The Washington times., 1911-08-15

until we could get a fresh supply q
the motive power, which in some wa!
it seems the Varney girls had acces:
TO, II would be impossible for us t
get away
From time to time Gwynne gave ex.
hibitiOns of magic, to hold down the
9opulace Fortunately he was no;
obliged to reEeat himself luckily hav.
ing laid in goodly supply of tricks
before leaving London. The lamas were
always delighted, astounded, and the
fnme of the sorcerer grew Yet at the
end OF the week, The NaIney girls re-
maincd undiscovered. The greater the
power Of the magician, the more loatf
were the lamas to place their greatest
treasure in his hands. Even threats
from the self-styled vice regent of the
Tashi proved unavailing, and thing
were looking Squally. One day he came
said:
BE on hand tonight. I'm going to
show YOU something. Join me aDout
II O'Clock at the lower end of the mani
wall We mustn't go together; we'd be
seen.
1 asked him to explain. hut he
wouldn't.
You won't be noticed In the dark, -
he added after minute, but l shall
be cn the lookout for you. Keep your
head down and your eyes open III
tell you what to do when we get
there"
That was all he would say. An hour
later he came TO me again
Il thought perhaps il would be just
as well for you to change your clothes.
You'll find a complete lama's outht IN
the sleeping room. Put il on, and II
anyone speaks to you, say Ta-dl-ta-dl'
as If vexed, and hurry forward"
At II o'clock sharp, l was standing at
the lower end of the wall. waiting for
the CLINT and click of the magician 5
uncanny hangings were soon observed
in the distance. In another minute
Roedler was beside me.
Stand in the shadow of the wall,
he said. In twenty minutes, more or
less. a dozen or fifteen gray-headed pun
dts will pass this way-dOn't let them
see you. These fellows are supposed to
possess all the wisdom in Tibet, and it
Is highly important that you are unob-
served by them. They will carry small
butter lamps and go in single file
when the last one has passed. follow
the procession
But what are you going to do?"
Leave you here alone-trust you
won't miss me, and above all that you'll
keep a grip on your nerve Peter
You must mind what say. You
must follow the crowd-go where the
lamas go-and-abOve all, no matter
what you see, don't get panicky. When
you hear me WhiStle-you know the tune
it'll all be right"
l promised to do the best l could. and
Gwynne left me alone.
II had all been so sudden, l couldn't
think of the things l wanted to ask
until after he was gone. AS usual 1t
was cold at that hour, so pulled up
the sheepskin collar of my Jacket and
waited for the pundits. Gwynne was a
mystery What was he driving at and
hol ba IaFf hadn't tho dim
NEST idea. But there was nothing to
be done now but wait, watch and listen.
Then came the tramp of feet, the
weird chant of voices, and shrank IN.
arch and down the rugged footway
came the pundits. The sound was
ominous. These men so foreign, so
vaguely human, what was their view
OF life and it's purposes? Yet they car
ried lamps and walked-but whittier?
When the last fliCkering flame had
passed, l followed. There was no dan
ger of being heard, for my feet were
swathed in shee1skin, and, with ordin-
ary caution, I could not be discovered
in the darkness.
Down the rough and winding way
they led, until l saw by the reflected
lights of the lamps and the narrowing
strip of skv that we were threading a
tortuous cleft in the rocks with down
ward trend. Deeper, sleeper, crookeder,
then one by one the lamps went out,
j Oh III dllldLeIilcIll ~ d SIlal 2
angle in the passage, when again l
saw them twisting-turning-C
slowly on, past huge projections, but
always downward.
Then there rose upon. the air the
rushing sound which we had heard be-
fore, and I stopped TO listen. 1t was
nearer now and Clearer-a humming.
boiling rumbling that swept UP from
the depths. I dared not wait, for. the
faint illumination ahead was all there
was to guide my feet. The CLINT on the
rock-the shifting shadows below.
And now the stars were no longer
visible. The mountain had closed above
and we were following the narrow alley
of a cave, but downward still. Then
the roof came closer, the walls nearer
together. I dared not linger, for. the
turnings and twistings of the passage
were frequent and unexpected. Mean
while. the roaring continued to grow
louder as I advanced. But there was
no time TO speculate upon its cause.
II was all could do to keep the lights
in sight.
Suddenly this tortuous gut came to an
end, and / seemed to be in vast
cavern whose walls and roof were
mythical. Down the center streamed
the torch-lit procession like some illum-
mated serpent wriggling It's way
through the night. On and ever down
ward crept this beaded monster into
the DEPTHS. while the thunder roared
and echoed with deafening detonation
from the rocks above, below. and about
us 1t was impossible to see whence 1t
came, but l was sure 1t was some
gigantic subterranean waterfall.
A cold wind swept past my face. l
seemed to be nearing something awful,
terrible. The darkness was growing
round me, for l could not keep up with
the procession, and in the vastness of
the cavern the lamps no longer guided
my steps.
The side walls being farther off, there
were no great natural mirrors to reflect
the lanterns Elow-no friendly rocks
to hide me-and l dared not venture
Then a dul-red light was thrown
from the caverns roof, filling the air
with a lurid glimmer Another instant
a myriad sparks were dancing, leapinS.
racing before my eyes. while the roar
of thunder filled my ears. Bewidered
bv this sudden change, l STONED.
A great river flowed upon Re right.
while just beyond, from the bottomless
pit into which II plunged, there rose
cloud of illuminated spray to the cav
ern's roof Spelhound, I watched this
wondrous sight. Then. as the smoking
torches crept away, the sparks faded
from the air. the cloud vanished, and
! was alone in the dark with the roar
of the cataract.
I dared not move. had seen enough
10 realize the danger Of doing so. /
knew il was the Tsanpo, and that a
false step would plunge me into its
gruesome depths and through caverns
which for hundreds Of miles were un-
miles the river is lost. Many efforts
have been made by exploring parties
TO solve the mystery Of its course. but
without avail From the lamaSery of