The Old Man of the Mountain

e slowly to the end of the hall, threw a contemptuous glance on the young lad his late companion, who had fallen swooning to the floor, and signed to the Englishmen to follow hi

re separately incarcerated. None of them knew anything of the fate of Sher Jang and Hamid Gul. The scene which they had just witnessed, the climax of the series of mysterious h

y cell, he noticed that the wall opposite the window slit bore a representation of the strange monster which was depicted on the walls of the hall. But here again there was a difference. The hideous creature had, in addition to two eyes normally placed, a third, in the c

community. He remembered having noticed a lozenge-shaped ornament on the head-dress of the Old Man of the Mountain; it was from this ornament that the beam of light had appeared to shoot. But

ner in one--who was he? The sound of his clear silvery voice rang still in Mackenzie's ears. He remembered the cold remorseless words of his speech. All who came to the Tem

s. Had the dust of Beresford's destroyed body been already scattered on the floor of this horrible temple, or had he too been preserved for a

unable to withdraw his gaze from it. He tried to look elsewhere, to think of other things; but always his eyes wandered back to the one spot. It glowed upon him with a sort of hypnotic fascination, leering, as it seemed, mocking him, a mute unwink

window slit, he saw sunlight streaming in; the greenish hue had almost disappeared. He rose, and with a strong effort of will forced himself to turn towards the wall on which the monster was painte

to follow them. To refuse, he knew, would be vain; but he shivered with dread lest he were summoned to witness another scene like that of the night. He found, however, that his fears were not justified. His guards took him through miles, as it seemed, of narrow corridors hewn in the rock, always ascending, and brought him presently to an arch through whi

ss night, ill fitted him for any task that demanded steady nerves. But Mackenzie was a man of grit; freedom, the fresh air, the pure sunshine braced him; his

urprised him most of all was that the plateau was cultivated. It was divided into many rectangular fields, on which crops of all kinds were growing, and herds of cattle grazing. The fresh green of the vegetation was refreshing to his eyes after the greyness of the

f many races. There were dwarfish negritos like the Temple guards, Chinese, Tibetans, Nagas and other hillmen. T

the nearest group of huts, he looked around, expecting to find that someone had been told off to watch him. The fact that such was not the case induced a sense of utter hopelessness. If he was not guarded, the reason must be that escap

ed him to the present, and he hurried to meet the shikari, wh

ou are alive," he said. "

n-pate put this spade into my hand, and bade me dig. I have lost caste; it were bet

Hamid

the pit below. There are many of my countrymen here; they are all

enzie murmured. "What

one-armed stranger had both his arms, like you and me; one day he had two, the next, when he came up, he had but one. They tell also

of men who were digging in a neighbouring field. Mackenzie thrust his hands into his pockets and turned his back upon the man. To his surprise there was no insistence,

were Forreste

that," Mackenzie repli

ster went on, "and I never passe

ter's on

might, the frightful thing seemed to draw my eyes to it agai

"The Old Man of the Mountain said we were to stay here for the rest of

the very air were spying on us; and who knows, if we say anything agains

ifelong slavery. All these fo

they let us

escape, no doubt.

slinking by!" Forrester c

aven priests walking

kenzie. "There's no check up

ear to a long low building of stone, with open doorways a few feet apart. It reminded Mackenzie of the rank of connected cottages often seen near engineering works in his own country, except tha

said Forrester. "I won

t so truly pyramidal in shape as the memorials frequently seen in China. It was

rked. "I guess it's the residence of the August and Ve

rester said with a shudder. "

h to know all I can about this place. The

urse, when a horn sounded stridently in the distance. At the signal the priests emerged from their dwellings, and marched in file towards the stairway. Mackenzie and Forrester followed them, out of curiosity. They descended the stairway one by one. Soon afterwards another file, the moustachioed priests, came up from the oppos

"To exchange this fresh air and sunshine for the clos

community, asking them how they had come to the place and what their experiences had been. A few had stumbled upon the rift by accident; most had been entrapped, kidnapped, or inv

captured with his little daughter several years before on the outskirts of his village. He w

he called as

dhoti was wound about her body. Her raven-black hair was bound with a fillet of pearls, and a string of pearls depended from her neck. She

at the girl. "We are not ill-treated, you perceive; we make no complaints on that score. So long as the slaves fulfil their appointed tasks t

ning of it all?"

re thus removed, but only Chinese and negritos. And there is another strange thing: the Chinese prisoners of humble rank are set to work on the fields and are never taken underground; but at intervals, sometimes long, sometimes short, young men of noble birth and high education are brought here. At first they spend their days here above, as you are doing to-day, and descend at sunset; but a time comes, sooner or later, when they descend for the last time

naman," Forrester r

eems. Have you ever seen one of ou

eight or ten days: I had many conversations with him. It

know h

ioned: he was simp

rrester said to his friend. "And is the

cold and hunger. In the centre is a mighty river, that pours over the edge of the precipice. To cross it is impossible. In the other direction the plateau ends in a sheer precipice thousand

any time escaped from the regions bel

f he feared that the walls might hear him. Whe

I knew him. When he left here a year before he was young, plump and bright-eyed; when he returned he was like an old man. He was mad. I had learnt someth

of him?" as

s gone: we shall never see him again, and I am in constant fear that I shall suffer f

ought had occurred to them both: this was the negrit

ll him?" For

"His dread of the unknown is depressing enough as it is: if we t

en a horn sounded thrice. The

," he said. "The sun is setting. I hope

rted them to the doorway. Forrester was a pace or two in the rear. He felt a touch on his a

, sahib. The little bl

from the E

, after a momentary pause, put the gift into his

fuse to go d

has become of Bob and Hamid. At present my brain is in a whirl;

and followed him. When they were out of sight, the other indicated that Forrester was to go do