First Grain of Sand — Page 123
THE TORTURE BEGINS 107 the Promised Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, he would become very impressed. He repeatedly requested me to pray for him. Not only he, but also the other scholars from Bukhara, who numbered no less than twenty to twenty-five in this prison, would stare at me very carefully any time they saw me go for a walk or when they passed by my cell on the way to get their meals. They considered me a great elder and respected Sheikh. Any time the opportunity arose to speak with me, they requested my prayers with great respect. A few days after my return from the hospital, by the grace of God Almighty, the head officer who had taken over my inter- rogation to make a final decision—who was known in Russian by the title Полковник [pronounced Pol-kov-nik, which means 'Colonel']-was transferred and replaced by a new head officer from Moscow who was Christian. I am convinced that God Almighty brought this man as the new head officer specifically for me. The previous head officer was an atheist and was strongly opposed to me. That was the reason why he worked with junior officers to bring me a great deal of pain and suffering. The day the new Colonel arrived in Tashkent, the prison rooms were all thoroughly cleaned and organized for his first inspection. This was either June or July in the year 1925. During this time, at the behest of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih, efforts were underway through the British government to find me. Accordingly, this new Colonel who came from Moscow first came to the other prison cells to inspect the prisoners. Before he came to my cell, a soldier came in telling me to fix up our beds before the officer arrives to inspect our room. As soon as he said this, God Almighty put a strong feeling in my heart that this Colonel's arrival at this prison would be a source of mercy and