The Sword Attack at the Standing Babas’ Den

The Sword Attack at the Standing Babas’ Den turns a crowded gathering into an abrupt test of danger, restraint, and mutual aid. When a sword-wielding stranger advances on Lin, the locked passage leaves him, Karla, and Prabaker with no clear escape. Abdullah Taheri steps in at the last moment, stopping the attack without escalating it. The encounter ends not with a fight between Lin and the assailant, but with Abdullah’s intervention and Lin’s first introduction to a skilled new ally.

Setting and Participants

The attack takes place inside the narrow den of the Standing Babas, where Lin stands with Karla and Prabaker against a back wall. Behind them is the sealed door through which the Standing Babas had entered; ahead, two lines of men extend along the passage toward an iron gate opening onto the street. The gathering includes men in suits and designer jeans, workmen in faded lungis, and visitors in traditional dress from different regions of India. Young and old, rich and poor, they share the confined space, though their attention is largely directed toward the Standing Babas and the hashish.

Lin and Karla are conspicuous among the crowd as pale-skinned foreigners. Some visitors appear surprised to see a woman in the den, but no one approaches or addresses them directly. Conversation mingles with music and devotional chanting from elsewhere in the compound. This setting matters to the action: the attack breaks into a crowded, apparently absorbed gathering, and the narrow corridor makes the group’s position against the back wall especially precarious.

The Attack and Immediate Danger

A scream draws everyone’s attention to the street entrance. A man wearing a red turban, vest, and silk trousers associated with a northern tribesman stands near the iron gate. Before the people in the passage can make out what he is saying or respond, he draws a long, thick-bladed sword and raises it above his head. He then walks down the corridor, staring directly at Lin. Lin cannot understand the man’s words, but reads his advance as an attempt to attack and kill him.

The visitors along the walls press themselves back, while the Standing Babas rock out of the swordsman’s path. The door behind Lin, Karla, and Prabaker is locked, and they are unarmed. With nowhere to retreat, Lin takes a step back and raises his fists in a karate stance. His seven years of martial-arts training inform that response, and the moment also exposes his own readiness to fight once danger reaches him. The confrontation is poised to become a direct struggle, but it is interrupted before Lin can engage the swordsman.

Abdullah’s Intervention

At the last possible moment, a man steps away from the wall, trips the attacker, and brings him to the stone floor. The sword falls near Karla, and Lin picks it up. The rescuer holds the fallen man in a controlled restraint, gripping his arm behind his back and twisting his shirt collar to limit his movement. The attacker’s agitation subsides and he gives in. Rather than retaliating, men who know him escort him through the iron gate and out to the alley.

One of the men returns and approaches Lin with his hands held out, palms upward, asking for the sword without words. Lin hesitates, then hands it over. The man bows politely in apology and leaves. The sequence gives the crowd a role in restoring order: one person intervenes physically, others remove the attacker, and a representative returns to collect the weapon. The account establishes these actions without explaining the swordsman’s motive or what becomes of him after he is taken outside.

First Meeting and Narrative Significance

Once the immediate danger has passed, Lin checks Karla. Her eyes are wide and her lips form a wondering smile, but she does not appear distressed. Reassured, Lin goes to thank the rescuer. He learns the man’s name: Abdullah Taheri. Lin recognizes that Abdullah’s movement had made the disarming seem effortless, though it required skill, courage, and precise timing. Abdullah, by contrast, offers a modest explanation, suggesting that the attacker may have been drunk or not in his right mind.

The encounter establishes Abdullah through action before Lin knows who he is: he notices the danger, intervenes decisively, and uses restraint rather than vengeance. It also changes the meaning of the den’s crowd. For much of the scene the visitors remain spectators, but at the crucial moment someone leaves the wall to help, and others cooperate in removing the danger and returning the sword. For Lin, the episode moves from apparent isolation and a forced readiness to fight toward gratitude and a new acquaintance. The sudden attack thus becomes the occasion for his first meeting with Abdullah Taheri.