The door opened slowly and a man entered my room. All the inmates of the house were sound asleep. Only I was awake. I pretended to be asleep. The man looked very fierce. He had a long knife in his hand. He looked cautiously about. Thinking that all were asleep he started ransacking the room. There was an iron-safe in one corner of the room. He went there. He had a bunch of keys of all types. He tried the keys one by one. At last one of the keys fitted the lock and it opened with a jerk. The fellow now picked up all the valuables and tied them in a bundle. Not satisfied with his booty, he went into the adjoining room.
Now was an opportunity for me. I quietly jumped out of the bed and closed the door behind him. There was no other door through which the thief could come out. He was my prisoner now. I then went to the main gate and raised an alarm. The people in the neighborhood woke up. They all rushed towards my house. One of them rang up the flying squad.
The squad arrived. The door was opened. The fellow was caught red handed. One of the constables hand-cuffed him. The thief scowled. The booty he had collected lay before him. Even though he was handcuffed, he rushed at the constable and struck him hard with the handcuffs. The constable was badly wounded. He began to bleed profusely. He did not give up his courage. He kept the chain tight.
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The thief tried to free himself but it was all in vain. The police constable did not let him go. Other policemen came to his help. They overpowered him. He was taken to the police station. He too, was wounded during the scuffle.
The Station House Officer was informed about all that had happened. He was pleased to know how heroically the constable had behaved. On further investigations it was found that the culprit was a notorious thief and was wanted in several cases of thefts committed in other parts of the city.
The police constable was given a reward for what he had done. His, indeed, was an example of sticking to duty in spite of grave danger to his life. All praised the police constable for his courage.