" I know it," said Chateau-Renaud; "I narrowly escaped catching a fever there." And I did more than that," replied Morcerf, "for I caught one. I was i...formed that I was prisoner until I paid the sum of 4,000 Roman crowns--about 24,000 francs. Unfortunately, I had not above 1,500. I was at the end of my journey and of my credit. I wrote to Franz--and were he here he would confirm every word--I wrote then to Franz that if he did not come with the four thousand crowns before six, at ten minutes. The Indians had picked up the trail and were following the robbers. Just before dark, we came upon a dead man beside the trail laying in a ditch. "That's not the man who was riding the horse that killed your wife."I dismounted and looked him over. I couldn't see much for marks on him except for some blood that had dribbled down his chest from coughing his life away. We stripped off his shirt and he had three small bullet holes in his back. One had bounced off his right shoulder blade and. “Khan Chacha, sit here,” Akhtar asked the eldest of the five of them to sit on the single-seater sofa at the side.Both Chotu and Hassan came after locking all the doors and taking all the phones with them.“One of these bitches will be screwed today. The room is decorated for a honeymoon,” shouted Chotu. Hassan laughed with him.Akhtar was the gang leader. He was a 45-year-old tall bearded man, very well built. He looked like a proper Pathan Khan chacha was 60 years old and very fat with a huge. Let’s get on station at 3.25. Balaclavas on and remember, no names. I’m Alpha.” Then pointing round the rest of the group he added, “You’re Beta, Gamma, Delta.” They then sat together in silence, each lost in his own thoughts.Shortly before 4.25 the van pulled out of the yard and drove slowly towards the Institute entrance. It stopped diagonally across from the entrance.“Balaclavas on,” ordered Alpha.“He’ll ride in that direction,” said Gamma from the passenger seat. “So we’re well positioned.