… It was under these circumstances that very many contestants had preceded Tortoise. Then it was his turn to feature in this giant project of underground swindle. As he had wisely expected, there was not a little resentment on the part of many of his fellow citizens over his enlisting in the contest. The envy arising from his earlier winnings was palpable.

On the part of the contest officials however, it was not exactly so. Rather than outright resentment, what the members of the syndicate did entertain was a calculating expectation of much higher ‘settlement’ which they knew he certainly could afford so soon after his last winnings. If Tortoise thought that he should by right have a monopoly of all the bonanzas in the world, it was only equitable that the more he captured, the less actually went to him.

When at last it was all spelt out to Tortoise by the officials whom he had approached, he was not at all disappointed. Apart from what the average citizen claimed to know and said about these influential people in the state, he had on his own always queried one thing or other that seemed to him to be of the nature of a sleight of hand on the part of a number of them. Still, this contest was worth his while as he later explained to the members of the syndicate in the secret meeting he had insisted on having with them.

This unusual request was granted at all because of their certainty that he could conveniently outbid all the other contestants. It was to their utter delight therefore that what Tortoise had to say was only a firm confirmation of this perception. Matter-of-factly he asked what each of them had received from the highest bidder up to that point so as to give him an idea of the competition he had to beat. After adding up all the sums indicated, he then revealed to them what his own basic motivation was.

It was not so much the money prize really. While he would be very glad to have more money in his kitty, the side benefit in the form of the royal meals taken right in the palace to boot was something that money could not buy. But for him, by far the most important aspect of all was his personal standing, his distinction, nay, uniqueness as the national champion. Although this was a different kind of contest altogether, still he had to remain unrivalled as the national winner. Whatever the quality of his performance therefore, he simply had to win this contest too – that needed to be clearly understood.

And then all of a sudden, he heaved on them a mountain, as it were, under which they remained buried in stunned silence for quite a few moments: “No-one can possibly better the best,” he said. “Therefore take the prize when I have won it. Yes, my entire prize is to be shared among yourselves. I will not touch it. Make it all yours. But guarantee my victory. Or I withdraw from the contest!”...