put the dead soldier in a rusty wheelbarrow and push it to the edge of Missing’s property near a place roped off with a sign warning “Drowning Soil” (quicksand). The others are about to pitch the body into the sucking soil but Marion yells at them to stop. He is shaking and crying, afraid of what he has done. Rosina slaps him hard and they proceed to dump the body. They watch until he disappears, this man who now looks human instead of threatening. Rosina spits in the direction of the body and turns to Marion; her face is contorted by anger and bloodlust. She tells Marion the man would have killed any of them just for fun, and the only reason he did not was because he wanted the motorcycle even more than the thrill of killing. She tells Marion to be proud of what he did. On the slow walk back, Rosina tells them all they must keep this a secret; they cannot even tell Hema or Ghosh or Matron. She looks at Marion last. With her bloody face and missing tooth she barely looks familiar to him. She comes to him and hugs him—the kind of hug a woman gives her son or her hero. In his ear she says he was brave, and Genet comes to hug him too. If brave is feeling numb and dumb, having a racing heart and a longing for the girl who is hugging him, then Marion feels brave.