Campbell

Chapter 8

James was still in deep thought . His answer to my question came so late that , by that time , I had started to think that he had not heard me at all .

'I had brought it to Bundi . It was destroyed here . '

'Destroyed ? How ?'

'We were sitting out on the lawn having tea . I had kept the doll by my side on the grass . The cup tilted and some of the hot tea fell on my pants . I ran inside to change and came back to find to find that Campbell had disappeared . I looked around and found quite soon that a couple of stray dogs were having a nice tug-of-war with Campbell . Although he didn't actually come apart , his face was battered beyond recognition and his clothes were torn . In other words , Campbell did not exist for me anymore . He was dead .'

' And then ? ' James 's story intrigued me .

' What could possibly happen after that ? I arranged this funeral , that's all . '

'Meaning? '

' I buried him under that Deodar tree . I had wanted to make a coffin . Campbell was after , a European . But I could find nothing , not even a little box . So , in the end , I buried him just like that . '

At last, the mystery of the deodar tree was resolved .

We went to bed at around 2211 hours .

The bed was very comfortable . I fell asleep barely ten minutes after hitting the pillow .

A slight noise woke me a little later . I turned on my side and got up . James's room was adjacent to mine . Our rooms were the only ones on that floor . I knocked on the door . After waiting for a good whole 10 minutes , the door opened and I was faced with a horrified James .

I stepped in and closed the door behind me . James plopped himself on the bed . The table lamp by his bed was switched on and in its light , it was not hard to see the look of anxiety on his face .

I asked , ' Are you sane ? You were shouting like a maniac , I guess . '

Instead of answering my question , James asked me one himself .

' Do you think the Circuit House has got small animals ? I mean things like , mice or cats ? '

' I shouldn't be surprised if it does . Why ?'

' Something walked over my chest . That's what woke me . '

Upon that , I dropped my eyes from his face to his broad chest . He was freaking shirtless . Damn , his muscles were toned .

Uh-uh not the right time to think bout that ..

I cleared my throat and asked him .

' Rats and mice usually come in through drains . But I ' ve never known them to climb on the bed . '

'This is the second time I woke up actually . The first time I had I heard something.. a shuffling noise near the window . '

'Oh , if it was near the window , it is more likely to be a cat . ' I remarked smartly .

' Yes , but..'