Shri Nathji was not taking any medicines for his arm, not even pain-killers, and had left the arm to cure itself through the devices of Mother Nature which showered its bountiful hand in the mountains of Mussoorie.
He was not to have a moment’s rest, however, and there was the question of the children’s school. The children did not wish to go back to Allen Memorial and Shri Nathji had yet to get them admitted into Vincent Hill School.
Shri Nathji had earlier found out about Vincent Hill School which was a Seventh Day Adventist Christian school. He had been told that the Seventh Day Adventists were vegetarians and that the school had teachers and students who were exceptionally soft-spoken and polite, in contrast to the harshness and bullying prevalent at Allen Memorial.
Shri Nathji immediately sought to get the boys admitted to the school. He went there all the way on foot. Huntley accompanied Shri Nathji. It was a long route that took him along the Mall Road, through Library, and then past Kahkashan Cottage to the Spring Road, which led to the range of mountains on the west side of the city. It was across these mountains that Shri Nathji had seen the sun set every evening ever since the time he had come to Savitri Nivas.
Shri Nathji walked briskly on the dirt and gravel road, going around the bend in the road that took him to a new part of Mussoorie altogether.
There was the haunted house on the ridge at the bend where someone had reportedly been shot during the riots of 1947. Shri Nathji’s footsteps echoed on the road as his black leather shoes took swift strides over the ground.
Shri Nathji continued walking unendingly on the long and circuitous route, holding his walking stick in his right hand and swinging the other hand back and forth as he walked. There was intense pain in his right arm but he did not show any signs of the pain. He had to fulfil his duties as a father to perfection. No one else would have gone to the school to get admission for the boys.
He finally reached the gate of Vincent Hill School. From here there was a long descent along a winding road that led downwards into the school below. Shri Nathji went down this winding road and then crossed the playing field and found the principal’s office.
There he met Mr. M.O.Manley, the American Principal of the school. Shri Nathji had carried with him the school records of the boys and he showed these to Mr. Manley, who was more than satisfied with them. Manley agreed to give admission to Pran Nath and Priya Nath in the 7th Standard and 6th Standards respectively.
Shri Nathji also arranged for the boys to have lunch at the school cafeteria, which was strictly vegetarian. It was a very expensive school and few people in Mussoorie were given admission to it. Mr. Manley was greatly impressed by Shri Nathji, but, being an orthodox Christian, had little place in his heart for spiritual truths other than those of the Bible. It mattered little to Shri Nathji whether Manley believed in him or not; he had done his duties towards his sons and got them admission to the kind of school they desired.
Having completed the formalities of admission, Shri Nathji returned home along the same long and wearisome path. He retraced his footsteps to Kahkashan, and then through Library bazaar, and the Mall Road, going alongside the Majestic Theatre, and finally passed the Standard Skating Rink, and then went up the steep approach road to Savitri Nivas. It was late in the evening by the time he reached home.
Having seen the school and met the principal, Shri Nathji came once again to the school along with Mateshwari and the children. This time they took a rickshaw, but it was the same long route, going along the Mall, passing though Library bazaar, and alongside Kahkashan Cottage to the Spring Road and beyond, to the backside of the west side of the mountain.
Mateshwari liked Vincent Hill as did the boys. Manley was formal and somewhat reserved, but certainly more humble than Reverend W.A.Biggs of Allen Memorial.
The children had at last found a school that suited their temperament. It was an American school and the boys identified with it from the comic books they had read about America and the American films they had seen. The Americans appeared to be friendly to a fault in contrast to the Britishers and Anglo Indians who had a rigid attitude towards education.