Withdrawing his hand he now produced a sealed letter which he laid in mine.
“Your safe conduct from Thibet,” he said quietly. “It was an oversight on my part. Padma has all the prejudices of his people; moreover he fears for himself. He has indeed betrayed you. Your presence on this rock is known, and the sentence of death has been already pronounced against you. You are to be shot down where you stand, one by one; but this will protect you and carry you safely beyond the frontier. Look toward the city and you will understand that I speak truly in this.”
He raised his hand, making quick passes before my eyes. Then as I looked through the arch, distance became as naught. I could see with the most astonishing distinctness. I was at the very gates of Lh’asa.
“You see the city?” he asked.
“I do, most plainly. It is precisely as if I were looking through a powerful telescope. I am there.”
“Look again! Look at the foot of the mountain!”
Now suddenly I seemed to be looking down from a height upon a broad roadway, along which a troop of perhaps fifty armed men were trudging. They were dressed in the well-known costume of the Chinese military, and at the head of the procession the dragon flag floated.
“For you,” he said. “In less than half an hour they will be beneath the arch. Present my letter to the commander and have no fear.”
I inclined my head in dumb assent. I could not speak. Still he read my thoughts.
“To permit you to talk to me, Mr. Wylde, would only be to have objections raised, and each objection is just so much of a hinderance to my work. It is for this reason that we have entranced the Doctor and even thrown our dear friend into slumber. My time is short. I cannot waste the forces drawn from that poor girl to produce this body, for she is reserved for another work, which, strange as it may seem to you, is as much for her eternal welfare as for the good of those whom she will materially assist. Ask me your question now, I see it burning in your brain, but after that do not speak unless you would destroy all your chances of escape. In its way my power is as limited as your own.”
“Maurice! Tell me!” I burst. “Did he actually go to Mars? Did I? Did”
