Page 64 - Train to Pakistan

God alone knows how many they killed. What would happen if a mob got hold
of my tonga full of Muslims? They would kill me first and ask afterwards.’
‘Why didn’t a dog get under the jeep and upset it?’ asked Iqbal sarcastically.
There was an awkward pause. No one knew what to say to this sour-tempered

babu. Jugga asked naively: ‘Babuji, don’t you believe that bad acts yield a bitter
harvest? It is the law of karma. So the bhai is always saying. The Guru has also

said the same in the Book.’
‘Yes, absolutely, sixteen annas in the rupee,’ sneered Iqbal.
‘Achhaji, have it your own way,’ said Jugga, still smiling. ‘You will never
agree with ordinary people.’ He turned to the driver again.

‘Bholeya, I hear a lot of women are being abducted and sold cheap. You could
find a wife for yourself.’

‘Why, Sardara, if you can find a Mussulmanni without paying for her, am I
impotent that I should have to buy an abducted woman?’ replied Bhola.
Jugga was taken aback. His temper began to rise. The policemen, who had

started to snigger, looked nervously at Juggut Singh. Bhola regretted his mistake.
‘Why, Juggia,’ he said, changing his tone. ‘You make fun of others, but get
angry when someone retorts.’

‘If these handcuffs and fetters had not been on me, I would have broken every
bone in your body,’ said Jugga fiercely. ‘You are lucky to have escaped today,
but if I hear you repeat this thing again I will tear your tongue out of your

mouth.’ Jugga spat loudly.
Bhola was thoroughly frightened. ‘Do not lose your temper. What have I…’
‘Bastard.’

That was the end of the conversations. The uneasy silence in the tonga was
broken only by Bhola swearing at his horse. Jugga was lost in angry thoughts.
He was surprised that his clandestine meetings were public knowledge.

Somebody had probably seen him and Nooran talking to each other. That must
have started the gossip. If a tonga driver from Chundunnugger knew, everyone
in Mano Majra would have been talking about if for some time. The last to learn

of gossip are the parties concerned. Perhaps Imam Baksh and his daughter
Nooran were the only ones in the village who knew nothing of what was being
said.

The party reached Chundunnugger after noon. The tonga came to a halt
outside the police station, which was a couple of furlongs distant from the town.