The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-10-20

1T every movement, bst ! set my seetn w
ss:nsr :.. and, ,h s.,-: a.s., e se x.. "i rrssssssd
phoonhie, o: priest. ! have slre.dy indt-
cssrac, 81: "srsas 5 . he wa. ssr1ine
security built, and xish lecture. w!inkIed,
a. his looks rave him crsdit for, and a.
che tr,,culcnt tribes with whom he had set
The question Of concern now WINS q,
.Yo" mu.s stay with me-. Can you walk
at allLsh.:, leaning on my shoulder u~ins
.. And Msrne kG ns s;s.' S.% down !. s sss
near. i wondcrsi: 1 had seen no sign.
20 Sorse. But !. proved %nneccs.ary to put
the question into words. There twas a
cunninGIly hidden Opening in the r1Sn
was a wide and airy cave-evidcntly q
place Of habitation. Nature had shaped
q. walls and ssr ,ss n,s,. IT'S s""i; S" sv aEs
into "a palatial hail. Evidences OF wealth
were, ON every side. Tho fine Oriental
iioor and lofty RECESS. Soft rugs were
here in bewilderin9 profusion. and furni-
t,irc and pieces, of b~ric-a-brac that would
have fetched fabulous sums I'm Wartlour
takeable CLEAN of the precious metals.
d,,ed light came from, for window there
was none. But at last ! made the discov-
cry that at one end Of the great chamber
less, with the outside world amidst tho in
accessible heights of the cliff. This add
mitted both air and light; sunshine could
am weaving together the results Of ex-
tended and leisurely examination. AZ the
instant of introduction I was too aston
iShSxI Nn sphSnrV& ulnuV dnfnila- Him.
amusement mirrored inevitably upon my
countefance was noticed.
home. Its existence is a secret which you
will not betray," MounR No said. "fou'
are the first Stranger I have had the honor
strong enough to go with me down the
valley tn the monastery l shall ask that
you keep strict silence AS TO where you
have been. You can say that you have
rested i'm u cave-man's haunt. IL will be
true. l am sure my secret is safe.'
tainty struck me as singular.
e! am fattercd by your faith in my graf
itude; and hope and believe that II IL not
"a risk I: l. may. disappoint you by some
unguarded word. DO you not fear of it?"
was smiling, but is was no smile that
the deep set, neutral tinted eyes,, that
touched my spirit almost To awe.
dc sNo %re ! q" m1s s:ne Noun" II; il 800 on r ,ia !, scroll If
Of the future that I shall not suffer
through you. My own ~people-they will
SO long But what am I saying? Yes, ]
can read the language Of the face. ! know
that l may trust In you."
fancicd that I had not really heard those
words of wicrh fate. which, nevertheless,
While we talked Mount Ko was deftly
preparing and applying n cool compress
To the swollen joint. II was patent
that he possessed not a little surgical
suddenly / spoke of the TRANCE figure l
had seen while waiting for the flat of late;
trcmble. His head was bent down and
this was my one warming al the pioon-
s' .TS. .@f !. n" Sii,ar a'f IN ss tSS, T S;r.e sxas,!f !;
paths, either. The Hill folks talk like you
towards. But l say that bushes take
move i'm the wind"
was n clever diplomatist. He had nearly
persuaded me that l was the victim of a
dclusion. A man recovering from a swoon
the subject drop. II occurred to me later
that Moung Ko WAS relieved to find that I
did not insist on the realty Of my exper-
ience.
I had fallen into capital hands,. II a tie
OF kinship or creed had existed ] could not
have been better cared for. And at the
end Of n week was able tn walk gingcrly
about with "a crutch. My host now sug-
gestcl migration to u zyat or hostlery for
travellers, hard by his padoUu. i'm "a viii
lagc Of the lower plateau. ! was
perfectly willing tn move. 1t would
give me opportunities for becoming ac-
qtainted with the inhabitants of the dis
trict, and with local customs and charac-
tcristics that were hitherto only matters
of hcatrsay.
The man who had laid me under SO great
an obligation was more, and more. u mar
vel and u mystery. His life, as gradually
disclosed, seemed full of contradistictions.
IL was a~bundantly clear that he was held
in extreme reverence by the brethren of
his order IA well as by the Villagers. But.
with inmate skcpticism,I declined to think
there WAS anything in his common fame
as ~ seer. Still he accepted the homage;
and il was equally hard To believe him am
imposter.
Your vulgar trickster does not devote
himself tai the wants of u poor and primi-
tive people as Moung Ko did. Without
fee or r.. ward he was always at their SER
vice. He was strict-none more SO, I
~lcarned-in fulhllment Of the ritual of the
pa9oda. Yet, by the law binding ON
phoonRies he could possess no personal
roperty ; and l had seen what 1 had seen.
Perhaps i fingered i'm the district longer
than i should otherwise have done be-
cause l wanted To fit IN answer to my
enigma.
Tragic circumstances supplied il. The