Page 136 - Lavender-B-8

Kavita had a disturbing night. Around midnight, she was jerked out of her sleep by dull
thuds from somewhere within the building. Wondering if one of the seniors or the dorm
mistress had been locked out, she got up and went towards the sound. It was coming from
the basement! As she stood behind a pillar and thought of what she should do, the door
opened and someone came out. It was Mr Ghosh!

Kavita quietly followed him. He made his way out towards the extension of the building
the construction for which had started last term but had since been stopped. Now it was
cordoned off and none of the children or the teachers were allowed to go that side. ‘What
is he up to?’ Kavita wondered. She watched the place where he had entered for a long time.
When he didn’t reappear, she went back to her dormitory and fell asleep.

Mr Ghosh did look sleepy the next day in class, but he didn’t have to do much. He just

started the children off on their debate and soon they were
arguing enthusiastically and he let them fight it out.

When Mr Ghosh left the classroom, his book was
still on the table and Dipali picked it up to give it
to him. An envelope fell out of it and she glanced
at it. ‘To Mr Ranjan Roy’ was written on it. What

was Mr Ghosh doing with a letter addressed to
someone else?

When they exchanged information that night,
Kavita said, ‘Maybe his real name is Ranjan Roy
and he is a criminal!’

‘We must tell the Principal!’ Dipali whispered.

‘Why don’t we try and find out what he is up to
instead?’ suggested Kavita.

So that night, they waited until everyone was asleep and then tiptoed down to the

basement. This time, there was no thudding noise, only quiet scraping. They pushed the
door open a fraction and saw Mr Ghosh bent over something in the mud. Carefully, he
lifted it up and held it under the light.

Kavita gasped and pulled back. It was a human skull! The girls ran back to the dormitory.
‘The Principal should know what the new teacher is doing!’ Dipali insisted.

‘Do you think Mr Ghosh or Ranjan Roy, if that is his jerked: moved suddenly and abruptly,

real name, is a murderer?’ asked Kavita in a small often as a reaction to something
unexpected or startling
voice. ‘Is he trying to cover up some crime he has cordoned off: protected (an area) by
committed?’ putting a barrier around it
dormitory: a large bedroom for a number
of people in a school or institution

136