The astrologer's day begins at approximately noon and does not end until he gets home at nearly midnight. He has a hard time earning a living because so many of the people who spend their time walking around in the park have no money. If they did have money they wouldn't be walking around in the park. The astrologer is forced to quit for the night because he doesn't possess lighting of his own. After dark he depends on the light of a nearby vendor of groundnuts. The smell of the roasting nuts must be a torment to the astrologer because it would appear that he doesn't have anything to eat all day.
When the groundnuts vendor closes up for the night and puts out the crackling and smoking flare by which he does business, it is time for the astrologer to follow suit. The author makes it clear that the night lighting is poor at best, but when the flare goes out it is really dark. This is a blessing on this particular night, because Guru Nayak appears at the last moment and wants a reading that will help him find a man who tried to kill him years ago. The astrologer's angry and suspicious customer does not recognize him as the very man he has been seeking. And the astrologer does not recognize Guru Nayak as the man he tried to kill back in their native village until his customer lights a cheroot.
The astrologer sent a prayer to heaven as the other lit a cheroot. The astrologer caught a glimpse of his face by the matchlight.
Once the astrologer recognizes Guru Nayak without being recognized himself, he is in a superior position. He can dazzle his dangerous customer with what appears to be supernatural knowledge. He knows his name and what happened to him back in the village they both come from. He is able to convince Guru Nayak that the man he has been seeking is dead, having been run over by a lorry. The astrologer not only saves his own life but persuades his nemesis to return to his village and never venture out of it. Furthermore, the street-smart astrologer manages to extract enough money from Guru Nayak to delight his wife when he brings the handful of coins home.
The reader is in for a surprise ending because, until the astrologer gets home that midnight, the reader does not understand how the astrologer could have known his customer's name and could have told him so much about his background. Before going to sleep for the night, the astrologer tells his wife:
"Do you know a great load is gone from me today? I thought I had the blood of a man on my hands all these years. That was the reason why I ran away from home, settled here, and married you. He is alive."
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