Chapter XIII: Biff’s Mission

The excitement of the meeting over, Biff realized that introductions were in order. He turned to Chandra and Kamuka.

“This is Miguel Arista—Mike to us,” Biff said. “He and I met in Mexico, where we went hunting for a lost Aztec treasure. We had some tough adventures together.” Biff turned to Mike.

“This is Kamuka,” Biff continued. “I told you once about the trip that I took up the Amazon with him. And this is Chandra, the newest member of the team. He steered us through a lot of trouble from Calcutta to New Delhi.”

“And I am glad he did,” returned Mike. “We’ve been watching for you everywhere, that is, for you and Kamuka, Biff. We hadn’t heard about Chandra. We alerted the American and Brazilian Embassies in case you turned up there. So, of all things, you walked into the Mexican Embassy, the last place we expected to see you. How did that happen?”

“That,” replied Biff with a smile, “was Chandra’s idea.”

“It looks like I picked the right United States,” put in Chandra. He turned to Biff and Kamuka. “You had chance number one and two. That gave me chance number three. I hit it right.”

“You sure did,” Biff agreed. He turned to Mike. “But how do you come to be in India? How do you know about all this?”

“You remember my uncle, the judge in Mexico City?”

“Of course.”

“I came here with him on a visit, and we happened to meet your father. My uncle can tell you about it, better than I can.” Mike paused a moment, then asked: “Do you have the ruby?”

For answer, Biff looked around and saw that he and his friends were alone. Then he brought out the priceless packet, opened it, and displayed the Light of the Lama. It took Mike’s breath away. Never before, perhaps, had the rare gem flashed more vividly, more dramatically, than at that moment. That was all Mike needed to see.

“Put it away,” he said. “We’ll go over to my uncle’s hotel and talk to him.”

Mike arranged for a cab, and they went to the hotel. There they met Judge Felix Arista, a quiet man with a white beard and flowing hair that gave him a very austere expression. But the kindly welcome that he gave to Biff put Chandra and Kamuka completely at their ease.

Then Judge Arista went further. He spoke to Kamuka in Portuguese, then to Chandra in Hindi, so fluently that both boys were quite overwhelmed. Judge Arista also assured Biff that all was well with his father, the last they had heard from him. Next, Judge Arista introduced a middle-aged man of military bearing named Colonel Gorak, who evidently held some key position with the government of India. Both were keenly interested in the ruby when Biff produced it. Then Judge Arista turned to the boys and said, “Tell us all that has happened.”

Though Biff was eager to hear more about his father, he realized that Judge Arista was following proper procedure—learning the facts so that he and Colonel Gorak could weigh them. Biff related the events from the time the _Northern Star_ had docked in Calcutta. Judge Arista encouraged Kamuka and Chandra to add their impressions. Chandra, especially, came in for questioning regarding Jinnah Jad, Diwan Chand, and Barma Shah.

All three boys had much to say about Barma Shah and their adventures with him, including how he had saved Biff’s life during the tiger hunt and had later responded to Biff’s call when a thug had tried to steal the ruby at the dak bungalow. Judge Arista finally turned to Colonel Gorak and said:

“I am sure that we can trust these other boys as well as Biff. So I think they should all hear what you have to tell him about Señor Brewster.”

Colonel Gorak bowed acknowledgment, then spoke to Biff in an even, methodical tone.

“Your father came here to India to open some old gold mines,” related Colonel Gorak. “We were hopeful that investors would supply money to work them. Among these mines were some that once belonged to the Rajah of Bildapore, a small domain that was absorbed by a larger princely state, though the Rajah’s family still owned the mines until the Indian government finally acquired them.

“When miners went down into the old shafts, they met with inexplicable accidents. They claimed that the mines were haunted by ghosts and demons, but we blamed it on outside factions. However, Mr. Brewster found there was some basis for the superstition, as it was part of a legend dating back five hundred years.”

As Colonel Gorak paused, Kamuka exclaimed despite himself, “Five hundred years! That is a long, long time!”

“Not in India,” put in Chandra promptly. “Here it is very short.”

“Quite true,” agreed Colonel Gorak seriously. “Five hundred years ago, the ruling Rajah of Bildapore received a magnificent ruby from the Grand Lama of Chonsi, a lost city near the border of India and Tibet. The saying was, ‘While the Light of the Lama shines, so will the Star of the Rajah’—and that proved true, for the mines showed steady profits and were finally sold at a good price.

“Part of those profits were invested in gems which the Rajah’s family promised to give to the Chonsi Lama in return for the luck the ruby had brought them. That was to be done if ever the Rajah’s descendants disposed of their holdings, which they finally did. But Mr. Brewster learned that the gems had been hidden by loyal servants of the Rajah’s family, because outsiders were seeking them.”

As Colonel Gorak paused, Biff asked, “By outsiders, do you mean the Kali cult, sir?”

“For one, yes. For another, there is an international spy ring, run by an adventurer named Bela Kron. We know little about him, except that he will sell out to the highest bidder. Fortunately, Mr. Brewster located the gems and brought them here to New Delhi.”

“And as I was here,” added Judge Arista, “he came to see me first. I realized that this was an international matter, so I pressed it through proper channels, and Colonel Gorak was assigned to the case. He has done admirably with it.”

Colonel Gorak shook his head to that.

“The real credit goes to Mr. Brewster,” he insisted. “His story was fantastic, but he had the gems to prove it and Judge Arista to vouch for him. So we had him go to Ladakh in Eastern Kashmir, where he contacted secret messengers from the Grand Lama. They took him to Chonsi where he delivered the jewels with the compliments of our government. There was just one problem. The Light of the Lama was not among the gems.”

With that, Colonel Gorak gestured to the huge ruby that was glowing in the sunlight as though its ruddy fire held all the secrets of the past centuries. Never had its sparkle been more vivid. No one could wonder why this was the most prized gem of all.

“We should have thought of that beforehand,” declared Judge Arista. “But we had not then seen the Light of the Lama.” He studied the gem again, then turned to Colonel Gorak. “I can understand why the Chonsi Lama wants it,” he said.

Colonel Gorak nodded. “So can I!” he agreed.

“Then the Lama is keeping my father in Chonsi?” asked Biff anxiously. “Until he gets the ruby—like a ransom?”

“Not exactly,” replied Colonel Gorak. “Your father is still in Chonsi, yes—”

“Because they won’t let him go?”

“No, no.” It was Judge Arista who replied to Biff’s anxious question. “I am sure that he could leave at any time, but his mission would not have been completed.”

“He wants to deliver the ruby, too,” explained Colonel Gorak, “and he was sure that Barma Shah would be able to locate it, because they had been working on it together, your father and Barma Shah.”

That calmed Biff immediately. His mind flashed back to the tiger hunt, when Barma Shah had delivered that perfect shot while the shikaris were wondering what to do. Then he thought of the dak bungalow and the way Barma Shah had rescued him there. Chandra must have realized what was in Biff’s mind.

“It is all right, Biff,” Chandra said encouragingly. “Your father and Barma Shah—they are a team.”

Biff brightened as he turned to Judge Arista.

“You mean that I’m to go with Barma Shah?” the boy asked. “That he will be there, too, when we deliver the ruby?”

“Exactly that,” acknowledged Judge Arista. “We are counting on both of you. Your father said that he had arranged for you to receive the ruby and that Barma Shah would do the rest.”

“I have arranged for our trip to Chonsi,” added Colonel Gorak. “We can notify Barma Shah to meet us in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. From there, we will fly to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, where our equipment has been ordered and is waiting for us.”

Two thoughts swam through Biff’s mind. In flying anywhere, he would like to be in a plane piloted by his uncle, Charles Keene, who—to Biff’s thinking—was the greatest pilot ever. Next to his father, Uncle Charlie was the man he would most like to see right now. The other thought was—what was happening in Darjeeling? He felt concerned about his mother and the twins. And he was worried about Li, who by now probably was worried about him.

“Su Tio Carlos,” said Judge Arista, as though he had read Biff’s mind. “Your Uncle Charles. We reached him in Burma and asked him to fly from there to Darjeeling, so he would be ready to take off for Leh, to join your party there. He is in Darjeeling now.”

With that, Judge Arista picked up the telephone and handed it to Biff, adding with a kindly smile, “We have put in a long distance call to your family in Darjeeling. You can talk to them right now.”