upon the ground in respect, and every man riding got off his horse and
squatted down also, and many joined the procession at every village. At
the place where they stopped for the night, the people had placed stakes
along each side of the roads in front of the houses. These were split
crosswise at the top, and in the cleft were fastened little clay lamps,
and between them were stuck the green leaves of palm-trees, which,
dripping with the evening dew, gleamed prettily with the many twinkling
lights. And few went to sleep that night until the morning hours,
for every house held a knot of eager talkers, and much betel-nut was
consumed, and endless were the conjectures what would come of it.
On the second day they left the last village behind them and entered the
wild country that surrounds the great mountain, and rested in the huts
that had been prepared for them on the banks of a stream of cold and
sparkling water. And the Rajah's hunters, armed with long and heavy
guns, went in search of deer and wild bulls in the surrounding woods,
and brought home the meat of both in the early morning, and sent it on
in advance to prepare the mid-day meal. On the third day they advanced
as far as horses could go, and encamped at the foot of high rocks, among
which narrow pathways only could be found to reach the mountain-top. And
on the fourth morning when the Rajah set out, he was accompanied only
by a small party of priests and princes with their immediate attendants;
and they toiled wearily up the rugged way, and sometimes were carried
by their servants, until they passed up above the great trees, and then
among the thorny bushes, and above them again on to the black and burned
rock of the highest part of the mountain.
And when they were near the summit, the Rajah ordered them all to halt,
while he alone went to meet the great spirit on the very peak of the
mountain. So he went on with two boys only who carried his sirih and
betel, and soon reached the top of the mountain among great rocks, on
the edge of the great gulf whence issue forth continually smoke and
vapour. And the Rajah asked for sirih, and told the boys to sit down
under a rock and look down the mountain, and not to move until he
returned to them. And as they were tired, and the sun was warm and
pleasant, and the rock sheltered them from the cold wind, the boys fell
asleep. And the Rajah went a little way on under another rock; and as he
was tired, and the sun was warm and pleasant, and he too fell asleep.
And those who were waiting for the Rajah thought him a long time on the
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