Chapter 7

(_Enter the chief of police, two policemen, and a man with his hands bound behind his back_.)

_The two policemen_ (_striking the man_). Now, pickpocket, tell us where you found this ring. It is the king's ring, with letters engraved on it, and it has a magnificent great gem.

_Fisherman_ (_showing fright_). Be merciful, kind gentlemen. I am not guilty of such a crime.

_First policeman_. No, I suppose the king thought you were a pious Brahman, and made you a present of it.

_Fisherman_. Listen, please. I am a fisherman, and I live on the Ganges, at the spot where Indra came down.

_Second policeman_. You thief, we didn't ask for your address or your social position.

_Chief_. Let him tell a straight story, Suchaka. Don't interrupt.

_The two policemen_. Yes, chief. Talk, man, talk.

_Fisherman_. I support my family with things you catch fish with--nets, you know, and hooks, and things.

_Chief_ (_laughing_). You have a sweet trade.

_Fisherman_. Don't say that, master.

You can't give up a lowdown trade That your ancestors began; A butcher butchers things, and yet He's the tenderest-hearted man.

_Chief_. Go on. Go on.

_Fisherman_. Well, one day I was cutting up a carp. In its maw I see this ring with the magnificent great gem. And then I was just trying to sell it here when you kind gentlemen grabbed me. That is the only way I got it. Now kill me, or find fault with me.

_Chief_ (_smelling the ring_). There is no doubt about it, Januka. It has been in a fish's maw. It has the real perfume of raw meat. Now we have to find out how he got it. We must go to the palace.

_The two policemen_ (_to the fisherman_). Move on, you cutpurse, move on. (_They walk about_.)

_Chief_. Suchaka, wait here at the big gate until I come out of the palace. And don't get careless.

_The two policemen_. Go in, chief. I hope the king will be nice to you.

_Chief_. Good-bye. (_Exit_.)

_Suchaka_. Januka, the chief is taking his time.

_Januka_. You can't just drop in on a king.

_Suchaka_. Januka, my fingers are itching (_indicating the fisherman_) to kill this cutpurse.

_Fisherman_. Don't kill a man without any reason, master.

_Januka_ (_looking ahead_). There is the chief, with a written order from the king. (_To the fisherman_.) Now you will see your family, or else you will feed the crows and jackals. (_Enter the chief_.)

_Chief_. Quick! Quick! (_He breaks off_.)

_Fisherman_. Oh, oh! I'm a dead man. (_He shows dejection_.)

_Chief_. Release him, you. Release the fishnet fellow. It is all right, his getting the ring. Our king told me so himself.

_Suchaka_. All right, chief. He is a dead man come back to life. (_He releases the fisherman_.)

_Fisherman_ (_bowing low to the chief_). Master, I owe you my life.

(_He falls at his feet_.)

_Chief_. Get up, get up! Here is a reward that the king was kind enough to give you. It is worth as much as the ring. Take it. (_He hands the fisherman a bracelet_.)

_Fisherman_ (_joyfully taking it_). Much obliged.

_Januka_. He _is_ much obliged to the king. Just as if he had been taken from the stake and put on an elephant's back.

_Suchaka_. Chief, the reward shows that the king thought a lot of the ring. The gem must be worth something.

_Chief_. No, it wasn't the fine gem that pleased the king. It was this way.

_The two policemen_. Well?

_Chief_. I think, when the king saw it, he remembered somebody he loves. You know how dignified he is usually. But as soon as he saw it, he broke down for a moment.

_Suchaka_. You have done the king a good turn, chief.

_Januka_. All for the sake of this fish-killer, it seems to me. (_He looks enviously at the fisherman_.)

_Fisherman_. Take half of it, masters, to pay for something to drink.

_Januka_. Fisherman, you are the biggest and best friend I've got. The first thing we want, is all the brandy we can hold. Let's go where they keep it. (_Exeunt omnes_.)