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Show I TRE VERDICT OF THE GODS CHAPTEK ZIGIIT THE TEMPLE OF THE MANIK. I! -Prlgnt, by Dod& Mvi a- 1 ompany. 1 At nightfall Narayan Lai emerged i 'iom hlfl Riding i!nr..' and looked around. Making his way nlnns tno bank, he x.iw low dump of ivcr. :t Its edR..- h plan-M plan-M laln-trec; i-i that region it grow wild like mushrooms. Mo ."'to of its luscious fnilt I in rayertpus hunger and quenched hla ! i rm Uilrst from " stream. Then turning to the Island, he saw before be-fore him a. seeming Haicau. with n gen-: ) fie -Ic(h upward. Thin he ascended; j uchlne the f'i inilrkly, ! saw u level siretelhtff earth dotted with thi. k i along .is Inigtli In the film starlight he made ' his way for a f'lll hour. Passing ly a plnc-trcp ho plckcrl up n Mh."rt dry rfliirh fallen to the ground'. Plui king ,,iT tn withered leaves, and flattening the 1 ,op HgnlriPt i stone lo cxpnso the resin- :fjr ous fibers, he made a torch of It. nut not j nil h was past Hi" thickets, and hidden I) !.v thehi hum all rc 1 1 i - observation I l from his Coca '"1 the hilltop on the other 1 side of the stream, did he venture to ring out 1h" Hint nd tinder from his - rdle nn.l light tin toi h m Snddenlv the plateau sloped down to n W ravine Beyond it h- saw ui in the rI- gntitie eminence he had noticed the day itfore: Been neress the ktreaih, it hail appeared so near' now it" realised thai it pat i long league further. Descending .,. iopo ie threaded his way again on id the other Fid, then came to an abrupt pause, khowlng net which way to turn. hil)d aim wns th deep ravine he imd net qritited, before him the perpendicular rock. Tlun examining this closer, he . ind beneath a urowth of mn and B creepers the month of a dark grotto it 1 cmed mere crack on the fare "f the I Bending low to his knees ami holding Toft the ton 'i. h stepped forward to the grotto. The next Instant he si i rooted , to the spot, a cry. a wall, rang In his Mir; an Infant s wall Here: there! No, behind ahead ! ssssssj He turned to i he right yes, from there. fl. turned to the left-no. from there' It seemed to come from everywhere, a lone, piteous cry. Tot It w.- Hi Mme vo. he Suddenly there was a laugh. 0 mocking 1 laugh. It came from nowhere. Remember that he was in a desolate re- glon. with the tropical darkness around I him There was no sIku of a created being, be-ing, living or dead And yet that wall hat latigh rang In his ear. His heart turned cold with fear; his blDOd froze In Ills veins. Ys Inside the grotto, framed In Hi" onrknecv was a face! Half beast, half man Low hanging jaws, reddish whiskers, whis-kers, dirtv gray hair, bushy over the pro-;erunr pro-;erunr forehead; blinking bloodshot eyes Over the head protruded long -ar or orns; which he could not tell There seemed to be i hump behind In the darkness, dark-ness, like a hunchback's. He caught a giimp". of the legs crooked like .1 satyr's The Jaws opened, and there Issued forth 1 he same m'klnt; laugh. Th. being advanced, ad-vanced, hobbling m'r the risked l-g. If was the grav hyena. He remembered the tales of his childhood, child-hood, mother.-' tale tr, frighten children. The cunning henst that first -walled like a child to allure Irs Unwary victim, then rorp It to ntecef The IneeiiuitN of a fl( nd perchance a human hr.d! He remembered the teachings of his faith, the souls of the accursed haunting the bodleg of beasts in their reincarna-Hons, reincarna-Hons, of their returning to earth to expiate ex-piate the sin? or t!,cr past lives He stood still, with his hand to his bosom where lay the mall dagger he had received In his prison too small, too material, for such a foe But the hyena blinked, and In that there was a leer a icorhfui leer. "Hook-ka-huah' huahl hueh! huah' ' laughed the hyena. It ambled out of the grotto blinked find leered again then with the same laugh disappeared down the ravine Five llnutes later h'- heard the walling of a hlld in the stlllnc-: of the night. With s panting heart ho entered the srotto If widened out beyond. Stooping n every step holding aloft his torch, he ;iine to a lonjr dark gallery thit st-emed ;o lead Into the bowels of the earth A cold, damp, musty smell arose in the 1- as he entered the tunnel Lower and lower Into the earth he went, but the dark roof lifted higher and higher till the lurid glare failed to reach the gloom above The parallel walls on either side seemed to recede from view. It was a Mack spac, of unknown dimensions fl around, above, heyond. Drip! drip! drip! fell from overhead the last surviving raindrops caught in the earth above Creepy slimy, sluggish things crawled between his naked toes with chilling sloth. Suddenly he stumbled It was a heap of bones perhaps bestial. perhaps per-haps not. With a heavy step he lurched up and crashed through a thick skull, awakening a thousand hideous hide-ous echoes As if aroused from n prolonged slumber, slum-ber, pah- grei-n even seemed to peer at 111 in from every nook and corner. Ho felt a deep hreathlng In the place, other than his own. The placr sr-emed all alive with beings that he could not see nor l.'ar. only feel With drunken steps he walked on and on into the enshrouding gloom. Suddenlv he heard a low rumbllnsr BOUnd, like distant thunder it cr'w louder and loud' r reverberating through the long tunnel then ending in a dull thud. 'A boulder fallen outside: it seemed a chorus of unhuman laughter" And he smiled a grim sickly e.mlle An Instantaneous gleam of lig-ht re-; re-; 111 ' led from the torch by some moving object, shot ahead, and then quickly vanished van-ished A nestling, whirring sound above and a dark cold mass rushed through the air and fell flat on his face. With a cry f horror he drooped the torch and tore off the thing with his lingers It was a hug'- bat with large flapping wings. A cold shudder ran through his frame. Snatching up the brand, he hastened on. The Fides of the cavern became visible again. He seemed to br entering a wide corridor hewn out of the solid rock The ruddy glare revealed the faint outlines of two rows of gigantic pillars flickering drunkenly In th'- uncertain gloom. Pillars and pillars and pillars. There seemed to be no end to them. At last they widened out Into the central ob-im-bur. Abgvo the gloom was still impenetrable, impene-trable, but far ahead there appeared the head of the chamber in n dark hazv mist He drew nearer. Against the solid wali and Jutting out In hold relief, he made out a huge outline spread fan-shaped from a central hody It was a colossal Idol. I It sat upon a raised niusnud chiselled 1 in black marble. Its feet colled beneath the body. The arms laj upon ia. h k k. The head was unseen in the gloom above. Coming nearer he raised the torch aloft fa till the slanting rays fell upon the fact ft was a grim, stern face not like that of ; Hrahma. or Vishnu, or Siva The monstrous cars spread out like fans on each side Of tho head; flic brood, square Jaws clenched tight in savage fury; the thick. Hut nose hung heavy over the mouth. It was more (lend than man; less man than beast. He shuddered shud-dered in vague terror as his restless eyes fell upon these features involuntarily. For It was not them that he sought. From light in the cebter of the fore- head he n.'iw a spark of iihi emanating with Lniei mittrnt glow as he moved his torch. With ipilckenlng breath he snv. thai it wan the eye of the god the manlk. it scintillated rays of fire from lis uncut un-cut corners even In that nickering light. Thtce human eyes placed together would have seemed small beeldta it fei u shone with the angry hluKe of a human eye a living eye. Hark! what was thai ! A step a laugh a low chuckle? Impossible suvely, in the bosom of Mother ESarth, and In that dread hour 1 f night when even Idnlx sleep Hi look' . i rround wlt'i fearful eyes. Ilk. 1 . rp nl . aught in his tolls He strained fs can l eaten the echo of some advancing footstep and clutohed cohvulslveiy the dagger n his bosom. Drip drip! drip! Splash! . . ns t bio; the chuckling of the Water falling from the .-;iiii above to the earth beneath? Surely!, not a laugh? All stillness again save the beating of his heart. In Intense relief he passed on. cursing his coward !co; Hut scarcely a stop had he taken when he recoiled in sudden terror. He saw a recumbent figure upon the sanctuary; another; an-other; yet another All lying in a heap lu strange unnatural attitudes Holding his breath, he peefed si them, the cold sweat standing In beads upon his brow. Then K'aduallv be realized. They were dead! Human skeleton?. Merc b.ngs of oust iii it Would crumble at the lightest touch Rut in each "f them he noticed pome-thlng pome-thlng thai he could not understand From the he.irl to the brcust each skeleton W' AS olOven In twain Some fearful blow must have done thatr perchance in the living flesh. With a cold shiver he passed them by, and ascended the altar He looked up to the gleaming stone upon the Idol's brow Ni w or never! But what did he see there that made him start In surlden horror, his knees knocking together In convulsion. his 1 ronzed race blanching to a leaden hue" Right above his head, and held by an Iron rod from the roof, was an enormous ax. ItH huge blade, a vard across from hi rn to horn, lav- n a line with the Idol's one awakening from a dream, the knowledge of Its purpose began to .lawn upon him The moment the despoilej touched the eye ol the Rod some peifet spring would b reieast-d The linn rod that held the ax would swing back upon Mm. The ax would cleave hfm in twain. Then he understood also the fearful Im-p Im-p rt of those skeletons strewing the floor of the sanctuary Fnhappv wretches that had met a terrible death With n bound he sprang clear of the threatened space, stumbled headlong over the sanctuary, and lay crouching In the 01 ner opposite. And now the diminished torch flickered and spilt 1 eri d in hi.-' hand till he east It to the floor. Then the red spark glowed awhile, then died away under a veil of ashes. It was an Impenetrable gloom The idol, whose huge outline he bad last seen by the d- lng embers, was now beyond hLi ken He sat still, and the duil hours passed slowly by. He remembered his Kuril's warning words, and waited for Mother Kali to reveal her bounty He knew that the hand of Death was close upon him His trials? What were thev now? Kings and rulers what were they1 it was Death that came to seek him against the will of kings He heard a strange pound, a low soft whistle, pome distance away it seemed In that stillness It came acain, nearer This time he thought It could not be a whistle, rather the scape of wind from an iron nozzle It came nearer still, sharper, harder. It died (hit In a moment, then Instantly In-stantly resumed, but now in an Intermittent Intermit-tent flon lie crouched upon his hands and ftneep, and peered Into Jhe gloom. He thought he saw something, felt sure he s:iw It might have been a black mass, morn Imagined Im-agined thnn seen, dark against the darker background. Still nearer. It seemed to rise in the air to rear up a thick column three cubits high Thn column approached, a long h.av body trailing behind It. that he guessed from the soft sweeping rustle it made Sotne terrible .being that man was Impotent to lace lie lav flat on the ground, scarce daring to breathe then suddenly remembered In horror that half his own body lay Btralght in its path. For a moment he wan stunned by the thought On one side lay the sanctuary sanc-tuary rails, he could recede no further On the other wa this fearful monitor His end was inevitable In that supreme crisis it was mere Instinct In-stinct that prompted him to act. the )oe Of man for his 'Ife He turned on his side, curved his legs Inward under him, an inch at a time. Ies( the sound should betrav htm. He prayed for time just the bare moments tr. curl himself by the rails Slowly the knees came up. too slow for such a peril He fell a breath upon his face. The strange Intermittent sound had -Ism to a stcadv flow. The cold, clammy wind enshrouded him like a blast from a. grave. The Thing was upon hfm a dark mass looming over him Oh, Bhugwan. grant one single moment -one single span to recede In silence' One little span for a human life . p0o late, too late In frantic haste he clashed his knees to his chin, then shivered In terror V eoft clatter he heard b his side, and knew that he was betrayed. In that last movement the dagger had fallen from his bosom Swerving swiftly at the pound, the Thing came down upon his knees A chilling body rolled over them, grinding them down by Its sheer weight. He marveled mar-veled that he did not phtiek out in horror. hor-ror. Perhaps he did In that agonizing moment he was not conscious of his deeds. Perhaps a merciful torpor had come upon him to spare this pain. Rut suddenlv the Thing had stopped in Ifp course. He felt that something was now creeping under him. how, he was too de.ulenrd with pain to know Blowlj v, t forcibly, his legs were pulled out from beneath him Something seemed to bo above them, under thepi. all around them Something seemed to be crushing them on every rdde And lowiy the pressure began to mount up. upwards from the knees, the thighs the waist He was lifted up like B child by sonv irresistible force, and a new hand cist around him higher and higher. Iti stooping to the floor at the flr.-t sense of danger, hla arms had lain doubled up against his breast As the iirt coil tr.ui her; his elbow, he realized with .1 shock that now his destrui tlon was near-Ing near-Ing Its completion. Even as a man striking strik-ing out in a nightmare, he awoke from his stupor with t, stifled groan ic threw out his arms wildly refusing to die without a Struggle. A cold ' in ling mass met his hands He hit at It blind 'v-thrust It from him cluti bed it iii a frenzied grasp with both hands A blast of fire smote his face that instant. in-stant. Just from the end of his arms sound as that of rushing waters Issued therefrom an uriii n length away Then he realized that the Thing thnt held him uv Its grip and he It was a gigantic boa. Then also he realised as he lay upon his side, that soon his Kg his whole h idv would be paralysed under that stupi i"1 i pressure then crushed into foft lay Knowing this, be i letv hed his fingers upon the serpent's throat with the grip of death JUSt tO get the dealest price for his precious life. He knew he must die What else he knew, mattered little, in that moment of 'gonv ull knowledge flashed through his :nlnd In a vision What this serpent was, according to the teachings of his taJth and what vengeance It was wrecking upon him. the world would never know, the king would never know Kings and rulers? What mattered the now? He thai sent him to this death, what cared lie for one human life? Not death alone I but this cruel torture who would ever know, or care? She perchance The spell wag broken The spell that 1 had cast Us shroud over his senses at the I moment of d ith was broken. Prom the 1 thought ot her came the thought of her gift thi dagger! it lay upon the floor , before hi breast; he had heard it clutter there when the serpent had Swept past It In Its last coll. Tlie spirit Of the Serpent-Queen, Its new J incarnation, wus grinding hlt bones to 1 dust even as In hi;; mystic trance ho had foretold. "What liilismau to save thee from her coils?" y. none save Ins belovi d'i parting gift! Alas! he ould not teach ii without releasing re-leasing one hand from the monster's throat, the other alone would scarce keep It awav. Already his arms were aching I from tiint rigid thrust, and quivering all il"ii their length in a ceaseless tremor. I And yet he must gam the dagger for that I very teason. Soon It would be too late. h if his limbs were free' Me , Id then i have thrust a foot against the serpent's ' neck, and released one h ind in the frengy of madness he racked his brains Some plan, some scheme, in reach ' the dagger! Then Ilk-- a glimmering hope the thought . am.. 10 him. Even In that position posi-tion he COUld at least mil upon the floor: his elbows were free. (me turn of , the body sideways would bring his I hands with'n reach of the sanctuarv rails' He remembered that, for sight was denied de-nied him. Clenching his teeth, and taking s deep iom; breath, he thrust out In one last stu-pendoua stu-pendoua effort. Curling ids fingers, ho found an iron bar. Blowly he drew the serpent's neck towards It, thrust It behind, be-hind, released tr.e light hand an Instant and seized the dagger a soft rending sound, a thud and the I. hide was burled up to the hilt In the serpent's throat, again and again A savage hjss-a BWlsh S grinding racking pain down his waist, his llmbs-a spasmodic bent and beat from the aer-pont's aer-pont's tall upon his legs- and the massive mas-sive colls slowly relaxed from their terrl ble tension Panting, gasping his eves swimming In S mist he staggered up from the writhing writh-ing heap, then fell down In a BWOOn How long he lay there ho could not tell He awoke with a start. But for the coid lifeless coils against his feet that deadly Struggh m the dark might have seemed a horrible nightmare Hla eyes fell upon the gloom around, and gradually gradual-ly it began tO dawn upon him that his tak was not yet over Even thai agonising agonis-ing conflict hfid been but a prelude Ills trial yet remained. In vague, uncertain purpose he arose to his feci then stood rooted to the spot What was that he sa w .' Right ahead 1 o- suiiu oaiKiiss h lain' ugni glimmering, a single ray: then another by iis aide Sudd. nh Ihe two leapt downwards down-wards in convcrglOg pencils til) thev m 1 in one broad band and shot away towards the dark corridor Rewildered. n thousand emotions rending rend-ing his heart he gazed upwards Thev were from the nostrils of the Idol' What divine manifestation was this what Infernal mechanism, rather? With hands pressed tight to his throbbing throb-bing brow he thought Then his eves fell upon the particles of dust, disturbed from their long rest by his intrusion shining in the beam of light. The light was real material' Not a phantom light Like an Inspiration came back to him his guru's words. "The third night from the full moon " It was the moonlight. It shone through prune wcl-devised gallerv in the earth above, pnd then peered down through the Idol s nostrils That could happen only when the moon was at a 1 articular point in the heavens; 8 particular night, a particular par-ticular hour. This was the fateful moment mo-ment Put what meant the light? What did It portend" "Where foils the light He remembered these words the dying words of the builder of that temple. Willi quickened breath be followed th light from the nostrils, acioss the sonc-tu sonc-tu irj along the steps, into the vast corridor cor-ridor Lower and lower It bent bathing his head, his breast his knees it halted upon a flagstone" Then his panting heart staved n heal. The flagstone, a cubit square was nowise no-wise different from Its neighbors. He examined Its surface, but found no mark, no inscription upon It. He peered Into the lining of mortar around, hut that was hard and level like the rest. And all the while the moonlight was moving across Its face Soon It would be shut off. and he would have lost his chance forever. for-ever. In frenzied haste he stuck his dagger Into the lining, and ripped open the mortar mor-tar all around About that tTagstone lay his salvation It was not abov-; It might be beneath Plunging the blade between, he tugged and strained till he felt the stone move v ith one exhausting effort he thrust the dagger beneath, and lifted the slab His hungry hand groped In the hollow with a stifled cry ne fell the touch of cold metal It was an Iron ring. One frantic pull a sudden snap as of a bursting cord a spark of light at the foot of the Idol, and a heavy clang of steel against stone rang through the vat temple The ax had fallen. And now with crouching gait he ascended ascend-ed the Idol. Hand over hand and foot upon the ladder of arms, he mounted A momentary hesitation, one last struggle of superstition acralnst revelation, and the point of the dagger reached the glittering gem A sudden pause whilst the heart beat a dozen times and the precious manik was gruged out of the Idol s eye. A distant rumbling the Idol moved rocked upon Its scat. The vast unseen roof Creaked ;l nd groaned, the whole templo swayed and shook like a shell upon the sea. A loud chuckle the pltter-patter-pltter of Invisible feet a swishing and a rushing rush-ing SOUnd, as of living bodies hurled through the air and the terror-stricken vouth lr apt down with a ga.sp and fled irto the darkness. Cold, clammv hands swept past his head Dank musty breaths fanned his face Large, lumbering bodies, soft to the touch, skimmed his hands. Hard, shell-clad shell-clad objects rolled and crushed over his firt AH along the corridors, along tho gallerlrp, along the tunnel. Rrnlsed and bleeding, he reached at last the earth above Stumbling at ever) Step, he fled over the gorge Into the ravine. Into the gully. Into the ancient pathway, and fell panting upon the level ground But with a stifWl cry he rose again Cold terror ter-ror sat upon his brow. 11 nd chased him over the earth Whni ha he seen or heard or felt? The pale moonlight fell upon him, around1 him. and far over the fields and jungles. Rut, ve tjods' what sight was th'S? A herd Of Wild buffaloes, bursting through the thicket came bellowing like thunder trampling the earth. nostrils breathing Are, tails In the air Wild boars and antelopes, mountain goats and Jack-n)p Jack-n)p black vultures with Happing win( screeching through the air, and serpents and toads and frogs 1 reaping and hopping, On the earth A raging wolf ran out, and . bleating sheep ran by Its side. A frantic fran-tic elephant came thundering onwards, and a wildcat sal upon Its head. A snail a growl a yellow-bellied tiger leapt forth and ran. pursued by a deer! They Hed helter-skelter, stumbling and falling, and rising again Now the field 11.1 rowed lo a nullah with thicket on either flank and. tiger and antelope, wolf and sheep, serpent and toad, fled side by Side and hustled one another In that stupendous stu-pendous race Hunger. Instinct: ferocity, all waa forgotten. Thev shiver. d and cowered and ran all together. For that which pursued them in thai common lllght and held them In its grip like the lumd ol death, was IPeai A ler rifle shuck, and the earth trembled a' if In collision with a large plant 1 An awful sound Ilk the fall of the heavens and man and hi ast lav prone upon the ground. II was the parting asunder of" Mother ESt .1 1 h Dased and wlld-cyed) the youth arose and gazed behind through the cloud of dust dancing In the pale moonbeams The gigantic eminence, beneath which had lum tor countless ages the subterraneous subterra-neous Temple of the Man Ik, wm now flat with the ground. Verily, the earthouake had done its work. The secret the Temple had held locked up In Its bowels for -n miles of years and cycles of centuries had been yielded up at last at the decree of Fate Wen might the Temple fall And the youth, hugging the 1 rcclojs g' ln to his breast, went forth Into the night with a bursting heart. Descending the plateau he gased be- wildered betor him. The hillside opposite, oppo-site, In which he had lain fliddtn the night before, had now vanished from human hu-man sighi. Likewise the stream beneath had been wiped off the face of the aria Dimly, vaguely he took in the significance of that stupendous cataclysm. l''.n Itr.e 1 that ihe overhanging , lift hvd indeed fallen, and filled up the stream With awe and f-Hr In hi In-art and the vision of Omnlpnienl mlgnl In his eyes lie ran swlftlj over the fallen mass, down the declivity, up the stony gorge at last beyond which law the plains With panting breath he climbed up, reat hed the narrow opening then with a last despairing try, a piteous moan, ho struggled onwatd with his ebbing strength, reeled, Staggered, fell prone upon lis face For In the very moment of safety, oruel pitiless Fate hud struck him iown. At the mouth of the gorge a row of leveled lev-eled lances awaited him. Thn In that agonizing moment merciful oblivion came to him. He lay upon the ground hefore the lances, a. senseless maps of poor, bleeding humanity that had been sorelj tried, had struggle'1 bravely thiough countless perils, th- . In the moment mo-ment of victory that had cot him his last eiibiuK strength, had hern struck cruellj .ii wn by mocking Fate His destiny was fulfilled, that was his last conscious thought ere the oblivion enshrouded him In Its iall But, merciful Bhugwan. what marvel was this'' The lances did not descend upon him and transfix him. Instead, a hand was stretched forth; another, and he was lined up tenderly, silent I . "Close the gorge!" It was a hurried whisper, a deep, guttural voice that gave the command And at Rama Krishna's words th guards piled up the boulders thev had al-reodj al-reodj collected against the mouth of tho gorge Suddenlv a distant tumbling. louder, lc ider a mighty roar "Back' Back, all on either side!" Rama Ra-ma Krishna shouted above the din The guards ran back from the gorge Into the shelter of the forest Simple. llllll.ie.j wall IlOl loe rio-w not IIML 1 II1. t'rtible cataclvsm was not yet over. The torrent came down with a roar of thunder, gathering force at the narrow-declivity. narrow-declivity. When the overhanging cliff had fallen Info the stream In the earthquake. It had but diverted the channel Rama Krishna knew that soon the piled-up water wa-ter on the upper side would overtop the barrier then rush down In an Irresistible flood, sweeping all things before ir A sudden shock a piercing shriek, a human shriek, far down the declivity, an-Other an-Other yei another and the wall of water hungrily devoured its fleeing prey reached the gorge, cast up a column of spray thirty cubits above the boulders The spray subsided, and a while after ihe sound of moving waters died out All was still. The guards crept to the mouth of the gorge and peered over the bould-us. bould-us. Ten cubit. beneath them the decllvltv was now a sluggish molten lake Seven fathoms b"low Its surface Iny hid the evidence evi-dence of the swift retribution it had wreaked upon the fleeing Thugs. "Come away," the guards said, one to another The brethren are avenged ' Thev turned to their charge For Nara-an Nara-an iii was still their prisoner! Ten days after a haggard and emaci-11 emaci-11 led form, with hands and feet cut open in a hundred wounds, a madman's haunted haunt-ed look In his sunken eyes, and raving, d llrloua words upon his lips, was brought beck by the guards to the palace. 'The manik, Oh, Klnr!" Ith these words Narvan Lai delivered un his trust, and fell down In a swoon at his master's feet 'Of a tru'i. high was the dr-stiny of this man. ' wie Great King murmured ' Verily, such perils could he sent to him alone for whom much reward was In Store ' He mused awhile, thinking of tho perils of his own youth on the fleld of battle, and thus thinking, gathered hope for the days et to come. "But tell nv- this, '"h. man of learning Why was Narayan I.-hI made to undergo so many trials? Surely Parameshwar c ul'l )ie his ' erdii t once for all?" The Storv -Teller marveled at so great a w Isdom. "True Oh. Heaven-horn; but it is as easy for Parameshwar to manifest his will six times In succession as once or sixty times six times In an ordeal d( -pendent upon divine Judgment, we mortals mor-tals may make any stipulation we choose. If Parameshwar accepts the terms, he will fulfill vhem in entlret) So f five times Ne rayon T.al escaped, but at the sixth succumbed, then indeed would 'he verdict Of the Deity have been against him from the beginning. The race is at the finish, not at the start " But tell me. what was the deslen of Parameshwar In sending the earthquake" "To aid him and vet to try him Earthquakes Earth-quakes and landslips are not unknown In the lower altitudes of the Himalayas. And perchance the heavj rainfall, and then the mechanical forces that caused the fall of the ax. might have net jnto action ac-tion the initial movement Great results often have small causes, even a flickering spark will set a whole forest abla3c, and 8 tiny hole In a dyke that S child s small hand might stop will turn a sea-girt lowland low-land Into a raging gulf "As regards the serpent, such a creature crea-ture may sometimes bo found lurking in ancient ruins. But, h, Heaven-bom the reincarnation of the original serpent that carried the manik upon Its head would It not bo there on such an occasion when the first hand came l" despoil It that was not guilty of the basest Ingratitude" Would It not be there to test Is verily Nar-ayan Nar-ayan l.ai would escape death by divine, aid because of his innocence? For It was Indeed Narayan Lai a fate that he should suffer peril upon peril, rind 8 thousand unseen un-seen ncrlls. "Thus In his next trial." continued the Story-toller "but for an unknown friend he hud died B cruel death True it was his fats i" have thai friend nevertheless, he had luse to thank the gods for so great 8 love." |