Valley of the Mountain Goddess - Table of Contents 
 
 “Fortunately, he hasn’t seen us yet. At the islet he’ll inspect both the shores through his binoculars. I wonder if we could reach the other shore without being detected,” said Rajan miserably. 
Half an hour later, Priya reported that he had reached the islet. He was scanning the lake and the shores.
 “Priya, come and lie in front of us,” Sabu said, “so that he would not be able to see you.”
 “He might think we’re tribal boys, but your case is different,” said Rajan.
 Priya shifted her position close to Sabu and continued to watch the movements of the kidnapper.
 “Now he is entering the thicket,” she reported.
 They would take at least one and half hours more to reach the other shore. If the kidnapper did detect them, it would not be difficult to catch up with them in his vallom that darted lightly on the lake like an arrow. 
* * * * * * * * *
 During his usual inspection the kidnapper saw the two boys on the lake and he was quite astonished. To find a raft on the lake early in a cold November morning itself was surprising. And the two boys on it greatly aroused his curiosity.
 It seemed that there was a third boy in the front. But he was not visible. Their trousers and T-shirts were shabby and torn. The big holes on their shirts looked like continents in the ocean.
 Long untidy hair and shabby tattered clothes - the kidnapper concluded they were boys from a local tribal settlement.
 At the end of the tunnel he opened the valve and waited.
 At last the business magnate was yielding. He had said he would pay - only that he should have proof that Priya was still alive. When he received a tape with her voice and a letter from her, he would be satisfied.
 When the flow of water became normal, he opened the door and entered the pond, where a great shock was in store for him. Where was the raft?
 The raft he had seen on the lake immediately came to his mind. Could it be the one taken out from the water-lift? Had someone been watching when he entered the tunnel on the previous occasion? He rushed out of the tunnel and into the open part of the brook. Look!  Smoke was rising from the remnants of the campfire on the rock! The kidnapper watched the raft once more. It was certain that the raft was not made of bamboo poles. The white of the pipes was clearly visible.
 When the raft shook in a wave, he saw the girl’s face for a moment. The thought that the boys were hiding Priya made him mad with rage.
 The kidnapper had nothing more to think. They had not only sneaked into the valley but also rescued the hostage. Loss of a handsome amount was bad enough. If the girl reached her parents with the story of the tunnel and the water-lift and the cave, he would certainly land in jail. Perhaps he would be hanged. The raft was nearing the shore and would he be able to catch up with it?
 * * * * * * * * * * 
 “Look!  He has launched the vallom,” said Priya in anguish.
 The boys were rowing with all their might. Priya too, frightened as she was, paddled frantically. Land was only five hundred yards away. The kidnapper was miles behind them.
 The distance between the vallom and the raft was fast reducing. The kidnapper would watch the children in flight through his binoculars from time to time and continue rowing with renewed might.
 However much they tried, they were unable to increase the speed of the raft.  
 Half an hour of suspense passed. The shore was now only fifty yards ahead. The enemy’s vallom was more than five hundred yards behind.
 When they finally went ashore the enemy was only fifty yards behind.
 “He’s shooting forth like an arrow,” groaned Priya.
 Abandoning the raft, they ran up the steep slope towards the woods.
 However hard she tried, Priya found it hard to keep pace with her friends. A little way ahead, she could see the green woods. Once there, her friends had assured her, they would save her from the kidnapper. But the steep hill was quite formidable. She was gasping for breath, her mouth wide open. The wicked devil would be upon her at any time. Because of her, her two friends also would have to die. He would shoot them down and take her back to the old witch in the valley.  O…  God…
 Sabu looked back over his shoulder. The man was pulling out the vallom from the water. They had had a good start of about two hundred yards. They had another three hundred yards in front of them. Still in shooting range, their position was very precarious. He would run up and reduce the distance between him and the children further. And he would fire…  To protect the great secret he would kill all of them. 
 In front of them, between the lake and the woods, there was a string of boulders running parallel to the shoreline. Once they were past this barrier, they could run sideways hidden from his view and out of the range of his rifle. While he was looking for them among the crags, they could get as far away as possible and gradually enter the woods. 
Rajan, who was leading the way, clambered over a rock in front of him. Sabu pushed their friend up the rock, and Rajan pulled her by her hand from above.
 The report of a gun was heard, and Priya fell onto the rock with a cry. Sabu clambered up to the top and bent over Priya to see what had happened to her.