The staff cudgelled their brains for a solution, but, finding it impossible to find one, they gave the writer a rise so that the next instalment could go to press.
It reminds roe of the fable of the fractious mule who kicked down his stable and was cudgelled by his owner the next morning for destroying his property.
Less severe offenders would be cudgelled top down, with a lethal first blow to the neck.
Shibu gives first aid to a grandma who has been cudgelled by a thief, minds the wailing baby, finds a doctor, and recovers the stolen gold chain.