Sister Ludmila is indirectly responsible for bringing Hari Kumar to the attention of Ronald Merrick. On one of her routine patrols of a wasteland next to the river, Ludmila comes across an unconscious Hari, who has spent the night drinking with his colleagues from the "Mayapore Gazette" after his encounter with Colin at the cricket pitch. Hari spends the night at the Sanctuary. In the morning, as he is washing himself, Ronald Merrick comes calling in search of suspicious characters. Instead he finds Hari, who has decided to play the part of the English gentleman and treats Merrick as an impudent social inferior. Merrick takes the bait and makes Kumar a key player in his orbit. All this is observed by Ludmila, who predicts an unfortunate outcome for all as the result of this meeting between Merrick and Kumar.