Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-09

choice long years ago betwixt love and
wisdom. Lave hath evaded thee because
thou vast not wise; but in the pursuit of
II, and through the bitterness Of its loss.
thou hast found the wisdom thou didst
reject; and now thy love also shall not
fail thee. Rama Lalkura. Prince Of Bhaity-
pore. rise; stand upon thy feet: take that
which Is thine without fear, and go hence.
We thy brethren, will see thee no more
till our work IS also done; and may the
part thou hast chosen bring thee into still
places, where thou and she may fill up the
measure of thy unity
And one by one the strange priests laid
their hands on the head of the kneeling
man, blessing him, and then lifted him to
his feet; and the chelas took down the
lamps; and the music that had been as a
group of men advanced to the gaping
door of the shrine. And as they
crossed the threshold, once more the
smoky cloud belched forth, with the green
flames struggling in the midst.
The smoke crept out through the crevice.
and Nicholas drew away chokingly from
its pungent fumes: and. without waiting for
further thought, broke roughly through the
shelterfng vines and made boldly for the
front Of the shrine.
The smoke was still hanging thick about
the place when he CROPPED his way between
the great pillars of the court, SO thick and
pungent that he had recourse to his hand
kerchief to save his lungs and finally was
driven back to the outer air.
Here he was seized with a new fright. If
he could not breathe in the open court how
could those others and Allan breathe in
the tomb-like shrine? What did it mean :?
Was he mad or were they? And then he
raised his voice aloud: Allan, Ho, Allan
Meredith, I say!''
And out of the gloomy shrine there
sprang hundred hooking echoes: Il say
I say-I sayi'
Thrice he rushed to the very doorway of
the shrine and thrice beat as hasty re-
treat. He set to calling again, In English
and in a dozen native dialects; but there
only came those futile echoes from the
place of the crumbled and forgotten gods.
And at last, when the smoke abated, he
got In and wandered round and round,
wasting his matches frantically, and then
feeling his way, and ever calling to his
friend.
The dawn came, and 1t found him still
at his furious search, striving to lift I'M
possible slabs which might hide the secret
of where Meredith had been spirited to,
thrusting his stick here and there into
every Granny, with the same vain hope. till
of a sudden voice startled on his ear:
What seekest thou, Sahib?"
He fronted round with a bound and
sprang to the entrance Of the court A
slim young Hindu stood gazing at him curl
ously, and he noted quickly the Brahmin's
student cord, the curious staff, and the
whole garb Of the recluse
II seek friend-a sick man--who wan
0ereQ mere last night. saw MIN III tIlS
place with dozen strange priests, saw
him one moment, and then great smoke
hid him; and when I got in, the shrine was
empty. Dost thou know-hast thou seen
anything? Tell me. pray thee!'
Thou hast troubled myself without cause
Sahfb But we know thee, and the purity of
thy motive, and l am sent to relieve thee
Of thy fear. Thy friend is sleeping In his
room, and has been this two hours gone
as thou mayest satisfy myself later, for
1t, has Lon yuat To w a
away"
Now, what sayest thou. oh man; twas
barely two hours since l saw him, and the
way we came Is fully thatl
NAY Sahib l may not argue with thee
on this matter; but understood that thou
vert a student in some wise, and If so thou
shouldst at least have recognized that those
whom thou didst see here lately We're not
walk out hence hand in hand to be the Cos
sip of every village they passed? Nay; If
thou must know, they passed out with the
smoke; and courtesy alone, If nothing
more demanded that they take thy friend
along. Nicholas Sahib in some things thou
art almost wise; yet thou stumblest over a
little thing like time and space. See. thou
hast left thy stick
Nicholas turned for the stick and then In
a sudden creeping fear looked back again,
and paused, and caught his breath sharply
The Hindu was standing there sun, ana
met his frightened gaze half Sm!l1ngly, but
the doctor grew white and stiff with terror,
despite the smile, for he could see through
the mans body-see the green. sun-tpped
leaves moving gently; they were vague and
faint at first, but grew more VIVID and bold
as the man faded silently. Now, there was
but a shimmerng. silvery outline that
swayed in the little windy eddes that
moved the leaves, and now that was gone
and there was nothing but the play of bril-
liant color and the dancing of the leaves.
Dr. William Nicholas, FRS, dn't wait
for his stick. but made record-breaking
rum for his weight, till he got out of that
wood and into an open sunny space Here
he halted for breath. and later, while still
gazing at the dark woods he had left he
remarked softly and with much fervor
well, I'll be ID
CTo be continued tomorrow