TO CATCH A THIEF

It was a long overnight train journey –
from Lucknow to Gorakhpur .The
period was the last days of British
rule in India. The railways in this
segment was known as Oudh Tirahut
Railways, OTR in short.
He was travelling first class as he was
an officer of the government with a
good salary. In those days very few
travelled first, the highest class. The
compartment consisted of two
comfortable and wide lower berths
and one upper.The other upper space
was the hat stand. In those days all
the officers travelled with what was
known as a SOLA HAT .
There were only two passengers in
the compartment. He found the other
traveller to be a well dressed cultured
businessman and was very much
relieved as he was carrying gold
ornaments for the marriage of his
daughter. Now he could sleep
through the night.
The train left Lucknow at the
scheduled time and soon picked up
speed as it was an express train.
Both the passengers soon fell asleep
to the gentle rocking of the berths and
the roar of the wind.
He woke up sometime later when
someome started hammering at the
door. The train was in motion, in a
low speed. He looked through the
glass shutter and saw a poor man
standing outside on the narrow
footboard of the door. The man
explained that he had a valid third
class ticket but could not find the
compartment as he arrived late on the
platform when the train was moving.”
Sir, I will sit on the floor near the
door and shift to the third class at the
next station”, implored the man. The
next station, Gonda, was a good one
hour away.
He was undecided whether to let the
poor man in.Times were bad. He
looked enquiringly at the other
passenger who asked him not to open
the door.
“He clearly looks like a petty thief. Let
him keep standing outside” said the
sauve businessman disdainfully.
But he eventually opened the door
out of pity. It was dangerous for this
fragile man to keep standing on
footboard in a speeding train. Since
he was an officer of the british empire
his decision prevailed. These men
ruled India with iron hand within a
velvet glove.
He decided to keep waking till the
next station but, tired as he was, he
fell asleep.
He woke up abruptly. There was a big
commotion somewhere outside his
window. The train was not moving.
Yes, it was Gonda junction. He was
alone in the compartment. Looking
under his berth,he found the attache
containing the ornaments gone !
As he sprang up to rush outside, a
police constable entered. The
constable ,who gave him a resounding
salute, was carrying his attache !
The constable told him that the thief
was caught by the other person in the
compartment. He loudly called out the
other person to come in. And as he
was preparing himself to thank the
businessman. he found the poor
man , whom he had ‘rescued’ from
the footboard, entering.
It came to pass that, as train dropped
speed on approaching the Gonda
station, the ‘businessman’ quietly
removed his attache and was hurrying
out when he stumbled over the poor
man sleeping on the floor and woke
him up. The poor man had seen the
attahe under the berth of the kind
officer and was quick to raise alarm
as he overpowered the thief.The
constables on the platform did the
rest.
When the officer took out a big
currency note to reward the poor man
he declined to accept it. “Sir, I only
repaid your kindness” he said
respectfully as he stepped down to
hurry to his third class compartment.
The engine was giving a long whistle
for onward journey . . . .
( I got this story from the horse’s
mouth in my childhood when the said
officer, now a very old man, stayed
with us as a guest. In those days I
used to get along famously with old
men who told me true tales from the
good old day