Page 134 - Train to Pakistan

children. The visitors moved in with the volunteers. More lamps were brought

in. The leader spread out a map on one of the beds. He held up a hurricane
lantern. The volunteers crowded round him to study the map.
‘Can you all see the position of the bridge and the river from where you are?’

he asked.
‘Yes, yes,’ they answered impatiently.
‘Have any of you got guns?’

They all looked at each other. No, no one had a gun.
‘It does not matter,’ continued the leader. ‘We still have six or seven rifles,
and probably a couple of sten guns as well. Bring your swords and spears. They

will be more useful than guns.’ He paused.
‘The plan is this. Tomorrow after sunset, when it is dark, we will stretch a
rope across the first span of the bridge. It will be a foot above the height of the

funnel of the engine. When the train passes under it, it will sweep off all the
people sitting on the roof of the train. That will account for at least four to five
hundred.’

The eyes of the listeners sparkled with admiration. They nodded to each other
and looked around. The lambardar and Meet Singh stood at the door listening.
The boy turned round angrily:

‘Bhaiji, what have you to do with this? Why don’t you go and say your
prayers?’
Both the lambardar and Meet Singh turned away sheepishly. The lambardar

knew he too would be told off if he hung around.
‘And you, Lambardar Sahib,’ said the boy. ‘You should be going to the police

station to report.’
Everyone laughed.
The boy silenced his audience by raising his hand. He continued: ‘The train is
due to leave Chundunnugger after midnight. It will have no lights, not even on

the engine. We will post people with flashlights along the track every hundred
yards. Each one will give the signal to the next person as the train passes him. In

any case, you will be able to hear it. People with swords and spears will be right
at the bridge to deal with those that fall off the roof of the train. They will have
to be killed and thrown into the river. Men with guns will be a few yards up the
track and will shoot at the windows. There will be no danger of fire being

returned. There are only a dozen Pakistani soldiers on the train. In the dark, they