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THE PILGRIM KAMANITA

reflect? And a road that leads in the opposite direction to ours—a road to the untraversed land? Shall we, mayhap, ever take that road—the road to the untraversed land?"

Then the hundred-thousand-fold Brahma pondered—

"My mind is made up. I shall re-absorb my illuminating power, now diffused throughout space, and shall plunge all these worlds again into the darkness of the Brahma night. And when I have gathered my light into a single ray, I shall turn it upon that one being in order yet to rescue him for this my Brahma world."

And the hundred-thousand-fold Brahma now re-absorbed all the illuminating power which he had diffused throughout space, so that the worlds sank again into the darkness of the Brahma night. And gathering his light into a single ray he directed it on Kamanita.

"Henceforward there must shine at this point," he thought, "the most radiant star in all my Brahma world."

Then the hundred-thousand-fold Brahma drew his ray with sufficient illuminating power to set a hundred thousand worlds on fire, back into himself, and again diffused his light throughout the whole of space.

At the point, however, where he hoped to see the most radiant of all the stars, only a little, slowly dying spark was to be seen.

And while in immeasurable space, worlds upon worlds flashed and shouted as they pressed forward into the new Brahma day, the pilgrim Kamanita went out quite, as a lamp goes out when it has consumed the last-drop of oil in its wick.