Summary

Subhash and Udayan have never been in the Tolly Club. Their neighbor Bismillah works as a caddy, selling them lost or abandoned golf balls, and once even a slightly bent putter an angry golfer left behind. One day as it begins to get dark Bismillah takes them to the western edge where the wall is low enough to get inside. He is sure they will find lots of golf balls on the ground around the tamarind trees where falling pods hid them from sight. Subhash offers to stand guard, but Udayan encourages him to follow. The wall hides the street traffic from inside where cannonball trees, bottle brush, eucalyptus and frangipani grow. Subhash notices how the grass follows the earth’s sloping contours, covering it like a carpet. Egrets take off as they near, and the brothers, giddy with excitement stay away...