In which the ancient Mugger of Mugger-Ghaut recounts his remarkable journeys and encounters along the river, reflecting on the strange new machines and curious white-faces that have come to his waters, while the ever-watchful Jackal and Adjutant listen with a blend of scepticism and admiration. Yet amid tales of hunger, rivalry, and old grudges, a sudden gunshot shatters the calm, bringing the Mugger’s long reign to a dramatic and somber close beneath the bridge’s shadow.