First Grain of Sand — Page 94
78 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND On a few occasions, he was dumbfounded by my answer and did not know what to do next. That is when he would abruptly go to these officials to discover what their next move should be. Since the translator was supportive of me, he would comfort me at these moments not to worry as my answer was just fine. Whenever they would seat me for the interrogation, I made it a habit to ask the officers how they are doing and inquire about their well-being. They, in return, would also ask of me if I am doing well, to which I would reply, 'All praise belongs to Allah [Alhamdulillah], I am well. However, after Abdul Qadir made the false accusation about me, I noted a very clear change in the prosecutor and officers presiding over the interrogation who became visibly angry. Their frowning faces clearly showed their ill intentions towards me. Yet still, I inquired of them how they were doing. In response, they said that while the British government is certainly doing well, soon the Russian government will also be doing well. Thus, even the simple act of inquiring about their well-being became seen as a suspicious inquiry about the Soviet government. To this, I responded saying I have nothing to do with the Russian or British governments and that I was just inquiring about them as I usually do, but now they were not satisfied by that. From that point they began taking my statements in such a way as to somehow prove that I am guilty. Thus, once he told me to say something short that would get me released immediately. I responded that he should tell me what to say so that I can say it, but I knew he meant that if I openly confess to spying, they would then release me. Since I was a religious missionary, the prosecutor became intent to determine whether or not I had knowledge of