Adventure Magazine Cover, October 30, 1924 — page 129: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Om men and women, that ye have no words nor wealth to offer to your king. Nor could he understand, nor could he listen, since the ears of kings are deaf to common murmurings, even as your ears are deaf to royal overtones. But lo! I bring a talis- man—a stone enchanted by the all-wise gods—whose virtue is to change from dawn to dawn the rank, condition, raiment and degree of all who look on it! Avert thine eyes, O king! I would not change (thy rank, not even while a day and night shall pass. Look, saddhu—soldier—goatherd— women—all of you!’ ” “She holds up the stone,” said the lama, ‘“‘and they stare at it in superstitious awe. They show astonishment and reverence. Then San-fun-ho intones a manira.” The chela began to chant in a voice that filled the huge room with golden sound, as solemn, lonely and as drenched with music as a requiem to a cathedral roof. Without an effort Ommony imagined stained-glass windows and an organ-loft. Maitraya bowed his head, and even the other actors, outcaste and irreverent, held their breath. It sounded like magic. All India be- lieves implicitly in magic. The words were Sanskrit and probably only Ommony, Samding and the lama un- derstood them; but the ancient, sacred, un- intelligible language only added to the mys- tery and made the spell more real. None, not even Maitraya, moved or breathed until the chanting ceased. The lama glanced at Ommony, who was so thrilled by the chela’s voice as to have for- gotten for the moment that he held the saddhu’s scroll. He looked at it and read aloud in solemn tones: “““T did not look! away!’ ” The king: “ ‘I looked!’ ”’ Maitraya put a world of meaning into that line. “And that,” said the lama, “ends the I turned mine eyes first act.” “Too short! Much too short!” exclaimed Maitraya. “Too long,” said the lama. “I may have to cut one of your speeches. Now there would be merit in the learning of your parts until the gong sounds for dinner. After dinner we will take the second act. Peace dwell with you. Samding!”’ The chela helped him to his feet, rolled up the mat and followed him out through the door at the end of the platform, where nei- = 119 ther of them paused; some one on the far side of the door opened it as they drew near, pulled back a curtain, admitted them, slammed the door after them and locked it noisily. ce “ nosound. All stared at one another. Ommony felt half inclined to laugh. He had intended to force an interview with the lama at the end of the rehearsal, but the calm old prelate seemed to have foreseen that move. ‘What do you think of it, Gupta Rao?” asked Maitraya. “Crafty!”’ answered Ommony, still think- ing of the lama. ‘I mean, full of craft—I mean, it is a good play; it will succeed.” ‘“‘Perhaps—if he neglects to charge ad- mission!’ said Maitraya; but he seemed tempted to share Ommony’s opinion. “If he would let me give him the benefit of my experience, it might be made into a real play,” he added. ‘And the chela? What do you think of the chela?”’ “T know!” said Ommony. ‘‘He will make all the rest of us, except the dog, look and sound like wooden dummies!”’ ‘There again!” said Maitraya. ‘The dog! Before you know it he will order the chela to write a part for that knife-swinging savage of yours from Spiti!”’ “T wouldn’t be surprized. By Vishnu’s brow, I wouldn’t be surprized at anything!” said Ommony, and cut off further conver- sation by returning to the trunk and squat- ting on it with his back to the light to study the scroll of the saddhu—or rather, to pretend to study it. He was too full of thoughts of the lama and the chela, and of his own good fortune in having stumbled into their company, to study anything else. “The lama knows I’m Cottswold Om- mony. He knows I know who he is. Is he using his own method of showing me what he knows I want to see? Or is he keeping an eye on me while he attends to his own secrets? Or am I trapped? Or being tested?” He had heard of the extraordinary tests to which lamas put disciples before en- trusting them with knowledge. “But I have never offered to be his dis- ciple!”’ he reflected. And then he remembered that lamas always choose their own disciples, and that thought made him chuckle. : FOR a moment after that there was Comicbooks.c© inn